Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The group made their way to the top of the city wall. Miles pulled out his phone and studied the satellite feed, his expression grave.

There were twenty-four Pyrathi in total.

Twenty-four Stage SSS fighters, including two at peak Tier 47. New Atlas would have a hard time stopping a force like that.

They also had two peak Tier 47 fighters: the Beast Sovereign and Theron. At least their strongest combatants could match the Pyrathi’s.

At Tier 47, New Atlas had three Outland Beasts, Abyron, and Dahlia, for a total of five. Whether that would be enough depended on how many Tier 47 fighters the enemy had, but five was still a respectable number.

The real problem was everyone below Tier 47.

New Atlas had only the Tier 44 Dread-Eyed Lion, along with Chris, Mia, and Emily, who had just reached Stage SSS and were still Tier 42.

The disparity at those Tiers was far too great. If a fight broke out, that group would be overwhelmed almost immediately.

They couldn’t afford to fight until Ethan finished raising his Tier. Once he reached Tier 43, he would be able to eliminate opponents at that level in an instant.

Miles hadn’t come here to meet the enemy in battle. He intended to stall them for as long as possible.

That was why he had brought Theron, Abyron, and Dahlia. Their presence would at least give the Pyrathi pause. If Miles had shown up alone as a mere Stage SS fighter, they probably wouldn’t even bother speaking to him.

For the moment, he had kept the Beast Sovereign and the other Outland Beasts out of sight. If the Pyrathi saw them, they might attack on the spot.

After all, those Beasts represented three Tier 47 crystal cores and one peak Tier 47 crystal core.

Someone too weak to take those cores might be able to resist the temptation. Someone strong enough to claim them wouldn’t.

”When they get here, don’t say anything,” Miles told the others. ”Follow my lead.”

”Got it.”

Everyone nodded. They all understood that this confrontation would be even more dangerous than the battle against the Voltari.

”Miles, can our warding circle withstand attacks from lower-Tier Stage SSS fighters?” Maxwell suddenly asked.

Miles nodded, then shook his head.

”If we add the strength of every Aurelian, Azure Nereid, and Fallen Star Guard member, we should be able to stop Tier 42 and Tier 43 attacks. Tier 44 or Tier 45 is probably beyond us.”

He frowned. ”The biggest problem is that I only know they have two peak Tier 47 fighters. I have no idea how the rest of their Stage SSS fighters are distributed.”

”I do,” Abyron said.

Miles turned to him in surprise. ”You do?”

”I hid nearby and watched them fight for hours. I know how strong every one of them is.”

”That’s perfect. Abyron, take a look and tell me how many they have at each Tier.”

Miles handed him the phone.

Abyron immediately began fiddling with it in fascination.

He had been curious about phones for a long time, but he was too proud to ask Ethan for one. Now he finally had a perfectly legitimate reason to play with one.

”Abyron?” Everyone stared at him expectantly. ”Are you going to tell us or not?”

”Oh. Right.”

Abyron carefully studied the satellite feed, then shook his head. ”The image is too blurry. I can’t make out their faces.”

”...”

Everyone’s mouths twitched.

”You’re really messing with us at a time like this? If the Commander were here, he’d probably beat you for that.”

”He can’t beat me.”

”...”

”The image really is blurry.”

”My mistake,” Miles said. ”Then just tell me how strong the Pyrathi force was when you last saw them.”

Abyron nodded.

”Before I left, they still had thirty-two fighters. Two were peak Tier 47, five were Tier 47, seven were Tier 46, nine were Tier 44, six were Tier 43, and three were Tier 42.”

”There are only twenty-four left now, but usually the lower-Tier fighters are the first to die. We should avoid a fight until Boss comes out,” he added seriously.

Miles nodded. That had been his plan from the beginning. They needed to stall for as long as possible.

But the Pyrathi seemed to be coming specifically for Ethan. Miles had no idea whether they would let him stall them.

The group waited silently atop the wall.

Before long, Chris returned and landed beside them.

”What was so urgent that you had to call me back? I was on a roll out there.”

”We’ve got trouble.”

Miles explained the situation.

Chris’s expression turned serious as he listened.

”Looks like we’re in for another hard fight.”

”We’ll try to stall them first.” Miles sighed, then glanced at Chris. ”By the way, how did the hunt go?”

”Pretty well. I got quite a few Stage SS crystal cores.”

Chris removed the backpack from his shoulders with a resigned look. ”Not having a spatial storage ring is a pain. Lugging this thing around gets in the way.”

”A spatial storage ring? I’ll make one for each of you later,” Miles said with a smile.

”You’re serious?” Chris’s eyes widened.

Mia and Emily also stared at Miles in surprise.

”Yeah.” Miles nodded.

”Holy crap, Miles. I love you!”

”...”

”Do you have any idea how difficult spatial storage rings are to make?” Abyron asked.

”I do. The Captain already explained it to me.” Miles looked perfectly serious. ”It doesn’t seem that difficult. Finding the materials will be the troublesome part.”

”...”

”Well, I look forward to seeing that.” Abyron smiled, clearly unconvinced.

Miles ignored him and opened Chris’s backpack. The number of crystal cores inside took him by surprise.

”You got this many?”

Chris grinned. ”They were only Stage SS. One spear thrust each. How hard could it be?”

”All right, you’ve earned the title of top-tier assassin.” Miles gave him a thumbs-up.

Outland Beasts now filled the major mountain ranges and forests. Even Stage SSS fighters didn’t dare venture into those places casually. Once surrounded and pinned down, they were unlikely to make it back out.

Chris was probably the only one who could enter the mountains, kill Stage SS Outland Beasts, and escape unharmed, all thanks to his invisibility.

”Chris, don’t take risks like that again,” Emily said worriedly. ”Have you forgotten what happened in Eldoria?”

”Relax, Emily. I know what I’m doing.”

”You said the same thing in Eldoria.” Emily rolled her eyes.

”...”

”This time is different. I really do.”

”Did your Innate Abilities evolve and give you some powerful new skill?” Mia guessed.

”Yeah.” Chris nodded. ”I’ll explain it later. All you need to know is that I’m about as hard to kill as Ethan now.”

”You’re that strong?” Both women stared at him in surprise.

That comparison put it into perspective immediately.

”Yeah.”