Chapter 1268: Then We Take a Bigger One

Capítulo 1268: Then We Take a Bigger One

Ethan walked over to Marek’s corpse and looked down at what was left—only half a body. He shook his head.

No crystal core.

Just like them, Marek had a constellation map in his mind instead. That meant the body wasn’t worth anything except as feed for mutant beasts.

Zombies and mutant beasts—those kinds of mutated creatures—formed a crystal core in their heads after mutation. It automatically absorbed mysterious energy and strengthened them over time.

Humans, on the other hand, leveled up by lighting the stars on the constellation map inside their minds. Which meant Marek was probably human too… or at least a high-intelligence species close enough.

No wonder he could speak.

Humans could eat crystal cores to boost their strength fast.

Zombies and mutant beasts could speed up their growth by eating corpses.

The two paths were similar. The main difference was that crystal cores were condensed energy—so you got power immediately—while eating corpses required digestion and time.

But that didn’t mean humans had some guaranteed advantage.

Because crystal cores were so concentrated, you couldn’t use them across too big a gap.

A Tier 14 human couldn’t touch a Tier 16 crystal core—try it and the energy would blow their body apart. Instant death.

Even a Tier 15 crystal core had to wait until you hit the peak of Tier 14, so you could break through in one shot. Use it too early, and it would cause irreversible damage.

That was one of those unwritten rules humanity had already learned the hard way over the last half year.

Mutant beasts didn’t have that restriction.

The stronger the corpse, the better it was for them. If the gap was too large, they could just eat less at a time.

They’d digest slowly, finish, then eat more.

If a mutant beast got its hands on a corpse far beyond its current level, it could nibble and digest over time—and by the time it finished, its strength would skyrocket.

So each side had its own advantages. No clear “better,” just different.

Miles came up beside Ethan. “Captain… do we even rebuild this place? Or do we just move everything to Harrison City?”

Ethan looked over the Fallen Star City ruins. His mood was sour enough to bite through steel.

“How’s the Harrison City compound coming?”

“Barely started,” Miles said.

“Then forget it.” Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “Tell them to stop building. We’re moving into the Silverlake City compound.”

Miles blinked. “You mean…?”

“They smashed our compound,” Ethan said flatly. “So we’ll take a bigger one.”

He jerked his chin toward the wreckage, then continued, voice steady. “Silverlake City is a major city. It’s the state capital of Golden Delta. It’s better than Harrison City in every way—and it’s not even that far. We can take it over instead of wasting time building from scratch.”

He looked at Miles. “Once you’re there, expand it however you want.”

Miles nodded hard. “Yeah. That works.”

“Bring Fallen Star Guard back,” Ethan said. “Tomorrow, we go together. It’s time to let everyone else see what Fallen Star City can really do—so every stray dog doesn’t think they can come here and start shit.”

“Got it.” Miles’s eyes were sharp. “And while they’re at it, they can clean up what’s left here.”

Ethan gave a short nod. “Also—Grace and the others are at Harrison City, right? Call them back too.”

“Will do.”

Off to the side, under Henry’s treatment, the remaining five white-furred apes finally had their injuries stabilized.

Their wounds were healing… but their condition was still awful.

Their leader, Blizzard, was dead. Two more of their companions were dead too. Only five were left.

Of course they looked like hell.

The bond between them ran deeper than most humans could understand.

Skinny Pete didn’t try to take control of the others.

Those apes had done a lot for Fallen Star City. Now that Blizzard was gone, the plan was to give the survivors their freedom. If they wanted to leave, they’d be allowed to.

In the end, the white-furred apes didn’t go.

Since coming out of that world, they’d lived here. Fallen Star City’s people had treated them well—always sharing grilled meat, always feeding them first.

The apes weren’t dumb. They knew who was kind to them and who wasn’t.

They were devastated, sure.

But they weren’t abandoning this place.

Not long after, more than twenty thousand people finally returned.

The moment they saw Fallen Star City—almost nothing but rubble—every last one of them froze, eyes stretched wide.

As the few remaining people who’d stayed behind explained what happened—everyone talking at once, voices overlapping—the shock turned into something hotter.

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Faces tightened.

Hands clenched.

And fury spread through the crowd until it felt like the whole ruined city was burning.

Compared to Ethan and the others—who were constantly away from the compound—the Fallen Star Guard’s attachment to Fallen Star City ran a lot deeper.

Now that the place they’d lived in was nothing but rubble, plenty of them couldn’t hold it in anymore. Guys who’d survived hell without blinking were standing there with tears on their faces.

“Commander, we can’t just let this go!” someone shouted, eyes red. “They destroyed Fallen Star City—then we wipe their compound off the map!”

“Yeah! Flatten their compound!”

Ethan looked at the Fallen Star Guard—two-plus thousand pairs of bloodshot eyes, fists clenched white—and nodded.

“Alright. Rest up tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll take you there and we’ll level their compound.”

“Let’s go!”

“That’s our Commander!”

The roar that answered him shook the ruins.

“Good,” Ethan said. “Now clean up the bodies, and pack up anything important that’s left. We move out tomorrow.”

“Yes!”

Fallen Star Guard immediately got to work.

Disposing of the corpses was simple: burn them.

With over twenty thousand people, there was no shortage of fire-type abilities. The flames spread fast, turning the battlefield into a sea of smoke and heat.

Atlas City, the compound…

Maxwell hung up the phone, his expression… complicated.

The others in the conference room tensed up immediately.

“What now, General Kane?” someone asked. “What happened this time?”

In this era, even a rumor could make your heart stutter.

“Garrett led thirty thousand high-Tier Enhanced to Fallen Star City,” Maxwell said slowly. “They were completely wiped out. Not a single one survived. And one of them was a being from the Void Realm.”

“What?!” Everyone’s eyes widened.

“Is Garrett’s head full of rocks?” someone blurted. “He dared go after Fallen Star City? That’s Yang the Bandit’s home turf!”

“From what we heard,” Maxwell continued, “he relied on a Void Realm powerhouse accompanying him and tried to pick a fight with Ethan. He didn’t expect Ethan to cut that Void Realm powerhouse down with his own hands. After that, the whole force got buried with him.”

“Jesus…” Gabriel’s eyes went huge. “Based on the footage Silverlake City sent over, those Void Realm guys were at least Tier 17 or Tier 18, right? And Ethan still killed one?”

“So our guess was right,” another person said, voice tight. “That figure in Nova City really was him. It’s insane. Same starting line—how did he get that far ahead? To the point where even Void Realm powerhouses aren’t his match?”

Arthur leaned forward, curiosity getting the better of him. “General Kane—your daughter Aurora called you just now, right? She’s with them. Can you ask her how Fallen Star Squad’s strength is rising so fast?”

Maxwell shot him a flat look. “Don’t even think about it. She knows what she can say and what she can’t. Don’t drag her into trouble.”

Arthur coughed, embarrassed. “I was just asking.”

Charles’s brows were drawn tight. “Ethan’s strength is terrifying. But his methods are brutal too. Thirty thousand high-Tier Enhanced—he killed them all.”

“You know what he’s like,” Maxwell said, rubbing his temple. “He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t go looking for trouble, but he sure as hell doesn’t swallow it either. If someone provokes him, that’s just asking to die.”

He paused, then added, voice turning heavier.

“And you think that’s the end of it?”

Charles stared. “What else is he planning?”

“He’s taking people to attack Silverlake City compound tomorrow.”

“What?!” Chairs scraped. Several people shot to their feet at once.

“No!” someone blurted. “Silverlake City compound has over two million people! The Atlas Federation’s population is already thin—if he keeps killing like this, we won’t even need zombies. He’ll wipe us out himself!”

“Yeah,” Gabriel said, and for once even he couldn’t stay neutral. “General Kane, we have to talk him down. Silverlake City compound is an innocent victim here. They didn’t participate in any of this.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Maxwell snapped, then immediately sounded tired. “I’m the one losing sleep over it. But you all know his temper. He’s furious right now. I’m not exactly eager to go stick my head under his boot.”

“This is on Garrett,” Charles said, anger boiling over. “That bastard deserves to die ten times over!”

“Blaming Garrett doesn’t solve tomorrow,” Arthur said, frowning. “We need a way to stop this.”

“We can’t stop it,” Maxwell said flatly. “Ethan already announced it in public. At best, we figure out how to get him to kill fewer people.”

Gabriel looked straight at Maxwell. “Then it has to be you two. Either you call Ethan… or you have Aurora talk to him.”

Maxwell exhaled, long and heavy. “…Alright. I’ll try.”

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling like it might offer answers.

“What the hell kind of world are we even living in anymore.”