Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Little lion, want the body?” Ethan asked the Dread-Eyed Lion.

”Yes! Definitely!” It nodded furiously.

”Go ahead, then.” Ethan laughed.

”Thanks… Boss!”

The Dread-Eyed Lion pounced on the Voltari’s corpse and swallowed it whole. Then it stood there in bliss, slowly absorbing the energy.

Ethan shook his head.

Just over a year ago, the beast had nearly killed him with a single glance. Now it was sucking up to him.

He had certainly grown fast.

But not fast enough.

Almost everyone else had carried today’s battle. He’d barely been able to contribute.

Ethan sighed. ”I need to get stronger as soon as possible. Being this helpless feels like crap.”

The void passage was open now, so plenty of Stage SSS Outland Beasts had probably arrived. Once New Atlas stabilized, he needed to start hunting for more Stage SSS crystal cores.

He raised a hand, about to dismiss the Deadlock Dimension and have Emily restore his mental energy, but a thought stopped him.

If they went back now, the other Voltari would realize their companion was gone and fly into a rage. They might all come after Ethan.

The others would hold their opponents back, but the marked woman was another matter.

He should recover first. Going out in his current condition would be dangerous.

With one less opponent, the marked woman’s situation should have improved. At the very least, she could hold out for a while longer.

And as long as Ethan stayed inside, the other Voltari wouldn’t know what was happening. They probably assumed their companion was tormenting him, so they had no reason to attack the spatial node.

His only concern was that such a fierce battle might attract more creatures from the Void Realm. If that happened, they would be in serious trouble.

Ethan rubbed his head and sighed.

”Forget it. There’s no point worrying. If more Void Realm creatures really show up, I can’t do anything about it in this condition anyway. At that point, I guess we’re just meant to die.”

He sat down, took out several crystal cores, and tossed them into his mouth to slowly replenish his mental energy.

Outside, everything unfolded exactly as he’d expected.

When Ethan and the others disappeared, the Voltari merely glanced at the spot in surprise before turning their attention back to their fights.

Ethan’s spatial-type ability had caught them off guard, but they weren’t worried about their companion.

How could a Tier 42 and a Tier 43 possibly defeat a Tier 46?

Ethan had only sealed himself in a tomb with his killer.

The battles continued to rage across the sky. Since the combatants were all fighting opponents of the same Tier, none of them could secure a quick victory.

With one less opponent pressuring her and the green creature continuously healing her injuries, the marked woman finally managed to hold her ground.

She glanced toward the place where Ethan had disappeared, her expression conflicted.

They had come here intending to wipe out the humans. Yet in the end, those same humans had saved her.

The short man had abandoned her and fled without hesitation. The humans, meanwhile, had given her a precious healing creature and even dragged away an opponent far stronger than themselves to take some of the pressure off her.

Compared to her own companions, the humans seemed far more trustworthy.

She knew they were also acting in their own interests, but that didn’t change the fact that they had saved her. Without their intervention, she would already be dead.

The marked woman sighed.

She had no idea what she should do after this. For now, all she could do was survive.

The violent energy surging from the battlefield naturally drew the attention of many Void Realm creatures, but none dared approach.

Stage SSS fighters were rare to begin with, and this battle involved numerous Tier 47s, including several at the peak of Tier 47.

Most Void Realm creatures fled the moment they sensed the forces clashing here.

A battle at this level was far beyond anything they could participate in.

So despite the intensity of the fighting, no new Void Realm creatures appeared.

Inside New Atlas, everyone stared in awe at the world-shaking battle in the distance.

Compared to beings of this level, they felt like ants.

Fortunately, the warding circle protected them. Otherwise, even the occasional shock waves escaping from the battle would have been more than they could withstand.

”Miles, the Commander…” Maxwell looked at Miles anxiously.

Ethan had been gone for a long time without reappearing, and everyone was worried.

Without him, the people of New Atlas felt as if they’d lost their anchor. Panic was beginning to set in.

”He’ll be fine,” Miles said calmly. ”The captain wouldn’t have done this if he wasn’t confident he could handle it.”

”That’s all I needed to hear.” Maxwell nodded, then looked back toward the battle in the sky. ”I can’t imagine how the Commander managed to bring in so many powerful allies. Without them, any one of those Void Realm creatures could probably wipe us out on its own.”

”Drop the ’probably,’” Miles said seriously. ”Every one of them is a high-tier Stage SSS fighter. If they attacked New Atlas, the warding circle wouldn’t stop them.”

He looked back at the assembled leaders of New Atlas.

”When New Atlas was founded and Ethan was appointed supreme Commander, no one dared object openly. But I could tell that many people weren’t happy about it. They thought Ethan was too young. They thought he left all the real work to everyone else. He didn’t even participate in building New Atlas, so what right did someone like that have to be its Commander?”

Miles swept his gaze across the crowd.

”Well, today I’m going to tell you what gives him that right.

”While the rest of us were still focused on the problems right in front of us, Ethan was already preparing for the crisis we’re facing today.

”He took the Fallen Star Squad into an unknown world with no one else to rely on, all for the slightest chance of securing a future for The Atlas Federation.

”Do you know what their strength was back then? They were only Stage S. Have any of you considered how dangerous it was for them to enter a world filled with Stage SS and Stage SSS creatures?

”Everything we have today was bought with their lives on the line!”

”Deputy Commander, please… That’s enough. We understand.”

The leaders of New Atlas lowered their heads, their eyes red.

Most of them had never questioned Ethan’s right to command, but a few had privately resented the decision.

After witnessing this battle and hearing Miles’s words, they were ashamed they had ever entertained such thoughts.

Without Ethan, New Atlas would never have existed.