Having concluded his business in the real world, Steve returned to the Command Center. His consciousness crossed dimensions once again, descending into the form of the Ender Dragon.
Roar!
Accompanied by a low, guttural roar, the very fabric of space tore open. A massive, black silhouette abruptly manifested in the sky above the Echo Observation Station. Below, the Villager scientists conducting data tests started in surprise, shielding their eyes as they looked upward.
"Is that... the Ender Dragon?"
"How did it leave the End?"
The confusion was short-lived. As the dragon hovered obediently, its massive wings stirring the air with a rhythmic hum, they realized there was only one person capable of such a feat.
"Bring me the energy crystals," Steve's voice boomed, channeled through the dragon's throat. "Every high-purity shard you have in reserve."
Soon, crates of energy crystals originally destined for various research institutes were teleported to the central square by a team of Endermen. Steve controlled the dragon as she dove, opening her massive maw to devour the crates in a single gulp. The incredibly dense crystals were crushed like glass between her teeth, instantly dissolved and absorbed into her core.
"Now, the Enhancement Serums."
Barrel after barrel of the Second-Generation liquid was poured into the dragon's gullet. This void creature's constitution was a bottomless pit. It didn't care about the origin of the energy—whether it was crystalline or biological, the dragon's void core forcibly decomposed and assimilated everything.
Three hours later.
Boom!
A terrifying aura erupted from the Ender Dragon, causing the surrounding space to ripple with hairline fractures.
Tier 5.
Through sheer, concentrated consumption of the base's most precious resources, this Minecraft sovereign had been forcibly pushed into the Fifth-Order.
Just as Steve was preparing to continue the feast, Randy's voice broke through the soul link from the real-world Command Center. "Steve, the delegation from Indomitus Base has arrived."
Randy's expression was complex as he stood by Steve's physical body. "They aren't here for a skirmish. They've come to surrender. Their supreme leader, Sovereign Yor—a Fifth-Order expert—is leading them personally."
Steve paused. "They're already here?"
He turned the massive dragon head toward the horizon, his voice calm. "Randy, go and make initial contact. I'll bring the dragon and be there shortly."
Swish!
The space around the Ender Dragon distorted, and the massive beast vanished without a trace, leaving the scientists staring at an empty sky.
"Where did she go?"
Outpost Base, Negotiation Hall.
The atmosphere was heavy with tension. Randy sat in the main seat, controlling a Tier 4 zombie to act as his proxy. Opposite him sat the delegation from Indomitus Base—a lineup that could only be described as formidable.
Leading them was Sovereign Yor, an elderly man with white hair and a spirited, sharp gaze. Behind him stood six other Fifth-Order powerhouses and three high-ranking officials at the peak of the Fourth-Order. This was the foundation of Indomitus, the reason they had stood tall for so long. But today, there was no trace of arrogance on their faces—only profound awe.
They had received the intelligence reports from the Divine Judgment Base. Two Fifth-Order masters beaten to death and an entire fortress occupied in a single afternoon. Such overwhelming force had forced them to face reality.
"General Randy," Sovereign Yor said, bowing slightly as he presented a thick dossier with both hands. "This is the complete ledger of our personnel, material reserves, technological data, and registered Awakened. Indomitus Base is prepared to submit unconditionally."
His voice was aged but carried a firm resolve. Randy took the list, scanning it with secret amazement. The "family fortune" of Indomitus was far more substantial than that of the nouveau riche Divine Judgment.
As Randy flipped through the pages, the hall suddenly began to vibrate.
Buzz!!!
A terrifying pressure, like the weight of ten thousand collapsing mountains, swept through the room.
Roar.
A soul-piercing dragon roar echoed from above, and the ceiling of the hall seemed to turn translucent under the sheer intensity of the presence. Sovereign Yor and his powerhouses snapped their heads up, their pupils contracting. They saw a pitch-black dragon blotting out the sun, its purple eyes looking down with cold, reptilian indifference.
"Is that... a dragon?"
"A true dragon? How can such a myth exist in this wasteland?"
The survivors of Indomitus were shaken to their cores. They had fought mutated behemoths and bio-horrors, but a dragon—a creature of legend—was a nightmare they weren't prepared for.
"Fifth-Order... a genuine Fifth-Order draconic aura," Sovereign Yor whispered, his heart racing. The pressure emanating from the beast was more profound than any high-level mutant he had ever encountered.
Suddenly, the dragon's figure blurred. Space distorted.
Swish!
A smaller, compressed version of the Ender Dragon materialized in the center of the hall. Steve stepped forward from the shadow of the beast, the lingering draconic might making it difficult for anyone to look him in the eye.
He looked at the leader of Indomitus and offered a slight smile. "Sovereign Yor, I've heard much of your tenacity. I am Steve. Welcome to the New Order."
Sovereign Yor took a deep breath, suppressing his shock. He kept his posture low and respectful. "Mr. Steve, it is an honor for Indomitus to join your cause."
Once both sides were seated, Steve got straight to the point.
"Now that Divine Judgment is neutralized and Indomitus is officially under our banner, I have a more pressing concern. Where have the high-level zombies gone?" Steve frowned. "We've scoured the region. We've fought the Fifth-Order masters of the human bases, but we haven't seen a single wild Fifth-Order zombie yet. And where are the other special anomalies, like the Echo variants?"
Sovereign Yor sighed, his expression turning grave. "As for the Echo variants, we have a few held in containment at our base. You may collect them at any time. As for the zombies..." He paused, his voice dropping an octave. "About a year ago, a... King of the Swarm was born."
"A King?" Steve raised an eyebrow. "Is it a Sixth-Order?"
"No," Yor shook his head. "The energy ceiling of this world seems locked. A Sixth-Order shouldn't be possible yet. Its strength is at the absolute peak of the Fifth-Order, but its influence is what matters."