Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The battle ended exactly as expected. The difference in strength was simply too great, and the Crimsonborn soon paid for their recklessness.

Not one of the thousands survived.

The Flamebirds eagerly descended on the bodies. This was their favorite kind of battle. A few more meals like this, and Stage SS wouldn’t be far off.

Just as everyone was preparing to return to the city, a massive swarm of figures appeared in the distance, flying straight toward them.

The group stopped.

They had obviously been drawn by the fighting.

Before long, the newcomers reached the outskirts of New Atlas. From their appearances, they belonged to several different races. There were hundreds of thousands of them, including more than ten Stage SSS fighters standing in midair.

Ethan’s heart sank. He hadn’t expected the creatures from the Void Realm to arrive so quickly.

Worse, these newcomers were clearly allies, most likely from the same world. There was little chance of getting them to fight among themselves first.

A major battle seemed unavoidable.

Ethan rubbed his forehead. This was going to be a headache, but now that they were here, he wasn’t about to back down.

The enemy had more than ten Stage SSS fighters, but only three were Tier 47. With New Atlas’s current strength, that wasn’t enough to frighten him.

His only concern was that a battle of this scale might attract even more creatures from the Void Realm. If that happened, the situation would only grow more troublesome.

But there was no avoiding it. Their only option was to keep killing until every Void Realm race learned to fear New Atlas. Only then would they have room to breathe.

”Boss, they’re too strong. We can’t beat them,” Abyron whispered gravely. ”We should avoid a confrontation if we can.”

”Relax. I’m here. What the hell are you afraid of?” Ethan waved him off.

”They have three Tier 47 fighters,” Abyron emphasized.

”I know.”

”...”

Abyron stared at him speechlessly. Sometimes he genuinely had no idea what went on inside Ethan’s head.

Did he understand what three Tier 47 fighters represented?

Still, Ethan looked completely confident. Abyron could only reassure himself that his new boss might have another trump card.

They had known each other for only two days, but Ethan always gave the impression that everything was under control. Abyron decided not to press the issue.

The Void Realm newcomers studied New Atlas and the humans gathered outside it with open surprise.

”I didn’t expect to find remnants of humanity here,” said a middle-aged man with teal hair.

”I wonder how many humans are left in this world,” a short man said. ”It would be best to wipe them all out now, before they cause trouble later.”

”Didn’t the Verdants send an advance party here before?” asked a young woman covered in intricate markings. She looked toward the teal-haired man. ”You should know something about this world.”

”We’ve lost contact with every member of our advance party.” The teal-haired man’s face darkened. ”They were most likely killed.”

”Oh? Someone actually dared to kill Verdants?” The marked woman covered her mouth as she laughed. ”It seems your reputation isn’t as impressive as you thought.”

”Hmph. This isn’t Thalorin. It’s only natural that they wouldn’t know of us.” The teal-haired man’s voice turned cold. ”But once I find out who killed them, I’ll exterminate their entire race.”

”I’d say these humans did it.” The short man pointed directly at Ethan’s group.

”That does seem likely,” the marked woman said with a smile. ”The Thalorin passage isn’t far from here. Your advance party may have come straight to this city. And with the strength these humans have gathered, wiping them out would’ve been easy.”

The teal-haired man found the argument convincing. His expression darkened as he turned toward the people of New Atlas.

”Tell me. Did any Verdants come here before us?”

”I haven’t seen any Verdants,” Ethan replied. ”But this is New Atlas. If you have no business here, I suggest you leave immediately. You won’t be able to handle the consequences otherwise.”

”Is that so?” The marked woman smiled. ”Now I’d really like to see those consequences.”

”So would I.” The short man flexed his hands. ”I hope you can give me a pleasant surprise. Otherwise, this will be terribly boring.”

”I’ll ask one last time,” the teal-haired man said. He seemed particularly concerned about the missing advance party. ”Have you seen any Verdant warriors?”

Ethan was about to answer when Maxwell leaned close and whispered, ”Commander, the group that occupied the Atlas City compound was Verdant.”

”Oh?” Ethan paused.

”No wonder this guy looked familiar. We really have dealt with his people before.”

After a moment’s thought, he quietly asked Maxwell, ”We still have some Verdant soulless thralls, don’t we?”

”We have a lot of them,” Maxwell confirmed.

”Perfect.”

Ethan grinned, then turned back to the teal-haired man.

”Now that you mention it, I think I did meet some people with teal hair like yours. Not sure if they were Verdants, though.”

”They were!” the man snapped. ”Are you saying there are Verdants inside the city?”

”Yeah. There are a few in there.” Ethan nodded.

”Bring them out!” the teal-haired man demanded, his face livid. If those people were still alive yet had dared not contact him, they would need to be severely punished.

”Sure thing.”

Still smiling, Ethan turned to Maxwell and lowered his voice.

”Bring over a few of the Verdant thralls.”

”Commander... are you sure that’s a good idea? These Void Realm creatures look extremely powerful.”

”It’s a great idea. The angrier they get, the happier I’ll be. Look at the way they’re staring at us. They already think we’re dead, so there’s no chance this ends peacefully. Might as well piss them off before the fight.”

”...”

”All right.”

Maxwell shook his head. Ethan had always struck him as far more mature and decisive than anyone his age. He hadn’t expected him to have such a childish side.

Once Maxwell gave the order, a group of soldiers soon arrived with several dozen Verdant soulless thralls.

”Come on, go say hello to your Patriarch.”

Ethan pushed the thralls forward, then smiled at the teal-haired man.

”Take a look. Are these your people?”

The man’s expression turned black the instant he saw them.

”Oh my, there’s no sign of a soul in any of them.” The marked woman feigned shock. ”They were turned into soulless thralls? Members of the Verdants, one of Thalorin’s greatest races, reduced to this? How tragic.”

”You... have chosen death!”

The teal-haired man finally exploded. The full pressure of his Tier 47 strength burst from him.

Abyron stepped in front of Ethan and unleashed his own terrifying pressure, stopping the other man’s power cold.

Inside, he was already cursing.

I told you not to provoke them, and you went straight for the worst possible insult.

You’d better have a real trump card. Otherwise, I’ll die again before I’ve even had two days to enjoy being alive.