Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 194: Monster vs Tyrant

Chapter 194: Monster vs Tyrant

The tunnel stank of hot rot and sewage, but all I could smell was adrenaline. The mutant crawled into the chamber.

For now, let’s call it: ’Boss Mutant.’

Its massive body scraping flesh and bone from the walls. A single swipe of its tail splattered a Stage 2 across the bricks.

My HUD struggled to lock onto its shape.

Red name, skull marks and danger flashing.

The monster was covered in overlapping plates of bone and yellowed scales, each as thick as my forearm. Dozens of red eyes glimmered above a maw of broken, mismatched teeth and steaming breath hotter than an engine block.

Yifei and Roulan opened fire without waiting for orders.

Type-9Ks chattered, tungsten rounds slamming into its chest and neck. The bullets sparked and ricocheted, not even scratching the plates. Yifei swapped mags and kept firing while Roulan cursed about the waste of bullets.

"This bastard is tough!"

"Sister Roulan, the gun is useless!"

No damage at all.

Mu Qinglan’s voice came crackling through the comms from above.

’Thank god her voice sounds relaxed...’

"We’ve cleared the area, most of the zombies are dead, how is it on your side, John?"

"Honestly... were fucked."

The monster lunged, jaws snapping at Yifei, forcing her to jump aside, barely avoiding its teeth. The boss spun, slamming its head into a support beam, causing concrete to explode and dust to shower us.

I pulled Roulan behind me as another tail swipe demolished the far wall. It moved like a landslide, unstoppable and yet she kept shooting, but it was hopeless.

A Stage 3 zombie tried to leap onto its back.

The beast spun and bit it in half.

"My points you fucker!"

My shout echoed through the cavern, unable to hold back my anger... the money from that core was enough to upgrade and kit out a soldier to A-Tier!

I heard the fear in Yifei’s breathing and saw Roulan’s eyes narrow in cold calculation.

Even with their strongest attacks, it still wasn’t enough. It fell short by miles.

Not even close.

My body hummed, Qi running wild under my skin. I tore open my inventory, hands shaking only a little as I grabbed a fistful of Stage 3 monster cores—red, yellow, green. They pulsed in my palm, glowing with raw energy.

[Warning: Overdose Risk!]

[JOHN!]

[Warning: Danger of Side Effects and Mutation!]

"Roulan... Zhou Xue... Yifei, back off... run back to the tunnel."

"John?" Roulan’s voice shook as she reached for my hand, glancing at the orbs inside my palm, she knew my plan. "You can’t do this... John! Listen to me!"

"Yifei, speak some sense into him!"

Roulan turned away from me as if seeking Yifei’s help. Before I could react, a golden shadow appeared behind her and snapped the back of her neck with her spear.

Thud!

Yifei held the fallen Roulan, her soft blue eyes gazing at me.

"Don’t die, don’t get hurt... please... be safe." The monster’s rage ended, and the last zombie inside its stomach.

"Please, take care of them and tell Mu Qinglan to eat these, and come to me after the pain fades."

I handed almost twenty stage two cores... green, red, and yellow.

"Are you sure, John?" Zhou Xue had no ties to me and no reason to listen. Still, her eyes held worry, concern, and regret equal to Yifei’s.

"Of course."

Thud-Thud-Thud!

The girls didn’t make me wait.

With one look at the monsters stomping their feet against the ground, a mixture of an alligator, rat and some other genes... and they rushed away, but what stayed with me were Shen Yifei’s wet eyes.

I tapped the communicator. "You heard that right Lan’er? We’ll be in danger soon, so eat the candy and join me down here."

"...I got it."

A cold tone, but the emotions she struggled with would surely explode the moment we next met, and I would suffer.

’Forgive me System girl, I have to do this. You know I cannot afford to delay things.’

[John... I have a name!]

"Hahaha I see, then tell me after I kick this fuckers ass."

I swallowed them whole. Heat surged down my throat, burning bright and vicious, pain splitting my chest wide open. Qi flooded every cell. My heart hammered, veins throbbing like cables about to snap.

The world pulsed red at the edges.

Primordial Tyrant Scripture activated, drinking in every trace of elemental energy.

I looked up at the monster, and for the first time, I felt ready.

It stared back, jaws dripping with venom.

I grinned, blood on my teeth.

"Let’s see if you die like the rest."

***

We clashed like beasts...

My vision bled with streaks of colour. Every heartbeat thundered in my ears. The cores roared inside me—Qi detonating through my veins, fire and lightning and iron crushing my insides into something new.

For a second, I thought my bones would burst.

My muscles twisted, fibres snapping and rejoining. My skin crawled as the Primordial Tyrant Scripture forced the raw energy to obey, devouring every drop of elemental power.

The agony blurred everything. I dropped to one knee, fists pressed into the cracked stone. Nails bit into my palms.

My breath came in short, ragged gasps, every cell inside me fighting to contain the flood. Red steam curled off my skin. I felt myself changing with each moment.

My body, mind, and Qi changed.

Each part grew denser, heavier, and sharper at the edges

[I won’t let you suffer more!]

[Overloaded QI Being Channelled to Meridians Automatically!]

[Integration... 89%... 96%... 100%.]

[Overload: Stabilised.]

Pain snapped into focus.

A new strength settled in my limbs, thick and deep, coiling under the surface. My senses expanded rapidly, and my world grew.

I felt every vibration in the ground, every gust of air, and the monster’s heartbeat echoing.

The Boss Mutant bellowed, sensing the shift. It crouched low, alligator-jaw gaping, rat-like whiskers twitching, bone-plated body flexing as it sized me up. Qi oozed from its fangs, venom burning pits in the floor.

I stood, feeling taller, heavier.

The gauntlets on my arms pulsed with power, the steel vibrated like it could sing. I cracked my neck and stepped forward, each stride sending ripples through the cavern.

The beast groaned before charging me in a blur of scales and muscle, snapping at my head.

I stepped in and met it halfway.

I threw my fist straight into its snout—steel knuckles smashing through scales, bone, and rotting flesh. The impact jolted up my arm. The beast’s head snapped sideways, a line of black ichor spraying the chamber wall. It staggered, stunned, but its tail whipped around, aiming to crush my ribs.

I braced and caught the tail on my forearm. It felt like stopping a truck. Pain lanced through me, but my bones held, reinforced by the Qi flooding my marrow.

I twisted, swinging the mutant by its tail and slamming it back into the ground.

The whole chamber shook.

Blood, flesh and bone broke free with each blow.

The monster shrieked, gnashing and digging furrows in the concrete as it recovered.

It rushed again, jaws open wide. I ducked the bite, planting a palm against its lower jaw, then drove my knee up, crunching into the base of its skull. Cartilage and teeth were shattered. Venom sprayed over my chest, burning hot as it melted my skin. The Primordial Tyrant Scripture absorbed the Qi, dulling the acid’s bite.

The beast reared, swinging with one massive claw. I dodged, barely, feeling the wind slice past my face. Its claws raked sparks off my gauntlet, leaving only shallow grooves.

I grinned, blood still seeping from my mouth.

This felt amazing; this was it—a real fight.

I surged in, fists flying—each punch crashing into bone plates, splintering armour, driving the monster back.

My Qi surged with all three elements. Each movement hit harder and flowed sharper.

But the monster wasn’t done.

It lunged, jaws snapping down.

This time, its teeth grazed my shoulder, drawing blood, cold, sharp, and burning.

We grappled, flesh and steel, man and monster.

The whole chamber shook, cracks racing up the walls.

Voices echoed in the distance.

I kept silent.

It was just me and the monster now.

I would not run or falter and locked eyes with the beast.

And I roared, pouring every ounce of will, strength, and Qi into the next punch.

The fire of Yifei, the ice of Lan’er and the comforting and steadfast earth of Roulan and me.

"FALL!"