Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Central Region, Veilmist Range...

Several sharp cracks split the air as three figures appeared overhead. They walked toward the depths of the Veilmist Range one unhurried step at a time, yet crossed the sky at incredible speed.

All three were unmistakably Stage SSS.

Their overwhelming presence sent the Outland Beasts below scrambling into hiding, where they trembled in fear.

As the three Patriarchs neared the heart of the mountain range, several enormous birds flew out and blocked their path.

The visitors might be Stage SSS, but these birds were the Beast Sovereign’s personal guards. Here in the Veilmist Range, even Stage SSS fighters wouldn’t dare attack them.

Sure enough, the three figures stopped.

”Please inform the Beast Sovereign that the Patriarchs of the Celestials, Soulkin, and Emberborn wish to meet with him,” one of the elderly men said courteously.

”Skree!”

Wait here.

One of the birds turned and flew back.

They wouldn’t dare keep three Stage SSS visitors waiting. But before the bird could reach the Beast Sovereign’s lair, a massive figure was already flying toward them.

”The Patriarchs of three top races have come together.” The Beast Sovereign’s deep, commanding voice rolled across the mountains. ”Have you decided to declare all-out war on my kind?”

”You misunderstand, Beast Sovereign. We came because of the incident in the Southern Region.” The Celestials’ Patriarch clasped his hands respectfully. ”The entire affair is a misunderstanding. How about we both take a step back and let the matter end here? There’s no reason to jeopardize our agreement.”

”Agreement?”

The Beast Sovereign erupted at the very mention of it.

”You still have the nerve to speak of our agreement? Didn’t your people say it was only a way to control us ’brainless beasts’? That its real purpose was to let us nurture our crystal cores until you were ready to harvest them?”

”Where did you hear such a thing?” the Celestials’ Patriarch asked firmly. ”Our people would never say that.”

”Hmph. My subordinates would never lie to me. Only you so-called intelligent races would even come up with something like that!” the Beast Sovereign said coldly. ”I imagine those words reflect what quite a few of your races truly think.”

”They do not. Please don’t let yourself be misled, Beast Sovereign. Someone is clearly trying to provoke a conflict between us. I’ll investigate the matter thoroughly. Our two sides have lived in peace for so many years. We shouldn’t let a few inflammatory words destroy that.”

”Lived in peace?”

The Beast Sovereign’s voice hardened.

”You only behaved because your races suffered devastating losses in the past. Now that you’ve recovered, you’ve started coveting our crystal cores again.”

”You invaded our territory and slaughtered our fighters. You even dared to kill a Stage SS Outland Beast. Is that your idea of living in peace?”

The Celestials’ Patriarch frowned and turned toward the other two Patriarchs.

”I was told they only killed ordinary Outland Beasts. Did they kill a Stage SS?”

”No,” the Soulkin Patriarch replied with a frown. ”According to their reports, they never encountered any Stage SS Outland Beasts aside from the ten flying beasts that arrived later.”

The Celestials’ Patriarch nodded, then turned back to the Beast Sovereign.

”Could there be some mistake? Our people did clash with the Outland Beasts after entering the Greyspine Range, but they did not kill any Stage SS beasts. On the contrary, the ten Stage SS flying beasts you sent killed three of our Stage SS fighters.”

”You think I’m lying to you?”

The Beast Sovereign snorted.

”If you hadn’t killed the Beast Lord of the Greyspine Range, why would I have gone so far as to send ten Stage SS flying beasts there?”

The three Patriarchs frowned.

The Beast Sovereign clearly had no reason to lie about something like this.

”Could they really have killed a Stage SS Outland Beast without reporting it to us?”

”Impossible. They wouldn’t dare. Besides, fighters from numerous races were there. If they’d killed a Stage SS beast, there would be no hiding it.”

”Then what exactly happened?”

”Could those humans have killed it?”

”Weren’t those humans only Stage S?”

”Supposedly, but humanity had countless unusual methods. They might have used some kind of special technique.”

”That’s possible. Perhaps the humans killed the Beast Lord and caused the Outland Beasts of the Greyspine Range to go berserk. It would explain why the fighters from the various races were attacked the moment they entered.”

The three Patriarchs quickly pieced together a plausible explanation.

The Celestials’ Patriarch addressed the Beast Sovereign respectfully once more.

”Beast Sovereign, there has clearly been a misunderstanding. Someone must be manipulating events from behind the scenes. Our people have already gone to the Southern Region to investigate. I’m certain we’ll have an answer soon, so please give us a little more time.”

Seeing how respectful he remained, the Beast Sovereign finally nodded.

”Very well. I’ll trust you one more time.”

Just then, several enormous birds raced toward them.

The three Patriarchs and the Beast Sovereign all frowned when they saw who they were.

”Weren’t you sent to the Southern Region?” the Beast Sovereign asked. ”Why have you returned so soon?”

”Skree!”

The Goldenwing Roc at the front let out a grief-stricken cry.

Beast Sovereign, those foreign races fought dirty! They sent a Stage SSS fighter who killed three of our companions. We couldn’t stand against them, so we had no choice but to flee!

”What?!”

The Beast Sovereign and all three Patriarchs stared in shock.

As Stage SSS beings, they could understand the meaning conveyed through the Goldenwing Roc’s mental fluctuations.

The Beast Sovereign’s razor-sharp gaze snapped toward the three Patriarchs.

”Good. Very good. You even sent a Stage SSS.”

”So you didn’t come here to resolve anything. You came to keep me occupied because you were afraid I’d send my forces to kill that Stage SSS fighter.”

”No, Beast Sovereign. There must still be some kind of misunderstanding.”

The three Patriarchs were just as confused. Why had a Stage SSS gone to the Southern Region? Which race had sent them?

”A misunderstanding? You’re still calling this a misunderstanding?” the Beast Sovereign demanded. ”Don’t tell me the person supposedly manipulating everything from the shadows is Stage SSS.”

”We...”

The three Patriarchs had no answer.

If those humans had a Stage SSS among them, they wouldn’t need to skulk around in hiding. The forces pursuing them would have been wiped out long ago.

”Beast Sovereign, something is clearly wrong here,” the Celestials’ Patriarch said respectfully. ”Allow us to return and investigate this thoroughly.”

”Return?” The Beast Sovereign’s fury finally boiled over. ”I don’t think you’re going anywhere.”

Only the top races possessed Stage SSS fighters, and those races had always acted in concert. How could these three possibly be unaware that one of their Stage SSS had gone to the Southern Region?

Yet they were still putting on this ridiculous act in front of him.

Did they truly think he was that stupid?

”You intend to attack us?” the Celestials’ Patriarch asked darkly.

”Hmph. The Veilmist Range is not a place you can enter and leave as you please. Since you’ve come all this way, you can stay here.”

With a cold snort, the Beast Sovereign hurled its enormous body at the three Patriarchs...