Apocalypse: King of Zombies Chapter 1529: One Last Gamble

Ethan teleported in front of the Aurelian Patriarch and regarded him with a faint, knowing smile.

"Do you know what race we are?"

"I... do," the Patriarch answered quietly, lowering his head.

"Then you still dare throw your lot in with us? Aren’t you afraid your entire race will be exterminated?"

A bitter look crossed the Patriarch’s face.

"Exterminated..."

"If you hadn’t arrived, the Outland Beasts would have wiped out the Aurelians today. We wouldn’t even survive long enough for anyone else to exterminate us.

"If you leave now, we still won’t be able to withstand this army.

"If our destruction is already inevitable, why shouldn’t we take one last gamble?

"Save the Aurelians, my lord, and from this day forward, we will obey your every command!" His voice was firm.

"You’re an interesting old man." Ethan smiled. "But you should understand that even if we save you now, the pinnacle races will still wipe you out if they learn you had contact with us. Saving you won’t make much difference."

"It will. The Western Region is on the brink of collapse, yet the pinnacle races are nowhere to be seen. They’ve clearly abandoned us.

"If no one sends word to them, they won’t know you’re in the Western Region.

"The Aurelians will never pass along that information, and these Outland Beasts certainly won’t either."

"Nothing stays secret forever. What if they find out anyway?" Ethan asked calmly.

"If that day comes, then it will be another trial the Aurelians must face."

"Hahaha! You’ve certainly thought this through." Ethan laughed. "Fine. I’ll take you in for now. My people will handle the high-tier Outland Beasts, but you’ll have to deal with the rest yourselves. As for the pinnacle races, that’ll be up to your luck."

Big Mike and Emily still needed a few more Tier 35 crystal cores before they could advance to Stage SS. This was the perfect place to get them.

As long as the Aurelians held out, the Outland Beasts would keep coming. Chris and the others could use the opportunity to collect more Stage S crystal cores as well.

That was why Ethan had teleported to the Western Region in the first place. The average level of strength here was much lower, so Chris and the others could operate almost without opposition.

Ethan planned to find somewhere safe, absorb his crystal cores, and make his push for Stage SSS. While he was in seclusion, Big Mike and Emily needed to reach Stage SS as quickly as possible. They couldn’t simply sit around waiting for him to emerge. They needed to keep gathering crystal cores.

The other regions were too dangerous. After what had happened to Chris, Ethan wasn’t comfortable sending the squad anywhere else, so he had chosen the Western Region.

This place was incredibly far from the Netherveil Range, with one at the eastern edge of the Central Region and the other far to the west. The pinnacle races would never dream that Ethan had traveled so far.

Besides, they would have their hands full for a while and wouldn’t have time to bother with the Fallen Star Squad.

The squad could stay here and focus on advancing, using their defense of the Aurelians as an excuse to collect crystal cores. It was a win-win.

Ethan was also genuinely interested in the Aurelians. Their healing and support abilities were both excellent. If he could bring them under his command, Fallen Star City’s overall combat strength would rise by several levels.

As for their loyalty, as long as his side remained overwhelmingly stronger, he didn’t have to worry about disobedience.

And once the Aurelians sided with humanity, they would become enemies of every race on the Eldoria Continent. There would be no going back.

When Ethan agreed, the Aurelian Patriarch’s face lit up.

"Thank you, my lord! Thank you!"

"Save your thanks until you’ve actually survived this." Ethan shook his head. "What’s your name?"

"My lord, I am Solren, Patriarch of the Aurelians."

"All right, old man. Get back to the fighting and find me somewhere quiet to train."

"What?"

"What do you mean, what?"

"But the Outland Beasts..."

"My people will deal with the high-tier ones."

"Oh. Right." Solren quickly turned to a nearby woman. "Liora, take our lord to the private retreat."

"Yes."

The woman approached and bowed to Ethan.

"My lord, please follow me."

"All right."

Ethan gave Chris and the others a few instructions, then followed her into the Aurelian settlement.

After Ethan left, several elders gathered around Solren.

"Patriarch, are we really going to follow them from now on?" one asked quietly.

"Yes. This is our only path to survival."

"But they’re human. Just as he said, even if we survive today, the pinnacle races will exterminate us if they ever discover this."

"Hmph. If we don’t follow them, we won’t even survive today.

"And humanity is far from weak. Back then, the humans fought every higher race and pinnacle race on the Eldoria Continent by themselves. What other race could match that kind of strength?

"Humanity never wronged the Eldoria Continent. In fact, they helped this world countless times. The pinnacle races destroyed them simply because they feared humanity’s potential. What they did was despicable!"

"Patriarch, quiet! We can’t discuss that..."

"Hmph. What’s left that we can’t discuss? The pinnacle races have clearly sacrificed the entire Western Region. Is there anything those so-called pinnacle races wouldn’t do?"

The elders fell silent.

"Besides, choosing to follow these humans wasn’t an impulsive decision," Solren continued. "Have you forgotten? They came from another world. Perhaps they can take us there with them. If they do, the pinnacle races won’t be able to touch us."

"That’s right..." The elders’ eyes lit up.

"As expected of you, Patriarch. You’ve already thought that far ahead."

"Make sure you build a good relationship with them."

"Yes!"

Meanwhile, Liora cautiously led Ethan deeper into the settlement.

Nearly every Aurelian had gone outside to fight the Outland Beasts, leaving the interior quiet and deserted.

Ethan studied the woman walking ahead of him.

The Aurelian women really were exceptionally beautiful. Their most striking feature was their pale skin, so fair it almost seemed translucent.

Liora stood out even among them. Her features were nearly flawless. Ethan couldn’t help wondering what the old man had been thinking when he chose a woman like her to guide him.

Still, Ethan had little interest in beautiful women at the moment. All he wanted was to grow stronger as quickly as possible.

Neither of them spoke. Before long, they arrived at a stone chamber built underground behind the settlement.

"My lord, this is the private retreat our Patriarch uses when he needs to train without interruption. Will it suit your needs?" Liora asked softly.

Ethan looked it over and nodded.

"It’ll do."

"Then I’ll leave you to it, my lord. I’ll remain outside if you need anything."

"No. Go help the others. No one is allowed near this place without my permission."

"Yes."

Liora nodded and withdrew.

Ethan walked to the center of the chamber and sat down, then summoned Dopey.

"Dopey, guard the entrance. Aside from the people I told you to remember, kill anyone who comes inside."

Dopey didn’t respond. He simply walked to the entrance and stood there like a statue.

Ethan smiled, took out a Tier 41 crystal core, and began absorbing it.

Finally, a proper place to absorb crystal cores.

No more digging a hole every time.