Chapter 1557 - 1557: So Come Back

Even without Absolute Stasis, Ethan's ocular abilities could still create an opening for Annihilation Strike.

The moment an opportunity appeared, he would teleport in, activate Silencing Gaze and Soulbane Gaze simultaneously, and lock his target down for a split second. Then Annihilation Strike would finish the job.

He attacked four times in succession without a single miss. Every target died in one blow, and the Outland Beasts began looking at him differently.

Unfortunately, Annihilation Strike consumed an enormous amount of mental energy. Without Emily around, Ethan had to rely on crystal cores to recover. Every attack meant swallowing several cores and resting for a while.

As his strength increased, crystal cores had also become far less effective at restoring him.

All the Stage SS cores had been given to Chris and the others, and even if Ethan still had any, he wouldn't waste them this way. That left him with Stage S cores. He had to consume several at a time, and even then, his mental energy recovered slowly.

Fortunately, his spatial storage ring was packed with Stage S crystal cores. He could eat as many as he needed.

The intelligent fighters ground their teeth as they watched Ethan leisurely chewing on crystal cores in the distance.

There was nothing they could do.

Whenever they tried to attack him, the Outland Beasts intercepted them. All they could do was watch as one companion after another fell to Ethan's poleaxe.

What infuriated them most was that he had only just reached Stage SSS, yet every time he entered the fight, someone died.

Tier 42 and Tier 43 fighters seemed as fragile as paper before him. One swing of his poleaxe was all it took.

If this continued, he would kill them all.

They had to get rid of him.

The Stage SSS fighters exchanged glances, seeing the same determination in each other's eyes.

Ethan swallowed another seven or eight crystal cores. After resting for more than ten minutes, his mental energy finally recovered to seventy percent.

He selected a Tier 43 target and teleported behind him, bringing Annihilation Strike down without warning.

The man had been on guard against Ethan from the beginning. The instant he sensed an energy fluctuation behind him, he dodged and tried to raise a shield.

But knowing what Ethan could do didn't mean he could stop it.

Light flashed in Ethan's eyes.

The man's attempt to summon an energy shield failed. At the same time, pain stabbed through his soul, causing his retreating body to falter.

That brief pause was enough to send him after his fallen companions.

Annihilation Strike came down.

His skull split open, and his lifeless body plummeted toward the ground.

The Outland Beast fighting him was a Tier 43 Blackback Gorilla. It immediately flew down, caught the falling corpse, and swallowed it whole.

Then it returned to Ethan with a delighted grin.

"Thanks, brother!"

Among the Outland Beasts, it had become an unspoken rule that whoever had been fighting the victim got to eat the body.

They knew Ethan had no interest in the corpses. Anyone he killed became food for them, so none of the beasts bothered being polite about it.

Many were now hoping Ethan would target their opponents. Not only would he end the fight quickly, but they would also get a powerful corpse to eat.

What could be better?

The more the Outland Beasts looked at Ethan, the more they liked him. At this point, even if they learned he had killed the Netherfang Tiger, they might simply say the tiger had deserved it.

"No problem." Ethan smiled and prepared to withdraw from the battle to look for another opportunity.

Then his mind exploded.

Agonizing pain erupted from the depths of his consciousness, nearly knocking him out on the spot.

A soul attack!

A Tier 47 fighter who had been some distance away was suddenly right beside him. A black elemental sword shot toward Ethan's head with terrifying speed.

The pain tearing through Ethan's mind was devouring his awareness. His body no longer obeyed him.

He couldn't even dodge.

He could only stand there blankly as the black sword closed in on his skull.

At the last possible moment, a black figure threw itself in front of him.

Squelch!

The sword plunged into the figure.

Black energy erupted from the blade.

Boom!

The body exploded.

"!"

Shock broke through the agony twisting Ethan's face.

That Outland Beast had died for him.

At the same time, the Tier 47 fighter's opponent—the Dire Bear—swatted him away with one massive paw.

"You're dead!"

The Dire Bear flew into a rage at the disaster its momentary lapse had nearly caused and launched a frenzied assault on the man.

The commotion quickly drew the attention of the surrounding fighters.

Several Outland Beasts rushed over and surrounded Ethan, shielding him with their bodies.

The intelligent fighters had no intention of wasting this rare opportunity. They unleashed a relentless barrage at Ethan.

In moments, the area around him became the center of the battlefield, with countless abilities exploding all around him.

The agony in Ethan's mind continued eating away at his consciousness. He could lose consciousness at any moment.

He desperately resisted the darkness, refusing to pass out.

If he lost consciousness now, he might never wake up again.

But resisting was all he could do.

He had no strength to fight back.

His situation was exactly the same as what the Beast Sovereign had experienced before. Only now did Ethan truly understand what it had endured.

One Outland Beast after another used their bodies to block the attacks meant for him.

Watching them desperately protect him left Ethan overwhelmed by conflicting emotions.

From the beginning, he had only regarded the beast races as tools to use against the intelligent races. There had even been a time when he slaughtered Outland Beasts without restraint for their crystal cores.

He had never imagined that one day, these same beasts would fight so desperately to protect him.

That they would even die for him.

For the first time, Ethan felt guilty.

"Hold on, Ethan!" one of the nearest Outland Beasts shouted when it noticed his condition. "As long as we're here, those bastards won't touch a hair on your head!"

Ethan couldn't respond. All he could do was look at the beast with gratitude.

The situation continued for several minutes.

By then, nearly every Outland Beast protecting him had been severely wounded.

Fighting and protecting someone were two completely different things. In a normal battle, they could move freely and fight on their own terms. To protect Ethan, they had to take attacks head-on.

As a result, the Outland Beasts—who had originally been no weaker than their opponents—were battered one after another.

Ethan watched them and made a silent promise.

I'll remember what you did for me.

After the first few unbearable minutes, the pain in his mind finally began to ease.

Gritting his teeth, Ethan forced it down. His awareness returned to his body, and he gradually regained control of himself.

He looked toward the Gorilla that had been blown apart protecting him.

"This debt is too heavy. I can't accept it."

His voice dropped to a murmur.

"So come back."

"Temporal Rewind!"