Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 209: The One That Speaks

Chapter 209: The One That Speaks

The cocoon pulsed with a throbbing beat.

I watched Liya’s team members arguing as they left and held my breath, hoping that thing wouldn’t burst before they were safe. Though I didn’t care for them... devouring stronger humans only made these freaks more dangerous.

"We should attack that thing."

"Oh? You finally had a good idea!" Liya mocked me while lifting her halberd.

"Shut up. You shouldn’t try—let me."

I stepped forward, raising both gauntlets. The chambers rotated with a low whirr, locking the longer-range explosive slugs into place.

Closer.

Ten meters from the cocoon.

Its outer shell rippled with black veins and sharp ridges, like it had grown armour.

Da-DANG!

Eight shots erupted from my knuckles, light and smoke flaring across the street. The blast lit the cocoon’s surface in bright flashes, searing into its carapace.

The cocoon shuddered—

Then stopped pulsing entirely.

I narrowed my eyes.

Liya’s smirk faded.

The cocoon stopped pulsing.

Not suddenly, but like a machine winding down. The hiss of pressure bleeding off, the faint cracking of hard bone splitting open.

Steam rose in threads from deep inside.

The air carried the stench of burning meat and ash.

We watched in silence.

No roar.

No charge.

Just the sound of splitting marrow.

The front shell peeled back slowly, curling like petals soaked in blood. A pale foot stepped out. Not huge. Not malformed. Just... perfect. Human-shaped. Smooth muscle wrapped around solid bone, not bloated like the Brutes before.

Then came the second foot. Then the rest.

It stood still.

Roughly two meters tall, just over seven feet tall, but its posture was straight—arms at its sides with dense and compact muscles. Four of them—two resting at the waist, two relaxed near the chest. The symmetry was unnatural.

Its head tilted slightly.

No mouth tearing open.

No screech.

Just two cold, blackened eyes.

Looking right at me.

It took an unsteady step forward, silently watching us before it stopped.

Something about the eerie way it moved made my spine tingle.

My instincts screamed out.

You might expect danger or a warning, but the pulse was that of excitement and adrenaline pumped through my veins.

It stared.

I stared back.

Then its throat moved.

At first, I thought it was just breathing.

Then it spoke.

"...En...nuh...mee..."

The word rasped from its throat like a broken voice box straining against burned lungs. But it understood what it was saying, the precise use proved intelligence.

Liya’s team froze fifty meters away.

I didn’t blink.

’Scan it.’

[Scanning Entity...]

[Classification: Stage Four – Brute Variant]

[Mutated Attributes Detected]

The data slid into view—and for a second, I thought it was a glitch.

[Strength: 12.3x human baseline]

[Speed: 9.1x]

[Endurance: 9.5x]

[Reflexes: 9.4x]

[Regeneration: High]

[Bone Density: Reinforced]

[Weak Points: Unknown]

"...shit."

This one was a machine compared to a stage Three Brute, which generally only had five times the normal human’s ability in its main attribute, endurance.

No bloated weaknesses, the four arms evolved to make up for wide swings. It was a body created to fight with pure precision and brutality.

It wasn’t just a mutation.

This thing refined itself with great success.

Its lower arms flexed slowly.

Each hand formed a loose fist, cracking each joint, and looking over its changes, there was an irritating silence in the air.

No...

I could hear the chattering of teeth—Liya’s.

"Enemy," it repeated, slightly clearer now and more formed but still a little broken and hoarse, like a human who smoked fifty a day.

I stepped forward, slowly. My gauntlets hummed with pressure as I lowered my stance.

It didn’t move.

Just kept watching.

Its fingers twitched. Subtle. Almost too small to notice. But I caught it.

It wasn’t charging me because it needed to measure me, to see if I was worth the words.

I copied the zombie and pointed at him. "Enemy! Come on then!"

I dug my feet into the gravel and tensed my muscles.

There wasn’t any need for a System notification to tell me what to do.

It wasn’t just some monster now.

It was a fight.

***

The zombie stepped forward with no shambling or strange movements, just a controlled stride that rapidly built into a sprint.

My eyes widened as it closed the gap in less than a second, without a warning or tell... the thing didn’t even groan or roar.

I barely brought up my gauntlets before the first blow landed.

Clang!

The upper left fist slammed against my right gauntlet with a shockwave that numbed my entire arm. Before I could react, its lower right hand hooked under my elbow and dragged me forward.

My balance shifted—and the bastard used it.

A right hook from the lower arm punched straight into my ribs.

Thud!

Pain exploded through my side, a burst from the dull impact.

It followed up with a second strike—an uppercut from the other arm that snapped my head back. My vision blurred. The ringing in my ears drowned out everything but my breathing.

"Ghh—!"

I stumbled back two steps, shaking my head, trying to clear the static.

My brain rattled like a loose screw in a can.

’It’s using tactics—shit!’

The Brute wasn’t just strong... Its positioning and movements felt like a human who knew martial arts, maybe not quite a master, but with that body, it didn’t matter.

"Four arms are fucking annoying..."

It didn’t press the advantage.

It waited again.

Watching me with an obnoxious smirk.

Was it watching to see if I would come back swinging recklessly like a monkey?

I spat the blood pooling in my mouth, then wiped my lips and lifted my guard.

"You son of a—"

Boom!

I dashed forward, this time throwing my full power into the charge.

My flaming gauntlet slammed into its chest, launching it back five meters before it skidded to a stop.

Dust exploded around its heels.

I didn’t let up.

I closed in, letting the Ice Qi build in my left gauntlet while the right one blazed hotter. I feinted high and struck low, trying to test it now, to bait its counters.

The Brute parried the ice strike with its shielded lower arm and returned a jab that would’ve shattered bone if it landed.

I twisted past it and slammed both fists into its sides. The air hissed as Qi surged through the impact.

It stumbled back and looked at me with the strangest gaze.

Though I didn’t move it far... I proved one thing—I could hurt it.

From behind me, I heard Liya’s husky voice exhaling sharply. "Fuck me, that thing is fast."

She rushed past me, halberd held tight in both hands as she attacked with a low sweep.

The Brute reacted much faster than Liya, but I caught its left arm mid-swing and twisted before it smashed her face. "Now!"

Liya slid under its open guard and slashed across its leg, tearing a massive gash that sprayed black blood all over the place.

It roared—not in pain, but frustration.

The first sound it had made since it spoke.

Its next strike came faster, more aggressive. It lashed out with all four arms at once. I blocked one fist, then a second, but then it grabbed my arm with its lower hands.

I noticed it too late.

"Shi—!"

The upper arms punched straight into my face twice.

First to the jaw.

Second to the cheekbone.

Crack!

My vision blacked out for a split second. I hit the ground hard, ears ringing like gunfire. Blood dripped down my nose. My neck snapped to the side and stayed there for a heartbeat longer than it should have.

Liya shouted something but was distant—muffled under the hum in my skull.

I blinked.

Once.

Twice.

The Brute stood over me, still holding my arms. It didn’t smile or gloat; it just raised its fists again.

"Bitch, do something!" I called out to Liya before I growled and pushed off the ground with both legs and smashed them into its chest.

Boom!

The blow thundered through its chest, causing the Brute to wobble before lifting both hands, ready to strike me again.

I stomped.

I kicked and fought against the bastard’s grip.

Four arms were too unfair!

Our eyes became level as it looked at me, a moment passed, before I spat at the fucker.

"Fuck You!"

If it wanted to fight... I’d give it one.

"Huh?"

As it lifted its arms once again...

A red star shone above the sky, but why was it getting bigger?

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