Apocalypse Gachapon

“Wake up the three slave armies—Hearts, Spades, and Diamonds—and send them to the eastern, southern, and northern gates, respectively. Divide the remaining members of the Royal Second Guard into four groups and position them near the four gates, ready to reinforce at any moment.”

“Waleed, Faisal, Nayeef, and Suhail, the four of you take your respective teams and also reinforce the four gates. Remember, before you die, not a single person is allowed to set foot inside the Holy City through those gates.”

These four royal family members were all level-eight evolved, the backbone of the Holy City. Their teams were formidable combat forces, and large-scale siege battles in the Holy City were typically centered around these groups.

“But Your Majesty, doing so would leave the palace undefended!”

Suhail, like the others, was shocked by the constant distress signals, especially the news that the eastern and northern gates had been breached. This was beyond belief.

Ordinary people might only know that the Holy City’s walls and gates were sturdy, but Suhail and the others had participated in and supervised the city’s construction. They had firsthand knowledge of its defenses. The fact that the gates had been shattered was far more shocking to them than to the defenders.

They realized—these outsiders were truly powerful.

The Holy City’s leader was Ahmad, and its iconic structure was the royal palace. This place could not afford to fall. If the outsiders were as strong as the reports suggested, they might even have the ability to break through to the city center. If that happened, the palace—now deprived of at least half its protection—and the king himself would be in grave danger.

Suhail believed that it didn’t matter who else in the Holy City died—but the king must not come to harm.

Ahmad waved his hand. Once he made a decision, he never changed it.

“I know what you’re worried about, but don’t be afraid. I’ll have the Little Prince return. Besides, don’t we still have the Royal First Guard? Though they only number ten thousand, you know exactly how strong they are. Hold on a little longer. Once dawn breaks, we’ll make those outsiders regret their actions! Oh, and—have I sat on this throne for so long that you’ve forgotten I’m also an evolved?”

“But—”

Suhail wanted to say more, but the king cut him off. “Go now. Or do you want those outsiders to storm the city and defile our sacred land?”

The men exchanged glances, bowed solemnly, and swiftly departed.

Ahmad sat on his throne. The other subordinates had also left—their duty was to protect the palace, not to linger by the king’s side.

“Aba.”

The king called out softly. From the shadows of the grand hall, the air twisted, and a tall Black man emerged. He walked to Ahmad’s front and knelt on one knee.

“Still… no contact?”

The Black man nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty. No word yet.”

The hall fell into silence.

After a long pause, the king stood up. He stretched out his right hand, and a gray staff materialized in his grip.

His fingers traced the intricate patterns on it before he suddenly murmured, “Have I… been too cowardly? If I had agreed back then, would I have already reached another level by now?”

Aba remained silent—whether out of reluctance or inability to answer, it was unclear.

……………………………………………………………………

Death King Tree reverted to her human form, her breathtakingly beautiful face—enough to make most real women burn with envy—slightly pale with frustration.

Through Little Tiger’s Battle Contribution Badge, she had learned that the eastern and northern gates had already been breached—only hers remained intact.

In terms of kill count, Death King Tree was undoubtedly first. A single “World Nature” had slaughtered most of the southern wall’s defenders. But when it came to destroying the gates, she couldn’t compare to Ye Zhongming with his Soul Crushing Bone Staff or the Talisman Master Mo Ye.

Staring at the tightly shut gates—now stripped of their protective shield—she felt a humiliating sense of inferiority.

After panting for a moment, she suddenly let out a piercing shriek and charged forward.

This startled Little Tiger, who was stationed behind her.

He had been assigned to assist her, and one of his tasks was to restrain her from acting recklessly.

The siege had a plan—they didn’t actually need to launch a full assault. Breaching the gates was ideal, but even if they didn’t, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy was acceptable.

But the pride of a level-nine lifeform was capricious.

Little Tiger immediately reported the situation to his leader via the Battle Contribution Badge and ordered his cavalry to prepare for a charge.

A command came through the badge, and Little Tiger licked his lips excitedly. Raising his blade high, he roared and led his men in a charge after Death King Tree.

The cavalry unit, which Cloud Peak had invested tremendous resources into assembling, launched its first true large-scale charge on West Asian soil.

The Cloud-Hoof riders were light cavalry, fanning out to the sides with lances strapped to their mounts. In their hands, they wielded bows, crossbows, or firearms—whatever they excelled with.

Though Death King Tree had nearly obliterated the city’s defenses, they couldn’t afford to relax. Their job was to suppress any potential attacks from the walls, ensuring the heavy cavalry could charge unimpeded.

The heavy cavalry was far more direct. Under Little Tiger’s lead, they gripped thick Zhanmadao blades, mounted on mutated bears, elephants, and mountain beasts. Clad in emerald-green armor, they surged toward the gates like an unstoppable tide.

Death King Tree glanced back, then suddenly stopped. Scratching her head, she pondered for a moment before deciding—this kind of dirty, exhausting work was better left to these smelly men. She was a beauty; such labor was beneath her image.

Having found the perfect excuse, she resolved to lecture Mo Ye later on a subject she’d just coined: “The Self-Cultivation of a Beautiful Woman.”

Meeting no resistance, Little Tiger and his cavalry swiftly overtook Death King Tree and “crashed” into the gates.

This wasn’t a suicidal charge—modern heavy cavalry, composed of evolved and mutated beasts, was far from the clumsy formations of ancient warfare.

The first wave of a dozen riders used momentum and their blades to hack at the gates before swiftly veering to the sides, clearing space for the next wave. They circled back, rejoining the charge path.

Wave after wave of heavy cavalry struck the gates with skills-enhanced slashes. After twelve full charges, the gates finally shattered, revealing the path into the Holy City.

Following the eastern and northern gates, the southern gate had now fallen.

…………………………………………………………

Standing by the towering palace window, Ahmad suddenly tensed. His gaze swept the ground below—just a few hundred meters from the palace, the earth ruptured, and two repulsive creatures, one black and one white, burrowed out.