Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Vivian’s stare made Henry self-conscious. He scratched the back of his head and asked awkwardly, ”Uh... Vivian, what do you want to do with him? Want me to kill him for you?”

”No. I’ll handle it myself.”

Vivian came back to her senses, her cheeks turning red. Then she looked down at Briggs and, without the slightest hesitation, kicked him straight between the legs.

”Aaagh—!”

Briggs jolted awake with a bloodcurdling scream. He curled into a ball, his entire body twisted in agony.

Every man present instinctively squeezed his legs together and stared at Vivian in horror.

That woman was brutal.

Even Henry clamped his legs together, a chill running down his back.

Emily quietly slipped up behind him and whispered, ”Henry... you sure she’s still the one?”

Henry swallowed.

”Actually... I’m not so sure anymore.”

”...”

”What are you curled up for?” Vivian looked coldly down at Briggs. ”Weren’t you going to kill me? Get up and fight!”

Briggs no longer had the strength to answer. He could only lie there trembling.

An ordinary Tier 35 at Stage S would have trouble seriously hurting a Stage SS fighter, even one as badly wounded as Briggs.

But Vivian was different.

Her ability amplified her strength. Although she was only Tier 35 and inferior to a Stage SS fighter in most respects, her raw power was every bit as great as theirs.

That kick had completely crushed what was between Briggs’s legs. Not even a Stage SS fighter could withstand that kind of pain.

When he refused to get up, Vivian pulled out a massive ax and swung it down at him.

Perhaps the threat to his life awakened some hidden reserve of strength. Briggs suddenly rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the blade.

He stared at Vivian with bloodshot eyes.

”You fucking bitch! I’ll kill you!”

Completely losing his mind, Briggs sprang up and drove a blazing fist toward her.

Vivian hadn’t even had time to react when the insult sent Henry into a rage.

”You’re dead!”

He stepped in front of Vivian and punched Briggs in the head.

The instant Briggs saw Henry, his pupils contracted and he hurriedly pulled back his fist.

Bang!

With Briggs no longer attacking, Henry’s punch connected cleanly with his skull. Briggs crashed to the ground and began convulsing.

”You dare insult my woman? I’ll fucking kill you!”

Henry rushed forward and unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks.

Emily rubbed her forehead. Yeah, her little brother had it bad.

A minute ago, he’d said he wasn’t even sure about Vivian. One insult later, and he was seeing red.

Vivian stared dreamily at Henry’s back.

Wasn’t this exactly the kind of man she wanted? Someone who would protect her when it mattered?

Everyone else could only rub their foreheads.

Turns out Henry was completely whipped.

In the distance, the Cathay Republic fighters watched with red faces. Their leader was being brutalized in front of them, yet they didn’t dare speak, much less intervene.

Could anything be more humiliating?

As it turned out, yes.

Ethan stepped forward and appeared in the air above them, looking down at the delegation.

Every Cathay Republic fighter shuddered. Horror spread across their faces.

He was standing in midair.

Stage SSS!

New Atlas’s Commander was a Stage SSS fighter!

Oh my God. This had to be a joke! Ethan was from Earth. How could he possibly have reached Stage SSS?

The Cathay Republic had developed as fast as possible under the protection of their own Stage SSS fighter, yet they had only managed to produce a little over a dozen Stage SS fighters. How could Ethan have already reached Stage SSS?

More importantly, even Stage SS Outland Beasts were incredibly rare on Earth, let alone Stage SSS ones. Had Ethan somehow advanced by absorbing mysterious energy instead?

That was absurd!

The Cathay Republic delegation wasn’t alone in its shock. Everyone from the Atlas Federation was staring at Ethan with wide eyes.

Stage SSS!

Ethan had reached Stage SSS!

The Atlas Federation finally had a Stage SSS fighter of its own!

Wild joy spread across their faces. Moments ago, the Cathay Republic’s Stage SSS fighter had weighed heavily on all of them. Now, in the blink of an eye, they had learned that their own side had one too.

And Ethan wasn’t one of those savage beasts. He was a true member of the Atlas Federation.

He was the Commander of New Atlas.

Ethan ignored the shock around him and calmly looked down at the Cathay Republic delegation.

”You want the Atlas Federation to submit to you?”

”Uh... that was a misunderstanding. Just a misunderstanding,” several Stage SS fighters replied with ingratiating smiles.

”Was it?”

Ethan regarded them with a faint, humorless smile.

”Because my people just told me you wanted to enslave them. Are you saying they lied to me?”

”Well...”

”They must have misheard us. We never meant anything like that.”

The Stage SS fighters felt like crying.

Ethan’s face turned cold.

”So there’s something wrong with my people’s hearing?”

He waved a hand.

A dagger shot through the air, pierced the speaker’s throat, and pinned him to the ground.

The man struggled briefly before going still. Even in death, he had no idea why it had come so suddenly.

The remaining Stage SS fighters stared at Ethan in terror.

None of them had expected him to attack without warning, much less kill one of them instantly.

That had been a Stage SS fighter, yet he hadn’t even had the chance to resist.

It was terrifying.

Everyone from the Atlas Federation gazed at Ethan with fervent admiration.

So this was their Commander.

Dominating. Ruthless. Unbelievably badass.

At that moment, everyone across the Atlas Federation stood a little straighter, pride swelling within them. Their admiration for Ethan had reached the point of blind devotion.

Ethan smiled at the three remaining Stage SS fighters.

”Do you still think there’s something wrong with my people’s hearing?”

”No! No, they heard us right! We were the ones out of line. We’re sorry—we’ll never say anything like that again!”

The three remaining Stage SS fighters dropped to their knees. The Stage S fighters behind them hurriedly followed suit.

”Please, we’re all from Earth. For that alone, spare us.”

Slice!

Another dagger flew out.

A second man’s head separated from his body. His eyes were still wide as it struck the ground, and he died without ever understanding how it had happened.

”We’re all from Earth?”

”You have the nerve to say that now?”

”With all the creatures invading from the Void Realm, you came here to throw your weight around in the Atlas Federation?”

”What happened to ’we’re all from Earth’ when you decided to attack us?”

”We were wrong! We really were!” the Cathay Republic fighters begged desperately.

”The Cathay Republic also has a Stage SSS fighter! Please, for his sake, let us go. We swear we’ll never come back to the Atlas Federation again!”

Slice!

Another head flew high into the air.

”And who the hell is he supposed to be? Why should his name mean anything to me?”