Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Looking into the Beast Sovereign’s sincere eyes, Ethan knew his instincts had been right. This Outland Beast truly valued loyalty and repaid its debts.

For someone like the Beast Sovereign—a peak Tier 47 powerhouse—to bow its head to a mere Tier 42 who had only just reached Stage SSS said everything Ethan needed to know about its character.

No wonder so many Outland Beasts revered it enough to sacrifice their lives for it.

”Aren’t you curious why I saved you?” Ethan asked.

”I am. But you saved me. That is a fact.” The Beast Sovereign’s voice was solemn. ”Whatever your reasons, I owe you my life. If you ever need my help, I’ll do everything in my power to repay you.”

It had always kept debts and grudges separate. It took revenge against its enemies and repaid those who helped it. It hated owing anyone.

”Even if I ask for your crystal core?” Ethan asked with a faint smile.

”…”

”If you wanted my crystal core, you wouldn’t have saved me. You could’ve taken it while I was unconscious. There would’ve been no reason to go through all this trouble.”

”Hahaha.” Ethan laughed. ”I do need your help with something, but not yet. It’ll be in a few days. Don’t worry—I won’t ask you to harm yourself or the beast races of the Eldoria Continent.”

He knew how deeply the Beast Sovereign cared about its kind, so he made that clear in advance.

”Very well. As long as it doesn’t harm the beast races, I’ll help.” The Beast Sovereign nodded seriously.

Then it seemed to remember something, and its expression changed.

”How long has it been since you took me from the battlefield?”

”Two and a half days.”

”!”

”I have to return immediately! Those bastards won’t let the beast races go!”

The Beast Sovereign rose straight into the air.

”Wait! Your injuries haven’t completely healed yet!” Henry shouted. ”You still need a few more hours!”

”Thank you, but these remaining injuries won’t affect me much.”

”Where the hell are you rushing off to?” Ethan rolled his eyes. ”Do you even know where you are?”

The Beast Sovereign paused. It looked around from the air, then widened its eyes.

”You brought me to the Western Region?”

”Damn, you can tell?” Now it was Ethan’s turn to be surprised.

The Beast Sovereign had identified the region with a single glance?

”There is no place on the Eldoria Continent I don’t recognize,” the Beast Sovereign said proudly.

”Impressive. But even at your speed, it’ll take you several hours to reach the Central Region from here. Those races are searching everywhere for you. If you fly back like that, they’ll surround you before you even arrive.”

”They’re nothing but a pack of scheming bastards. You think I’m afraid of them?” the Beast Sovereign said coldly.

”Right. Remind me who got beaten half to death two days ago?” Ethan scoffed.

”They set me up!”

”Doesn’t matter how they did it. A fight only cares about the result—and the result is, you almost died.”

”…”

The Beast Sovereign took a deep breath.

This human had an incredible talent for pissing it off. If Ethan hadn’t saved its life, anyone who spoke to it this way would’ve been flattened with a single swipe.

”If you’re saying all this, I assume you have a better way?”

”Obviously. Did you forget how you got here?”

The Beast Sovereign’s eyes lit up.

It had nearly forgotten that Ethan possessed a spatial-type ability.

”Then hurry. Take me to the Central Region. I need to return as soon as possible. Every minute we waste could mean another beast dying at those bastards’ hands.”

”But you couldn’t beat those four before. If you go back, won’t they just beat you half to death again?”

”Hmph. They never would’ve defeated me without that underhanded trick. Don’t worry. They won’t be able to use that ability again anytime soon,” the Beast Sovereign said with absolute certainty.

If the Soulkin Patriarch could use such a devastating ability freely, he wouldn’t have waited several days to unleash it. An attack from a single Tier 47 had crippled the Beast Sovereign’s soul. A skill that powerful had to come with severe restrictions.

Seeing its confidence, Ethan nodded.

As long as the Beast Sovereign could hold off those top fighters, Ethan had plenty of ways to deal with the other Stage SSS enemies.

”Where in the Central Region?”

”The Veilmist Range.”

”And where’s that?”

”…”

”In the center of the Central Region.”

”Got it.”

Ethan slashed a hand through the air, opening a dimensional rift.

”Henry, you guys wait here for me.”

”Okay.”

Henry nodded. They had no place in a battle at this level.

Ethan and the Beast Sovereign entered the dimensional rift and disappeared.

Central Region — Veilmist Range

The past two days had been brutal for the beast races, especially the Stage SSS Beast Lords. They had been forced to spend every moment hiding from their pursuers.

Even then, several Stage SSS Outland Beasts had been discovered and surrounded by the pinnacle races’ Stage SSS fighters.

None had survived.

Deep beneath a mountain in the Veilmist Range, more than a dozen powerful Outland Beasts were hiding inside a cavern. Every one of them wore a grim expression.

”I can’t take this anymore!” a massive Dire Bear snarled. ”If this keeps up, they’ll pick us off one at a time. We might as well fight them to the death!”

”Fight them? How?” A snow-white Outland Beast resembling a fox spoke in an ethereal, feminine voice. ”They have seven Tier 47 fighters now. We only have three. What exactly do you plan to fight them with?”

”Then what are we supposed to do? Even if we hide here, they’ll find us eventually.”

”All we can do is wait for the Beast Sovereign to return.”

At the mention of the Beast Sovereign, every beast’s expression grew heavier.

They had all seen how badly it had been wounded.

Could injuries like that truly heal in such a short time?

”Do you really think that human can be trusted?” a Violet Panther suddenly asked.

Its question made the oppressive atmosphere even heavier.

None of them were certain.

How much could they trust a human they had only just met?

But they’d had no other option. They could only gamble on him. Otherwise, the Beast Sovereign never would’ve escaped the battlefield.

”I think the human seemed decent,” the Goldenmane Lion said quietly. ”He’s probably trustworthy.”

It had benefited from Ethan’s actions, so naturally, it was inclined to defend him.

”Whether he can be trusted or not no longer matters,” said a Tier 47 Golden Eagle. ”We entrusted the Beast Sovereign to him. All we can do now is believe he’ll keep his word.

”If he truly saves the Beast Sovereign, then he will be the benefactor of every beast race on the Eldoria Continent.

”But if he didn’t…”

The Golden Eagle fell silent.

”If anything happens to the Beast Sovereign, I’ll tear that human apart!” the Dire Bear roared.

”You can barely keep yourself alive. Who exactly are you planning to tear apart?” the Frostfox said, rolling its eyes.

”…”

Boom!

A deafening impact suddenly shook the cavern. Rocks rained from the ceiling.

”What happened?” The Outland Beasts’ expressions changed.

”I think they found us!”