Apocalypse Gachapon

Even though gene warriors were artificial lifeforms, the ghost heads still drained their energy. This shattered any remaining hope among Cloud Peak’s fighters who had harbored suspicions but clung to wishful thinking.

The tremors beneath their feet had weakened slightly—at least enough to regain basic control of their bodies. Death King Tree’s efforts weren’t in vain. Earlier, Talking Lady’s chant had also stabilized everyone’s emotions, giving them at least a fighting chance against these smaller specters.

Ye Zhongming’s mood darkened as he realized just how troublesome these ghost heads were.

His Wind and Thunder had cleaved one specter in half—yet both halves kept attacking. One portion lunged at him while the other streaked toward Mo Ye, who was bombarding the Palace Giant with five talismans unleashing metal, wood, water, fire, and lightning attacks.

Under her assault, Aba—who had been mocking them moments ago—was now forced back, his stone giant body shedding masonry like flaking skin.

An enraged nine-star Talisman Master was a terrifying force.

The ghost head’s intervention clearly aimed to relieve pressure on the Palace Giant.

Seeing physical attacks prove ineffective, Ye Zhongming switched his blades to his left hand. With his right, he snapped a bracelet on his wrist, sending its black beads shooting linearly into the ghost head.

Muffled detonations followed. The previously unstoppable specter shuddered before exploding into dark mist.

These were soul artifacts—gifts from Miya who begged for them from the kings—with formidable power against mental and spiritual entities.

Ye Zhongming had no time to analyze the specters’ nature, but soul weapons clearly affected them.

Yet… though the ghost head didn’t fracture into smaller ones this time, the mist was reabsorbed by the Death Banner.

Now, a third ghost head came for Ye Zhongming, while a fourth already condensed above the banner!

Endless regeneration?

This realization sent chills through everyone. If true, they faced a nightmare scenario.

Ye Zhongming’s thoughts raced further. The Saintess’s final words echoed in his ears—were the banner’s energy sources the people of Saint Light Hall and the Saintess herself?

With ghost heads multiplying endlessly, the Cloud Peak King knew this couldn’t continue. Instead of engaging the new specter, he plummeted from the sky, vanishing at banner-height before reappearing directly before it.

His twin blades became a whirlwind of light, carrying him straight into the banner’s fabric.

Few could track Ye Zhongming’s movements now—only that he’d vanished into the luminous storm clashing with the Banner’s swarming souls. Behind him, the third ghost head roared in frustration before giving chase into the chaos.

Unfurled, the Banner resembled a small mountain due to the souls writhing across its surface. Once Ye Zhongming penetrated it, the souls engulfed him completely—erasing all visible traces of his presence.

Meanwhile, Death King Tree had maximized her efforts—her roots now sprawled beneath most of the Holy City, reducing tremors to manageable levels.

Mo Ye diverted her fire talisman to intercept the ghost head attacking her while maintaining assault on Aba with the other four.

The black cat, avoiding Mo Ye’s attacks, focused on the Palace Giant’s lower half. Its claws moved too fast to see—only shadowy afterimages remained as it struck, rebounded, and struck again in eerie trajectories.

Aba’s ultimate Earth Archmage skill—Earth’s Sacrifice—was undeniably troublesome. In one-on-one combat, defeating him would be challenging. Against psychic entities like Talking Lady and her cat, he might even dominate.

Though the black cat’s blinding speed had landed dozens of strikes in moments, the wounds on the Palace Giant were mere scratches—shallow grooves about four centimeters deep and the size of a 65-inch TV screen.

Against other level-nines, such attacks would have shredded them. But the Palace Giant’s stony physique hard-countered the feline’s style.

The real damage came from Mo Ye’s talismans—the cat played only a supporting role.

“Heh… you can’t kill me. You’ll all die.” Aba’s distorted voice held confidence despite his battered form.

Mo Ye glanced toward Ye Zhongming’s position. Though invisible, his presence remained palpable—single-handedly occupying the Banner’s attention. While she admired this feat, her urgency to eliminate the Palace Giant intensified.

A hundred fireballs ignited the approaching ghost head, its dissipating mist noticeably reduced—fire proved the most effective countermeasure discovered so far.

Ground forces quickly adopted this tactic, with fire-attuned evolved and equipment unleashing flames against the specters.

But gene warriors, mutant rats, and zombies fared worse.

The smaller specters reaped lives relentlessly. The new Rat King eventually ordered its brood underground, but the gene warriors—already suffering thousands of casualties—had no such retreat option.

Half the remaining Holy City residents fled beyond the walls, while others hid in corners to await developments. The rest seized the chaos to counterattack Cloud Peak.

The entire city had become a boiling cauldron of chaos.

The turning point came when the Palace Giant unleashed another skill.

The giant windows forming its eyes shattered, spewing earthen pillars that smashed the black cat into the ground before burying Death King Tree under a landslide. Tremors intensified slightly—though not to previous levels, indicating Death King Tree likely survived.

This enraged Mo Ye beyond measure. As the primary attacker, not only had she failed to eliminate the target, but she’d allowed it to wound allies. Cloud Peak’s second nine-star existence reached her breaking point.

With a sweep of her arms, the five talismans aligned midair before fusing into a single pure white talisman—ethereally thin and delicate.

It drifted downward with deceptive slowness, wrapping around the Palace Giant in an instant.

“DIE!” Mo Ye’s scream accompanied a choking gesture. The white talisman constricted violently.

Annihilation Talisman.

For the first time since reaching nine-star, Mo Ye unleashed her ultimate technique.