Apocalypse: King of Zombies

New Atlas, Miles’s office.

”Miles, we’ve got trouble!”

Maxwell rushed into the office with General Cross and several others.

”What happened?” Miles put away the spatial storage ring he’d been holding and looked at them in confusion.

”The Satellite Operations Control Center detected a large number of Stage SSS fighters flying toward New Atlas!” Maxwell said grimly.

Miles rose to his feet, his expression turning serious.

”So my fears came true after all.”

”Was it the Pyrathi?” Maxwell asked.

”Who else could it be?” Miles sighed. ”This is why Ethan kills every hostile alien who comes to New Atlas instead of letting them escape. Once they get away, they can bring an even greater disaster down on us.”

”Damn those bastards!” Rowan snapped. ”We should’ve wiped them all out when we had the chance!”

”With what?” Miles glanced at him.

”...”

”What do we do now, Miles?” Maxwell asked. ”With this many enemies coming, even Ethan won’t be able to stop them after he finishes his breakthrough.”

”No, he won’t. Our only option is to draw them away, then defeat them one group at a time—or turn them against each other.”

”They’re from different races, so they’re competitors too. With the right push, we should be able to make them fight among themselves.”

”Our only advantage is satellite surveillance. We can track their movements, which makes the plan possible, but it’ll be extremely dangerous. We may even lose people.”

”Every major battle comes with casualties,” Maxwell said firmly. ”Give the order, Miles. Even if you need these old bones of ours to lure them away, we won’t hesitate.”

”That’s right. Just tell us what to do,” the others agreed.

”Not you.” Miles shook his head. ”You may have the will, but against opponents at this level, you don’t have the strength. Only our Stage SSS fighters can take part.”

”If this many Stage SSS fighters are coming here, the Beast Sovereign is most likely their target. Only a peak Tier 47 crystal core could attract so many of them.”

”Of course, they might be coming for us instead. Many of the alien races from the Void Realm are interested in humans.”

”Whatever their reason, we have to divert them before they reach New Atlas. Otherwise, this city is finished.”

”What do you need us to do?” everyone asked.

”Put the satellite feed on the main screen first.”

”Yes.”

A series of images soon appeared on the enormous screen in the office.

Groups of figures were flying toward New Atlas, almost all of them approaching from the southwest. The rumor had clearly originated from that direction.

Every last one of them was Stage SSS.

Some traveled in groups of only a few, others in groups of more than a dozen, and there was even one group with several dozen fighters.

Everyone’s heart sank at the sight.

Miles took a deep breath, pulled out his phone, and made a call.

It connected a moment later.

”Chris, I have an extremely difficult mission for you...”

...

After ending the call, Miles went to Theron Valaris’s residence.

”Theron, could I ask you for a favor?”

”Speak,” Theron answered coolly from inside.

”Here’s the situation...”

Miles gave him a brief explanation. To his surprise, the normally aloof Theron didn’t waste a single word.

”Fine.”

He immediately left New Atlas.

”Thank you,” Miles murmured to Theron’s retreating figure.

He then visited Abyron and explained the situation to him as well.

Abyron was the easiest to convince. The moment he heard New Atlas was in danger, he agreed without a second thought.

Before he left, Miles called Dahlia over and asked her to accompany him.

Dahlia’s circumstances were different. Getting her to risk her life for New Atlas was all but impossible, so the only option was to send her with Abyron. That way, the two of them could watch each other’s backs.

Once the heavy hitters had departed, Miles hurried toward the Beast Enclosure.

There was a reason he had personally visited each of them instead of sending someone else to pass along his orders. This mission was far too dangerous. Any of them could die.

That was why he had approached them with such care. He hadn’t ordered anyone to participate. The decision was entirely theirs.

To his relief, none of them had refused.

Now came the most important one: the Beast Sovereign.

It was the key to the entire plan—and the target most likely to attract the largest number of enemies.

Even with its overwhelming strength, the danger it faced would be several times greater than anyone else’s.

When Miles reached the Beast Sovereign’s residence, he took a deep breath before walking in.

”Huh? Why are you back?” Golden Eagle asked when it saw him.

”I need to discuss something with the Beast Sovereign,” Miles said with a smile.

”Sure. Follow me.”

Golden Eagle led him inside.

”What do you want now, kid?”

The Beast Sovereign’s head rose from the lake as it eyed Miles warily.

This brat was even worse than Ethan. Whenever he came looking for the Beast Sovereign, it was never for anything good.

Miles gave a bitter smile. Then, bracing himself, he explained the situation.

”What?! You want me to be bait?”

”You’re trying to get me killed!” the Beast Sovereign exclaimed, its eyes going wide.

”Uh, you wouldn’t exactly be bait. We just need you to hold them off for a while. We’ll find a way to defeat them one group at a time.”

”Hold them off for a while? Easy for you to say!” The Beast Sovereign rolled its eyes. ”You just told me there are more than a hundred Stage SSS fighters coming, and we don’t even know exactly how strong they are. You think I can handle all of them?”

”Uh... a lot of them are probably coming for you. Even if you stay hidden inside New Atlas, you won’t be able to avoid them.”

”...”

”And whose fault is that?”

”Mine,” Miles admitted without hesitation.

He hadn’t had any other choice at the time, but this situation had indeed started because of his actions.

The Beast Sovereign grumbled for a while before finally asking in resignation, ”What do you need me to do?”

The problem was already here. All they could do now was deal with it.

”Here’s the plan...”

Miles took out a tablet and walked the Beast Sovereign through every detail.

Then he turned to Golden Eagle and the other Outland Beasts.

”I’m afraid we’ll need your help too.”

”All right.”

Since the Beast Sovereign had already agreed, Golden Eagle and the others had no objections.

”I still have some subordinates back in Eldoria,” the Beast Sovereign said with a sigh. ”Looks like I’ll have to call them over to help.”

”That would be fantastic!” Miles exclaimed.

”...”

”I swear, I must owe you people from a past life,” the Beast Sovereign complained before launching itself out of the lake.

Golden Eagle and the other two Outland Beasts followed close behind.