Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger

Arrows continued arriving at inconvenient moments, constantly forcing the 3rd Echelon commander to divide his attention between Aurelia, Ethan, and the attacks coming from outside his immediate fighting range.

Ethan remained close and continued pressuring him whenever Aurelia created an opening.

The commander had already accumulated several wounds.

None were fatal, but they had gradually pushed him into a much worse condition.

Then Cain’s five lances arrived.

The commander sensed the incoming energy and immediately tried to separate himself from Aurelia.

She refused to allow it.

Golden Light flashed beneath her feet as Aurelia crossed the distance and appeared directly in his path.

Her sword struck.

CLANG!

The commander barely managed to intercept it with his spear.

Nathan’s arrow arrived from behind at nearly the same moment.

The zombie shifted his shoulder enough to prevent the projectile from striking its intended point, but the arrow still buried itself into his upper arm.

Then Cain’s lances descended.

BOOM!

The first explosion disrupted the commander’s defense and forced the spear away from Aurelia’s sword.

Another lance struck the Nether armor protecting his side, causing the already weakened energy to flicker violently.

The remaining projectiles followed before he could stabilize himself.

Golden-white fire erupted across the battlefield.

Aurelia stepped back just far enough to avoid the worst of the explosions.

Then she moved through the fading flames, a dense Radiant Light gathered around her sword.

The commander noticed her too late.

Her blade crossed his neck.

SHHK!

The head separated cleanly from the body.

For a brief moment, the corpse remained standing.

Then it collapsed with a thud.

Aurelia released a slow breath before immediately turning toward Cain’s previous battlefield.

He was already gone as his Advancement Mission had been completed.

There was no reason for Cain to remain anywhere nearby once his Core Metamorphosis began.

He moved across several ruined streets until enough distance separated him from the main battle, then finally stopped and sat down.

Cain opened his Inventory.

Purified Zombie Cores began appearing beside him.

Several 3rd Echelon Cores appeared first, followed by a much larger number from the 2nd Echelon.

Hundreds of purified Blood Crystals joined them until a considerable pile of resources surrounded Cain.

Anyone who saw it immediately understood what he was preparing to do.

Cain was about to advance.

The atmosphere among the humans instantly changed.

Those who had still been conserving part of their Mana stopped holding back.

The fighters closest to Serath became especially alert, ready to interfere if the Youngest Prince attempted to break away and stop Cain’s advancement.

They soon realized that another advancement had already finished as Cold Mana spread through the air farther away.

Elara slowly opened her eyes.

Her Core Metamorphosis had finally completed.

The difference in the pressure coming from her body was obvious even before she stood.

She had finally entered the 3rd Echelon.

The newly transformed Core inside her was still only at the Newly Formed Stage, but the qualitative increase in Mana and physical reinforcement was already considerable.

Elara stood up.

Jack immediately moved beside her, and Nathan joined them moments later.

The three immediately headed directly toward Cain without saying anything.

Serath saw everything, his crimson eyes moved toward Cain sitting in the distance before shifting toward the large pile of resources surrounding him.

A faint sneer appeared on his face.

”Do you really think letting him advance to the 2nd Echelon will change anything?”

Mo Xuanye attacked before he could continue.

His palm collided directly against Serath’s scaled hand.

BANG!

Both of them were pushed backward by the impact.

Serath slid several steps across the fractured stone before stabilizing himself, then calmly looked toward Cain again.

”If he were advancing to the 3rd Echelon, perhaps I’d bother myself to stop him.”

His smile widened as he continued.

”But to the 2nd Echelon?”

Serath laughed.

The sound carried through the ruined streets.

”You really underestimate the difference between those who stand at the top.”

Mo Xuanye’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Serath continued as if the battle around him did not matter at all.

”Even someone as talented as me wouldn’t casually challenge another being at my level with an entire Echelon difference.”

His crimson gaze settled on Cain.

”So what exactly do you expect him to do after becoming a 2nd Echelon?”

Cain heard him clearly, a faint smile appeared on his face.

He did not bother answering as he looked toward the Elara.

”Come here.”

Elara raised an eyebrow but walked closer.

Cain pointed toward the resources piled beside him.

”Absorb these too.”

Her gaze moved toward the purified Cores.

”You want me to absorb these while you’re advancing?”

”Yup.” Cain nodded with a smile.

”But, what about—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Cain cut her off as he gestured toward the resources again.

”Don’t worry about anything and just raise your Core to the Perfected Stage.”

Elara immediately understood.

There was no reason to enter the coming battle against Serath with a Newly Formed Core when the Youngest Prince didn’t have any intention to interfere with their business.

She sat down beside Cain and picked up one of the purified Cores.

Cold Mana responded as the energy inside the resource began flowing into her newly transformed Core.

Jack remained standing nearby, positioning himself between the two and the distant battle.

Nathan turned his back toward Cain.

His bow was already raised as he prepared for the worst.

The archer continuously scanned the surrounding streets, ready to respond the moment anyone attempted to approach.

Anyone trying to interfere with Cain’s advancement would first have to get through them.

Cain finally stopped paying attention to everything happening outside.

Serath could laugh all he wanted.

The Youngest Prince was right about one thing.

Under normal circumstances, advancing by a single Echelon would not erase a gap as large as the one currently separating them.

Cain had never believed otherwise.

However, His circumstances were anything but normal.

He still did not know exactly what kind of changes would occur once he advanced to the 2nd Echelon, but he could already feel something deep within him beginning to stir.

He closed his eyes and focused inward.

The Perfected Ruin Mana Core rotated steadily inside his body.

His Advancement Mission was complete.

The restriction that had held him at the 1st Echelon was finally gone.

For the first time since reaching Level 50, there was nothing left preventing his next transformation.

Then Cain felt the change begin.