Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

The fourth floor housed swarms of Screamer Zombies.

The fifth floor was filled with poisonous Spitter Zombies.

On the sixth floor, they encountered Armored Brawler Zombies. They had their bodies encased in metallic growths that required them to attack in precise spots to kill them.

The seventh and eighth floors were a mix of traps and environmental hazards, designed to slow their progress.

With Shane’s Safety Protection Token, they easily passed through these floors as well.

By the time the team reached the ninth floor, they were already mentally exhausted but they were still excited…

According to the system, they have finally reached the last floor where the Lord Tier Zombie was located.

[ You are about to enter the Lord-Tier Zombie’s Chamber. Failure to eliminate the Lord-Tier Zombie will release the Zombie’s restraint and it will be able to leave its chamber from then on. ]

”The Lord Tier Zombie will be able to go out of its territory if we fail, huh…” Shane nodded as he realized that the only reason that the Lord-Tier Zombie wasn’t charging at them right now was due to its restraint, which was limiting its movement.

It was possible that the Lord Tier inside could already sense their presence but was just waiting for them to open the door.

”Are you sure that you don’t want any help?” Lysandra asked once more.

Apparently, Shane wanted to enter alone and Lysandra felt that they should at least watch him so they could provide support if necessary.

”I’ll leave the door open so you can watch. Don’t worry, I’m confident I can deal with this.” Shane said with a hint of unusual confidence.

Of course, the others knew how good he was but since no one had ever killed or fought against Lord Tier, they felt that it would be too dangerous to let Shane fight alone.

”We’ll watch you then… Good luck.” Lysandra said as she could only trust Shane for now.

***

After resing, Shane tightened the straps of his gear as he faced the doors leading to the Lord-Tier Zombie’s chamber. Just standing in front of it, Shane could smell the faint stench of rotten flesh as it seeped through the cracks…

”Just give us a signal if you need some help, okay?” Lysandra said with concern. She would certainly ready her shotgun just in case she had to support Shane.

”Got it…” Shane replied calmly.

Kale couldn’t help but respect the leader as he could actually feel how strong the Zombie was, even just by staying outside.

”You’ve got guts, Shane. But if anyone can take down a Lord-Tier, it’s you.”

”I’ll be fine,” Shane assured them. He gave the group one last look.

”Stay here. Watch and learn. If anything happens, be ready to run.”

The others reluctantly nodded, stepping aside to let him pass.

Shane pushed open the heavy doors, stepping into the darkened chamber. The door opened and as it was about to shut behind him, Kale used his weapon to ensure that it wouldn’t completely close. It seemed that the chamber had some sort of automatic function to trap the challengers of the Lord-Tier Zombie.

Shane smiled seeing that the door was still slightly open.

As the strange aura enveloped him, the system’s familiar message appeared.

[ You have entered a Lord-Tier Zombie’s Chamber ]

Name: Harbinger of Decay

Type: Regenerative Juggernaut

Threat Level: Catastrophic

[ Description: The Harbinger of Decay is an evolved undead with supreme regenerative abilities. It exudes a toxic miasma that corrodes its surroundings, and its flesh constantly regenerates from any damage. Known for its immense strength and durability, it is believed to be one of the many guardians of Sofia. ]

”Huh? Guardians of Sofia?” Shane was confused as he read the message.

He didn’t expect that he would find a clue about this important person in the system’s message. Anyway, Shane shifted his attention to the Lord Tier Zombie…

It even had a title…

Unfortunately, the ones he needed to kill for the Ascension Quest were the Necrotic Swarm Sovereign and the Eclipse Wraith. The Harbinger of Decay may be a target for someone else’s Ascension Quest but Shane knew very well that if it was killed by him, the Survivor with the quest to kill it would be given another chance. It was either by giving them a new mission or reviving the target for Ascension similar to the other Apocalypses.

However, it would be different if they had already fought against the target and failed… There wouldn’t be any second chance at all.

As he observed the surroundings, Shane confirmed that the chamber was vast and filled with a noxious green haze.

It was definitely the Toxic Miasma.

Thankfully, he had just retrieved the Verdant Heartstone Pendant from the Fairy Realm’s Apocalypse which granted him immunity to poison and other diseases.

Indeed, it was a complete immunity and not just any poison resistance.

At the far center of the chamber, Shane finally saw Harbinger of Decay. It was a meter taller than Shane…

Looking at it closely, its body was a complete mess. There was decaying flesh and exposed bone, that could be seen as if it would easily fall over once he pushed the Zombie a bit.

In short, the Zombie somehow looked weaker and less intimidating compared to other high-level Zombies he had seen.

Shane even believed that the Tyrant Zombies were a lot more scary.

The only noteworthy about its appearance was its focused, human-like eyes and its mouth that was grinning at him.

’Those eyes… It’s like he’s not a Zombie at all…’ Shane frowned at this thought. Then, he realized that he shouldn’t really think that Zombies weren’t intelligent considering how he had already seen several Zombies that knew how to strategize or even retreat in battles.

In short, the Lord Tier Zombies must also be capable of such decisions and perhaps, they may even know how to speak!

’That would be really creepy.’ Shane thought for a moment. After all, he had never seen any Zombies speak at all. He heard them cry in pain, roar, and make some noise but that was it. They weren’t capable of making any conversation…

However, Shane felt that his perspective about Zombies might change really soon.