Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Eldoria Continent...

After Ethan and the others had rested for over half an hour, the other three Tier 47 Outland Beasts finally arrived.

They couldn’t match the Beast Sovereign’s speed, so naturally, they had fallen behind.

The three beasts were a Golden Eagle, a massive black bear, and a white fox. Aside from the Beast Sovereign, they were the three strongest members of the beast race.

They had come to reinforce him, but it was clear their help was no longer needed.

The Beast Sovereign tossed the corpses of the Gildari Patriarch and the Celestials Patriarch in front of them.

”These two are dead, and the other races no longer pose much of a threat. I’m going with Ethan to see his world. You three want to come?”

”Yes!” All three beasts nodded furiously.

They were intensely curious about an entirely new world.

”Good. Eat these two, then follow Ethan and the others.”

”You got it.”

The beasts excitedly divided up the two corpses and devoured them. Once they finished, they turned eager eyes toward Ethan’s group.

By then, Ethan and the others had mostly recovered from their injuries. He walked over to the enormous beasts.

”You can come, but let’s get one thing straight. Once we get there, you’re not allowed to run around causing trouble. You’ll listen to me.”

”Don’t worry, Ethan,” the Beast Sovereign said. ”I’ve already warned them. They won’t cause any problems.”

”That’s right,” the three beasts quickly agreed. ”You’re the benefactor of the beast race. Other than the Beast Sovereign, you’re the one we’ll obey.”

”All right.” Ethan nodded, then glanced at the Beast Sovereign.

He had intended to lay down a few rules for him as well, but quickly abandoned the idea.

As if Ethan had any hope of keeping the Beast Sovereign in line.

Better to leave him alone. His character was solid, at least. He wasn’t the sort to break his word.

”Let’s go.”

Ethan approached the spatial node connecting the two worlds and waved a hand. A dimensional rift opened before them, and everyone filed through.

On Earth, deep within the mountains near the former Riverton City, a dimensional rift suddenly appeared. One figure after another emerged from it.

The moment they breathed in the familiar air, excitement spread across their faces.

”Hahaha! Big Mike is back!” Big Mike threw his arms wide and took several deep, blissful breaths.

”So this is your world?” The Beast Sovereign looked around curiously, then shook his head in disappointment. ”It’s not much. The air reeks, and you’re breathing it in like it’s the best thing you’ve ever smelled.”

”Uh... it smells like home. You wouldn’t understand,” Ethan said with a laugh.

Earth had once been a technologically advanced civilization. Between vehicle exhaust and industrial pollution, its air quality naturally couldn’t compare to the Eldoria Continent.

But this was home. Even if the air smelled foul, to them, it was still sweet.

”Come on. Let’s head to Fallen Star City.”

Ethan activated Riftwalk again.

A moment later, the group appeared in the sky above Fallen Star City.

The sight below wiped the smiles from their faces.

”Where’s Fallen Star City? Where the hell is my whole city?!”

The once-prosperous city was gone. In its place lay a vast expanse of ruins. Buildings had collapsed across the city, and not a single person was in sight.

”Something happened!”

Everyone rushed down into the city and desperately searched for survivors.

But after scouring the ruins, they found no one.

Not even a single corpse.

”How did this happen...?”

They sank to the ground, crushed. As they stared at the ruins of Fallen Star City, grief filled their faces and their eyes turned red.

”Boss, Miles and the others...”

”Don’t panic yet.” Ethan studied the wreckage. ”There are no bodies or bloodstains. The buildings have collapsed, but there aren’t any signs of battle. It looks more like they were deliberately torn down.”

”So Miles and the others may still be alive. I think they evacuated.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

”Boss is right! They must’ve evacuated!”

”But why would they leave for no reason? Did they encounter someone they couldn’t fight?”

”They took everything in the city with them, so it doesn’t look like they were forced out. This was probably a planned evacuation.” Ethan frowned. ”The problem is, we have no idea where they went.”

”Why don’t we just call them?” Emily asked.

”Right. I forgot phones work here. We’re back on Earth.”

Ethan hurriedly took out a satellite phone.

It had been completely useless on the Eldoria Continent, but once they returned to Earth, it quickly connected to a satellite signal.

Ethan immediately called Miles.

Meanwhile, outside New Atlas...

Miles was still trying to talk the Cathay Republic delegation down, carefully avoiding a direct confrontation.

With five Stage SS fighters present, he couldn’t risk attacking recklessly. If he could persuade them to leave, that would be the best outcome.

Miles knew they were just as reluctant to start a fight. The twenty thousand Fallen Star Guards were all Stage S, and on top of that, there were another three hundred Tier 35 Stage S Awakened from Fallen Star’s second echelon.

If a battle really broke out, there was no telling whether they could defeat the five Stage SS fighters. But one thing was certain: not one of the thousands of Stage S fighters behind them would escape.

The Cathay Republic had its own concerns. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have invoked their Stage SSS powerhouse in an attempt to frighten the Federation into submission.

But Miles wasn’t that easy to intimidate.

A Stage SSS fighter was undeniably powerful, but Miles refused to believe the Cathay Republic could command such a being at will.

If they could, these people would have retreated long ago and sent that Stage SSS powerhouse to deal with New Atlas personally. Why waste so much time arguing here?

So even after learning about the Cathay Republic’s Stage SSS backer, Miles showed no fear. His position remained as firm as ever.

”I’ll ask you one last time,” he said coldly. ”Are you leaving or not?”

”What’s wrong? Want to fight?” Briggs refused to back down. ”Twenty thousand Stage S fighters might be a little troublesome, but that’s all they are—troublesome. You can’t even begin to imagine the power of a Stage SS fighter.”

”I’ll ask you one last time as well. Will you submit?”

Briggs fixed Miles with a hard stare.

”Don’t be so quick to refuse. As the leader of the Atlas Federation, you should be thinking about its people. If your foolish decision causes the Federation’s destruction, you’ll go down in history as its greatest sinner.”

”You don’t get to decide whether Miles is a sinner,” Maxwell said coldly. ”His word is the will of the Atlas Federation. We have warriors willing to die in battle, but no cowards willing to submit!”

”That’s right!” everyone behind him shouted. ”The Atlas Federation has warriors willing to die in battle, but no cowards willing to submit!”

Their voices thundered into the sky.

Just then, the satellite phone on Miles began to ring.

He took it out in confusion. The moment he saw the caller’s number, surprise and joy spread across his face, and he answered immediately.

”Captain, you’re back?!”

Miles had always been steady and composed, but now even his voice trembled.

...

When the call ended, Miles put away the phone and looked up at the Cathay Republic delegation. A hint of malicious delight appeared on his face.

”Sorry. You just missed your best chance to leave.”