Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 184: Dominion at the Gate

Chapter 184: Dominion at the Gate

March 23rd, 7:45 PM

Mansion Gate, Gu Tianhao’s Compound

John Wang POV

——

The last lock snapped under my fist, and prisoners were streaming like a flood.

Women with ripped dresses, kids clutching scraps, and men who looked like they hadn’t seen the sun in weeks ran for the shattered gates.

My group fought like wolves, covering them as bullets cracked overhead. One guy tried to crawl through, only to have half his scalp taken off by a passing round.

"Get down!" I bellowed, yanking a girl flat as the dirt around us exploded.

Zhou Xue and Deng Hua kept up a relentless stream of cover fire. Tang Wei barked orders, her voice slicing through the noise. Roulan dragged a limping old man through the dust, never looking back.

Then the world split wide open with the chatter of a heavy machine gun.

Ratatatatatat—

Screams.

People dropped. Blood painted the gateposts. Three villagers pitched forward, twitching in the dirt. I spun, body moving before my mind caught up, but I couldn’t catch them all. Couldn’t stop it. I watched a little boy fold up, his legs spinning beneath him as he crashed behind a rusted drum.

Shit.

I found the source—the bastard standing tall in the back of a black military jeep, one foot braced on the bumper. His uniform wasn’t even straight. He had a gun in one hand, a radio in the other. But I’d know that face anywhere.

Gu Tianhao.

His eyes swept the yard, zeroed in on me.

"All this trouble for a pile of trash, John Wang!" he called, voice echoing over the screams. "You thought you’d waltz in and steal my woman, my compound, and live?"

I watched him, slow, letting my breathing settle.

The machine gun on the roof swept left.

Two more people screamed and ducked, the crowd scattering.

Gu Tianhao smirked, seeing me freeze and the women huddle close behind.

"Don’t bother running," he spat. "You’re not the king here. You’re not even a man."

My blood ran hot. Not with fear—never that. But with a wild, stupid urge to wipe that smirk off his face forever.

I raised my arm, flicked my gauntlets to the ground with a heavy clang. "You want to settle this? Come down here. Man to man."

The girls started to shout—Roulan’s voice cut through first. "John! Don’t be stupid!"

Tang Wei grunted. "He’s armed, you’re not—"

Mu Qinglan just smirked, but I caught the tension in her eyes. Shen Yifei hadn’t spoken, but her blue eyes burned.

I ignored them. Walked straight up to the line, the crowd parting around me. The machine gun barrel tracked me, but Gu Tianhao held up a hand.

"Let the little bastard come," he said, voice cold. "I want everyone to see what happens to thieves."

As he jumped down from the jeep, I stepped close to Roulan, my hand brushing her waist just long enough for her to tense.

"I’m not doing this to show off," I murmured. "I want you to see me for real, not just as some asshole."

Her lips parted, eyes narrowing, but she didn’t move away.

I moved on, pausing beside Mu Qinglan. "You look so sexy right now," I whispered, my lips close to her ear. "But I want you to stay alive. Stay behind me."

"If you die, I’ll kill you myself." Qinglan retorted with a wild voice, causing Gu Tianhao’s face to twist.

The last stop was Yifei.

She hadn’t been the same since I saw her after being caught. I couldn’t leave her like this so I grabbed her, enjoying the soft feeling of her ass as she yelped. "John!?" Then kissed her dirty cheek. If I get infected, so be it! I thought.

"I’m trusting you, Yifei, keep them safe. I’ll handle this."

Her fingers squeezed my arm, her mouth trembling. "I believe in you."

I turned to Gu Tianhao with a smirk, my hands groping and enjoying the woman he was so crazy about. It felt amazing.

"Y-You bastard!" Gu Tianhao tossed his gun aside, chest puffed out. "You want a fight? You got one. How dare you touch her like that, you beast!"

The girls shouted, voices blending, but I waved them back, rolling my shoulders.

My body felt electric, like the world was vibrating just for me. The new power from the Primordial Tyrant Body Scripture made every step feel weightless.

Gu Tianhao came in swinging, fists up, muscles bulging. His footwork was quick and credit where it’s due—but he hit like a child compared to me now. I took the first punch on my jaw, let it roll off me, and grinned.

"Is that it?" I spat at his feet. "You done posturing?"

He roared, tried to tackle me, but I danced around him, letting my fists find his ribs, his gut, his jaw. Every hit crunched, bone against bone, and each time he staggered, my new Qi roared in delight. I was learning. Testing. Mastering myself as I used Gu Tianhao’s body as my training dummy.

I was twice his size, twice as strong, twice as fast.

He never stood a chance.

But I wanted him to see it. I wanted everyone to see it.

That I was the man now.

That nobody was ever going to chain us again.

Gu Tianhao’s face was red, and he was breathing unevenly as he lunged for me again.

I could feel every movement, every shift in his weight, like time slowed. My senses sharpened by the building Qi in my veins, and so I let him swing, ducked, and rammed my elbow into his chest with just enough force to knock the air out of him.

Not my full power. Not yet.

I wanted to test myself and see what I could do with this new body.

The Primordial Tyrant Body Scripture wasn’t just muscle and toughness. I felt energy flowing through me, something denser, richer, coiling tightly around my dantian.

I could move it if I focused—direct it to my fists, legs, and the next strike. I let a trickle of Fire Qi flow down my arm. When my fist connected with Gu Tianhao’s ribs, he shrieked and staggered, the impact burning hotter than it should.

He spat at my feet, clutching his side. "You think you’re special? I’m not done yet, Wang!"

I shrugged. "Then stop whining and get up."

He came at me with a wild haymaker, but I weaved aside, using Earth Qi this time.

My balance became rooted, every movement deliberate, unshakable. I caught his wrist, twisted, and slammed my knee into his gut. He folded with a gasp.

One of his men shouted from behind the jeep, but nobody dared approach. I could see my group in the periphery—Tang Wei tense, Roulan’s fists clenched, Mu Qinglan almost grinning. Shen Yifei’s blue eyes were huge, locked on me.

Gu Tianhao spat blood, his mouth already swelling. He bared his teeth. "You want her, huh? You want all of them? You think I’ll let you?"

He faked a stumble, his right hand dipping to his boot. I caught the gleam of metal a half-second too late.

A pistol flashed into his grip, jerking up to point at Shen Yifei.

The crowd screamed. My heart lurched, rage colder than ice surging through me.

He grinned, ugly and triumphant. "Back off! Or she dies!"

My voice was steady. No hesitation. "Shoot me. I can’t let you harm Yifei. She’s precious to me."

He sneered as if waiting for me to say that and squeezed the trigger.

Bang.

The shot cracked through the night.

My body moved on instinct—I surged forward, catching the bullet high in my chest to protect her... using Dash and all skills I had. The impact was like being kicked by a bull. Heat flooded my lungs—pain, white-hot and wild.

"JOHN!?"

Yifei’s pained scream woke me from that feeling as I snapped back towards Tianhao.

I barrelled into Gu Tianhao, my knee snapping up and shattering his jaw with a sickening crunch. He collapsed and dropped the pistol. Blood fountained from his mouth, teeth scattering into the dirt.

Something inside me snapped.

The world faded to red.

I grabbed him by the collar, dragged him down, and started punching. My fists rose and fell—heavy, brutal, relentless. I felt bone give, cartilage snap.

His face became a ruin. Every blow drove Qi through my arms, my heart hammering as the Tyrant Scripture howled for dominance.

Thud.

Crack.

Thud.

Crunch.

Over and over.

He stopped struggling. His men tried to raise their rifles, but by then, the crowd surged. Armed villagers, emboldened by the chaos, tackled them.

Zhou Xue fired an arrow into a guard’s leg. Roulan charged the line, pistol raised, face fierce. Tang Wei moved like a reaper, her knife flashing in the dusk.

Shen Yifei screamed my name.

I heard her, even through the haze.

I kept hitting Gu Tianhao until my hands dripped with blood and my arms shook with exhaustion. When I finally let go, he was unrecognisable—a pulp of flesh and bone, barely alive, twitching on the ground.

I staggered, blood gushing from my chest wound, but I stayed on my feet.

Yifei rushed to my side, sobbing. "John—oh god, you idiot, you should’ve let me—"

"I wont let anyone hurt you. Not now. Never."

My hand brushed across Yifei’s cheek as the brightness returned to her eyes.

I felt so good... so alive.

More alive than ever.

And I wasn’t letting anyone take it.

However, before speaking, my vision went blank and everything vanished.