Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several deafening blasts shook the depths of the Veilmist Range. A towering mountain was leveled outright, exposing the underground cavern where more than a dozen Stage SSS Outland Beasts had been hiding.

Fighters from the various races surrounded the ruined mountain from every direction. More than twenty of them were Stage SSS—nearly half the continent’s remaining forces at that level.

The Thundari Patriarch, who was overseeing the search in this area, broke into a delighted smile when he saw the Beast Lords below.

”Hahaha! I didn’t expect so many of them to be hiding in there.”

He turned to the middle-aged man beside him.

”You actually came through. From now on, your race has the Thundari’s protection!”

”Thank you, Thundari Patriarch! Thank you!”

The middle-aged man thanked him repeatedly, barely able to contain his excitement.

The Thundari were one of the strongest races on the Eldoria Continent. With their protection, even ordinary pinnacle races would think twice before causing trouble for his people. From now on, his race could go wherever it pleased.

Just thinking about it thrilled him.

Below them, the Stage SSS Outland Beasts stared at the enemies surrounding them, their expressions grim.

After days of hiding, they had finally been found.

There was no fear in their eyes, though. Only madness.

If they couldn’t escape, they would fight.

Kill one, and they broke even.

Kill two, and they profited.

”Attack!”

At the Golden Eagle’s command, the Outland Beasts struck first, throwing themselves at the enemy Stage SSS fighters.

”Hmph. A futile last struggle,” the Thundari Patriarch sneered.

”Kill them!”

The Stage SSS fighters immediately counterattacked, unleashing their deadliest abilities.

The battle erupted in an instant.

Lightning flashed.

The Thundari Patriarch appeared directly in front of the snow-white fox, smiling as he looked it over.

”Your fur is beautiful. I think I’ll skin you and make myself a coat.”

The Frostfox’s expression darkened.

”Let’s see if you’re capable of it.”

A terrifying snow tornado swept toward the Thundari Patriarch. At the same time, the surrounding temperature plummeted, and countless shards of ice formed in the air before stabbing toward him from every direction.

”Not a bad set of skills, but you’re still too weak.”

The Thundari Patriarch smiled coldly.

”Lightning Storm!”

Terrifying bolts of lightning crashed down from the sky, blasting apart the snow tornado and every shard of ice. Several bolts struck the Frostfox as well, but its armor of ice blocked them.

Both were Tier 47, but the difference in their presence was obvious. The Thundari Patriarch was considerably stronger. After all, he was powerful enough to fight the Beast Sovereign.

Even so, killing an Outland Beast at the same tier wouldn’t be quick.

The other Stage SSS fighters and Outland Beasts were locked in equally fierce battles.

But the intelligent races had twice as many Stage SSS fighters. Nearly every Beast Lord was fighting two opponents at once and being steadily suppressed.

Worse, the battle drew attention from the surrounding areas.

The Stage SSS fighters searching elsewhere heard the commotion and began arriving one group after another.

Before long, another large force of Stage SSS enemies had gathered.

Despair appeared on every Outland Beast’s face.

They knew it was over.

The enemy could call for reinforcements. They couldn’t.

Other Stage SSS Outland Beasts were still hiding elsewhere, but calling them here would only get them killed too.

”Beast Sovereign, we know you’ll return alive and avenge us,” the Golden Eagle murmured.

Its presence erupted at full strength.

It abandoned all defense and launched itself at its opponents, determined to drag at least one of them into death.

The other Outland Beasts followed suit. Every last one stopped defending and began attacking with reckless fury.

”You can do the same,” the Thundari Patriarch told the Frostfox with a smile.

”Hmph.”

The Frostfox snorted and abandoned its fight with him, charging toward the nearest Tier 44 enemy instead.

Even if it fought to the death, it knew it couldn’t defeat the Thundari Patriarch. It could only change targets and take down someone weaker before it died.

”You think you can attack someone else in front of me?” the Thundari Patriarch sneered.

Lightning flashed, and he appeared in front of the Frostfox.

”Doombolt!”

A terrifying bolt of black lightning appeared and struck the Frostfox.

”Ugh!”

Its Frost Armor shattered instantly, and blood trickled from the corner of its mouth.

Its expression didn’t change.

”Deep Freeze!”

Thick ice formed around the Thundari Patriarch in an instant.

The Frostfox ignored him and appeared beside a Tier 44 fighter who was already engaged in battle.

”Ice Spike Barrage!”

Dozens of enormous diamond-shaped spikes shot toward the Tier 44 fighter from every direction, sealing off every possible escape route.

Just as the Frostfox thought it could take one enemy down, a thick layer of Stone Armor suddenly covered the target.

Every ice spike struck the armor, but none managed to pierce it.

”Heh. Even your Beast Sovereign can’t easily break my Stone Armor. What makes you think you can?”

A towering, muscular man approached as he spoke.

The Stoneborn Patriarch!

The moment it saw him, the Frostfox sank into complete despair.

It immediately turned to flee.

”You think you can leave now? Too late.”

The Stoneborn Patriarch smiled coldly.

Crushing gravity descended on the Frostfox, dragging it out of the sky and slamming it to the ground.

At that moment, another figure appeared beside it. Gripping a spear crackling with lightning, the attacker thrust it at the Frostfox’s head.

The Frostfox tried to dodge the fatal strike, but the overwhelming gravity had slowed its movements to a crawl. It barely managed to tilt its head aside.

Squelch!

The spear plunged through its shoulder and deep into its body.

The Frostfox gritted its teeth and stared defiantly at the Thundari Patriarch.

”So what if you kill me? Once our Beast Sovereign returns, every last one of you will die with us!”

”Hahaha! You’re still dreaming about the Beast Sovereign?” the Thundari Patriarch mocked. ”Its soul was crippled. Even if it survives, it’s practically useless now. If it dares come back, I can kill it by myself.”

”Is that so?”

A deep voice suddenly came from above.

Every Outland Beast shuddered.

They looked up in stunned delight.

The moment they saw the familiar figure in the sky, their entire bodies began trembling with excitement.

”BEAST SOVEREIGN!”

The intelligent fighters looked up as well.

But when they saw the figure overhead, disbelief spread across every face.

”How is that possible?”