Apocalypse Gachapon - Chapter 1816: Catching up

Ye Zhongming felt no resentment.

He had been ambushed before, but rarely had he failed to detect an attacker until the moment they struck.

This time, he had sensed nothing.

Since entering the Novice Battlefield, Ye Zhongming had maintained extreme vigilance, as had Jie Kui. Yet despite their caution, their enemies had still slipped behind them undetected. That wasn’t bad luck—it was a skill gap.

No shame in admitting it.

But while he wasn’t bitter, the realization hit him: They had been set up.

By the very pursuers they’d wanted to identify.

The pain from the blow didn’t bother him. It was minor—the Star-Eye Clan armor and hastily summoned Black Earth Armor had absorbed most of the impact. His dodge had further reduced the damage. The blood he coughed up made it seem worse than it was.

As his body twisted midair, the King of Cloud Peak finally got a clear look at his attackers.

Two hunched figures with grotesquely elongated arms. They moved barefoot, their bizarre physiology allowing them to leap without a sound.

Their exposed limbs were even more unsettling—pores dilated like black holes, swallowing all traces of sound and scent around them.

No wonder they’d gotten so close.

At two meters above ground, Ye Zhongming kicked off the tree trunk, reversing his fall into an upward lunge. His weapon flashed toward one attacker while two shadow clones materialized, blades aimed at the other.

Jie Kui was in worse shape—his straight-line plummet betrayed severe injury. Ye Zhongming needed to buy him some breathing room.

SCHLICK.

His Mimic Blade sank into an enemy’s palm—but brought no satisfaction. The creature had let itself be impaled.

First impressions: Preternaturally fast. Alarmingly agile.

Now add: Terrifying regeneration.

Though the blade had cleaved the hand, it went no deeper. Muscles contracted like vises, trapping the energy edge. Bloodflow ceased within seconds—had the weapon not been lodged, the wound might’ve sealed completely.

Ye Zhongming immediately released the Mimic Blade. Keeping it meant being slammed into the ground along with it.

Another shadow clone appeared behind the creature, dagger plunging toward its neck.

The attacker jerked its head aside. The blade grazed its cheek, drawing blood. An elbow shot back—the clone exploded, its psychic backlash briefly staggering the creature. Yet it charged forward regardless, tackling Ye Zhongming mid-descent.

They were close to the ground, so they both hit the earth together.

What followed was a blur of close-quarters carnage.

At Nine-Star level, melee combat was lethally efficient. One misstep meant death.

The creature was outmatched in pure skill. It relied on inhuman reflexes and obscene regeneration to keep pace.

Given time, Ye Zhongming would win.

But time was a luxury he didn’t have.

These stealth specialists weren’t here to kill him. They were stalling.

Buying time for the real threat—the seven rapidly approaching hunters.

“Ye, RUN!”

Jie Kui’s shout came just as his opponent overwhelmed him. He had probably guessed the goal of the two lifeforms.

But the moment he shouted, the enemy pounced onto him, and a flurry of fists pinned him down—escape was impossible.

A beat later, his follow-up was admirably pragmatic: “Ye, HELP.”

Ye Zhongming’s eyes darkened with fury.

These bastards had hounded them for an entire day, forsaking precious points just to hunt them down. Why? The first elimination was in three days—didn’t they care about survival?

Gravity Field activated. Shadow clones reappeared. His right fist charged with stored energy.

Since obtaining the Mountain King Crown, his synergy with elemental spirits had reached new heights. The Power Feedback ability let him unleash strikes far beyond his normal limits.

Even among Nine-Stars, Ye Zhongming’s strength was peerless. With the crown’s amplification, his next punch could shatter mountains.

His opponent—a tenacious, regenerating nightmare—somehow sensed the danger. Just as Ye Zhongming’s fist drew back, it disengaged mid-grapple, leaping away.

Ye Zhongming smirked.

“Shrinking Stride.”

The crown’s short-cooldown ability teleported him point-blank. His powered strike caved in the creature’s skull.

Even a level-nine Spirit Fire Rhino King couldn’t withstand this. Neither could it.

The head snapped sideways, organs rupturing in a gory spray. The body cartwheeled through the air before crashing down.

No time to confirm the kill. Ye Zhongming was already moving, launching collected monster fangs as projectiles while his second Mimic Blade morphed into a spear.

The remaining attacker snarled but retreated under the onslaught.

Jie Kui, though battered, was a master ambusher. He exploited the opening perfectly.

“GO!”

Ye Zhongming grabbed his ally’s shoulder, ready to flee—

WHOOOOOSH!

A blade’s edge frosted his eyelashes as it halted millimeters from his throat.

“You’re not leaving.”

A child’s voice, dripping with mockery, preceded the thunderous approach of the dwarf girl and her oversized cleaver.