Nyssara slowly crawled out of the murky pit, her claws brushing the ground—immediately shifting color to match the terrain, silent as a shadow.

She was like a panther lying in wait, eyes locked on her prey, poised to strike the moment an opening appeared.

Bloodveil, meanwhile, was still deep in the slaughter, completely unaware. The blood-chains in his hands whipped through the air, tearing through a swarm of zombies in a single sweep.

And then—just for a heartbeat—a gap opened.

"There it is!"

Nyssara's eyes narrowed, and in a flash, she moved. Her body blurred into a phantom streak, shooting straight toward him.

She was fast—blisteringly fast. In the blink of an eye, she was right in front of him.

"Who—?!" Bloodveil's expression darkened as he sensed the danger. He turned his head just in time to see a pair of glowing yellow eyes locked onto him.

At the same moment, razor-sharp claws sliced through the air, aiming straight for his throat.

A jolt of dread shot through him.

Instinct kicked in—he jerked backward.

Shhk!

The sound of claws tearing through flesh echoed out. He'd dodged the fatal blow, but her claws still punched through the upper part of his chest, just below the neck.

Bloodveil looked down slowly, watching as dark, corrupted blood sprayed out, splattering across his face.

Time seemed to freeze—every second stretching out, thick and heavy.

The pain, the shock, the fury—it all hit at once. His eyes flared red, and the beast inside him roared to life.

"Bloodtide Domain!"

With a guttural snarl, he unleashed everything. A tidal wave of blood erupted from his body, flooding outward in a massive surge, devouring everything in its path.

Nyssara, having landed her strike, immediately leapt back, retreating fast.

The blood sea surged like a living thing, swallowing the battlefield. The ground hissed and sizzled as it corroded under the tide. Tens of thousands of zombies were instantly dissolved into nothing.

"Fall back!" Abyssion barked, quickly signaling his forces to retreat.

The undead horde shrieked and scattered, but the slower ones didn't make it—they were consumed by the crimson flood.

The explosion of power from this SSS-class Zombie King was nothing short of apocalyptic.

In the chaos of battle, a massive dead zone opened up—an eerie silence settling in the wake of the blood tide. When it finally receded, all that remained were mangled corpses and scorched earth.

At the center of it all stood Bloodveil, alone, surrounded by ruin.

A gaping hole had been torn through his chest. His face was pale, and he staggered back a couple steps, barely staying upright.

The price of that devastating outburst was steep—he was drained, weakened to the core.

Still, even with a hole in his chest, it wasn't enough to kill a Voidborn Undying. Not yet. But the damage was severe, and his combat ability had taken a serious hit.

The wound began to knit itself back together, flesh writhing and regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Heheheh..." Abyssion chuckled, clearly unfazed. Sure, Nyssara hadn't finished him off, but it was more than enough.

Bloodveil was crippled. With the Voidborn Undying out of commission, that left only Laura and Wraithshade on the other side.

Between himself and Nyssara, they could handle the rest.

Especially here—his domain. With an endless horde of zombies at his command.

"You never disappoint, Lady Nyssara. One move from you, and the whole battlefield shifts," Abyssion said, laying it on thick.

Nyssara reappeared beside him, her long tail swaying behind her. "Of course. What, you really thought they had a chance?"

"Right, right, of course not, Lady Nyssara," Abyssion said quickly, grinning.

But then—out of nowhere—a voice rang out from the distance.

"Evolved into a Voidborn Undying, and you're still licking boots for another Zombie King? Damn, that's pathetic."

"Huh?!" Abyssion's eyes widened. He whipped his head around toward the voice.

A figure in white slowly materialized beside Bloodveil. Calm, detached, completely unfazed. His crisp white shirt was spotless—stark against the blood-soaked corpses and filth around him.

Nyssara's eyes went wide, her yellow pupils dilating in shock.

A Zombie King… in a white shirt?

She was from Heartland—of course she recognized him. The one the Overlord of Heartland had ordered them to find.

"He's… here?!"

Bloodveil, still weak, turned his head toward Ethan. "Took you long enough."

"I was waiting for Heartland's Zombie King to show up," Ethan replied casually. "Had to confirm her abilities before making a move. Otherwise, I might've gotten blindsided."

"Oh."

"…Wait a sec." Bloodveil blinked, then frowned as the realization hit him. "So I was the bait?"

Ethan had insisted on a staggered entrance, claiming it was to confirm Abyssion's true form. At the time, Bloodveil had thought it was a smart move—he'd even been impressed.

But now? Now he saw the whole picture.

Ethan hadn't just outmaneuvered the enemy—he'd played him too. Bloodveil had been part of the plan from the start.

This guy… was a scheming bastard.

To Ethan, a half-dead ally was the best kind of ally—less competition when it came time to divvy up the loot.

But across the battlefield, Abyssion's scowl only deepened.

He'd accounted for Wraithshade having backup—but not this much. He thought once Nyssara entered the fray, it'd be time to close the net. He hadn't expected another Voidborn Undying lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

"Lady Nyssara, this isn't looking good," he muttered, unease creeping into his voice.

"This isn't just 'not good,'" Nyssara snapped, her pupils narrowing to pinpricks. Her expression was grim, her voice tight with tension. "This is way worse than you think."

"Why?" Abyssion asked, confused.

"Because…" Nyssara said, her voice low and serious, "that Zombie King in the white shirt—he's the one the Heartland Overlords have been hunting."

"What?!" Abyssion's eyes went wide in shock. As a loyal bootlicker of the Heartland Overlords, he knew exactly what that meant.

The top brass of Heartland had been obsessively searching for a Zombie King in a white shirt. It wasn't just a passing interest—they'd sent out multiple signals, issued orders, even stirred up entire regions trying to track him down.

But for months, there'd been nothing. No sightings. No leads.

The Overlords had been furious.

And now, here he was—standing right in front of them.

If the Heartland Overlords were that desperate to find this guy, then he had to be something terrifying. Something powerful enough to shake the balance.

"If I capture him…" Abyssion muttered under his breath, eyes gleaming, "that'd be a massive win. Might even earn me a spot in Heartland itself."

Nyssara glanced at him and said, "Forget just getting into Heartland. If you bring him in, they'd probably give you your own territory."

"Oh?" Abyssion's blood-red eyes lit up. "Well then… looks like the real fight's about to begin."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a thunderous roar echoed from all directions. The ground trembled as wave after wave of undead surged forward—Abyssion had summoned reinforcements.

Zombies from every nearby nest responded to his call, converging on the battlefield like a living tsunami.

Massive hordes merged into one, becoming a single, unstoppable tide.

Bloodveil scanned the horizon. Everywhere he looked—north, south, east, west—there were zombies. Endless, swarming, snarling. The hills were crawling with them, the valleys packed shoulder to shoulder. There was no end in sight.

They were closing in fast, surrounding them completely.

Abyssion looked like he'd just mainlined pure adrenaline. His face twisted into a savage grin, eyes wild with bloodlust.

"You made the biggest mistake of your lives coming to my turf," he roared. "Now you'll see what it means to face an Overlord on his home ground!"

Ethan's eyes flicked from side to side, calmly taking in the approaching hordes. No panic. No fear. Just a quiet, focused intensity.

This was it.

The Decapitation Strike had officially begun.

"Well then," he said, cracking his neck, "guess it's time we showed them what we're really working with…"

...

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