Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 208: Slaying A Stage Three Blade

Chapter 208: Slaying A Stage Three Blade

The Blade Type didn’t hesitate to attack, twisting itself in abnormal shapes and patterns; then it rushed at me like flesh. ’Fast!’ I threw my body sideways and smashed its blade away with my gauntlet, creating sparks and a deafening clang.

The edge caught the bottom of my jacket and shredded it clean off, stopping less than a hair from my ass.

It didn’t seem to want me to counter.

By the time my feet landed, it was already attacking my left, even faster!

My arm moved on instinct, the gauntlet blade clashing against the bastard’s shield as it rammed into me like a freight train. I skidded across the rooftop, boots dragging sparks, and my shoulder throbbing, yet I could feel it.

’It’s weaker than me!’

I dropped low and rolled forward, trying to regain momentum. But it was already coming again—its blade dragging through the air in a reverse slash meant to cleave straight through my back.

I blocked with both arms. Sparks exploded.

My elbows locked as the impact rattled through my bones, and it pressed even harder.

This one wasn’t just a brute with speed, but a duellist.

I snarled, pissed off that it was being so arrogant and headbutted it. The blow made it flinch and stagger back for a moment, just enough time to pivot and swing my left fist upwards with all my power, catching its jaw with a flaming uppercut.

It flung back, almost collapsing with a shattered jaw, bone splintered to its eyes.

Not an instant kill, but it was something.

"Impressive," Liya muttered behind me. "Didn’t think you’d hold that off."

I didn’t respond.

Because my lungs were burning... overusing Shen Yifei’s fire element made it hard to breathe, the more I burned my Qi, the hotter my blood and body became.

The Blade-Type recovered fast, too fast. It swayed low, blade dragging along the roof tiles, and lunged forward with an unnatural twist of its torso.

I sidestepped, spun behind it, and slammed my elbow into its spine with everything I had.

Crack!

The thing hissed through its teeth.

For the first time, it reacted.

That should’ve dropped a Brute.

Instead, it twisted its shield arm backwards and smacked me across the ribs with enough power to lift my feet off the ground.

I crashed through a chunk of a fallen air vent and rolled back to my feet with a grunt. Pain shot through my side, but it wasn’t enough to knock me down.

’This fucker!’

It came again—blade first.

Not this time!

I knew its pattern; tilting my head and blocking the blow, using the fiery qi blade to deflect and knock it off balance.

Whnnng!Her halberd intercepted the strike mid-arc, wood and metal catching the edge before it reached me.

Liya stepped in beside me, sweat gleaming across her collarbone.

"You gonna hog all the fun? My turn."

"A woman after my heart."

"Tsk, shove it, pretty boy."

The creature screeched and twisted—but her foot smashed into its knee, breaking its stance, just long enough for me to charge forward and slam my gauntlet into its ribs again.

We moved together now.

Two sets of feet.

Two weapons.

One kill zone.

***

The Blade-Type shrieked again, swinging wildly for Liya’s neck.

She ducked low and drove the shaft of her halberd into its gut, stopping its charge for a breath. I stepped in, shoulder to shoulder, and buried my gauntlet into its exposed ribs with a bone-splitting crack.

It staggered backwards, movements no longer smooth, off balance, off rhythm.

Liya moved in for the finish.

She spun the halberd once and brought it down like an executioner—the blade bit into its neck, severing half its throat. Blood sprayed in thick, black gouts.

"Till breathing," she growled.

I dashed behind it and hooked my arms under its shield limb. "Hold it."

With a snarl, she drove the halberd all the way through its torso, pinning it to the rooftop, but I finished it with a swift swipe of the bastard’s throat.

The Stage Three zombies became more difficult to kill because of the bone armour and plating that grew under their skin, protecting vital sections like their neck.

’Phew...’

It gurgled once. Then went still.

Silence.

We stood there, surrounded by the mess as black blood steamed where it pooled.

Liya pulled her weapon free with a sharp tug, not sparing the corpse a glance. She adjusted the band around her wrist and muttered, "That one wasn’t normal."

I wiped my gauntlet on my pants. "You mean compared to the other cute ones?"

She gave me a blank stare. "Are you brain-damaged?"

"Maybe a little. But if I was, you’d be the first to know."

"Tch."

I leaned in a little, smirking. "You always this sweet to the guys who save your life twice?"

"I wouldn’t have needed saving if you weren’t such a damn rooftop voyeur."

I smirked. "Your ass made it hard to focus."

She exhaled sharply through her nose. "One more word and I’m planting you next to that corpse."

I leaned in, voice low. "Careful, or I’ll have you on all fours begging me to save you a third time."

Her grip tightened on the halberd. "You talk too much."

"Haha, I won."

Before she could answer, the ground beneath us trembled.

The scream that followed was nothing like the Blade-Type.

It came from the street below—the other Stage Three that hadn’t moved.

Now it has moved.

And the way its flesh bulged, cracked, and reformed told me one thing—

It was evolving.

***

The roar from below tore through the air like a cannon blast.

Tiles cracked under our feet. Liya and I exchanged a brief, silent look and vaulted off the rooftop without another word. I leaned hard, knees bent, gauntlets scraping the concrete to absorb the shock. Liya hit just behind me, halberd low, body coiled.

Her squad was waiting in a loose formation. They were skilled and managed to kill several Stage Twos without Liya; they even knew how to collect the cores...

’Of course I took the three stage three cores so far.’

Two green, one red.

"Hm?"

The rifleman was young and tense. The girl with the crossbow has a broader stance and was better trained, while the third one, a heavyset guy with a short axe and an arm sling, stepped forward to block me from Liya.

"What the hell was that!?" he snapped, looking between me and the bone-wrapped mass ahead. "What is that!?"

"A stage three mutating."

"You said there were two left—"

"Now there’s one. And it’s turning into something none of you want to be near."

The crossbow girl narrowed her eyes. "Who the fuck are you, exactly?"

"Your future big brother."

"Nhaa!?" The cute girl looked shocked, looking at Liya before flipping her head to the side, clearly annoyed with me. I stepped past them, eyes locked on the thing ahead. "But if you want to live, you’re going to leave."

"We’re not abandoning Liya—"

"She’s not the one I’m worried about."

I didn’t shout. I didn’t explain. Just pointed.

The cocoon of bone and muscle down the street pulsed like a living organ. Steam hissed from its seams. The monster inside was compressing its form, tightening, becoming more than it already was.

"You see that?" I said. "Whatever comes out of that isn’t a stage anything. It’s a death sentence for you weaklings. One blow and POP! Like like your cherry."

At first, Liya didn’t speak; she glared at me for my crass jokes, but her eyes turned to the shape, a vein throbbing at her temple. She didn’t argue or complain.

But I could feel it—her mind turning.

"I can’t protect them," she said, voice low.

Her squad looked full of despair.

She adjusted her grip on the halberd. "If that thing moves the way the Blade-Type did... I’d have to choose who to save."

I nodded. "Now you’re thinking clearly."

The heavyset guy stepped forward. "We’re not leaving you behind."

"You are," she said. "That’s an order."

They didn’t like it, and I could understand that they might be the same if it were my group.

On that note, I tapped my comms.

"Yifei, how are you doing?"

Yifei’s excited voice came through, "John! I’ve killed them all, hehe~ I swallowed twelve cores so far, so wait for me I am coming to you!"

I blinked.

"Twelve?"

A short silence.

"...Are you angry?"

"No. I am just impressed, good job Yifei."

She laughed. "Barely. I will rush to you now, okay?"

"Yeah, stay safe."

I cut the connection and turned back, looking at Liya.

She was staring at me, expression unreadable. "You really planning to fight that thing?"

"Not alone. I’ve got backup."

A long, slow exhale left her mouth.

"I can’t let you die when I owe you, so let me help too."

"You can try. Just don’t miss."

The cocoon pulsed again.

Bones cracked.

And something inside it growled—not like a beast, but like something trying to speak.

Liya stepped back, her squad falling in behind her.

I turned to face the creature, flexing my fists as steam hissed from my gauntlets.

"Come on then," I muttered. "Let’s see what you’ve become."