The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

While the world was in shock over the images Klaus posted, the main instigator was still seated somewhere in the Demon's Abode. He sat on a stone tablet in the fire region, specifically in the territory of the Fox Devil he had killed.

The diagram he used to temper his body in the second region was still active, baking his body in a process that seemed incredibly painful. He had been enduring it for the past five days, with no sign of it stopping anytime soon.

But despite the intense heat, Klaus never made a sound as he let the flames temper his body. After another half day, the fire's effect started to fade. Feeling it wasn't working on him anymore, he stood up and began walking around the fire region, hoping to get lucky again like he did when he found the fire tulip.

"I need to find a pack of wolves soon. In a few hours, the blood moon will rise, and they'll be at their strongest. That'll give me the perfect opportunity to train more effectively," he muttered to himself.

After six hours of searching and finding nothing, Klaus left the fire region. He then fed a core to the Dragon, which became several times stronger after absorbing it.

Klaus wasn't sure how many fire cores he would need to unlock a skill from the Dragon, so for now, he could only rely on his next tribulation. He hoped the Fire Dragon might also absorb the core runes of lightning when the time came unlocking at least one additional skill.

After coming back to a new hideout in a much calmer and serene environment, a stark contrast to the fire region, he began to mediate for the next few hours. He stayed seated in meditation for a while before leaving, headed toward a region he'd picked from the map.

His goal was to reach at least level 10 before returning. The requirement for the Union Trial was to be at the bottleneck of the Master stage, and he needed to make sure he was ready.

Aoi Hiroshi had already told him that after the Union Trial, they would be given a new form of Mountain Dew, one that has an even stronger effect than the version they received for the City and Regional Trials. Discover exclusive content at m,v l'e|m-p y r

Even though Klaus didn't really need the Dew, he still wanted to try it. Maybe it would have some effect on him. At first, he has only been thinking about helping his mom with the dew, but not anymore.

After he woke up from his coma, the woman he knew as his mother had become much more beautiful and younger, and her assets were more pronounced. Klaus was happy about the change and figured he wouldn't need to force the Dew on her again.

She has also started to level up, which was something he was incredibly happy about.

He stumbled upon a horde of Human-Faced Spider Demons, and without waiting for an invitation, he began another slaughter. It lasted for two whole hours, but by the end, he'd managed to secure over 60% of the experience points needed for his next level-up.

Feeling satisfied, Klaus went back to rest for a while before preparing for his next hunt. It would be in about four hours when the blood moon would finally appear.

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Far from Klaus, within the territory of the Darkblood Demon Zombies, ten thousand Tier 6 Zombie Generals each standing three meters tall, their twisted, rotten, and jagged physiques making them look grotesque casting an ominous look across the region. Beside them also stood a thousand Tier 7 Zombie Kings, each one resembling a nightmare brought to life.

They stood surrounding a large platform where seven other zombies could be seen standing atop massive pillars.

Suddenly, the heavens began to turn red as the moon revealed its gaze. The moment it appeared, the pillars showed signs of awakening.

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Back in Klaus's resting area, he opened his eyes and smiled as the heavens began to change color. He stepped out of the cave, ready to head to the location he had marked for the wolves when something caught his attention—a series of red beams shooting into the sky, illuminating the area.

Though he was several miles away, he could see the beams clearly. Soon after, he noticed streams of red energy rising from all over the forest, heading toward the Seven Pillars of Light.

"Senior, what is happening?" Klaus asked curiosity and concern in his voice.

"A blood moon ritual. How interesting. Who would have thought a world like yours would have such a ritual? Brat, it's best if you leave this forest within the next hour," the senior replied, causing Klaus to frown.

"Senior, please tell me what's going on," he pressed again, seeking more information.

"Brat, this is a forbidden ritual, a very sinister one used to create forbidden beings," the senior said. "If I'm not mistaken—and of course, I never am—this ritual is meant to create a dangerous variant of zombies. By the time it's over, every monster in this forest will be dead, and judging by those red lights, seven powerful zombies will emerge.

By then, it'll be too late for you to leave."

Klaus felt a shudder run down his spine at the thought. All monsters would be dead, who would be crazy enough to come up with something this twisted and sinister?

"But why am I not being affected?" he asked. He could sense every monster around him losing their life force, yet he remained unharmed.

"That's because you don't have Spiritual Qi running through you. Once again, your Star Qi has saved you. But you need to leave now and call for the immediate extermination of this region before the ritual finishes."

"How much time do I have?" Klaus asked urgency in his voice.

The senior's voice was grave as he responded, "You have less than an hour. Once the ritual reaches its peak, it'll be impossible to stop. Those seven zombies will be unlike anything you've faced before."

"Then it's a good thing I'm here," Klaus said with a smirk. He took out his phone and dialed a number. Shortly after, Hanna's face appeared on the screen.

"Klaus, are you okay?" Hanna asked, concern clear in her voice.

"All good," Klaus replied casually. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to know how to send a distress signal using the tracking watch, would you?"

"There is a way, but why do you ask?" Hanna's curiosity grew.

"Let's just say something bad is happening in the Demon's Abode, and if I don't address it quickly, Arcadian City's gonna be in some serious trouble again," Klaus said, his tone more serious.

"Pull up the info system on the watch. There should be a button to send a distress signal. It'll be received by all warriors in the cities in the Eastern Region," Hanna explained without further questions, seeing the urgency in Klaus's expression.

"Thanks, big sister. I'll catch you later." Klaus hung up and immediately accessed the info system. Within moments, the distress signal process appeared on the screen.

"Severity? Hmm, let's go with 'very dangerous,'" Klaus muttered as he selected the option and sent the signal.

"Brat, what are you doing?" the senior asked as Klaus began moving quickly toward the ritual site.

"Well, Senior, someone has to stop them before the ritual reaches its peak," Klaus said without slowing down. He was already speeding toward the danger. Soon, his phone rang again, and he answered it.

"Klaus, what's happening? I just received your distress signal," the War Goddess, Miriam, asked, her voice laced with concern.

"Big sister Miriam, how long will it take for reinforcements to reach the Demon's Abode?" Klaus asked in return.

"Forty-five minutes, tops, if they're coming from Arcadian City," she answered.

"Then you'd better hurry. Some dangerous shit is going down with these zombies, and I don't think I can handle it alone," Klaus said, his usual confidence wavering slightly.

"Klaus, don't do anything reckless," Miriam warned, sensing the madness in his eyes.

"Don't worry, my love. Nothing dangerous will happen," Klaus replied with a wink, though the War Goddess was too concerned to notice how he called her.

"I'll get there as fast as I can," she promised.

Klaus kept moving, and within ten minutes, the scene of the ritual came into view.

"Now, that is just nasty," he muttered, disgust clear on his face. Thousands of hearts were laid at the base of each pillar, creating a gruesome display that made him want to vomit. All around the area, dangerous zombies stood guard, each holding menacing weapons, or their arms twisted into weapons, their eyes fixed on one of the pillars.

At the top of that particular pillar stood a figure—a woman, though clearly a zombie, she looked more human than the grotesque creatures surrounding her. With just one glance, Klaus recognized her cultivation level.

"A Zombie Emperor," he whispered, his eyes narrowing.