Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The Thundari Patriarch and Stoneborn Patriarch exchanged glances, seeing the same shock in each other’s eyes.

They knew better than anyone how severe the Beast Sovereign’s injuries had been. More importantly, its soul had suffered catastrophic damage. How could it possibly have recovered so quickly?

Yet the figure before them was unquestionably the Beast Sovereign, and judging by its presence, its injuries had almost completely healed.

They couldn’t believe it.

”The humans!” The Stoneborn Patriarch’s gaze landed on Ethan beside the Beast Sovereign, his expression darkening. ”One of them must possess an ability that can heal soul wounds!”

”Humans…” The Thundari Patriarch’s face sank as well.

Everyone on the Eldoria Continent knew soul wounds were incurable. But when humans were involved, that might not be true.

In theory, humans could awaken any ability. One capable of healing the soul wasn’t impossible.

The two Patriarchs glared at Ethan with murderous fury.

They had gone through hell to cripple the Beast Sovereign, only for this human to heal it and render all their efforts meaningless.

They wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.

Unfortunately, Ethan remained behind the Beast Sovereign, leaving them no opportunity to reach him.

The Beast Sovereign’s arrival brought the battle to a halt. All the Outland Beasts immediately gathered behind their ruler, while the intelligent fighters regrouped behind the two Patriarchs.

Ethan looked over the battered Beast Lords and widened his eyes.

”Don’t tell me these are all the Stage SSS fighters you have left.”

”Of course not,” the Golden Eagle replied. ”The others are hiding in different mountain ranges.”

”Whew. Good.” Ethan sighed in relief. ”You scared me for a second. I thought this was all you had left after barely two days.

”Call the others over. How are you supposed to fight with so few beasts? You can’t expect the Beast Sovereign to carry all of you.”

”Don’t worry. They’ve already been summoned,” the Golden Eagle said politely.

It treated Ethan with nothing but respect.

The moment the Beast Sovereign returned almost fully recovered, every Outland Beast’s opinion of Ethan changed.

They knew it was only because of this human that their ruler had recovered.

He hadn’t deceived them. He had truly saved the Beast Sovereign.

Every beast now regarded Ethan as their benefactor and felt nothing but gratitude toward him.

Without his help, the beast races might truly have been finished.

Meanwhile, the Beast Sovereign flew in front of the two Patriarchs and looked down at them.

”Weren’t you just saying you could take me down all by yourself if I dared come back?” It fixed its gaze on the Thundari Patriarch.

”Uh… I may have been talking a little big,” the Thundari Patriarch admitted awkwardly.

Of all the times for his trash talk to come back and bite him in the ass…

”Talking big, were you? Then let’s see if you can back it up.

”You slaughtered my Beast Lords. Every last one of you will die!”

The Beast Sovereign roared. A terrifying cloud of poison erupted from its body and rolled toward the intelligent fighters. At the same time, dense black light covered its enormous tail as it lashed out at the Thundari Patriarch.

The intelligent fighters’ expressions changed. They hadn’t expected the Beast Sovereign to attack without another word.

”Fall back!”

”Wind users, disperse the poison!”

They immediately retreated while those with wind-type abilities hurried to scatter the approaching cloud.

Contact with the Beast Sovereign’s poison meant death. Even ordinary Stage SSS fighters couldn’t withstand it.

With no Celestials present, no one dared let the poison touch them.

The Thundari Patriarch had no intention of taking the Beast Sovereign’s tail head-on either. Lightning flashed, and he reappeared in the distance, narrowly avoiding the blow.

But the Beast Sovereign had clearly singled him out.

It opened its jaws, revealing a black vortex inside its mouth. A terrifying suction force seized the Thundari Patriarch and began dragging him closer.

He used every ability he had to break free, but nothing worked. His body continued inching toward the Beast Sovereign’s mouth.

”Help me!” the Thundari Patriarch shouted furiously.

”Oh. Right.” The Stoneborn Patriarch finally reacted. ”I thought you were really going to kill it by yourself.”

A massive mountain peak appeared and came crashing down on the Beast Sovereign.

The Beast Sovereign swept its tail through the air, shattering the mountain.

The Stoneborn Patriarch had clearly never expected the attack to do any damage. The moment the mountain broke apart, he was already beside the Beast Sovereign, holding an enormous stone pillar.

He swung it with all his strength.

Boom!

The pillar shattered against the Beast Sovereign’s body.

The impact only knocked it back a little over ten feet, but the black vortex finally disappeared.

The Thundari Patriarch escaped the terrifying suction force and stared at the Beast Sovereign with deep apprehension.

”Aren’t those two here yet? Tell them to hurry! If they don’t get here soon, we’re both going to die!” he said anxiously.

”I’ve already urged them to move faster, but they’re too far away. Even at full speed, they’ll need more than ten minutes,” the Stoneborn Patriarch replied helplessly.

”Ten minutes? How the hell are we supposed to hold out that long?” The Thundari Patriarch’s expression turned grim.

He had almost seen his ancestors just now.

The Stoneborn Patriarch’s expression was equally grave. He turned toward the Stage SSS fighters who had retreated from the poison.

”Everyone at Tier 46 or higher, get over here and help us fight the Beast Sovereign! The rest of you, hold back the other Beast Lords. Don’t let them interfere!”

”Understood!”

The intelligent fighters reentered the battle. Nine Tier 46 or higher fighters flew to the two Patriarchs, while the rest surrounded the other Outland Beasts.

The Beast Sovereign frowned but didn’t seem concerned. It swept its powerful tail across the battlefield, sending several Tier 46 fighters flying.

Then it charged after the Thundari Patriarch again.

The Celestials Patriarch and Soulkin Patriarch weren’t here. This was too good an opportunity to waste. The Beast Sovereign needed to kill one of the enemy’s strongest fighters before they arrived.

The Stoneborn Patriarch’s defenses were as hard as iron. Even the Beast Sovereign couldn’t kill him quickly.

That left the Thundari Patriarch.

Of the four strongest Patriarchs, he had the greatest offensive power and the weakest defenses.

Who else would the Beast Sovereign target?

The other fighters rushed to help, bombarding the Beast Sovereign with control abilities in an attempt to restrict its movements.

But its body was overwhelmingly powerful. It broke free from ordinary control effects almost instantly.

Only the Stoneborn Patriarch’s Hundredfold Gravity had any real effect, and even that merely slowed it down.

The Beast Sovereign already possessed incredible speed, and its wings made it even faster. Even while suppressed, it could easily keep up with the fleeing Thundari Patriarch.

As for the attacks coming from every direction, the Beast Sovereign ignored them. Black scales spread across its body, allowing it to withstand the barrage head-on.

Its goal was clear.

Kill the Thundari Patriarch.

The Thundari Patriarch wanted to cry.

Why the hell was the Beast Sovereign holding such a grudge? He’d already said he was just talking shit. Why wouldn’t the damn thing get off his ass?