Apocalypse: King of Zombies

On the Beast Sovereign’s battlefield…

The fighting remained fierce.

Realizing how determined the Beast Sovereign was to kill the Thundari Patriarch, every intelligent fighter was doing everything possible to protect him.

The Stoneborn Patriarch was especially troublesome. He kept throwing up one defense after another, preventing even the Beast Sovereign from killing the Thundari Patriarch after all this time.

The Beast Sovereign was growing anxious.

If it couldn’t kill the Thundari Patriarch soon, it would lose its chance once the other two Patriarchs arrived.

The beast races were still far weaker overall. Once the rest of the enemy reinforcements showed up, forget revenge—the Beast Sovereign might not even be able to escape.

It had to kill the Thundari Patriarch, the enemy’s strongest attacker, before the other two arrived. Only then would the beast races have a chance in the battle to come.

But the Stoneborn Patriarch was a constant nuisance. He had an endless supply of defensive abilities and refused to move from in front of the Thundari Patriarch.

Then a figure appeared near the battlefield.

”Beast Sovereign, I’ll keep the Stoneborn busy for a while. You finish off the lightning guy.”

Ethan locked onto the Stoneborn Patriarch and dragged him into the Deadlock Dimension.

”You—”

The Beast Sovereign was about to tell Ethan to stay away from this battlefield when both he and the Stoneborn Patriarch vanished.

”!”

The Beast Sovereign was horrified.

It immediately realized that they had entered a separate dimension—and that Ethan had created it.

”Are you out of your damn mind?! That’s a Tier 47!”

But it was too late to stop him.

Ethan had saved its life, and now he was risking his own to hold off a Tier 47 fighter. He was putting everything on the line to help the Beast Sovereign.

The Beast Sovereign’s eyes turned red.

Then it fixed a murderous stare on the Thundari Patriarch.

”ROAR!”

With a deafening roar, it lunged at him.

The Thundari Patriarch panicked when the Stoneborn Patriarch suddenly disappeared from in front of him.

Then he saw the look in the Beast Sovereign’s eyes, and his face went pale.

Without hesitation, he turned and fled.

But how could his speed compare to the Beast Sovereign’s?

Without the Stoneborn Patriarch’s protection, the Thundari Patriarch was immediately beaten into a miserable state.

The surrounding Tier 46 fighters kept trying to help, but their efforts had little effect. The gap between them and the Beast Sovereign was simply too great.

Inside the Deadlock Dimension…

Surprise flashed through the Stoneborn Patriarch’s eyes as he surveyed the unfamiliar space, but he quickly regained his composure.

As the Patriarch of one of the strongest races on the Eldoria Continent, he had weathered countless crises. He had even participated in the war against humanity ten thousand years ago.

He knew just how strange and varied human abilities could be, so the Deadlock Dimension itself didn’t shock him. The suppressive force inside it, however, made him frown.

His gaze settled on Ethan.

”Humans really do possess endless tricks. But you’ve only just reached Stage SSS. What gave you the courage to drag me into a separate dimension?”

”I met another Stoneborn who talked exactly like you,” Ethan said helplessly. ”Are all of you like this?”

The Stoneborn Patriarch frowned. Then something occurred to him, and his eyes widened.

”You killed Brakkor?”

”Not me. Him.”

Ethan summoned Dopey.

Facing a Tier 47 fighter was terrifying, no matter how calm Ethan looked. Only Dopey could give him any real sense of security.

Dopey was also Tier 47, though Ethan had no idea which of them was stronger.

According to the Dread-Eyed Lion, Dopey had once been sealed by a peak Tier 47 fighter. That meant Dopey probably wasn’t as strong as the Beast Sovereign and was likely around the same level as the Stoneborn Patriarch.

Fortunately, Ethan only needed to keep the man occupied. He didn’t necessarily have to kill him.

Even the Beast Sovereign found the Stoneborn Patriarch’s defenses troublesome. Dopey probably wouldn’t be able to finish him either.

The Stoneborn Patriarch frowned again when he saw Dopey.

”A soulless thrall…”

Unlike Brakkor, he didn’t underestimate his opponent. If Ethan had summoned this thrall against him, then it clearly possessed extraordinary strength.

And if it had killed Brakkor, it couldn’t be taken lightly.

”Dopey, attack!”

Ethan gave him no time to think.

Dopey shot forward and appeared before the Stoneborn Patriarch in the blink of an eye. An enormous fist of energy formed in the air and came crashing down.

The Stoneborn Patriarch calmly raised a hand, forming a shield wrapped in earth-yellow energy.

Boom!

The shield shattered.

The Stoneborn Patriarch was forced back several steps, shock appearing on his face.

”A Tier 47 soulless thrall?!”

He had seen humans control soulless thralls before, but none had been particularly powerful. A Stage SSS thrall would already have been astonishing.

He never imagined this one would be Tier 47.

That placed it among the most powerful beings on the Eldoria Continent.

How could a mere soulless thrall possess such strength?

Dopey didn’t pause after his first attack failed. A spear of energy formed in his hand, and he thrust it straight at the Stoneborn Patriarch’s eye.

The Stoneborn Patriarch tried to activate Stone Armor.

Light flashed in Ethan’s eyes.

The skill failed.

The Stoneborn Patriarch’s expression changed slightly, but he didn’t panic. He raised his arm to block the spear.

Squelch!

The spear pierced his arm, but only the tip penetrated before it came to a stop.

”Damn, he’s tanky!” Ethan’s eyes widened.

He knew the Stoneborn Patriarch had extraordinary defenses, but he hadn’t expected him to withstand Dopey’s spear with his bare body while unable to use any abilities.

His raw durability was ridiculous.

Dopey showed no reaction. When the spear failed to penetrate, dense energy gathered around his other fist, and he swung it at the Stoneborn Patriarch’s head.

The Stoneborn Patriarch didn’t back down. He clenched his free hand into a fist and met Dopey’s attack head-on.

Boom!

Their fists collided with a thunderous impact, sending both of them backward.

The Stoneborn Patriarch was forced back dozens of steps farther than Dopey, but Ethan knew that was because Dopey had used an ability while the Patriarch had relied on physical strength alone.

Their actual strength was probably close.

The Stoneborn Patriarch turned a cold gaze on Ethan. He knew the human was responsible for his failed ability.

”Once I destroy this soulless thrall, I’ll make you wish you were dead.”

He wanted to get past Dopey and kill Ethan first, but that was impossible. The thrall was even faster than him and would never give him the chance.

Ethan was also keeping a careful distance, well beyond the range of his abilities.

”Deal with Dopey first. Then you can worry about me,” Ethan replied calmly.

He wasn’t about to be intimidated.

Dopey might not be able to kill the Stoneborn Patriarch, but the Stoneborn Patriarch couldn’t do anything to Dopey either.

Ethan only needed to keep him here until the Beast Sovereign finished off the Thundari Patriarch.

Once that happened, the Beast Sovereign could deal with this bastard itself.