Chapter 1323: Power Has a Price

The group hurried to the

Beast Enclosure

.

Inside, several Fallen Star Guard members were already tangled up in a messy fight with a handful of

white-furred apes

.

The guards who’d stepped in were the stronger ones—their strength was around

Tier 20

.

And yet right now they were getting chased all over the place by those apes, scrambling and dodging like they were the ones at a disadvantage.

Ethan stopped short, genuinely caught off guard by the sight.

"Holy hell... Tier 19."

He’d always known the white-furred apes had strong bloodlines. He just hadn’t expected

this

.

Before The Crimson Star appeared, they’d been around

Tier 13

.

Ten days later, they’d jumped

six Tiers

, straight from

Stage C

into

Stage B

.

It was absurd.

For a second, Ethan almost felt like his own gains were nothing worth bragging about.

Of course, the real reason zombies and mutant beasts had climbed so insanely was still the same—

crimson energy.

That stuff was on a completely different level from mysterious energy.

Ethan could envy the results, sure, but he didn’t feel tempted.

That energy destroyed intelligence. Even if humans

could

absorb it, he wouldn’t touch it.

What was the point of strength if you lost your mind?

Five Tier 19 white-furred apes were currently beating the Fallen Star Guard around.

Not holding them off.

Not trading blows.

Straight-up

chasing them

.

The guards were clearly worried about injuring the apes, so they weren’t using abilities.

But in pure physical clashes, they couldn’t compete with these monsters.

White-furred apes had a special constitution. They didn’t have ranged skills, but every time they advanced, their bodies got stronger—raw power and defense both spiking hard.

In pure physical stats, they probably weren’t any weaker than a typical

Tier 21

Enhanced.

So if the Guard refused to use skills, losing ground was inevitable.

And honestly—even if they

did

use skills, there was no guarantee they could take them down cleanly. Ethan knew how terrifying white-furred apes were up close.

When the guards spotted Ethan and the squad arriving, you could practically see the relief hit them. They immediately retreated toward him.

"Commander!"

Ethan nodded. "You did good. Fall back."

"Yes, sir!"

The Fallen Star Guard members quickly pulled away.

But the white-furred apes didn’t rush over with their old friendliness.

Instead, the second they saw Ethan and the others, they lunged—straight at them, savage and fast.

Ethan’s chest tightened.

The killing intent in their eyes was real.

Their intelligence had been shattered. They weren’t the same apes anymore—just empty bodies wearing familiar fur.

Maybe, after some time, they’d grow new intelligence again.

But even if they did... they wouldn’t have their old memories.

Ethan forced down the heaviness in his throat.

Maybe that’s fine,

he thought.

Let them forget everything from before. Let them treat Fallen Star City as home from the start.

The apes were strong, but in front of the

Fallen Star Squad

, they didn’t get to run wild.

Everyone moved at once.

A burst of clean, decisive action—steps, feints, joint locks, brutal counters.

In moments, the five apes were pinned and forced down, roaring and thrashing but unable to break free.

"Skinny Pete," Ethan said, steady. "Control them."

Originally, among the white-furred apes, only their leader

Blizzard

had been controlled. After Blizzard died fighting to protect Fallen Star City, Ethan hadn’t had Skinny Pete take over the others.

But now?

He didn’t have a choice.

Skinny Pete was already

Tier 21

. Controlling a few

Tier 19

beasts was effortless.

It took only a short while before the apes’ struggles faded and their bodies went slack—submissive under the Beast Control link.

Ethan let out a slow breath, then looked toward a few Fallen Star Guard members.

"If the white-furred apes rioted, then Pumpkin should’ve too," he said. "It wasn’t controlled either. It should’ve gone berserk."

"Yes, Commander," one of the guards said quickly. "Pumpkin did riot. But it isn’t that strong—only

Tier 15

. A few of us went over and restrained it."

Ethan nodded, then looked at Skinny Pete and said helplessly, "Control Pumpkin too."

Pumpkin—the orange cat—had been with them the longest. It had followed them since back in school. Even if its bloodline meant it couldn’t keep up anymore as everyone else got stronger, Ethan had never once considered abandoning it.

"Okay," Skinny Pete said, and followed a few Fallen Star Guard members over.

A short while later, Skinny Pete returned, leading Pumpkin back with him.

Ethan crouched and rubbed Pumpkin’s head, voice low. "Pumpkin, don’t be scared. We’re here. You’ll get your mind back soon."

"Meow." Pumpkin answered—but the sound was distant, unfamiliar. Like it was talking to a stranger.

Ethan sighed. The price of this strength... was too damn high.

"Come on," he said, standing. "Let’s go check on the Flamebirds."

"Yeah."

They headed to where the Flamebirds nested.

A huge flock of Flamebirds was sprawled lazily across the grass, half-asleep in the sun. Their intelligence had taken a hit too, but with their leader still present, the flock hadn’t rioted.

And seeing the Flamebirds’ growth put Ethan in a slightly better mood.

They hadn’t skyrocketed as insanely as the white-furred apes—but every single one had jumped several Tiers.

Before, the weakest had been

Tier 15

, and the strongest— their leader—had been

Tier 18

.

Now the weakest were already

Stage B, Tier 18

... and

Ember

had reached

Tier 21 peak

.

"Ethan," Chris said suddenly, glancing over. "In a couple days, we’re taking the Fallen Star Guard to the Yamato Empire to sweep the Infernals, right?"

"Yeah," Ethan said. "We’ll handle those escaped monsters first, then we go."

Chris hesitated, then asked, "Do you think it’s possible the Infernals already came out of the Void Realm... and they just happened to catch this mysterious energy surge?"

"...."

Ethan’s body went a little stiff.

That... actually wasn’t a crazy idea at all.

And if it was true, then going over there might mean walking straight into a beating.

The Flamebirds had jumped this hard. The Infernals could’ve climbed even higher.

"We’ll know when we get there," Ethan said finally. "We’ve got air superiority. If we can’t win, we can always pull out."

Chris nodded. "Fair."

"Alright," Ethan said, eyes narrowing toward the horizon. "Let’s go take a look outside."

Not long after, everyone mounted Flamebirds and left Fallen Star City.

Outside, the major compounds were going through the same emotional whiplash.

At first, they’d been terrified by the zombies’ sudden power spike.

Then they finally calmed down—and realized it was also an opportunity.

So the compounds started moving.

They began forming elite teams to hunt.

The ten-day surge had boosted everyone’s strength, but every compound had a few people with truly exceptional talent—people who used those ten days to burst ahead of the pack.

Compound leaders started selecting the strongest among them, building "core forces" and sending them out.

Because with zombie intelligence shattered, the zombies outside weren’t gathering into massive coordinated hordes. A lot of the time you could find lone zombies wandering around.

And killing even one meant a high-Tier crystal core—enough to push a compound’s combat power up another notch.

It really was a rare window for humanity.

As Ethan and the others flew, they saw plenty of zombies staggering around below.

They’d reverted to the earliest version of themselves, wandering aimlessly, driven only by instinct as they searched for food.

They also saw mutant beasts leaving the forests and appearing out in the open.

Like the white-furred apes, those mutant beasts had lost their intelligence too. They were vicious—pure violence on legs.

More than once, the group spotted zombies and mutant beasts colliding, tearing into each other in brutal, mindless fights.

But the biggest change of all was the vegetation.

The mountains looked like they’d gone insane.

Hills that used to be only lightly forested had turned into dense wilderness—full-on primeval jungle that you couldn’t see into from above.

Big Mike gaped. "Damn... don’t tell me these plants mutated too."

"Could be," Chris said. "All those mutant beasts coming out... might have something to do with what’s happening inside the forests."

"So what—do we go in?" Big Mike asked, already sounding excited.

Ethan’s curiosity was itching too. "Yeah. Let’s take a look."

They guided their Flamebirds down and jumped off at the edge of a massive forest.

This used to be mountain range woodland—trees that weren’t especially big.

Now?

It was a gigantic primeval forest. Towering trees stabbed up like they’d been growing for a hundred years, trunks thick enough to make you feel small just standing next to them.

The moment they stepped inside, they realized how dense it was.

Almost no light got through.

The whole forest was dim and cold, shadows layered on shadows.

Big Mike shivered dramatically. "Man... this place is creepy as hell. No wonder the mutant beasts ran out."

"I don’t think they left because it’s dark," Mia said, scanning the undergrowth. "This kind of environment is perfect for them. If they’re fleeing, it’s probably something else."

Ethan nodded. "We’ll find out. Let’s move."

No one was particularly nervous—when your strength hit this level, fear started needing a reason.

They pressed deeper into the forest, footsteps muffled by thick growth, the air getting heavier with every step... and the darkness ahead refusing to open up.