Apocalypse: King of Zombies Chapter 1260: Dopey’s Fury
As the fiery meteor shower failed to annihilate them, the crimson-hued monstrosities persisted in their pursuit, hurtling after the squad as if the heavens themselves were their dominion.
Ethan’s gaze turned frigid. “Damn it all. Do you truly believe we are defenseless prey?”
He commanded sharply, “Dopey—engage.”
The moment his words were uttered, Dopey’s form materialized and descended rapidly.
They were still suspended a thousand feet above, but for Dopey, whose physical resilience was astonishing, that altitude was akin to stepping off a low curb.
Boom!
Dopey impacted the ground, erupting a dense cloud of dust and debris.
The red-skinned fiends faltered, their confusion evident.
One of their own had just… plummeted from the sky?
Indecision or not, it did not deter their assault. The foremost creature lunged, its claws extending towards Dopey.
Dopey’s expression remained impassive. He unleashed a seemingly effortless punch.
Thump—
The red-skinned creature disintegrated into a crimson mist. A verdant crystalline core dropped soundlessly to the earth.
“…!”
An abrupt silence enveloped the scene.
The charging red-skinned entities halted their advance mid-stride, as if time had momentarily ceased, their eyes wide with disbelief as they fixated on the remains of their erstwhile companion.
Even the Fallen Star Squad members struggled to swallow.
This was their inaugural observation of Dopey in active combat.
And it was… utterly astounding.
“A green crystal core?” Chris murmured. “Ethan—that was Tier 18, correct?”
Ethan affirmed, his voice strained. “Indeed. Tier 18.”
Even Ethan’s chest swelled with an almost feverish excitement.
A Stage B (Tier 18) combatant—obliterated with a solitary strike.
Such power transcended mere strength; it was terrifying.
Dopey wasted no time.
He vanished, instantaneously reappearing beside another Stage B specimen, and delivered another punch.
Boom—
A second creature dissolved into a blood-hued vapor. There was no resistance, no struggle—simply annihilation.
“#%￥&!!”
Sheer panic finally seized the red-skinned monsters. They fractured into disarray, unleashing a torrent of fire-based assaults, hurling flames and searing energy blasts at Dopey from every conceivable direction.
Dopey paid them no heed.
He blinked out of existence, reappearing adjacent to a third Stage B entity, and delivered another punch—uncomplicated, yet devastating.
This particular creature managed a reaction. It comprehended the futility of evasion, as if the punch possessed an intrinsic lock onto its very being. In desperation, it erected a fiery barrier around its form.
The punch descended.
The defensive barrier proved as effective as brittle parchment.
A mist of blood. A green core. Annihilation complete.
“Sweet heavens…” Skinny Pete’s eyes gleamed. “That’s unbelievable.”
“Damn,” Big Mike muttered, a fervent intensity in his gaze. “I can scarcely believe I’m impressed by a thrall.”
The others were equally stunned. They gazed down at the solitary figure with an expression akin to witnessing a natural disaster strike elsewhere.
Dopey’s movements were remarkably basic, almost languid.
And paradoxically, this made his power even more intimidating.
Below, the red-skinned monstrosities were in complete disarray.
Wasn't this world meant to be teeming with weak indigenous beings whom they could subjugate at will?
Then what, precisely, was this display?
Their resolve was crumbling.
Suddenly, one of the Stage B red-skins emitted a sharp, urgent roar.
“叽里呱啦!!”
Instantly, the entire contingent turned and fled.
Their formation dissolved, their pride vanished—replaced by the primal instinct for survival.
This was no longer a battle.
It was an entirely different category of threat.
“I’m finished—are they actually fleeing?” Big Mike bellowed, his earlier apprehension replaced by a surge of smugness. “Where did all that bravado disappear to?!”
He commenced deploying [Rain of Flames] upon their retreating forms, attempting to block their escape routes.
However, his meteors impacted their backs and shoulders like mere warm pebbles.
Their flight remained undiminished.
They simply continued their desperate sprint.
Big Mike’s jaw slackened. “What the—?! Captain, aside from the Tier 18s… what Tier are the others?”
“Tier 16 and Tier 17,” Ethan stated. “None are below Tier 16.”
“…Ah.”
Big Mike stiffened, then coughed awkwardly. “Understood. Right. Never mind. My apologies.”
As the red-skinned creatures scattered in all directions, Dopey maintained his impassive demeanor, his unfocused gaze sweeping the surroundings as if seeking something imperceptible to others.
Then, he moved once more.
His speed escalated to an unbelievable velocity—he became a blur across the terrain, intercepting a fleeing Stage B red-skin in an instant, and ending its existence with a single, decisive punch.
Ethan’s directive to him was straightforward: eliminate the Stage B red-skinned adversaries.
Verbal communication was unnecessary. Ethan merely needed to project the designated targets within his mind, and Dopey understood implicitly.
Dopey possessed no independent volition. He did not question the validity or appropriateness of a command. If it originated from Ethan, he executed it—flawlessly, remorselessly, and with terrifying effectiveness.
It was reminiscent of their time in the Void Realm on the Celestial Stairway; Ethan instructed him to propel him upward, and Dopey complied—never pausing to contemplate whether Ethan could withstand the immense pressure of the 99th step.
And, to be frank? That was precisely what Ethan admired most about him.
He finally grasped the rationale behind the Hale family’s decision to transform individuals into thralls.
Thralls were remarkably advantageous assets.
Furthermore, they were incapable of betrayal.
Consequently, Dopey now adhered to Ethan’s command with absolute fidelity—targeting solely the designated Stage B entities, and disregarding all others as if they were nonexistent.
Before long, all eight Stage B red-skinned monsters had been completely obliterated into a bloody mist.
However, the remaining red-skinned monsters managed to escape.
This outcome was unavoidable. With hundreds of Tier 16 and Tier 17 monsters scattering in all directions, preventing their complete escape was simply impossible.
Not for Ethan’s squad.
Not even for Dopey.
Dopey possessed no ranged abilities; his strength resided entirely in his raw stats—exceptional strength, speed, and defense. Every foe he faced was met with a single, decisive blow. No complex maneuvers were part of his arsenal.
While his single-target damage output was fearsome, the absence of any area-of-effect attacks made situations where opponents scattered precisely where his effectiveness was limited.
Ethan harbored no dissatisfaction with this.
His sole objective for Dopey was the elimination of the Stage B monsters. As for the rest… they were intended for the others.
Engaging in combat was consistently the most accelerated path to leveling up.
Especially after the Void Realm had dramatically amplified their power; they required genuine pressure and tangible danger to temper their newfound might. The Tier 16 and Tier 17 red-skinned monsters were ideal for this purpose.
What's more, their dispersal made the subsequent hunt for them, one by one, considerably more manageable.
The public was aware of the high Tiers achieved by the Fallen Star Squad.
What remained unknown was that, even when matched against individuals of the same Tier, no one could contend with any member of the Fallen Star Squad in a direct confrontation.
Certainly, they had benefited from Body Refinement through the Body Refinement Technique…
But the true source of their formidable reputation lay in their combat intuition—their practical fighting prowess, meticulously forged through countless battles, each one a hard-won experience.
“Alright,” Ethan declared, a palpable excitement surging within him. “Let’s descend and collect the crystal cores.”
These were Stage B crystal cores.
In the current global landscape, each one was immeasurably valuable.
Their aerial mounts rapidly descended, and everyone dismounted from Nugget and the others, immediately rushing towards the locations where Dopey had dispatched his targets.
Ethan had instructed Dopey to eliminate the monsters, but he had neglected to mention the looting aspect. Consequently, these precious crystal cores lay scattered on the ground, appearing as unremarkable as common stones.
“Hell yeah—jackpot, baby!” Big Mike exclaimed with exhilaration, snatching one up, his face radiating with joy.
The others shared his elation as they proceeded to gather the remaining cores.
Soon, all the collected cores were placed into Ethan’s possession.
Ethan gazed at the eight green crystal cores, unable to suppress a wide grin.
Another unexpectedly massive gain.
Eight cores represented eight potential Stage B powerhouses.
It was unfortunate that they could not be utilized immediately. For the present, they would have to be stored within his storage ring.
Ethan closed his fist around the cores and then looked upward.
“Alright. Now it’s our turn to put on a show.”
“Say no more,” Big Mike responded, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s do this.”