Ever since returning from Xenorift, PhD had fully grasped the intricacies of runes—he wasn't just dabbling anymore; he was a master. The rune barrier he carved shimmered with radiant golden light, like a wall of solid bronze, holding back the raging tide of psychic energy with ease.
Even Deathless Sovereign Nightwraith couldn't break through it—not right away, at least.
The surrounding zombies looked up, eyes wide with awe.
"Damn, PhD's the real deal!"
"That was badass!"
"We're totally winning this!"
"Hell yeah!"
The zombie underlings were fired up, their morale soaring.
But just then, another blast from the Starbreaker Cannon came screaming down, slamming into Heartland's Zombie Horde.
"Damn it!" Nightwraith snarled, baring his fangs, fury boiling inside him. Two failed assaults on the Dreadnought-class Starcruiser—both disasters. Not only had they drained his energy, but they'd also chipped away at his pride as a Deathless Sovereign.
Heartland was still on the back foot.
Ethan's undead swarm had already surged into The Origin Mountain.
At the forefront was the Saber Corps—three thousand elite zombies, each wielding a Lightsaber, cutting through the enemy like a blade through silk. They weren't as explosive as the Guard Mechs, sure, but they had staying power. Lightsabers didn't burn through energy as fast, and right now, that endurance was paying off.
With the Elegy battle anthem echoing in their minds, they fought with relentless fury, slicing down enemy zombies with every swing.
"Boss said these bastards are ours to deal with!" growled Velissra, one of Heartland's fiercest warriors.
"Damn right," Terrax nodded beside her, eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
The two zombies charged forward again.
The pressure from the SSS-tier Voidborn Undying was suffocating—an overwhelming aura that made the air itself feel heavy.
But then, two figures emerged from the chaos of the Zombie Horde—Laura and Bulldozer.
"Big Lug, don't screw this up," Laura called over her shoulder.
"Are you kidding me? I'm SSS-tier Voidborn Undying now! You even know what that means?" Bulldozer rumbled, his voice thick and dumb as ever.
"Oh…" Laura nodded slowly. "Yeah, that sounds about right." He might've evolved, but clearly, his brain hadn't caught up.
The two zombies stepped up to meet the enemy head-on. Another clash of Voidborn Undying titans erupted.
The surrounding zombies scattered, giving the battlefield wide berth.
The Origin Mountain, once silent and still, was now a storm of chaos. Zombies roared, humans fought back with desperate fury, and the air trembled with the force of their clash.
Everywhere you looked, there was carnage. The ground was carpeted with corpses, rivers of black blood winding through the dirt. It was a massacre—a zombie bloodbath.
But on another Dreadnought-class Starcruiser, tens of thousands of elite human soldiers remained.
Their Crystal Core Firearms and Blasters were drained—completely out of juice. Close combat was no longer a choice; it was inevitable.
"Ignite your blades!" Claire's voice rang out like a war drum.
Behind her, the humans drew their weapons, eyes burning with resolve. Lightsabers flared to life, casting eerie glows across their faces.
Ahead loomed the towering Origin Mountain—uncharted territory, a place no human had ever set foot on.
It was also the unfinished dream of generations of human warriors.
Countless had fallen trying to reach it. But still, they came. Again and again.ity had never given up.
Just like the motto of Pinnacle Academy:
"Leave No One Behind!"
"Charge!"
With blades in hand, they surged toward Heartland's Zombie Horde—their nightmare, their greatest fear.
And today, they were going to face that fear head-on.
These human warriors weren't just any soldiers—they were the best of the best, handpicked from billions. And they didn't just fight well individually; they moved like a single organism, their teamwork seamless. Against Heartland's zombies, they weren't just holding their own—they were dominating.
At the front of the charge were Ricky and Aria, leading by example, cutting down S-rank Zombie Kings like it was just another day at the office.
Meanwhile, Claire and the heads of the two great families made a beeline straight for Deathless Sovereign Nerissa.
Her Domain of Tides surged outward, parting the toxic mists like dawn breaking through the night—hope was on the horizon.
"Damn humans!" Nerissa hissed, eyes burning with hatred. She was drained, no doubt, but she forced herself to rally, barking orders to her elite guard as she prepared to meet the assault head-on.
To the north of the battlefield, the massive Leviathan loomed like a new peak added to The Origin Mountain. Every movement of its colossal limbs crushed thousands of zombies beneath it.
Candlewraith and Ironhorn didn't stand a chance. They were battered bloody, scrambling to escape like rats in a flood.
Wraithshade saw his opening. His psychic energy flared, locking onto Candlewraith and freezing him in place for three full seconds.
The two clashed mentally, their psychic forces colliding in a brutal tug-of-war.
Then—boom.
Leviathan's massive claw came crashing down from above.
Candlewraith looked up, his body swallowed by the shadow of the descending claw.
"Not again…"
He stared, frozen, unable to dodge.
BOOOOM—
The impact shook the entire mountain. Rocks exploded outward, the ground torn to shreds. It was chaos incarnate.
Candlewraith took the full brunt of the hit. His body was mangled, torn open, lying limp on the ground like a sack of meat that had been stomped on.
But then—something wriggled.
A pale white worm suddenly shot out from a crack in the earth and slithered straight into his ear.
"GRAAAHH—!"
Candlewraith convulsed, screaming, clawing at his ear in panic. His Voidborn Undying body could resist parasitic infection, but that didn't make it any less horrifying.
"Need a hand?"
Suddenly, a six-armed Zombie King leapt onto him. Two arms pinned Candlewraith to the ground, while the other four formed fists and began pounding his skull like jackhammers.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
Hexarm's fists blurred with speed, raining down like a storm. The ground around them trembled with every blow.
Ironhorn tried to rush in to help—but Leviathan's claw came crashing down again, this time paired with another psychic blast from Wraithshade. Ironhorn had no choice but to retreat, dodging for his life.
The northern front of the battlefield was now completely under Wraithshade's control.
He stood tall atop Leviathan's back, never once touching the ground.
"So cocky," Endless muttered, glancing over. Wraithshade had officially caught his attention. "Lilith, give them a hand."
"Mm." Lilith's voice was soft, but her presence was anything but. Black mist coiled around her, and the oppressive aura of a Deathless Sovereign spread like a storm cloud. Then she raised her hand and whispered:
"Wraithbind."
From the void came a chorus of undead wails, like the roar of a thousand demons.
Around the Leviathan of the North, dark spirits began to materialize—twisted, shadowy wraiths that floated like smoke, their forms flickering like ghosts from the deepest hells. They surged toward Leviathan, wrapping around its limbs, its body, even its tail.
Leviathan froze mid-motion, letting out a thunderous roar of pain.
Atop its back, Wraithshade's twin faces tensed.
So this was the power of Heartland's Deathless Sovereign.
He looked up—and saw even more of those dark spirits drifting toward him.
He immediately pulsed with energy, trying to shake them off, fighting back with everything he had.
But with just one move, Lilith had managed to restrain both Wraithshade and Leviathan at once. Her strength was undeniable—worthy of the Deathless Sovereign title.
Heartland's Zombie Horde quickly regrouped, seizing the moment to launch a counterattack.
Meanwhile, on the western front, the battle was just as fierce. Meteorfall's eyes blazed with blue light as he unleashed a sweeping Destruction Ray, cutting across the battlefield like a blade of pure energy.
Hydrissa's psychic force surged, forming a barrier that absorbed the blast.
"It's useless. Our Deathless Sovereign Lilith has entered the fight. Looks like... it's time for the counteroffensive."
"Oh yeah?" Meteorfall's glowing eyes dimmed slightly as he pulled back the beam. His usual cocky smirk faded, replaced by a rare seriousness.
He was the Overlord of Westmarch, a core member of the Backstabbing Alliance. The other three Overlords were already clashing with Deathless Sovereigns—and here he was, still locked in a stalemate with a single Voidborn Undying?
That didn't sit right.
Hydrissa tilted her head, studying him. She noticed the shift in his aura, the sudden weight in his expression.
"You know," she said, eyes gleaming, "you're still just as ugly when you get serious."
...