The Peerless Emperor (TPE)

On the deck of the warship, a large crowd of humans had gathered, all leaning over the railings to look down below.

"Make way, His Majesty is here!" Stone Bull called out as he led the way, pushing through the throng of people.

Upon hearing Stone Bull's shout, the crowd quickly parted, bowing respectfully as Lin Qian approached.

Lin Qian signaled for everyone to rise and then moved to the edge of the deck to look down.

Below, in the deadlands of the withered forest, the ground was breaking apart, and one by one, zombies crawled out, joining the massive army of the undead as they surged madly toward the north.

As far as the eye could see beneath the warship, it was nothing but a sea of zombies, so densely packed that the sight sent chills down everyone's spine.

All the people on the deck silently thanked Lin Qian for allowing them to live on the airship high above. If they had still been on the ground, they would have been devoured to the bone.

No, they wouldn't even leave behind bones—there wouldn't even be a trace left.

"When did this start?" Lin Qian asked in a low voice as he stared down at the horde of zombies.

Stone Bull sighed and replied, "Half an hour ago, some of our people left the warship to retrieve belongings left behind in their tribes and discovered that the previously dormant zombies had suddenly begun emerging from the ground."

"At first, our strengthened forces were able to handle them, but the numbers kept increasing until they had no choice but to retreat back to the ship. Unfortunately, more than thirty people were lost in the zombie wave."

The sudden outbreak of zombies made Lin Qian realize that something must have changed with the Blackblood race.

In fact, there had been signs of this change for some time. When the Dwarf and Giant Goblins had begun moving south, the zombies beneath the ground had remained eerily still. Even when they approached the withered trees, the zombies did not spring out to attack as they normally would.

"Hmm?" As Lin Qian was lost in thought, he noticed a figure approaching the warship from the distance.

"It's a Giant Goblin!" Liu Wei and the others, who were standing guard around Lin Qian, tensed up, ready to rush out and slay the approaching enemy.

"Don't move," Lin Qian ordered, stopping them from engaging. He watched as the Giant Goblin drew closer.

When the Giant Goblin was still seven or eight meters from the warship, it stopped.

At this distance, Liu Wei and the others noticed that something was off about this Giant Goblin.

Normally, Giant Goblins had strong, muscular bodies filled with vitality, but this one's aura was sinister, and its eyes were completely blood-red.

They couldn't figure out what was wrong, but Lin Qian understood immediately. He knew exactly what this creature was.

"A Blood Nurtured Corpse—I'm guessing you must be the Blackblood race?" Lin Qian said coldly as he looked at the hovering Giant Goblin. "I'm guessing the zombie outbreak below is your doing as well."

"Hahaha, that's right, I am indeed of the Blackblood race," the Giant Goblin's mouth twisted into a sinister grin, its voice hoarse and filled with hatred. "But of course, it's you, Lin Qian, who has been ruining my plans!"

"Your plans may not be so great for humanity, so I had to stop you."

"Stop me? I'd like to see how you plan to stop me!" The Blood Nurtured Corpse spread its arms wide, its smile twisted with malice. "Take a look at my army of zombies. Let me tell you something—there are thirty million of them."

Gasp!

Aside from Lin Qian, everyone else on the deck inhaled sharply.

Thirty million zombies? They barely had six hundred thousand people, and only around eighty thousand of them were capable of fighting.

And they clearly remembered that each zombie possessed strength equivalent to a Revered warrior, which was comparable to their Nirvana stage.

Thirty million... The sheer number made everyone's scalp tingle.

"I'll also tell you this: within this small world lies the body of a royal member of my race. His soul was nearly destroyed in the end, allowing me to take over. Now, I have become a Blackblood Royal, and I control the ultimate secret arts of my race."

"Surely you've noticed that the zombies are rapidly evolving in strength. In half an hour, my zombie army will reach the Void Breaking stage. After all, these zombies were once outer disciples of the Danyuan Sect."

"You could try to hide inside this cloudship for now, but soon, you will all experience true despair."

"You think that just because this Lin Qian is helping you, you can escape the fate of extinction? You're all doomed."

"Hahahaha..."

The maniacal laughter echoed in the sky, each cackle stabbing into the hearts of those listening.

"So what if we are doomed? Everything we have now, we owe to His Majesty Lin Qian. The good food, the comfortable life we've had—it's all been a bonus," a defiant voice shouted from the crowd. "My life was saved by His Majesty from the hands of the zombies. If I have to give it back, so be it—there's nothing to fear!"

This declaration sparked a wave of emotion in the crowd, and they shouted out in agreement.

"Anyway, we've already crushed the Dwarf and Giant Goblins. If we die now, we'll die with no regrets."

"We should have died long ago. To have lived so well until now is more than enough. Death is nothing!"

The words of the Blood Nurtured Corpse did nothing to break their spirits. Instead, it fueled their defiance.

The people of the Land of Origins had a resilience forged by a history of darkness. They didn't want to die—who would? But they did not fear it. They stood firm, united behind Lin Qian.

"What, you still want to fight to the death? Against my zombie army, you have no chance of survival," the Blood Nurtured Corpse sneered, its red eyes gleaming with pity as it looked down at the humans. "In the end, you are all destined to die."

"Hmph." At that moment, Lin Qian lowered his head, his body trembling. As the Blood Nurtured Corpse looked at him, Lin Qian suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly.

The controlled Blood Nurtured Corpse frowned in confusion, staring at Lin Qian.

"Did I see that right? This human kid seems excited?" Behind the scenes, controlling the Blood Nurtured Corpse, Lu Shangda couldn't understand why Lin Qian was reacting this way.

Could it be that, faced with inevitable death, Lin Qian had lost his mind?

The others were just as puzzled, unable to comprehend why their newly crowned emperor was so thrilled.

Bang!

At that moment, Lin Qian slammed his hands onto the railing, gripping it tightly as he grinned at the Blood Nurtured Corpse. "A battle... You're challenging me to a battle. It's been so long since I've heard those words."

"Thirty million zombies, and they're even stronger than those in the ancient ruins. This is going to be interesting," Lin Qian said with a wide smile as he looked at the Blood Nurtured Corpse. "Hey, you, alien—hurry up and make your zombie army even stronger, as strong as you can, or else..."

"It won't be any fun!"

As Lin Qian's voice fell, everyone felt the warship shake violently. Then, they saw beams of soul power shoot out from the bottom of the ship.

Fiery red beams of soul power blasted out in all directions, tearing through the densely packed zombie horde.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted across the battlefield as zombies were blown apart, black smoke rising into the air as the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

The Blood Nurtured Corpse's eyes widened in shock as it clenched its fists. The soul power from those dark openings in the warship had just wiped out over a hundred thousand zombies in an instant.

When it looked back up at Lin Qian, a sense of foreboding crept into its mind.

"This is my response to your challenge, alien," Lin Qian said proudly, raising his chin slightly as he stared down the Blood Nurtured Corpse.

"Those who dare to defy the Huaxia Empire will be annihilated!"