Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Seeing that Ethan was serious—and remembering his unusual abilities—the Stage SSS Outland Beasts nodded. At this point, they had no choice but to trust him.

”If you can get the Beast Sovereign out of here and keep it alive, you will be the benefactor of every beast race on the Eldoria Continent!”

”Leave it to me. Just remember—don’t let a single attack reach this spot,” Ethan said solemnly.

Riftwalk created a temporary spatial passage, and the passage itself was extremely fragile. A single attack could destroy it.

If that happened before they entered, they simply wouldn’t be able to use it. But if the passage collapsed while they were inside, they could be torn apart without leaving so much as a corpse.

That was why Ethan never dared use Riftwalk in the middle of a battle.

He was only willing to take the risk now because he had seen how desperately these Outland Beasts were fighting to protect the Beast Sovereign.

”Don’t worry. Even if it costs us our lives, we’ll hold this position,” the Stage SSS Outland Beasts promised.

Ethan nodded and said no more. He slashed a hand through the air, opening a dimensional rift in front of him.

Every Stage SSS fighter present froze in shock.

”No! Don’t let them escape!”

The Patriarchs’ expressions changed, and they immediately hurled their abilities at the dimensional rift.

”Protect the rift at all costs!”

The Stage SSS Outland Beasts who had spoken with Ethan threw themselves in front of it.

The others quickly realized what was happening and crowded around the rift as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Terrifying abilities crashed into their bodies, ripping open their flesh.

But none of them backed down.

More and more Outland Beasts packed themselves around the dimensional rift, shielding it with their own bodies.

Even Ethan was shaken by the sight.

Without another moment’s hesitation, he grabbed one of the Beast Sovereign’s claws and dragged it into the rift.

At that moment, two mangled bodies slipped in after them.

A faint voice reached Ethan’s ears.

”We’re… not going to make it… You can have… our crystal cores. Please… make sure… the Beast Sovereign survives…”

Once they were through, the dimensional rift rapidly closed behind them.

The strongest Patriarchs finally broke through the defensive line, only to find empty space waiting for them. Their faces turned livid.

The remaining Outland Beasts let out breaths of relief.

”Beast Sovereign… you have to survive.”

Then they stopped fighting to the death and scattered in every direction.

”Kill them!” the Patriarchs roared. ”Take down as many as you can!”

The intelligent fighters immediately gave chase.

Western Region — Aurelian Settlement

A dimensional rift opened without warning.

Several Outland Beasts were shoved out, with Ethan emerging last.

Two of the mutilated beasts collapsed without moving. Even the Beast Sovereign had lost consciousness.

The disturbance quickly drew the nearby Aurelians.

The moment they saw the enormous Outland Beasts lying on the ground, their expressions changed dramatically. The terrifying pressure coming from the bodies left them pale and trembling.

Then they spotted Ethan and finally relaxed.

”What are these, my lord?” Solren asked cautiously.

Ethan didn’t answer. He silently looked at the two Outland Beasts that had already died.

Their loyalty to the Beast Sovereign had genuinely moved him.

Even in their final moments, their only concern had been their ruler.

They had forced their dying bodies into the dimensional passage for one reason—to offer Ethan their crystal cores as payment and beg him to save the Beast Sovereign.

That kind of loyalty was rare, whether among humans or any other intelligent race.

Ethan sighed.

”Solren, call Henry and the others over.”

”Yes, my lord.”

Solren immediately sent someone to find them.

Ethan turned toward the unconscious Beast Sovereign, his expression complicated.

To be honest, he had considered taking advantage of its injuries, killing it, and harvesting its crystal core.

This was a peak Tier 47 crystal core. If he obtained it, it could raise him several tiers.

From a purely practical perspective, killing the Beast Sovereign was unquestionably the smartest decision. His own strength mattered more than anything else.

But after everything he had just witnessed, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Ethan sighed again.

For once, he would let his emotions make the decision.

He walked over to the two dead Outland Beasts and reached into their shattered skulls, extracting two gray crystal cores.

”Don’t worry. I accepted your payment, so I’ll make sure your Beast Sovereign survives.”

The surrounding Aurelians stared at the two cores in his hands, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

”G-Gray…” Solren’s voice trembled. ”Those are Stage SSS crystal cores!”

They had sensed that these Outland Beasts were far from ordinary, but they never imagined they were Stage SSS.

Ethan had only just reached Stage SSS, yet he had immediately gone to the Central Region and returned with several Stage SSS Outland Beasts.

He had only been gone for a few hours!

At this rate, wouldn’t raising his tier be as easy as drinking water?

Henry and the others soon arrived.

”Boss, why are you back so soon?” they asked.

”Something unexpected happened, so I came back early.”

Ethan pointed at the Beast Sovereign.

”Henry, hurry up and heal it.”

The Aurelians were excellent healers too, but they still couldn’t compare to Henry. More importantly, the Beast Sovereign’s most serious injury was to its soul, and Henry was the only one capable of treating that.

Henry curiously examined the Beast Sovereign.

Even in its critically wounded state, its presence was far beyond his own.

It was unquestionably Stage SSS.

What confused him was Ethan’s decision to save it.

Knowing Ethan, shouldn’t he have already killed a wounded Stage SSS Outland Beast and taken its crystal core? Why was he asking Henry to heal it?

Still, Henry trusted Ethan completely. He didn’t ask any questions and walked straight over, casting one healing ability after another on the Beast Sovereign.

Before long, he stopped and looked at Ethan in shock.

”What is this thing? How can it be this powerful?”

Healing abilities became less effective when used on someone stronger than the caster. The greater the difference in strength, the weaker the effect.

Henry could sense the gap the instant his healing took effect.

He had already reached Stage SS, yet his abilities barely affected the Beast Sovereign.

His healing was far stronger than ordinary elemental healing. If even his abilities were this ineffective, the difference between them had to be unimaginable.

”That’s the Beast Sovereign,” Ethan said. ”Of course it’s powerful.”

”The Beast Sovereign?!”

Everyone’s eyes nearly popped out.

Several Aurelians collapsed on the spot.

That alone showed how terrifying the Beast Sovereign was to the ordinary races of the Eldoria Continent.

Its name alone was enough to make them fall over in fear.