Apocalypse Gachapon

One of their trump cards was Group Amplification.

The Book of Group Amplification they trained under had cost Ye Zhongming an eight-star evolution potion.

There was no helping it—as the apocalypse progressed, such items became exponentially rarer. What Ye Zhongming acquired was a large-scale amplification book for a thousand users.

By the tenth year of the apocalypse, such equipment was practically priceless. Those who obtained it would never sell—and if they did, the price would likely be a nine-star potion.

That was simply its worth.

Cloud Peak's version granted one amplification at 100 users, two at 300, three at 500, four at 800, and a terrifying five at the full 1,000.

Additionally, the amplification strength increased with numbers: 30% at 100, 50% at 300, 70% at 500, 100% at 800, and an overwhelming 150% at 1,000.

Doubling—and then some—the power of an entire unit was nothing short of terrifying.

After absorbing members rescued by Ye Zhongming from the Soul Merchant and undergoing brutal selection from Cloud Peak's ranks, the female guards now numbered over 500.

Moreover, at 500 and 1,000 users, the tome unlocked a collective skill.

At 500, it was Brilliant Blade Radiance—the technique they had just used with Sand Dance, merging their attacks into a condensed energy sphere.

Alternatively, a captain could further amplify it by 10%.

This demanded extreme proficiency—currently, only Ye Zhongming and Xia Bai met the standard among Cloud Peak's human evolved.

The Man-Bear King faced precisely this—an attack amplified by Xia Bai.

Before its paw could land among the female guards, the blade beam sliced into its chest, shearing through thick fur and sending blood flying.

The Man-Bear King howled, immediately retreating.

The pain was unbearable, the wound deep—it sensed a genuine threat.

Now, it understood: these 500-plus women were not to be trifled with.

Its retreat, however, invited Yellow Ball's leap.

Already enraged by its injuries, the sight of this far smaller, lower-level creature daring to attack sent the Man-Bear King into a frenzy.

Claws and fangs clashed in a brief but vicious melee.

When Yellow Ball landed, over ten wounds marred its body—two deep enough to reveal bone, piercing even its new beast gear.

In return, it had left two gashes on the Man-Bear King.

Yes, mere gashes.

But for a level-eight lifeform to breach the hide of a defense-specialized level-nine with pure physical force? That alone was a staggering feat, far beyond what amplification could account for.

The Man-Bear King's successive setbacks invited the airborne forces' second assault.

The two ice birds wisely provided support, spewing frost mist around the Man-Bear King. At first, the level-nine beast paid it no mind—until the mist began freezing, binding its limbs to the ground.

While it couldn't fully immobilize the creature, the ice severely hampered its mobility, leaving it unable to dodge Yangos and the Undead Dragon Fish's attacks.

Though not fighting recklessly, the malicious dragon was clearly going all out. Beyond its breath, it summoned a fiery meteor from the sky, hurling it downward.

This was its most powerful skill, demanding immense energy. Its sole flaw? The meteor's speed made it easy for agile targets to evade.

But with the ice birds' aid, even the Man-Bear King's desperate dodge couldn't prevent a direct hit.

Yet a cornered level-nine was never to be underestimated. Realizing its earlier underestimation had backfired, the Man-Bear King sought solutions amidst its rage.

Unlike the Snow Wolf King, this creature was inherently volatile—once enraged, it lost all rationality.

Seeing escape impossible, it did the unthinkable: it swatted the meteor mid-descent.

The impact scorched its paw, but the redirected meteor now hurtled toward the ice birds.

Their frantic evasion disrupted the frost mist, granting the Man-Bear King temporary freedom.

But the Undead Dragon Fish's attack arrived.

Compared to the ice birds' area control or Yangos's flashy strikes, the Undead Dragon Fish's assault was eerily silent.

It glided to optimal range and exhaled a cloud of black mist as the Man-Bear King reeled from the meteor.

The mist condensed swiftly, forming a needle-thin spike of darkness.

Amid the chaos, this spike shot toward the Man-Bear King's heart, unnoticed until the last moment.

The beast barely intercepted it with its injured paw.

The black needle pierced in, then vanished.

The Man-Bear King stared at its paw in confusion.

The pain from the meteor's flames and impact… was gone.

……………………………………………………

Xiao Xuan and the frontmost Youth Army members stared in disbelief at the severed wolf jaw, nearly as large as they were, its cracked fangs glinting.

This… was from a level-nine lifeform. Just blown off like that?

What had happened? Their leader had been caught in the Snow Wolf King's bite, so how had an explosion occurred? What could possibly maim a level-nine's body so brutally?

A distorted howl snapped them from their daze.

The Snow Wolf King thrashed violently on the ground, attacking anything within reach—Red Hair's thorn tree, the six-tentacled hellspawn that had crawled from the earth, even the energy gates.

This was the desperate, frenzied retaliation of a level-nine lifeform pushed to the brink of death.