Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Just as they finished off the Stoneborn Patriarch, a large group of figures appeared in the distance, flying toward them at tremendous speed.

A smile tugged at Ethan’s lips.

They had arrived at exactly the same time as before—but the situation waiting for them was completely different.

The group reached the battlefield in the blink of an eye. Their expressions darkened when they saw the scene, especially the Stoneborn Patriarch’s lifeless body on the ground.

Then their gazes swept back and forth across the battlefield, searching for someone.

”Don’t bother looking. The Thundari Patriarch is dead too,” Ethan said with a smile.

”!”

The intelligent fighters’ faces turned even uglier.

”Beast Sovereign, are you truly determined to fight us to the death?” the Celestials Patriarch asked grimly.

Ethan laughed. ”How do you even have the nerve to ask that? You sure didn’t hold back when you were trying to kill it. If I hadn’t been there, you would’ve skinned it, torn out its tendons, and harvested its crystal core by now.

”And you didn’t show any mercy while hunting the beast races over the past few days either. You killed more than a dozen Stage SSS Outland Beasts in two days, not to mention countless weaker ones. Did you not realize then that you were making an enemy for life?

”Now that you’re losing, you want a ceasefire? You’ve got some nerve.”

This time, Ethan couldn’t let them sway the Beast Sovereign again. He had to control the conversation from the start.

”You’re courting death!”

Infuriated by Ethan hitting the truth dead-on, the Celestials Patriarch prepared to attack.

”Try it.”

The Beast Sovereign moved in front of Ethan and stared coldly at the Celestials Patriarch.

Faced with its terrifying presence, the Celestials Patriarch’s expression shifted several times. In the end, he didn’t dare make a move.

”Beast Sovereign, don’t trust this human,” he said gravely. ”He isn’t from the Eldoria Continent. He secretly provoked this entire war, and I’m certain he killed the Netherfang Tiger.”

”Bullshit. I never even went to the Netherveil Range. How could I have killed it? Do you think the millions of beasts there are blind, or do you think the Beast Sovereign is an idiot?

”You people really are insidious. Even now, you’re still trying to twist the truth and turn us against each other. Do you honestly think the Beast Sovereign will believe that garbage?” Ethan sneered.

”You…!”

The Celestials Patriarch’s face turned red, but he couldn’t come up with a response.

”Don’t worry. I won’t believe these scheming bastards,” the Beast Sovereign told Ethan. ”I investigated what happened in the Netherveil Range. Two elders from pinnacle races were responsible. It had nothing to do with you.

”Besides, this is no longer about the Netherfang Tiger. They killed more than a dozen Stage SSS Beast Lords. If not for you, I wouldn’t be standing here either. Only one side can survive this blood feud!”

”Exactly. Once the other Stage SSS Beast Lords arrive, we’ll wipe out every last one of them. Then the Eldoria Continent will belong to the beast races, and you’ll never have to tolerate this bullshit again.

”And if you eat all these Tier 47 corpses afterward, you might even break through to a higher Stage.”

Ethan had just dangled one hell of a prize in front of the Beast Sovereign, and the possibility of reaching a higher Stage clearly had it hooked.

”Right.” The Beast Sovereign nodded, then glanced at him curiously. ”Wait. How did you know I was waiting for the others?”

”Wasn’t hard to figure out. These bastards nearly killed you. With your temper, you would’ve attacked already instead of wasting time talking. You’re only stalling because they outnumber us and you’re worried about your subordinates.”

”You’re pretty sharp, kid.”

”I know.”

Just then, the Celestials Patriarch shot Ethan a cold look.

”Soulkin Patriarch, you two—help me deal with the Beast Sovereign. Everyone else, kill that human!”

”Yes!”

Four figures charged the Beast Sovereign, while every other fighter rushed toward Ethan.

”Holy shit! This isn’t what happened last time!”

Ethan hurriedly ordered Dopey to block them and teleported away.

In the previous timeline, the fighting hadn’t resumed until the Stage SSS Beast Lords arrived and the Beast Sovereign attacked.

Why had the enemy moved first this time?

Did I push them too hard?

He had said different things this time. Last time, the enemy had already spent some time talking to the Beast Sovereign before Ethan emerged. This time, he had been present from the beginning and immediately started tearing apart everything they said.

Damn it. I should’ve kept my mouth shut.

Ethan sighed helplessly.

His interference could easily knock events off their previous course. At least he had learned that lesson now.

Dopey could only stop a few of the Stage SSS fighters. The rest caught up with Ethan almost instantly and unleashed a barrage of abilities.

”Absolute Stasis!”

At the critical moment, Ethan activated Absolute Stasis and teleported away again.

But there were too many powerful fighters present. Absolute Stasis ended almost as soon as it began. The moment Ethan reappeared, they were already chasing him again.

Ethan frowned and entered the Deadlock Dimension.

After what had happened in the previous timeline, he had no intention of trading blows with them. One of these fighters possessed a soul attack, and Ethan wasn’t about to go through that again.

His sudden disappearance caught the Stage SSS fighters off guard, but they quickly spotted the distorted space.

Without hesitation, they bombarded it with abilities.

Ethan had barely entered the Deadlock Dimension when the entire space began shaking violently.

It lasted only a little over ten seconds before the dimension reached the verge of collapse.

Then the attacks from outside abruptly stopped.

Ethan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The Outland Beast reinforcements had arrived.

”Damn. Even with a second chance, I still nearly got myself killed.”

He tossed several crystal cores into his mouth and settled down to recover.

Given the current situation, the Outland Beasts held an overwhelming advantage in high-tier combat strength.

The Beast Sovereign had tied down four Tier 47 fighters, leaving the enemy with only one Tier 47 free to act. But this time, Dopey was also available.

That meant the beast races had four Tier 47 fighters free to attack.

And unlike the previous timeline, the Frostfox hadn’t been critically wounded. All four could fight at full strength.

Ethan might have gone straight for the Stoneborn Patriarch this time instead of first killing the lower-tier Stage SSS enemies, but the Beast Sovereign had killed five Tier 46 fighters.

The beast races had a far greater advantage than before.

There was nothing left for Ethan to worry about.