Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 46: Crack the Anvil and Burn the Marrow! (II)

Chapter 46: Crack the Anvil and Burn the Marrow! (II)

My feet struck the earth like hammers, each impact ringing through the marrow of my bones, propelling me forward like a dragonfly.

The Blade-Type met my charge with a silent groan—mouth open wide, eyes blank and yet focused on me and nothing else. Its arms swung outward in a scissor arc, aiming to cleave my torso in two.

I couldn’t stop at this pace and dropped my hips just before colliding.

Its bone blades passed inches over my head, cutting strands of my hair mid-strike. Then I twist my hips, thrusting my spear upward, a reverse thrust that strikes beneath its jaw. I felt resistance.

Then a low crack. A blackened ichor started pouring from its split chin.

But it didn’t fall.

The red core still pulsed in its chest, faster now, frantic.

It screeched, slamming both arms down. I crossed my spear to block—too late.

The impact sent a jolt through my elbows. My legs buckled, and the road beneath me cracked.

The two blades sliced through my forearms, unfiltered agony spread through my being, and blood poured from the long gashes.

Pain.

Real, sharp, unfiltered.

The Titan’s Marrow Sutra howled in joy.

My bones tightened.

Muscles surged in delight, bulging and shrinking.

The skin on my body burned, turning darker, healing rapidly.

I threw myself sideways as the Blade-Type tried to cleave me again, pushing through the agony, letting it feed the fire kindling inside me.

Yin was a blur, fighting his own battle, his speed beyond mine.

Yet I realised that, like Qinglan, he was special.

Appearing beside me, fangs buried in the neck of one of the zombie dogs, ironically tossing it like a rag doll before springing onto the next. His fur glistened with gore. Eyes bright with wild charm.

He was built for this.

Then Me?

I needed to forge myself!

The remaining Speed-Type darted in again, blurring like a mirage. I felt it before I saw it.

I turned—barely—spear dragging through the air behind me.

It grazed my ribs, slicing through my coat and skin alike. Blood spilled.

But I caught it.

The spearhead punctured its thigh—again—and this time, I held it in place.

The zombie screeched, flailing its elongated arms. One claw ripped across my shoulder. Another crosses my face.

Pain bloomed, but I refused to release it.

I wrenched the spear sideways, using my body as an anchor.

The zombie’s leg tore free, severed at the joint.

It collapsed, twitching and snarling.

And before thinking, I pounced.

Three clean strikes—shoulder, chest, neck.

The zombie stopped moving, a sickening gurgle escaping its throat. I stood—shaking. The pain from my arms being sliced open still screaming in my mind, but the pleasant feeling of heat surging from my abdomen made it irrelevant.

The Titan’s Marrow Sutra surged violently like molten rock, pumping through my arteries.

[Breakthrough Threshold Reached]

A pulse.

I staggered as every fibre of my body locked for an instant—then twisted, like metal reforging itself under divine heat.

"Ngh...!"

My veins bulged under my flesh, a dark colour like my blood became black, like molten rock. Then my muscles burned, like a volcanic eruption spread through my stomach.

I felt my hands itch, before a sharp pain as my knuckles cracked, before growing larger and hardening like stone.

Finally, my skin tore, peeled and then became numb, thicker and stronger.

[Stage 1 – Hardened Core: Achieved]

I gasped, dropping to one knee, sweat pouring like rain.

The world sharpened. My body felt heavier—denser—but lighter at the same time.

I rose slowly, my grip around the spear no longer trembling, as if it became a stick of wood, allowing me to move at full speed. The Speed-Type darted forward. But I saw it now—truly saw it.

No blur or haze any longer.

The movements of its muscles, the explosive power of the zombies’ thighs. So when it lunged, I sidestepped.

My spear coiled like a viper, striking twice—one to the chest, deflecting its claw, and the second, up through the jaw, piercing the brain.

It staggered like a samurai who lost a duel. Then collapsed in a heap, skull split clean.

Two down.

Behind me, Yin danced between the remaining dogs, his body slick with blood but movements still sharp. A yowl escaped him as one clipped his side—but he retaliated immediately, tearing out the creature’s throat.

His tail flicked, fluffy and not threatening at all.

I turned toward the last Blade-Type.

It stood motionless, staring—its glowing core burning brighter now. A hot steam blew from its mouth, almost like breath. The crackling of its blistered skin echoed like a brittle bark in flame.

I noticed that the more their cores vibrated and shone, the faster and longer their blades became, growing to roughly 70cm in length.

It could be dangerous to wait any longer.

The zombies’ strike came fast, too fast.

A perfectly timed slash, as if this was the era of swords and warriors. I barely had time to raise my spear when it appeared in front of me, bringing both blades down like guillotines, causing déjà vu.

Pushing off the ground to force myself back. I avoided the brunt of the attack. My arms shook, blocking that strike with my spear’s haft.

But now, I held my ground.

A grunt left my lips as I pushed his swords up, forcing myself from a kneeling position, before roaring.

"IS THAT ALL!?"

I pushed forward, staggering the zombie, before I grabbed its throat and headbutted its face, forehead to jaw. The zombie’s bones shattered. Before it recovered, I swept its leg, forcing it to the ground.

Then rammed my foot forward, crushing its chest and pinning it.

With both hands, I lifted my spear and stabbed.

Once.

Twice.

A third time—through the core.

Deep dents in the ground were left from my spear’s tip, piercing the concrete and asphalt.

Its body seized with trembling limbs, flailing before I twirled my spear and smashed its forehead with the butt of my weapons.

Crack! Finally, the zombie’s core faded... and it stilled.

The battlefield became silent, with only the wind for a partner.

Although I won, the only thing I gained was the stench of rot and the sound of my heart beating, slow and heavy, despite the intense action.

Yin swayed over, his hips in the air, flicking his tail, his left ear with a small wound, but the cute ragdoll defeated the dogs.

I knelt beside him, stroking his back. He leaned into me without complaint.

"We did it."

Ash drifted again on the wind, and once again, I noticed the blood covering my favourite jacket, and the pain I ignored started to return bit by bit.

But I stood tall.

The Titan’s Marrow Sutra pulsed within me—not violently this time.

Almost soothing and rhythmic as it spread from my stomach to the organs that burned and throbbed with dull aches and pains.

As if it had accepted me now.

I glanced back at the collapsed mall, the shattered cars, the corpses.

So much pain still awaited me. Stronger enemies. Smarter foes. But today—

Today, I won.

Without the system.

Without cheats.

Without anyone.

Just a spear.

Just my flesh.

And the will to fight.

"Meow."

Yin butted his head against my leg.

I chuckled.

"Well I guess we still have those things to deal with, haha. But I am different now... I can change, both mentally and physically. Together we can do it Yin."

I turned toward the city’s heart—toward the mass of zombies that I could dismember.

"Let’s go," I murmured. "We’ve still got a kingdom to build."

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