Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Beast Sovereign, don’t let him deceive you!” the Celestials Patriarch shouted. ”He isn’t from the Eldoria Continent. He’s the one who provoked this entire war from the shadows. I’m certain he killed the Netherfang Tiger!”

”Bullshit. I’ve never even seen the Netherfang Tiger. What’s the point of twisting the facts like this? Do you think the millions of beasts in the Netherveil Range are blind?”

”You—”

”Save it. You’re just trying to turn me and the Beast Sovereign against each other so it’ll kill me for you. Well, here’s some bad news: I saved the Beast Sovereign’s life. Your cheap tricks won’t work.”

”He’s right. These bastards are extremely treacherous,” the Beast Sovereign said darkly.

It had experienced a moment of doubt, but Ethan’s words reminded it of what it had learned.

The Beast Sovereign had personally questioned the beasts of the Netherveil Range. Hundreds of thousands of witnesses had seen outsiders arrive aboard an arcane skyship, slaughter Outland Beasts, and harvest their crystal cores.

The enraged Netherfang Tiger had killed every intruder.

Soon afterward, two Tier 44 fighters descended on the Netherveil Range and even entered the Netherfang Tiger’s lair. Once they left, the Netherfang Tiger was found dead.

Who else could have killed it?

None of the beasts there had ever seen Ethan, which meant he had never even entered the Netherveil Range. How could he possibly have killed the Netherfang Tiger?

The intelligent races were utterly shameless. Even now, they were trying to frame someone else. Did they truly think the Beast Sovereign was an idiot?

Besides, this was no longer only about the Netherfang Tiger.

In the past few days, more than a dozen Stage SSS Beast Lords had died at their hands. The Beast Sovereign itself had almost been killed.

The hatred between them could only end with one side’s destruction. Peace was impossible.

”Enough talking. Let’s kill them,” Ethan whispered.

”You think I want to stand here talking?” the Beast Sovereign whispered back. ”I’m waiting for our reinforcements. Otherwise, I would’ve attacked already.”

The enemy had the advantage in numbers. The Beast Sovereign might be strong enough to survive, but its subordinates weren’t.

”Oh, right.” Ethan frowned. ”Their reinforcements are already here. What’s taking the other Beast Lords so long?”

”They were intercepted on the way, but don’t worry. They’re almost here.”

As soon as the Beast Sovereign finished speaking, a large group of figures appeared in the distance and flew toward them at tremendous speed.

”Beast Sovereign, we’re late!”

The newly arrived Outland Beasts immediately gathered around their ruler. When they saw that it was alive and well, excitement filled their faces.

”You’re not late. All that matters is that you made it.”

The Beast Sovereign’s expression darkened.

”It’s time for our revenge!”

”Yes!”

The Outland Beasts were thrilled.

They had spent the past several days hiding and fleeing. They had been waiting for this moment the entire time.

”Beast Sovereign, are you truly going to place your trust in this human?” the Celestials Patriarch asked grimly.

”If I don’t trust him, should I trust you?”

The Beast Sovereign roared and charged.

One had saved its life. The other had tried to kill it.

Even an idiot would know whom to trust.

The Celestials Patriarch had no choice but to turn to the Soulkin Patriarch and two other Tier 47 fighters.

”Attack together. It hasn’t had enough time to recover completely.”

”Understood!”

The four of them rushed toward the Beast Sovereign.

”Beast Sovereign, eat the Thundari Patriarch’s body before you fight!” Ethan suddenly shouted.

”Oh, right. I almost forgot.”

The Beast Sovereign swept its enormous tail around the Thundari Patriarch’s corpse, pulled it over, and tossed it into its mouth.

”…”

The Celestials Patriarch and the others wanted to curse Ethan to death.

Had the heavens sent this bastard specifically to punish them?

The Beast Sovereign was already at the peak of Tier 47, so eating another Stage SSS body wouldn’t help it break through to a higher Stage.

But the energy contained in a Tier 47 corpse was more than enough to restore it to peak condition.

What a fucking disaster.

The Beast Sovereign had moved too quickly for them to stop it. All they could do was grit their teeth and continue attacking.

The other Outland Beasts and intelligent fighters soon clashed as well.

Over the past few days, the Outland Beasts had lost twelve Stage SSS Beast Lords. They had already been at a numerical disadvantage, and those deaths had only made things worse.

Fortunately, Ethan had killed five Stage SSS enemies earlier. Several Tier 47 Outland Beasts had also killed three more, somewhat narrowing the gap.

The Beast Sovereign had killed the Thundari Patriarch, while Dopey kept the Stoneborn Patriarch occupied. To fight the Beast Sovereign, the Celestials Patriarch’s group had been forced to bring in two additional Tier 47 fighters.

The intelligent races had seven Tier 47 fighters in total.

One was dead. Four were occupied with the Beast Sovereign, and one was tied down by Dopey.

That left only one free to act.

Aside from the Beast Sovereign, the Outland Beasts still had three Tier 47 fighters. That gave them two extra at that level. One might be badly injured, but it could still handle several Tier 44 or Tier 45 opponents.

Overall, the two sides weren’t that far apart in strength.

But the Outland Beasts also had Ethan lurking around and causing trouble.

He might have only just reached Stage SSS, but he was still capable of influencing the entire battle.

Every clash between Stage SSS fighters shattered mountains and split the earth. Even the shock waves were fatal to anyone below Stage SSS.

Ethan immediately retreated far from the main battle.

As he put it, he was only a weakling who had just reached Stage SSS—the lowest-level fighter on the battlefield. He couldn’t afford to get caught in the crossfire.

In reality, keeping his distance made it easier to launch sneak attacks.

This time, however, the intelligent races didn’t ignore him. They considered him a major threat and directly sent two Tier 46 fighters to kill him.

Unfortunately for them, the Golden Eagle intercepted both.

None of the three Tier 47 Outland Beasts ever let Ethan out of their sight.

He had saved the Beast Sovereign’s life and continued helping the beast races. They were deeply grateful to him and refused to let anything happen to him.

The other Outland Beasts had received the same order. If Ethan was ever in danger, they were to save him immediately—even at the cost of their own lives.

The Outland Beasts of the Eldoria Continent had a deep-rooted belief in repaying kindness and avenging grudges. Once they accepted someone as a friend, they treated them with absolute sincerity.

So despite the ferocity of the battle, Ethan moved through it with ease.

But he wasn’t some helpless child. If the Outland Beasts were going to protect him, he would make himself useful.

His eyes kept flashing.

He sealed one enemy’s mental energy, then another’s, throwing the intelligent fighters’ coordinated attacks into chaos.

Unfortunately, Stage SSS fighters had undergone a fundamental transformation in physical strength, mental energy, and every other aspect. Their resistance to these abilities was far greater than that of Stage SS fighters.

Back when Ethan was Stage SS, Silencing Gaze could seal a Tier 41 opponent’s mental energy for more than ten seconds.

Now that he had reached Stage SSS, it could still only affect fighters at his own tier for roughly the same amount of time. Against those stronger than him, the duration dropped sharply, usually lasting only a few seconds.

And sealing their mental energy only prevented them from using abilities. It didn’t stop them from moving.

At most, Ethan could create openings and leave them wounded. It wasn’t enough to decide the fight.

In the end, he still had to attack personally.

And whenever Ethan made his move, it was to kill.