With that, General Randy broke off the fight. The huge green fleshy wings on his back slammed down, a gale rose, and his colossal frame shot skyward, streaking toward the Biological Research Institute as a green blur.
Roar!
Seeing this killing god finally leave, the Corpse King let out a roar of relief and humiliation.
Dragging its exhausted body, it spun around and bolted for the depths of the wilderness.
But if it wanted to leave, America had other plans.
"Throwers, focus fire—stack every negative potion you've got!"
Space rippled as over a thousand Endermen appeared around the Corpse King.
They carried no firearms; instead they hurled countless Overworld Splash potions in a frenzy.
Potions of Weakness, Slowness, Poison.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Vials shattered against the king's pitch-black armor.
Gray weakness particles and crimson poison mist instantly engulfed it.
Even a mighty Tier-4 winced in pain under the flood of debuffs.
Its steps turned heavy.
"Block it!"
Dozens of Iron Golems dropped from the sky, barricading its path.
Though the king angrily batted them aside, fresh Endermen blinked in the next second.
More potions flew in a crazed barrage.
This was Steve's tactic: don't kill—just pin you down with sheer nausea.
Biological Research Institute, open ground.
"He's here!"
George pointed at the green streak shooting across the sky and shouted.
"Quick, activate the Pressure-Dump Field—everyone fall back!"
Boom.
General Randy's fifteen-metre frame slammed down, raising a cloud of dust.
"George, hurry—that beast's about to lose it!"
Craving power, General Randy urged him on.
Without a word, George directed several huge mechanical arms.
They drove the faint-blue Tier-4 Rage Gene dose.
Deep into the Super Zombie's neck muscles.
As the potion entered, General Randy felt berserk energy erupt inside him.
His bones stretched madly.
His already fifteen-metre body ballooned anew.
Muscle fibers toughened into steel cables under the drug's boost.
Twenty metres… twenty-five… stopping at an astonishing thirty.
Though doubled in size, the frame looked anything but bulky.
It now had a cheetah's sleek, explosive lines.
Strangest of all, a dense Energy Core was forming in his chest.
A qualitative leap beyond mere flesh.
"So this is what Tier-4 feels like?"
General Randy sensed power that could tear the multiverse.
He slowly raised his right hand, fingers pointing at a distant hundred-metre barren hill.
Bzz!
A black-blue energy beam lanced out.
The moment it swept past the hill.
A ten-metre-wide hole was cored straight through the mountain, rock vaporised.
"Hahaha—excellent!"
General Randy's laughter shattered surrounding glass with sonic force.
Command Center.
On the satellite feed, General Randy's energy reading spiked meteorically.
Beating his wings, he shot toward the front at a terrifying speed.
"Director, target has passed Mach 2 and is closing fast!"
The operator's voice trembled.
Steve stared at the purple streak tearing across the screen, eyes blazing, and ordered: "Randy's back. Everyone—pull out and give our war-god the stage!"
"Yes, sir!"
The hard-pressed Endermen and Iron Golems vanished on the spot, leaving only broken potion vials and a bewildered, debuff-laden Tier 4 Corpse King.
Though none too bright, the king sensed something wrong.
The sky suddenly darkened.
A crushing, otherworldly pressure descended—one even this native overlord found terrifying.
Boom!
A colossal figure landed lightly a hundred metres ahead.
He didn't face the king, turning his back instead.
Thirty metres of ramrod-straight stature.
Those sky-blotting green wings folded slowly.
Bone spikes at the tips glinted blood-thirstily in the sun.
At that instant the wind died; lesser zombies nearby dropped flat.
Absolute hierarchy in action.
General Randy tilted his head; crimson eyes now held no frenzy.
Only the cold disdain of a god looking down on ants.
"Little thing, you've run long enough—time to come home."
The Tier 4 Corpse King froze, shaking violently.
Facing a same-tier back that radiated god-demon might, it sank into despair.
In that instant of hesitation.
Whoosh!
A faint pop rang through the air.
General Randy's mountain-sized frame.
Vanished on the spot—not teleport, but speed so pure it might as well be.
The next second his huge, grinning green visage pressed right against the king's face.
"???"
Soul-shocked, the Tier-4 king reacted on instinct.
Its lone remaining arm channeled every shred of strength into a straight punch at General Randy's chest.
A final, desperate strike—stronger than any blow before.
Thud!
The fist slammed square into the green-scaled chest.
Yet… no golden flash.
No totem shattered.
General Randy didn't even sway.
Like an immemorial mountain he took the mountain-shattering punch bare-bodied.
"Roar?"
For the first time the king's eyes showed almost human blank bewilderment.
It clearly remembered: every previous hit had triggered that hated golden glow and instant heal.
Why no flash now?
Why did its fist feel like it had struck indestructible alloy?
"Done?"
General Randy looked down at the trembling fist on his chest, lips splitting in a grin.
"Not eaten today, little thing?"
"Roar!"
Terror ripped a shriek from the king as it yanked its arm back and rocketed away.
The instant it opened distance it widened its maw, compressing apocalyptic black energy in its throat.
It was going all-out.
A beam of annihilation, thicker and darker than before, surged toward General Randy with the force to obliterate everything.
"Playing energy waves?"
General Randy stood his ground, too lazy to even dodge.
He simply raised his right hand, palm forward; the energy core pulsing in his chest surged along his arm and erupted outward.
"Then let me show you what a real Tier 4 looks like."
A terrifying pillar of jade-green and dark-blue light blasted from his palm.
The two beams collided mid-air.
No stalemate, no power struggle—only crushing, unstoppable devastation.
General Randy's beam devoured the Corpse King's black light like a raging dragon, then surged back the way it had come.
The blast punched straight through the King's remaining left arm.
Arm and half the shoulder vaporized into nothingness.
"Roaargh!"
The Corpse King shrieked; now armless, it had lost all power to resist.
It spun to flee, desperate to escape this despair-inducing monster.
But the next second—
a jade-green hand tore from thin air and clamped around its throat.
General Randy hoisted the Tier 4 Corpse King one-handed.
as easily as lifting a chick.
The sheer gap in tier and power left the King without even the strength to struggle.
General Randy regarded it coldly, then clenched his free left fist.
power gathered—punch!
With no resistance, that fist, brimming with monstrous force, punched clean through the King's abdomen and out its back.
Though it looked ghastly, General Randy had carefully avoided its crystal core and vitals.
The blow was only meant to scatter the corpse energy inside and leave it immobile.
The King convulsed once, then hung limp from his hand.
"Whew."
General Randy withdrew his fist and studied the living-yet-dead captive, as if already seeing US' future.
"With you, our Tier 4 Army is coming."
This was more than a prisoner.
It was a living, renewable, inexhaustible Tier 4 Gene Factory.
"Mission complete. Returning."
Without pause he spread the massive jade wings that blotted out the sky.
Boom!
A shockwave burst as he shot skyward, streaking toward the Biological Research Institute with the Tier 4 Corpse King in tow.
All he left behind were vast craters and countless stunned US warriors still trying to process the one-sided godlike battle.
High above, the wind howled.
Fresh from victory and carrying the Tier 4 King, General Randy's huge frame suddenly jolted to a stop.
His sky-blotting jade wings hovered motionless.
His scarlet eyes ignored the captive, locking instead on a green mountain several kilometres below.
A sense of being watched swept over him.
It was faint—ordinary Tier 3 Awakened would never have noticed—but Tier 4 General Randy, enhanced by multiple serums, caught the anomaly instantly.
"A rat?"
He snorted and raised his free left palm toward the mountain.
Bzz!
Dense jade energy compressed above his hand, warping the very air.
"Get out here."
Boom!!!
A colossal beam lanced across kilometres and smashed into the mountainside in an apocalyptic blast.
A thunderous explosion rolled out.
Half the towering mountain collapsed, buried under falling rock and smoke.
Yet General Randy stayed alert, eyes sweeping the ruins.
He'd sensed something, but after the strike the presence vanished as if it had never been.
"What's going on?"
Inside the Command Center, Steve—monitoring the fight—saw the sudden detonation.
"Randy must have spotted something."
Steve stared at the screen, gaze sharp.
"At his level it can't be a false alarm—someone's out there."
He issued the order without hesitation.
"All nearby Enderman units, assemble. Comb that mountain—dig three feet down if you have to—and find whoever's spying."
"Yes, sir!"
On the battlefield's edge, tens of thousands of Endermen who had been clearing debris.
burst into violet streaks, teleporting en masse toward the half-ruined peak.
High above, General Randy hovered a moment longer, glanced at the barely breathing Tier 4 King, weighed his options.
"Forget it; the priority is getting this treasure back. The Endermen can handle the rest."
With that, his wings thundered and he shot away toward the Biological Research Institute.
Deep inside the half-collapsed mountain, in a dense grove, a Shadow Marine Warrior passed an ancient tree with an eerie gait.
Violet eyes swept the surroundings warily.
But he never noticed that less than two metres away a nearly transparent human outline clung to the trunk, invisible to every sense.
Tahlako, a native american top scout of Thunder Base and a rare Tier 4 Awakened with Void Assimilation.
That ability—perfect transparency, erasing scent and body heat—had let him survive both the apocalyptic blast and General Randy's perception.
Now, holding his breath, he watched the black monster walk past, then glanced at the distant green figure disappearing into the sky, heart pounding.
"What the hell are these things?"
Shock and confusion filled his eyes.
"They don't act like zombies—what zombie has discipline and can teleport to sweep a mountain?"
"And that one in the sky—corpse aura but human-level intellect and combat skill."
A veteran ranger of the wasteland, Tahlako knew instinctively that the world was about to change.
This newly emerged monster legion was no mere mutation.
They were organized, disciplined, with clear tactical goals.
"Something—some terrifying power—must be commanding them."
"I have to report this—now."
Tahlako realized how serious the situation had become. Carefully avoiding the dense patrols of Endermen, he glided westward like a breeze, silent and unseen.
Several hours later.
In the west, amid towering mountains.
A colossal fortress rose against the cliffs, majestic and crackling with lightning—Tianfa Base.
Inside the core council hall the air was solemn.
Around a huge round table sat more than a dozen mighty Tier 4 Awakened Ones.
At the head of the table, two beings radiated suffocating pressure.
One, wreathed in fine purple arcs, eyes like thunderclaps, was the base's leader—Tier 5 powerhouse, Thunder Emperor.
The other, cloaked entirely in black, exuded a cold, abyssal aura, equally a genuine Tier 5.
Travel-stained, Tahlako knelt on one knee in the center of the circle.
"Have you located the satellite launch site?"
Thunder Emperor's magnetic voice echoed through the hall.
That had been Tahlako's original mission: to trace the mysterious satellite that had suddenly lifted off.
Tahlako nodded, expression grave.
"Reporting to Thunder Emperor: found it. The coordinates point to the old abandoned industrial city."
"However…"
Tahlako hesitated, his tone turning bitter.
"I was discovered before I could get close."
"Oh?"
Thunder Emperor's brows knitted; the lightning around him flared violently.
"Discovered? By whom? Don't tell me it was that old geezer from Dawnlight?"
In his view, only another Tier 5 expert could possibly detect Tahlako, famed for stealth.
Tahlako shook his head.
"No. A Tier 4 monster."
"A Tier 4 monster?"
The words stunned everyone at the table.
"Yes, and more than one."
Tahlako drew a deep breath and began his report.
"That entire area is now swarming with black creatures we've never seen before. They're highly disciplined, extremely intelligent, and nearly every one can teleport through space."
"I even suspect they operate under an exceptionally strict command structure."
"Moreover, the Tier 4 that spotted me was in the middle of hunting a Tier 4 Corpse King."
At those words the hall erupted in uproar.
Hunting a Tier 4 Corpse King?
Even these Tier 4 Awakened Ones would detour around a Corpse King of the same tier unless their talents specialized in offense—who dared claim a sure kill?
Tahlako went on.
"There's more. I discovered the reason hordes of zombies converged on that zone was Crystal Sound; every last zombie was drawn by it."
"Crystal Sound?"
Hearing the term, the previously indifferent Thunder Emperor shot to his feet, eyes blazing with greed and excitement.
As a Tier 5 powerhouse, he knew exactly what Crystal Sound signified.
It was a gift of this world, a super-resource that could vault the entire base's strength to a new level.
"Has the Crystal Sound energy discharge finished?"
Thunder Emperor demanded urgently.
"It should have."
Tahlako nodded.
"I saw no further zombies heading there, and that unique fluctuation has vanished—most likely the release phase is over."
Confirmed, Thunder Emperor's eyes flickered with calculation.
With Crystal Sound spent, the ground must be littered with high-tier zombie corpses and energy crystals, perhaps even source crystals.
A fortune enough to drive any faction wild.
In the past he would have led a charge there at once.
But now—thinking of Tahlako's description of that mysterious, disciplined monster legion and the being capable of slaying a Tier 4 Corpse King—his burning heart cooled a little.
Where had this sudden force come from?
If they were wild mutants, such discipline was impossible.
If someone controlled them, how terrifying must that controller be?
"This matter is far from simple."
Thunder Emperor sat back down, fingers drumming on the table.
"Since those monsters can kill Tier 4s, their strength can't be underestimated. We won't act rashly and let others reap the spoils."
After a moment's thought he lifted his gaze, swept it across the assembly, and issued orders.
"Transmit my command: entire base to Level-One combat readiness."
"In addition, send envoys to the Sword Master of Indomitus Fortress. Tell him a huge slab of fat has appeared in the wasteland, but some uninvited guests have come along."
"I believe he'll be equally interested in this mysterious force that can launch satellites and control monsters."
"Proceed with caution—probe first, then plan."
In the Command Center, with the Tier 4 Corpse King General Randy had brought back, the mysterious sonic feast was winding down to clean-up.
Though vast numbers of ordinary zombies and energy crystals had been harvested, Steve's gaze never left a red-circled coordinate on the screen.
The source of that mysterious sound wave.
"Three days have passed; the wave has completely subsided."
Steve tapped the desk calmly.
"After such a generous gift, it's time we uncovered its true face."
He turned to the communications officer beside him and issued an order.
"Order Shadow-Blade First Recon Team to proceed immediately to the epicenter. I want first-hand hi-def real-time footage. Stay on highest alert—at the first sign of anything unusual, teleport out at once."
"Yes, sir."
World Zeta, a mysterious valley outside the city.
Once lush, the valley had been reduced by three days of high-frequency sonic bombardment.
Within several kilometers every plant, stone, and clod of earth had turned to powder.
Several purple spatial ripples unfurled in the air, and five slender Endermen warriors appeared.
They surveyed the desolate land, then locked their gaze on a hidden cave deep in the valley.
Though its energy had ebbed, the residual might still made them shudder instinctively.
"Coordinates locked; preparing to enter."
The lead Enderman reported via mind-link, then with his squad turned into wisps of purple smoke and vanished into the cave's depths.
Deep inside the cave it was dim.
When the Endermen squad teleported into the core cavern, the sight made Steve and the experts in the Command Center hold their breath.
On a bare rock platform hovered a fist-sized crystal, lustrous and white as mutton-fat jade.