Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 1897: Huge losses
Previously on Apocalypse Gachapon...
Truly undependable!
With Ji Ruiguang's high rank and standing, he couldn't stop himself from swearing aloud.
If it had been a completely hopeless scenario where fleeing made sense, that might be acceptable. Yet right now, defeat hadn't come at all. Merely two of their comrades had fallen, and the last one bolted without a second thought. Wasn't this escape just far too self-serving?
In an instant, the battlefield shifted dramatically: White Robe now faced two foes alone, the Luther people took on two with their trio, and the Novices were left to confront three seasoned and formidable Evil Armor Star fighters.
These beings, protected by tough armored exteriors, charged aggressively toward the Novices.
His pull on them proved overwhelmingly intense, leading the three dispatched from the skies to all be veterans boasting impressive fight histories.
Against equals, they held their ground easily, and even superior foes posed little threat. The Tianqi Star fighters' weakness stood clear, their flight inevitable, yet a real disparity in fighting prowess lingered. Only those in the Tianqi Star folks' shoes could truly grasp it.
The lone escapee's flight carried a hint of utter defeat that shattered their morale.
Regardless of the reasons, the harsh reality hit: for the moment, minus Ye Zhongming, the Novices must battle the high-spirited and mighty Evil Armor Star forces.
Helsky and Ji Ruiguang exchanged glances, instantly grasping each other's resolve.
The clash erupted with zero words or testing moves, plunging straight into fierce intensity.
Moments ago, the Novices had fought tooth and nail to eliminate the two Shuoxing foes. Now, these Evil Armor Star attackers turned the tables, striving relentlessly to wipe out the Novices.
They grasped well that seizing He required crushing these pesky obstacles first.
Only the Novices knew their own mounting agony.
Prior to this, in a bid to turn the tide and gain clarity swiftly amid the frenzy, they'd unleashed nearly every special ability while burning through most of their secret gear.
Confronting even more and tougher adversaries now, despite holding a numerical edge, their position flipped rapidly to dire straits.
At the fifth second of combat: a Novice took a grave wound, spared instant death only by allies' frantic shielding.
By the twelfth second: another Novice perished in the fray.
Twentieth second: Jie Kui's ambush missed, leaving him badly hurt.
Thirty-first second: Helsky suffered a minor wound.
Thirty-fifth second: the second Novice fell.
Forty-seventh second: two Novices got critically damaged in quick succession and pulled back from the fight.
One minute and three seconds: the third Novice died!
Over barely a minute, three Novices lost their lives, four endured serious harm, and four or five bore lighter damages! The Evil Armor Star side paid just one seasoned fighter's minor injury, one Novice's death, and scattered light wounds among the rest!
Within that single minute, the balance of power swung wildly once more. It loomed clear that the Novices' collapse neared swiftly.
"Hold on. Our only hope is to wait for Ye Zhongming to recover his combat power."
Ji Ruiguang stayed composed, no trace of alarm. He voiced this steadily while stepping in for Helsky to clash directly with the strongest Evil Armor Star combatant.
The team realized White Robe's group couldn't even escape, let alone aid them—surviving without quick loss would be lucky. Regarding the Luther side... well, if they didn't flee outright, credit Helsky's persuasive words for sparking faint optimism and curiosity about what lay ahead. But counting on them for all-out effort? Forget it.
The Novices bore the burden alone.
Fatalities couldn't be avoided. All they wagered on was that among these under twenty souls, not everyone would fall before Ye Zhongming regained his edge.
Yet... why did hopelessness still grip them?
In desperate straits, hidden potentials often burst forth. These Novices—truly exceptional ones—ignited their inner fire.
Helsky sparked the surge first.
From the earlier skirmish, he'd already tapped into a burst mode, pushing out 120% of his capability. Lacking him, victory wouldn't have come so cleanly. That near-fatal strike to the enemy's shoulder blade came from Helsky, toppling the pair utterly afterward.
His abrupt flare-up granted the whole Novice squad a solid thirty casualty-free seconds.
Next came Ji Ruiguang's turn to shine. This powerhouse delivered remarkably. His surge wasn't flashy like Helsky's, yet he acted as a steadying force, sustaining every ally's rhythm, patching their weaknesses, and letting them maximize their might.
Lubricant! That's the sharpest label Helsky could pin after their short teamwork.
Teaming with this veteran felt incredibly smooth.
Soon, eruption spread through more Novices. Whether brief seconds or a single well-timed ability, each boosted the fight immensely.
By the three-minute mark, beyond a few extra minor hurts, no grave injuries or deaths struck. Instead, the Evil Armor Star ranks lost another Novice to battle and saw one veteran wounded.
Still, such bursts demand victory or a game-changing lead during the peak; otherwise, post-surge, the downward path resumes.
That described the Novices perfectly. Their limits unlocked, power rose, but slaying even a single veteran Evil Armor Star fighter remained impossible—their guards proved too superior.
From the three-minute-fifteen-second point, losses resumed for the Novices. Helsky, shining brightest, drew focused assaults and, seizing his brief fatigue, took a heavy blow at last.
Ten seconds on, the fourth Novice died. Five more, and the fifth followed. At four minutes, six Novices lay dead, seven gravely hurt. Just five or six endured. Without He and Qiuqiu's timely support, the toll would climb higher, spiraling into total chaos.
Yet conditions worsened relentlessly. Ji Ruiguang spearheaded the defense, his wounds deepening without pause. In this mess, stretching another thirty seconds would demand heroic endurance.
Even a iron-willed figure like Ji Ruiguang started sensing utter hopelessness.
He yearned to glance back at Ye Zhongming's state, but chances never arose. Deep down, he knew peeking wouldn't alter facts. He'd figured on stalling ten minutes for recovery. Reality? Barely five!
Who could bounce back fully from wounds in five minutes? Not even a nine-star evolver.
As this Resistance Zone leader sensed darkness closing in, a figure emerged behind him, shoving Ji Ruiguang from the frontline.
Simultaneously, words reached him that dropped him flat.
"Next, let me handle it."