Chapter 415: Crimson Flesh Tree

His footsteps echoed through the underground passage.

The deeper he descended, the warmer the air became. At the end of the staircase stood a gigantic stone gate. He pushed against it.

Rumble…

The gate opened effortlessly. Beyond it stretched an endless tunnel.

Then a sound echoed through the darkness.

Thump… Thump… Thump…

It was not footsteps. It was a heartbeat, massive, heavy. Each pulse caused the surrounding walls to tremble. The deeper he walked, the louder it became.

Eventually the tunnel opened into an enormous underground world. The cavern was so vast that its ceiling vanished into darkness. Countless gigantic cocoons covered on each wall. Some had dried into empty husks. Others had split open long ago. Every single one was empty.

Vikram walked toward the source of the heartbeat. At the center of the cavern stood an enormous crimson tree. Its roots spread throughout the entire underground city. Its branches reached toward the darkness above. Suspended within its trunk, a gigantic heart-shaped flesh cocoon pulsed rhythmically.

Thump… Thump… Thump…

Veins thicker than ancient trees crawled across its surface. Each heartbeat sent crimson light surging through the entire Flesh Tree.

Vikram silently observed it. "So… this is your nest."

The heartbeat suddenly stopped. Silence swallowed the cavern.

Then a long fissure spread across the heart-shaped cocoon. Another followed. Then dozens more. Large pieces of flesh peeled away before crashing onto the ground.

From within, a man stepped forward. It was the Evolution King, still appearing almost completely human.

The Evolution King opened his eyes. A faint smile appeared on his face. "I was beginning to wonder… when you would arrive."

His voice was calm. Almost gentle.

Vikram stopped several meters away. His spear rested quietly in his hand. "It's over."

The Evolution King tilted his head. "Is it?" He slowly spread his arms. "Look around you."

Only then did Vikram examine the cavern. His pupils narrowed. All the cocoons surrounding them were empty. Not one contained a zombie.

The corners of his lips lifted slightly. "You believed every victory brought you closer to defeating me. But every fallen zombie… brought me one step closer to perfection." He placed a hand upon his own chest.

THUMP!!

The heartbeat exploded throughout the cavern. The Crimson Flesh Tree awakened. Each empty cocoon surrounding it suddenly began glowing with crimson light. The veins throughout the cavern lit up like rivers of blood.

The Evolution King's smile widened. "Witness…"

Before he could utter another word, Vikram vanished.

In an instant he appeared directly before the Evolution King. His hand had already transformed into razor-sharp claws. There was no hesitation. No curiosity. No intention of allowing his enemy another second.

SLASH!!

His claws tore straight through the Evolution King's chest. Blood erupted into the air. A second strike followed immediately.

The Evolution King's body was ripped cleanly in half. The two halves crashed onto the ground.

Silence. The glowing veins throughout the Flesh Tree suddenly dimmed. The heartbeat ceased.

Vikram stared silently at the motionless corpse. "…Too easy."

Then, a heartbeat echoed once more. The Crimson Flesh Tree began glowing. Its countless veins pulsed with crimson light. The scattered flesh lying across the ground suddenly dissolved into streams of blood-red energy and flowed back into the Flesh Tree.

At the center of the trunk, the living flesh parted. A figure stepped forward.

The Evolution King. Not a single wound remained upon his body. His expression remained composed, as though he had never been injured.

He gently rested one hand upon the Flesh Tree. "I warned you… you arrived too late. The evolution… is complete."

Vikram remained silent. His sharp eyes shifted briefly toward the Flesh Tree before returning to his opponent.

'Destroying his body changes nothing… The tree is the source.'

The Evolution King smiled faintly. "I studied every battle. Every ability. Every strength. Every weakness. I witnessed the power of the Werewolf Kings… and reshaped myself accordingly." His crimson eyes slowly opened. Gone was the cold curiosity they once held. Only absolute confidence remained. "Werewolf King… you forced the zombie race to evolve beyond everything I had envisioned. Without you… this evolution would never have been possible."

As the final words left his lips, the hand resting upon the Flesh Tree radiated with brilliant crimson light.

For a single heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then a black ripple burst outward from the Flesh Tree.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The invisible shockwave pierced straight through the cavern ceiling. The entire underground world shook violently. The Flesh Tree released the immeasurable energy it had accumulated from every zombie that had merged into it. Every branch suddenly expanded. Wherever they reached, the cavern walls collapsed instantly. Gigantic stone pillars shattered into countless fragments.

Rock, mud, ancient trees, and entire sections of the Blood Marsh were hurled into the sky. The earth itself split open. A deafening roar echoed across dozens of kilometers. The hidden underground city simply ceased to exist.

---

Far above, the entire Blood Marsh trembled violently. The werewolf army staggered as the ground beneath their feet shook.

"What… was that?!"

"The ground is collapsing!"

Without waiting for orders, thousands of werewolves instinctively retreated as the marsh split apart before their eyes. The earth caved in. A massive cloud of dust erupted into the heavens. The violent tremors continued for several moments before finally subsiding.

Silence followed.

As the dust slowly drifted away, the Blood Marsh was gone. In its place lay a colossal crater stretching several kilometers across, resembling a gigantic open-pit mine.

Thousands of werewolves stared downward into the crater.

At the very bottom, only two figures remained. One stood with a silver spear in hand. The other appeared no different from an ordinary human. Behind him, the Crimson Flesh Tree stood completely unharmed. As though the destruction of the underground world had meant nothing to it. Its crimson branches swayed gently… despite the complete absence of wind.

Vikram tightened his grip on his spear. His gaze never left the Flesh Tree.

That tree… Everything begins and ends with it.

At the center of the battlefield, only two opponents mattered. The Werewolf King... and the Evolution King.

All the werewolf standing upon the rim of the crater stared toward its center.

Their eyes fell upon the Crimson Flesh Tree… then upon the Evolution King standing before it.

He had changed. His body now stood nearly four meters tall. Dark crimson, armor-like flesh naturally covered portions of his form. Countless black veins pulsed beneath his skin like rivers of molten blood. Behind him, dozens of crimson flesh tendrils slowly drifted through the air, each moving with a life of its own.

Yet the most unsettling change was his face. His crimson eyes remained perfectly emotionless. There was no madness. No bloodlust. Only absolute certainty.

The Evolution King looked down at his own hands. He clenched them into fists.

"I see… so this… is perfection."

A terrifying pressure erupted from his body. The atmosphere across the entire crater instantly became heavy. Thousands of werewolves instinctively took a step backward. Even the Mist King and Sand King narrowed their eyes.

Only Vikram remained motionless.

The Evolution King raised his head. His gaze settled upon Vikram. "I must thank you once again. Without your victories… my evolution could never have reached this stage."

Vikram calmly leveled his silver spear. "Enough talking."

A satisfied smile touched his face. "I agree. There is only one experiment remaining." He slowly pointed toward Vikram. "You."

The next instant, he disappeared.

BOOM!!

The ground where he had stood exploded. Almost simultaneously, Vikram vanished as well.

The two collided in midair.

BOOOOOOM!!

The impact generated a massive shockwave that swept across the crater. The surrounding earth shattered. Gigantic cracks spread in every direction.

The Evolution King landed several dozen meters away. "So… you've grown stronger as well."

Vikram didn't answer. His only response was another thrust of his spear. Silver light tore across the battlefield. The Evolution King met it head-on.

Within moments the two kings had vanished from sight. Only silver and crimson flashes remained visible as countless explosions echoed throughout the crater. No ordinary warrior could follow their movements.

---

Then the Crimson Flesh Tree suddenly pulsed.

THUMP!!

Every branch began glowing with crimson light. The countless veins spreading throughout the tree illuminated simultaneously. The flesh cocoons hanging from its branches started writhing violently.

One after another they split open.

CRACK!

A gigantic zombie warrior stepped out. Then another. And another. Some possessed enormous claws capable of tearing apart fortresses. Some had countless bladed limbs. Others were covered in crystalline armor. Winged zombies unfolded massive flesh wings before taking to the sky. Quadrupedal beasts larger than houses emerged with earth-shaking roars.

Each one was different. Each one possessed a body perfectly evolved for battle. And more continued to emerge.

The Crimson Flesh Tree wasn't reviving the old zombie army. It was giving birth to an entirely new generation.

The surrounding werewolves stared in disbelief.

"They're… creating monsters!"

"The tree is spawning them!"

The Mist King's expression darkened. "So that's why he merged every zombie…"

The Sand King tightened his fists. "He turned an entire race… into the nutrients for this tree."

Aurelia drew her sword. "We cannot allow them to leave this crater." She raised her blade toward the Flesh Tree. "For the King!"

Thousands of werewolves answered with a thunderous roar. "FOR THE KING!!"

The united army charged down into the crater. At the same moment, the newly born zombies rushed forward from the Flesh Tree.

Two unstoppable tides collided.

BOOOOOOM!!

While above them, silver and crimson flashes continued to tear across the sky.

The decisive battle for the fate of the Southern Argenti Kingdom had truly begun.

While the armies clashed below, the duel between the two kings had already reached another level. Vikram had transformed into his werewolf form.

His silver fur shimmered beneath the morning sun. With terrifying speed, he closed the distance between himself and the Evolution King.

CRUNCH!!

His jaws clamped around the Evolution King's neck. With a violent twist, the head was torn cleanly from its body. The headless corpse collapsed.

Without wasting another second, Vikram shot toward the Crimson Flesh Tree.

Thump.

The heartbeat echoed once more.

Vikram stopped abruptly. Behind him, the Flesh Tree split open. Crimson flesh gathered together. Within moments the Evolution King stepped out once again, completely unharmed. His expression remained unchanged.

"You still don't understand. As long as the Flesh Tree exists… I cannot die."

---

Meanwhile, the battlefield had descended into chaos.

The newly evolved zombies weren't stronger by coincidence. Every one of them had been born for a specific purpose.

Kara roared as she swung her gigantic hammer. The attack shattered the ground, but her opponent had already vanished. The towering Iron Tyrant charged through the dust instead of retreating. Its massive bone-plated fist collided with Kara's hammer.

BOOM!

The impact sent shockwaves across the battlefield.

Kara planted her feet and swung again.

The Iron Tyrant crossed both arms, its fortress-like armor absorbing the full force of the blow before driving its shoulder into Kara and forcing her backward several meters.

Kara gritted her teeth.

"Damn it! No matter how hard I hit... I can't break that armor!"

Elsewhere, Carol smiled confidently. Countless illusions surrounded her opponent. Hundreds of identical Carols attacked from every direction, creating an inescapable web of deception.

Yet the six-eyed Nightmare Beast never hesitated. Its crimson eyes remained fixed upon Carol herself, ignoring every illusion completely.

The beast suddenly vanished.

A violent gust erupted behind her.

Carol barely twisted aside as its enormous claws tore through the space where her neck had been. She immediately created another wave of illusions, but the Nightmare Beast ripped straight through every fake without slowing down, its crimson eyes never leaving the real Carol.

Carol's smile gradually faded.

"...It isn't seeing my illusions at all."

On another side of the battlefield, dozens of Evelyns surrounded their opponent. Each clone attacked from a different direction, creating a relentless barrage of blades.

Yet the evolved zombie remained completely unfazed.

Every time a clone closed in, dozens of poisonous spikes erupted from its body in all directions.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Clone after clone exploded into particles of light. Before another could strike, more spikes swept across the battlefield, forcing the remaining Evelyns to retreat.

Evelyn's expression darkened.

"Its attacks are too wide..."

Every additional clone increased her numbers, but it also divided her strength. The battlefield that normally favored her had become her greatest weakness.