Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Under the worried gazes of the pinnacle-race fighters, the Netherfang Tiger advanced until it stood directly above them.

Its cold eyes swept over the corpses on the ground. Without wasting a single word, it raised a forepaw and brought it down.

A colossal claw materialized in the air and slammed toward the pinnacle-race fighters below.

Everyone beneath Stage SSS was an insect.

A true powerhouse had no reason to listen to the excuses of insects. They had invaded the Netherveil Range and challenged its authority. It could kill a few first and ask questions later.

The Stage SS fighters’ expressions changed drastically when they saw the enormous claw descending. They scattered in every direction.

But under the pressure of a Stage SSS being, even running became unbearably difficult.

Boom!

Seven figures were flattened against the ground. Blood spread beneath their mangled bodies.

Not one survived.

Despite the terrifying power behind the attack, the mountain itself didn’t collapse. The Netherfang Tiger’s control over its strength had reached an astonishing level.

”You…!”

The six survivors turned deathly pale as they stared at the Netherfang Tiger in terror.

They never expected it to attack without warning.

They were all members of pinnacle races!

How could it dare?

”Do you truly intend to make an enemy of the pinnacle races?” a young man demanded furiously. ”You may be Stage SSS, but even you can’t bear the consequences of offending us!”

Boom!

A beam of black light shot from the Netherfang Tiger’s eye. It punched through the young man and blew his body apart on the spot.

Some people simply couldn’t understand their place.

The remaining five fighters immediately went silent, too frightened even to breathe loudly.

The Netherfang Tiger’s dark eyes swept over them, sending a chill through their bodies.

They might all be at the peak of Tier 41, seemingly only one step away from Stage SSS, but that single step separated two entirely different worlds.

Stage SSS represented a completely different form of life. It was beyond anything at Stage SS.

”Speak!” the Netherfang Tiger demanded coldly. ”Why did you enter the Netherveil Range? Were you after crystal cores, or are your races preparing for an all-out war with the Outland Beasts?”

The remaining fighters were dumbfounded.

They swore to the heavens they had only come here to capture a human!

”Lord Netherfang Tiger, this truly is a misunderstanding,” their leader hurriedly explained. ”We only entered to capture a human. We didn’t kill these Outland Beasts, and we have no intention of starting a war with your kind!”

”If you refuse to tell me, then there’s no reason to keep you alive.”

The Netherfang Tiger raised its paw again.

”No!” the Stage SS fighters screamed in terror.

It made no difference.

The colossal claw descended, leaving five flattened corpses behind.

The Netherfang Tiger had already been furious over its subordinates’ defeat. Now these outsiders had invaded the Netherveil Range and killed its beasts.

They were asking to die.

As for whether killing them would offend the pinnacle races, it didn’t care.

Even under normal circumstances, a group of Stage SS fighters who dared invade its territory could be killed without consequence. Now, with both sides already at war, the Netherfang Tiger had even less reason to hold back.

It was in the right. What did it have to fear?

”ROAR!” Our ruler is mighty!

The surrounding Outland Beasts roared excitedly.

While their attention was elsewhere, a figure quietly emerged from hiding.

Ethan looked over the scene with a smile.

”That went even better than I expected. This Netherfang Tiger has one hell of a temper.”

After giving the Outland Beasts below a few orders, the Netherfang Tiger walked away through the air.

Ethan immediately followed.

Elsewhere, in the territory of one of the pinnacle races…

A Patriarch who had been resting with his eyes closed suddenly opened them, confusion filling his gaze.

”What happened? Weren’t they supposed to capture those humans? How did they provoke the Netherfang Tiger?”

The same thing happened among several other pinnacle races. One Patriarch after another reacted with disbelief.

They had sent their people to capture the humans, only for the Netherfang Tiger to crush them to death.

None of them understood how that had happened.

The Patriarchs of the affected races quickly gathered and compared what they knew. They soon discovered that every member they had sent had suffered the same fate.

”What the hell happened?” The Verdantborn Patriarch’s face was livid. ”Weren’t they in the Eastern Region? Why did they go to the Netherveil Range?”

”The most likely explanation is that the humans fled into the Netherveil Range and our people pursued them,” the Celestials Patriarch said gravely.

The others considered his explanation and nodded.

”That does seem most likely.”

”Even if our people entered the Netherveil Range by mistake, the Netherfang Tiger went too far. It killed every last one of them! Does it have no respect for the pinnacle races?”

”Hmph! A mere Tier 42 Outland Beast dared kill one of my Thundari. It’s asking to die!” the Thundari Patriarch said furiously.

”Don’t act rashly,” the Celestials Patriarch warned with a frown. ”These are unusual circumstances. If we attack the Netherfang Tiger, the situation will escalate. The Beast Sovereign will launch an all-out war.”

”Then are our people supposed to have died for nothing?” several Patriarchs demanded, their expressions dark.

The pinnacle races had deep foundations, but even to them, a peak Tier 41 fighter was extremely important. Losing even one was a severe blow.

”Of course not. Even if we don’t kill the Netherfang Tiger, we still need to make it pay. Otherwise, the Outland Beasts will start thinking we’re afraid of them.

”Besides, those humans are most likely hiding somewhere in the Netherveil Range. We need to go there regardless.”

”Agreed. Someone has to investigate.”

”Then the Verdantborn and Glamourkin will each send one Stage SSS fighter to the Netherveil Range. Find out exactly what happened and bring those humans back.

”Remember, avoid fighting if possible. If a fight becomes unavoidable, don’t kill the Netherfang Tiger. Otherwise, the situation will spiral completely out of control.”

”Understood.”

Back in the Netherveil Range…

The Netherfang Tiger returned to its cave.

Crushing a group of peak Tier 41 outsiders had improved its mood considerably.

It was about to lie down and get some sleep when a figure suddenly appeared.

Before the Netherfang Tiger could react, it was dragged into the Deadlock Dimension.

It stared at the unfamiliar surroundings in confusion.

Wasn’t I just inside my cave? How did I end up here?

Then it spotted someone standing nearby, smiling at it.

”Nice work, big guy,” Ethan said approvingly.

The Netherfang Tiger frowned, but quickly understood.

”You must be the human they mentioned.”

”That’s right.”

”So you were behind all of this!” the Netherfang Tiger said coldly.

”Hahaha! Looks like you’re not completely stupid.”

Dangerous light filled the Netherfang Tiger’s eyes.

”I’m curious. What makes a Tier 39 weakling like you think you can drag me into a separate dimension and live?”

”What gave me the nerve?”

Ethan smiled and waved a hand.

A figure appeared in front of him.

”This guy.”