Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger

Cain’s expression nearly changed.

’Only A few minutes?’

That didn’t sound right.

He remembered the Zombie King clearly.

By the time Cain encountered that creature, it had already accumulated an absurd amount of energy inside Bottomless Furnace.

More importantly, it had somehow reached the 2nd Echelon when the apocalypse had only descended earlier that same day.

Even considering its powerful Talents, such rapid progression had always been abnormal.

Cain had already suspected that the spatial opening was responsible for a large portion of its strength.

However, if the abnormal energy drain detected by the Zombie Race had truly lasted for only several minutes...

Could the Zombie King really have accumulated that much power within such a short period?

Maybe.

Cain couldn’t completely rule it out.

He still had no idea how much energy normally flowed through a Spatial Anchor Gate.

If the amount was enormous enough, several minutes of continuous absorption might have been more than sufficient to push the Zombie King far beyond ordinary creatures.

Yet something continued bothering him.

When Cain encountered the Zombie King, the creature did not behave as if it had only recently discovered the spatial opening.

It had been sitting calmly beside the Gate with one hand pressed against it.

The weaker zombies surrounding the area already obeyed it, and the enormous energy stored inside Bottomless Furnace suggested that the situation had existed for longer than only a brief moment.

Cain frowned slightly.

’Something doesn’t add up.’

He looked at the commander.

"Are you sure it only lasted a few minutes?"

The zombie’s expression became colder.

"Do you believe I am incapable of measuring time?"

Cain smiled.

"I don’t know. Maybe Zombie Race education is terrible."

Ron quietly lowered his head behind him.

Nathan turned his face slightly away, though the faint movement at the corner of his mouth betrayed him.

The commander’s eyes grew colder.

"You humans speak too much."

Cain shrugged.

"You’re the one who keeps answering."

He expected that remark to finally push the zombie into attacking.

Instead, the commander remained where he stood and simply stared at him.

That was when Cain’s amusement started fading as he looked around again.

There were far more Zombie Race soldiers nearby than the ones openly standing in sight.

Cain could feel at least a dozen 2nd Echelon presences scattered around the area, while nearly a hundred 1st Echelons occupied the surrounding buildings and roads.

They had already been surrounded.

However, Cain’s expression remained calm.

Now that he had a much clearer understanding of the 3rd Echelon commander’s strength, the additional soldiers did not worry him much.

What bothered Cain was something else.

Despite having enough soldiers positioned around them to begin an attack from several directions, none of them moved as if they were waiting.

So was the commander.

Cain slowly turned his gaze toward the long northern road extending from the other side of the plaza.

His eyes remained there for a moment before returning to the commander.

At nearly the same time, the commander shifted its gaze away from that direction.

A faint smile appeared on Cain’s face.

The zombie noticed.

"What?"

"Nothing." Cain smiled and continued watching it.

The communication device remained beside the commander’s leg.

But then why keep it in hand after the earlier message had already been sent?

Unless it expected another message.

Cain remembered the commander standing still while its soldiers died outside.

That bastard had known that he was strong.

His single attack had disabled nearly fifty 1st Echelon soldiers and twelve 2nd Echelons in a single move.

After all that happened, what did that bastard do?

Just stayed still.

Not only that, he didn’t even intend to attack Cain and just started replying to him as if he didn’t mind spending more time doing so.

Cain’s golden eyes sharpened.

’You cowardly bastard.’

That bastard concealed it well as his expression remained composed enough that anyone watching from a distance might have mistaken his behavior for confidence.

But Cain no longer cared about appearances as the zombie’s decisions told a much clearer story.

He had seen enough of Cain’s strength to understand that fighting him carried real risk.

So rather than personally testing how dangerous Cain was, the commander had chosen the safer option.

Which was to delay time.

Cain looked toward the northern road again.

There was still nothing visible.

However, that did not matter as the answer was becoming obvious.

"How far is the central base from here?"

The commander became silent.

Cain’s smile widened.

There it was.

Throughout their conversation, the commander had answered several questions that should have been far more sensitive.

Yet the moment Cain mentioned the central base, he stopped talking.

The zombie slowly bent down and picked up the saber resting beside him.

"You ask too many questions."

Cain chuckled.

"So that’s where they’re coming from."

The commander’s eyes narrowed.

Nobody behind Cain spoke, but the atmosphere immediately changed as they understood immediately.

Ron tightened his grip on the spear.

Nathan raised the bow slightly.

Elara’s cold Mana grew denser around her body.

Cain continued looking at the commander.

"You requested reinforcements, right? That’s why you never came outside."

The zombie remained silent.

"You sent those soldiers ahead because you wanted to see what we could do first."

The zombie’s fingers tightened around the saber.

Cain’s smile widened.

"And after knowing what happened to them, you decided sitting here and keeping us occupied was a much better idea."

The commander’s expression finally changed, even though it was only slightly.

"I didn’t expect a 3rd Echelon Zombie to be such a scaredy-cat."

A heavy pressure suddenly spread from the commander’s body.

The black stone beneath its feet cracked.

Several Zombie Race soldiers around the plaza instinctively lowered their bodies.

The 3rd Echelon Zombie’s expression remained cold.

"Do not mistake patience for fear."

"Sure." Cain chuckled with a look that was completely unimpressed.

He then slowly rotated his transformed wrist.

The True Ruin Energy that had remained compressed around his claws since before entering the town responded instantly.

The commander’s eyes immediately shifted toward his right hand.

Cain’s smile disappeared as he spoke again.

"Thanks anyway."

The commander frowned.

"For what?"

"For telling me I shouldn’t waste any more time."

The commander reacted immediately by raising his weapon.

Cain’s right arm had already moved as he slashed his claws across the air.

SHHHK!

The True Ruin Energy he had been compressing since before entering the town erupted outward.

Several dark-gray claw marks tore across the plaza.

Unlike the unstable crescent Cain had once released from Partial Dragon Manifestation, the energy remained tightly compressed.

Each claw-shaped blade traveled separately, yet their paths remained close enough to cover the commander’s upper body.

The attack crossed the 30 meter distance in an instant.

The 3rd Echelon immediately moved, his calm expression disappeared for the first time.

Mana exploded from its body as it swung the saber horizontally.

BOOM!

The attacks collided in the middle of the plaza.

Dark-gray energy exploded outward as the black stone beneath the commander shattered.

The force pushed him backward.

His boots scraped violently across the plaza, carving two long marks into the stone as he was driven nearly ten meters closer toward the staircase before finally stopping.

Cain raised an eyebrow.

The saber remained intact.

However, several dark marks had appeared across the blade.

Thin traces of True Ruin crawled along the damaged section before the commander forcefully released Mana and suppressed them.

The zombie looked down at the weapon, then back toward Cain.

Its face had become completely serious.

Cain’s smile returned.

"Good."