Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System Chapter 46: Crack the Anvil and Burn the Marrow! (II)

My feet struck the earth like hamrs, each impact ringing through the marrow of my bones, propelling forward like a dragonfly.

The Blade-Type t my charge with a silent groan—mouth open wide, eyes blank and yet focused on and nothing else. Its arms swung outward in a scissor arc, aiming to cleave my torso in two.

I couldn’t stop at this pace and dropped my hips just before colliding.

Its bone blades passed inches over my head, cutting strands of my hair mid-strike. Then I twist my hips, thrusting my spear upward, a reverse thrust that strikes beneath its jaw. I felt resistance.

Then a low crack. A blackened ichor started pouring from its split chin.

But it didn’t fall.

The red core still pulsed in its chest, faster now, frantic.

It screeched, slamming both arms down. I crossed my spear to block—too late.

The impact sent a jolt through my elbows. My legs buckled, and the road beneath cracked.

The two blades sliced through my forearms, unfiltered agony spread through my being, and blood poured from the long gashes.

Pain.

Real, sharp, unfiltered.

The Titan’s Marrow Sutra howled in joy.

My bones tightened.

Muscles surged in delight, bulging and shrinking.

The skin on my body burned, turning darker, healing rapidly.

I threw myself sideways as the Blade-Type tried to cleave again, pushing through the agony, letting it feed the fire kindling inside .

Yin was a blur, fighting his own battle, his speed beyond mine.

Yet I realised that, like Qinglan, he was special.

Appearing beside , fangs buried in the neck of one of the zombie dogs, ironically tossing it like a rag doll before springing onto the next. His fur glistened with gore. Eyes bright with wild charm.

He was built for this.

Then ?

I needed to forge myself!

The remaining Speed-Type darted in again, blurring like a mirage. I felt it before I saw it.

I turned—barely—spear dragging through the air behind .

It grazed my ribs, slicing through my coat and skin alike. Blood spilled.

But I caught it.

The spearhead punctured its thigh—again—and this ti, I held it in place.

The zombie screeched, flailing its elongated arms. One claw ripped across my shoulder. Another crosses my face.

Pain blood, but I refused to release it.

I wrenched the spear sideways, using my body as an anchor.

The zombie’s leg tore free, severed at the joint.

It collapsed, twitching and snarling.

And before thinking, I pounced.

Three clean strikes—shoulder, chest, neck.

The zombie stopped moving, a sickening gurgle escaping its throat. I stood—shaking. The pain from my arms being sliced open still screaming in my mind, but the pleasant feeling of heat surging from my abdon made it irrelevant.

The Titan’s Marrow Sutra surged violently like molten rock, pumping through my arteries.

[Breakthrough Threshold Reached]

A pulse.

I staggered as every fibre of my body locked for an instant—then twisted, like tal reforging itself under divine heat.

"Ngh...!"

My veins bulged under my flesh, a dark colour like my blood beca black, like molten rock. Then my muscles burned, like a volcanic eruption spread through my stomach.

I felt my hands itch, before a sharp pain as my knuckles cracked, before growing larger and hardening like stone.

Finally, my skin tore, peeled and then beca numb, thicker and stronger.

[Stage 1 – Hardened Core: Achieved]

I gasped, dropping to one knee, sweat pouring like rain.

The world sharpened. My body felt heavier—denser—but lighter at the sa ti.

I rose slowly, my grip around the spear no longer trembling, as if it beca a stick of wood, allowing to move at full speed. The Speed-Type darted forward. But I saw it now—truly saw it.

No blur or haze any longer.

The movents of its muscles, the explosive power of the zombies’ thighs. So when it lunged, I sidestepped.

My spear coiled like a viper, striking twice—one to the chest, deflecting its claw, and the second, up through the jaw, piercing the brain.

It staggered like a samurai who lost a duel. Then collapsed in a heap, skull split clean.

Two down.

Behind , Yin danced between the remaining dogs, his body slick with blood but movents still sharp. A yowl escaped him as one clipped his side—but he retaliated imdiately, tearing out the creature’s throat.

His tail flicked, fluffy and not threatening at all.

I turned toward the last Blade-Type.

It stood motionless, staring—its glowing core burning brighter now. A hot steam blew from its mouth, almost like breath. The crackling of its blistered skin echoed like a brittle bark in fla.

I noticed that the more their cores vibrated and shone, the faster and longer their blades beca, growing to roughly 70cm in length.

It could be dangerous to wait any longer.

The zombies’ strike ca fast, too fast.

A perfectly tid slash, as if this was the era of swords and warriors. I barely had ti to raise my spear when it appeared in front of , bringing both blades down like guillotines, causing déjà vu.

Pushing off the ground to force myself back. I avoided the brunt of the attack. My arms shook, blocking that strike with my spear’s haft.

But now, I held my ground.

A grunt left my lips as I pushed his swords up, forcing myself from a kneeling position, before roaring.

"IS THAT ALL!?"

I pushed forward, staggering the zombie, before I grabbed its throat and headbutted its face, forehead to jaw. The zombie’s bones shattered. Before it recovered, I swept its leg, forcing it to the ground.

Then ramd my foot forward, crushing its chest and pinning it.

With both hands, I lifted my spear and stabbed.

Once.

Twice.

A third ti—through the core.

Deep dents in the ground were left from my spear’s tip, piercing the concrete and asphalt.

Its body seized with trembling limbs, flailing before I twirled my spear and smashed its forehead with the butt of my weapons.

Crack! Finally, the zombie’s core faded... and it stilled.

The battlefield beca silent, with only the wind for a partner.

Although I won, the only thing I gained was the stench of rot and the sound of my heart beating, slow and heavy, despite the intense action.

Yin swayed over, his hips in the air, flicking his tail, his left ear with a small wound, but the cute ragdoll defeated the dogs.

I knelt beside him, stroking his back. He leaned into without complaint.

"We did it."

Ash drifted again on the wind, and once again, I noticed the blood covering my favourite jacket, and the pain I ignored started to return bit by bit.

But I stood tall.

The Titan’s Marrow Sutra pulsed within —not violently this ti.

Almost soothing and rhythmic as it spread from my stomach to the organs that burned and throbbed with dull aches and pains.

As if it had accepted now.

I glanced back at the collapsed mall, the shattered cars, the corpses.

So much pain still awaited . Stronger enemies. Smarter foes. But today—

Today, I won.

Without the system.

Without cheats.

Without anyone.

Just a spear.

Just my flesh.

And the will to fight.

"ow."

Yin butted his head against my leg.

I chuckled.

"Well I guess we still have those things to deal with, haha. But I am different now... I can change, both ntally and physically. Together we can do it Yin."

I turned toward the city’s heart—toward the mass of zombies that I could dismber.

"Let’s go," I murmured. "We’ve still got a kingdom to build."