Chapter 1171: The True Apex Has Arrived

The white-furred apes charged into the battlefield fast, and the pressure rolling off them hit everyone like a physical wave.

No one even had to ask.

Every person there could feel it—these white-furred apes were absolutely stronger than the Titan Apes. The oppression they brought was even heavier than the Titan Ape pack’s.

And that pack was already Tier 10 and Tier 11.

Stronger than

that

...?

Nobody even wanted to imagine what kind of level that meant.

For a split second, the same thought dropped into everyone’s stomach like a stone:

We’re done.

But just as everyone’s hope hit rock bottom, Ethan suddenly spoke up, loud and casual.

"You guys finally made it. If you were any later, I was about to get beaten to death by those guys!"

He pointed at the Titan Apes and even put on a face like he’d been getting his ass kicked.

"—?!"

"???"

His words left both sides—humans and Titan Apes alike—completely dumbfounded.

"Those are... allies?"

"So these mutant beasts weren’t called by the Titan Apes... Ethan called them?"

"Looks like... yeah!"

"..."

"Holy shit," someone breathed. "Ethan’s just too insane."

Meanwhile, the Titan Ape leader was internally losing its mind.

What do you mean you were about to be beaten to death?! I haven’t even touched the corner of your clothes! How can you be this shameless?!

But the white-furred apes didn’t care whether the Titan Ape leader had landed a hit or not.

The moment they heard Ethan, every single one of them went livid.

"Fuck! You black-furred freaks want to kill him?! If you kill him, who’s gonna grill meat for us?!"

"ROAR!"

The white-furred ape leader roared, and the eight of them moved at once—surging in to surround the Titan Apes.

The Titan Apes panicked instantly, stumbling backward as a group.

"ROAR—ROAR!"

(Wait—hold on! It’s a misunderstanding! We didn’t mean it!)

"ROOOAR!"

(Misunderstanding my ass. Kill them!)

The white-furred leader roared again, and the white-furred apes attacked.

Huge fists swung down like sledgehammers, smashing toward the Titan Apes’ heads.

Caught off guard, the Titan Apes barely had time to raise their arms over their skulls.

THUD—THUD—THUD!

A series of heavy impacts boomed across the ground.

The Titan Apes were launched backward like they’d been hit by trucks, slamming down and skidding more than forty feet before finally stopping—then just lying there, not getting up for a long moment.

"Gulp..."

All around the field, people swallowed hard.

They’d guessed the white-furred apes were stronger.

They hadn’t expected them to be

this

much stronger.

One punch—down.

Even the Tier 11 Titan Ape leader wasn’t an exception.

That was ridiculous.

Were these white-furred apes... Tier 12?

God. This was insane.

Sophia watched the Titan Ape leader—the monster she’d believed was invincible—get dropped with one hit, and her mind went blank.

After everything she’d paid... everything she’d suffered...

This was what she got?

Ethan didn’t care what anyone else was thinking. He looked at the white-furred apes and spoke again.

"Finish them off, and we’ll have a bit more to feast on."

At that, the white-furred apes lit up and lunged for the Titan Apes.

"ROAR...!"

(Don’t come over here!)

The Titan Apes on the ground panicked so hard they seemed to pull strength out of thin air. They scrambled up and bolted, sprinting for their lives.

Too bad their speed didn’t even belong in the same conversation as the white-furred apes’.

They were caught almost immediately.

Then came a storm of savage hammering—fists dropping over and over—so violent the onlookers’ eyelids kept twitching.

It was pure brutality. Punches landing solid, meaty impacts thudding through the air, each low boom somehow syncing with everyone’s heartbeat.

"So damn strong..."

"These white-furred apes are terrifying."

"Yeah, thank God they’re on our side. If they were enemies, we might as well just lie down and wait to die."

It didn’t last long. In front of the white-furred apes, the Titan Apes didn’t have the slightest ability to fight back.

One after another, they were beaten until they burst.

Afterward, the white-furred apes moved like they’d done it a thousand times. They cracked the bodies open, pulled out the crystal cores, and brought them to Ethan.

The moment everyone saw those cores, breathing around the battlefield turned ragged.

One Tier 11 crystal core.

Eight Tier 10 crystal cores.

That kind of temptation could shake almost anyone. Get even one of them and your strength would spike.

Greed flashed in a lot of eyes. More than a few people instinctively started calculating—

If I snatch one, do I have even a sliver of a chance to escape?

They ran the numbers in their heads.

And came to the same conclusion.

The moment you move, you die. No exceptions.

So the crystal cores landed in Ethan’s hands under a thousand heartbroken, unwilling stares.

Plenty of people looked at him with envy so thick it almost had weight.

But no one dared act.

"Don’t show your wealth" was advice for the weak.

Real power didn’t need to hide.

Ethan looked down at the crystal cores too, and he couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face.

With these, he could jump straight into Tier 11.

This Void Realm trip had paid out so hard it was almost obscene.

And honestly, he had to thank Silverfox Squad’s captain for that.

If it weren’t for her, they never would’ve found the Void Realm in the first place.

Ethan glanced at the white-furred apes waiting expectantly for their "reward," then smiled and pointed toward the dozens of Tier 9 Titan Apes that were already fleeing in the distance.

"Go wipe those guys out. Tonight, I’ll grill three Bloodfang Wolves for each of you."

He held up three fingers to make it crystal clear.

The white-furred apes’ eyes practically sparkled. Then they took off, tearing after the retreating Tier 9 Titan Apes like a pack of white lightning.

Once they were gone, the battlefield was left with only Fallen Star Squad...

...and Sophia, standing alone on the other side.

Sophia’s face had gone dead-gray.

She’d paid an insane price for that "backer." She’d thought she could sweep through the apocalypse and become a warlord.

Instead, her dream got slapped flat before it even left the runway.

It was almost funny.

Ethan glanced at her, then turned to Henry and Emily. "She’s yours."

Henry nodded hard. He hadn’t expected he’d actually get to personally deal with this enemy in the end.

Henry and Emily started walking toward Sophia, step by step.

Sophia stared at them—especially Emily—and something complicated flickered across her face.

This had all started because of Emily.

Maybe if she hadn’t tried to recruit her with lies back then, things wouldn’t have ended up like this.

But Sophia didn’t think she’d done anything wrong. She’d only followed the rules of survival in the apocalypse.

What she regretted was not listening to Mark—regretted not killing Emily earlier, when she had the chance.

They stopped in front of her.

Emily raised her sword and leveled it at Sophia’s chest.

"You... deserve to die."

Then she thrust.

Sophia jumped back at once. At the same time, a vine shot up from the ground, whipping toward Emily to wrap her up.

Too slow.

Emily wasn’t the old Emily anymore. At peak Tier 9, she was miles beyond Sophia—who’d only just reached Tier 8.

Emily’s blade flashed.

The vine was sliced clean through.

Emily followed in, closing the distance in one breath, and stabbed again—straight through Sophia’s arm.

"Ahhh!"

Sophia screamed, clutching the wound as she staggered back and tried to run.

Emily was on her instantly.

Her sword swept out—

Both of Sophia’s legs were severed in a single cut.

THUD.

Sophia hit the ground hard. She twisted around, staring up at Emily in pure terror.

She couldn’t believe the girl who used to be so soft...

...could be this ruthless.

But the worst part—

Was still coming.