Apocalypse: King of Zombies Chapter 1639: Don’t Let Go

Miles checked on the Outland Beasts next.

They were in even worse shape.

Their appearance had drawn nearly every alien fighter in the area toward them, and they were now being chased all over the region.

Fortunately, they were smart enough to take cover in the forests. By using the terrain, they had managed to hold out so far.

The Rimekin couldn't break away from their battle either. Their opponents were even stronger than they were, so all they could do was hold them back and keep them from adding more pressure to the forces behind them.

Miles shook his head and switched the feed back to Abyron and Dahlia.

The two were barely surviving.

After watching them narrowly escape death again and again, Miles finally sighed.

"Looks like I'll have to pull the Captain out early after all. Maybe he can come up with something."

He immediately headed for Ethan's room.

Inside, Ethan slowly opened his eyes, a smile spreading across his face.

"Tier 44!"

He had originally thought he could only reach Tier 43, but after counting his crystal cores again, he realized he had a chance to go further.

Between the core from the Tier 44 whale that had swallowed him and the Frost Wolf's core he later obtained, he had two Tier 44 crystal cores. He also had several at Tier 43 and Tier 42.

With all of them combined, breaking through to Tier 44 seemed possible.

So Ethan had decided to go for it. Once he reached Tier 44, Mia and Emily's support abilities should let him fight just about anyone within Stage SSS.

The breakthrough was why his advancement had taken so long.

"I've been in here for quite a while. Hopefully nothing happened outside."

Ethan frowned, then shook his head.

"Probably not. If something serious had happened, Miles would've come to get me."

New Atlas was no longer weak. Ordinary races from the Void Realm posed little threat to the city.

Ethan stretched, got to his feet, and opened the door. The moment he stepped outside, he saw Miles hurrying toward him with undisguised urgency.

"Captain, you finished your advancement?!" Miles asked, overjoyed.

"Yeah. What's going on? Why are you in such a rush? That's not like you."

Miles was always calm and methodical. This was the first time Ethan had ever seen him so anxious.

"Captain, we've got a crisis!" Miles said gravely.

"What happened?"

Ethan's heart sank. Anything that could shake Miles this badly had to be serious.

"There's no time to explain everything. Abyron and the others are in grave danger. They're surrounded by an alien force with a peak Tier 47 fighter!"

"Peak Tier 47?!"

Ethan didn't know what had happened, but he understood how desperate the situation was.

"Where are Emily and Mia?"

"We're here!"

The two women rushed over after hearing the commotion.

"Buff me!"

"Okay!"

Neither hesitated.

Mia activated Power Transfer, pouring all her mental energy and physical strength into Ethan.

When Mia had only been Stage SS, the gap between her and the Stage SSS Ethan had been too wide. Power Transfer had barely improved his strength.

Now that she had reached Stage SSS, the difference between them was only three Tiers, so the boost was greater than before.

Still, it wasn't as large as it seemed. The gaps between Tiers within Stage SSS were enormous. Though Mia appeared much closer to Ethan in rank, the actual difference in strength remained vast.

The same applied to Emily's Mental Blessing. Before, it could only increase Ethan's mental energy by twenty percent. Now, it raised it by at least thirty percent.

Emily had also gained Damage Amplification. With all the buffs stacked together, Ethan's combat strength rose significantly.

The moment they finished, Ethan swept a hand through the air. A dimensional rift opened before him, and he stepped straight through.

On a distant plain...

Covered in blood, Abyron was being driven back by the scarred man's relentless attacks.

There was no fear on his face, only calm acceptance.

He had already been dead for ten thousand years. Why would he fear dying again?

This life had been borrowed from the start. If it ended here, so be it.

His only regret was that he wouldn't get to follow the man who had insisted on becoming his boss and help him crush these alien races.

Abyron had an unshakable confidence in that bargain-bin boss of his, unlike anything he had ever felt before. Once Ethan fully matured, Abyron knew he would possess the power to sweep aside every race in his path.

"Too bad I won't live to see it."

Abyron shook his head.

"Look out!"

Dahlia's warning rang out behind him.

The Vesari Patriarch, who had been fighting alongside them against the Varkesh, had condensed every ounce of his flame power into a blazing spear—and thrust it straight at Abyron.

Knowing there was no hope of survival, he had decided to kill Abyron himself and avenge the Vesari who had fallen.

The betrayal was so sudden that no one reacted in time.

No one except Dahlia, whose attention had never left Abyron.

Abyron had just taken a heavy blow from the scarred man. He heard Dahlia's warning, but he had no way to block or dodge.

The flaming spear was about to pierce him when a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

Shnk.

The spear, carrying the Vesari Patriarch's full power, tore straight through Dahlia's body.

It tried to continue through her and reach Abyron, but Dahlia grabbed the shaft and held it fast.

Thump.

A muffled blast erupted inside her as the flame power detonated.

Blood poured from Dahlia's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Her life force rapidly faded.

Abyron's pupils contracted.

Disbelief filled his face as he reached out and caught her before she could fall.

"You... finally held me."

Dahlia's voice was barely more than a whisper. Blood covered her face, but she was smiling.

"I'm... glad it was in your arms."

She slowly raised a trembling hand and touched Abyron's cheek.

"We Florari... we fall hard... but not often."

Her smile softened.

"And when we do... we don't let go."

Her hand fell.

Her presence vanished completely.

Abyron went rigid.

He stared down at the woman in his arms, a storm of emotions crossing his face. Even when he sensed the scarred man attacking from behind, he made no attempt to move.

He was tired.

Maybe it was better to let it end here.