The battle raged on for several more minutes.

Then—Mia landed a heavy blow, forcing the peak Tier 7 zombie back. Without wasting a second, she turned and unleashed her ability, freezing the two Tier 7 zombies that were still locked in combat with Chris.

But in that brief moment of casting, the zombie she'd just knocked back lunged forward and slashed across her side—leaving a deep, bone-deep gash.

"Shit—!" Chris saw the opening and didn't hesitate. He drove his rebar staff forward, impaling one of the frozen zombies through the neck. Another clean kill.

He yanked the weapon free and turned to strike the second one—

But it had already broken free.

The zombie rolled to the side, dodging the stab, then bolted toward the horde.

It knew it couldn't beat Chris in a straight fight.

But Chris wasn't about to let it get away.

He vanished into stealth and gave chase.

Just as the zombie was about to disappear into the crowd, Chris's rebar staff shot out from behind and pierced through its neck.

Another one down.

Chris didn't stop. He ripped the weapon free and sprinted toward Mia.

She was struggling now, her injury slowing her down. The peak Tier 7 zombie was pressing hard, and she was barely holding it off.

Chris slipped in behind the zombie, still cloaked in stealth. As it focused on Mia, he struck.

The zombie sensed something and tried to dodge—but too late.

Chris's rebar staff stabbed deep into its neck, ending the fight.

"Whew…" Mia let out a shaky breath, finally able to relax.

"Gotta say," she panted, "your black-edge ability really is something. If it were me, even with them frozen, I couldn't kill one in a single hit."

Chris shrugged. "We've all got our roles. Without your freeze, they wouldn't just stand there and let me stab 'em."

"Fair point. Come on—let's go help the captain."

"Yeah."

The two of them rushed toward Ethan.

The Tier 8 zombie had just realized all four of its subordinates were dead. Its face twisted in fury.

With a snarl, it turned and tried to retreat into the horde, abandoning Ethan entirely.

But Ethan wasn't letting it go.

He teleported straight into its path and swung his rebar staff down hard.

The zombie had no choice but to raise its fist and block.

BOOM!

Ethan was knocked back a few steps, but he'd stopped the escape.

Chris and Mia arrived just in time.

Mia immediately launched a wave of water at the Tier 8 zombie.

It didn't even hesitate. Even though the water didn't seem threatening, it dodged fast, staying cautious.

Then it lunged at Mia, fist cocked.

Ethan teleported again, cutting it off mid-charge, and slammed his rebar staff into it.

Another brutal clash.

Ethan was forced back again, but he held the line.

And in that brief opening—Mia struck.

A second wave of water slammed into the zombie.

This time, it hit.

Ice spread instantly across its body. In less than a second, the Tier 8 zombie was frozen solid.

And right then—Chris appeared beside it, his rebar staff glowing with black-edged energy.

He drove it straight into the zombie's neck.

But unlike the Tier 7s, this one didn't go down easy.

The staff only sank in a few inches before the zombie's hand shot up and grabbed it, locking it in place.

Then it yanked.

Chris was pulled forward like a ragdoll—and the zombie's other fist came crashing toward his skull.

At the last second, a machete came flying in from above, aimed like a lightning bolt at the wound in the zombie's neck.

At the same time, Ethan teleported to Chris's side and kicked him away, sending him flying clear of the danger.

Chris hit the ground hard, skidding across the dirt. The Tier 8 zombie's fist came down a split second later, slamming into Ethan's leg before he could pull it back.

CRACK!

Pain shot through Ethan's body as his leg snapped—but at the same time, the machete buried itself deep into the zombie's neck, sliding perfectly along the wound.

"RRAAAGH—!"

The Tier 8 zombie let out a guttural roar of pain. Across the battlefield, the zombies attacking Sean and the others suddenly turned, drawn by the sound, and began charging toward them.

Ethan didn't have time to care about his shattered leg. Gritting his teeth, he swung his rebar staff again, smashing it into the zombie's chest.

Even heavily wounded, the Tier 8 zombie still met him head-on, throwing another punch.

Ethan's leg gave out, and he dropped to the ground with a grunt, landing hard on his ass. The zombie staggered back a few steps, clearly on its last legs.

That's when Chris reappeared.

He slipped in behind the zombie, grabbed the machete still lodged in its neck, and channeled his black-edged ability into the blade. With a vicious pull, he sliced deep.

The zombie's neck split open—nearly severed. Its head flopped to the side, barely hanging on.

But even in its death throes, the Tier 8 zombie lashed out one last time, slamming a fist into Chris and sending him flying.

It swayed… then collapsed with a heavy thud.

Dead.

The team exhaled in unison.

No doubt about it—higher-Tier zombies were a nightmare to kill.

But there was no time to celebrate. A fresh wave of zombies was already closing in.

Mia stepped forward to intercept, water swirling around her.

Ethan and Chris forced themselves up, ignoring the pain, and moved to join her.

Just in time, Sean, Henry, and the others broke through the horde and rushed over.

Henry raised a hand, and a beam of light shot toward Ethan. His shattered leg straightened and healed in seconds.

Two more beams followed—one to Chris, one to Mia—rapidly closing their wounds and restoring their strength.

Ethan didn't waste a second. He knelt beside the Tier 8 corpse, cracked open its skull, and pulled out the crystal core.

It wasn't huge—about the size of a cherry, just like a Tier 6 core—but it glowed with a deep, rich violet.

Starting from Tier 7, the cores began to shift from blue to purple. Tier 8 cores weren't much bigger, just darker in color.

Ethan turned the core over in his hand, thinking.

He'd been stuck at Tier 7 peak for three days now, and still hadn't felt the breakthrough coming. Probably needed at least two more days.

But time was tight. Every day counted.

Screw it.

"Cover me," Ethan said. "I'm taking the core now."

"Got it," the others replied, forming a tight circle around him and holding the zombies at bay.

Ethan swallowed the core.

A surge of energy exploded through his body. In his mind's eye, the constellation map lit up—Mizar's second point flaring to life.

Power flooded his limbs, strengthening every cell, every muscle.

Two minutes later, Ethan opened his eyes.

He clenched his fists, feeling the raw strength coursing through him.

A grin spread across his face.

"Tier 8," he said.

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