Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”They’re... leaving just like that?”

Everyone stared as the Pyrathi flew away.

”I thought the Pyrathi had terrible tempers. How did you scare them off with a few words?” Abyron looked completely baffled.

He had been ready to fight to the death, only for Miles to send them running without throwing a single punch. It didn’t feel real.

”Nice bluff, Miles,” Maxwell said approvingly.

Miles shook his head. ”I wouldn’t call it a bluff. New Atlas isn’t defenseless. Those twenty thousand Tier 35 guards are real, and so is the peak Tier 47 fighter. I just... let them fill in the blanks.”

”Hah! Whatever you call it, you scared them away with a few sentences.” Chris grinned mischievously. ”That’s our resident genius for you. Deputy Commander by day, guard captain when the situation calls for it. Very versatile.”

”...”

Miles looked at him. ”Do you still want that spatial storage ring?”

”Yes! Sorry, man. Please forgive me.” Chris’s attitude changed instantly, his face turning ingratiating.

Miles shook his head helplessly.

”I’m only Stage SS. If I introduced myself as New Atlas’s Deputy Commander, what would that say about New Atlas? But I couldn’t pretend to be anyone else, either. With so many Stage SSS fighters standing here, why would a Stage SS like me be the one speaking?”

”So guard captain was the only role that made sense. A guard captain doesn’t need to be that strong, but he can still speak on the city’s behalf. And it’s perfectly reasonable for these three to be assigned to protect me.”

”I see.” Maxwell nodded admiringly. ”You really do think fast.”

”You’re pretty good at making things up, too,” Theron said out of nowhere. ”We only have a handful of Stage SSS fighters, yet you threatened them with a Stage SSS army.”

”...”

”Hey, that wasn’t a lie,” Miles said. ”’Stage SSS Army’ is just a name. I never said everyone in it was Stage SSS. I could call the Fallen Star Guard the Stage SSS Army, the Stage EX Army—hell, even the Divine Army if I wanted.”

He spread his hands.

”If they heard the name and made assumptions, that’s on them.”

”...”

Theron rolled his eyes.

”That’s bullshit.”

Everyone wanted to laugh, but no one dared. They could only cover their mouths and try to hide it.

”Miles, now that they’re gone, does that mean the crisis is over?”

”It won’t be that simple.” Miles lowered his voice. ”I doubt it’ll be long before they come back.”

”Why?” the others asked.

”Letting them leave was the biggest flaw in the act,” Miles said helplessly. ”If New Atlas were really that powerful, why would we let them walk away so easily?”

”Well... not every race is that overbearing.”

”True, but less aggressive races tend to be weaker. Any race that reaches dominant status is usually overbearing. If they weren’t, they never would’ve seized more resources than everyone else.”

”Okay, fair point.” Chris frowned. ”Then why didn’t you make them pay some kind of price before letting them go?”

”With what?” Miles rolled his eyes. ”The moment we tried to enforce that demand, they would’ve seen through us.”

”Oh...”

”Then what do we do now?”

”It’s fine. At most, they’ll have suspicions. They won’t dare confront us openly. They’ll probably hide somewhere and watch the city.” A faint smile appeared on Miles’s face. ”If we can get the Beast Sovereign and the others to put on one more show with us, that should be enough to scare them off for good.”

”All right.”

Meanwhile, the Pyrathi flew several hundred miles before finally realizing that no one was pursuing them. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.

”Who knew such a terrifying race existed in this world?” the High Elder said, still shaken. ”It’s a good thing you were cautious, Patriarch. If we’d offended them, we might all have died.”

”Exactly. Even a mere bodyguard is peak Tier 47. I can’t imagine how strong their Commander and senior leaders must be,” another elder murmured.

”And you heard what he said. They have a Stage SSS army! An entire army! How many Stage SSS fighters would that take?”

The more the Pyrathi discussed it, the more frightened they became. Thankfully, they hadn’t offended New Atlas. Otherwise, none of them might have escaped.

Zareth, however, remained silent. He stared back in the direction of New Atlas, lost in thought.

”Patriarch, what’s wrong?” The others soon noticed his unusual behavior.

”Suppose a group of ants you could crush at any time showed up at a Pyrathi settlement,” Zareth said. ”Would you simply let them leave?”

”Of course not. No one comes and goes from Pyrathi territory as they please. If they’re only ants, we’d wipe them out,” the High Elder declared.

”But they let us leave,” Zareth said pointedly.

The Pyrathi froze. A moment later, realization dawned on them.

If New Atlas was truly that powerful, why had it allowed them to leave so easily?

”Patriarch, perhaps they’re just more reasonable than most?”

”Since when do the strong reason with the weak? Every powerful race fought its way to the top. If New Atlas is truly as strong as they implied, they can’t possibly be softhearted,” Zareth said with certainty.

”Then what do you think is going on, Patriarch?”

”I think they may have been putting on an act. Perhaps they’re nowhere near as strong as we imagined. They might even be weaker than us, and all of that was only meant to scare us away.”

”Well...”

The Pyrathi thought back over what had happened. It did seem possible.

”Then should we turn around and attack?”

”No. This is only a suspicion. If they really are that powerful, attacking them would be suicide.”

”Right. Then what do we do?”

”We’ll double back and observe them from a distance. If they really were bluffing, we’ll take the city. If they’re as powerful as they claim, we’ll leave immediately.”

”A wise plan, Patriarch!”

”Let’s go.”

The Pyrathi turned back, but this time, they concealed their presence and landed on the ground before cautiously making their way toward New Atlas.

Back in the city, Miles watched their movements through the satellite feed and smiled.

”Just as I expected.”

He put away the phone.

”Come on. They’re back. Let’s get ready.”

Miles sighed. ”Getting the Beast Sovereign to play along won’t be easy, but it’s the only one intimidating enough to make this work.”

”What exactly do you want the Beast Sovereign to do?” Chris asked.

”Pretend to be my mount and carry me around above New Atlas a few times.”

”!!!”

”You’ve got some nerve! Even Ethan’s never dared to try that. Aren’t you worried the Beast Sovereign will swat you dead with one paw?”

”Well... if I offer it enough, it probably... won’t?”

Even Miles didn’t sound convinced.

”You’re on your own, man.”

”...”