Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 1937: Move the flower to my room

Gazing out the window, Ka Lan Ka observed the training ground below. Only a sparse crowd lingered there, with just a few showing any real dedication.

Lately, the unrest caused by the Bronze Order Leader issue had thrown the whole Bronze Camp into chaos. This third-tier squad of the Star-Eye Clan, already shaky, now appeared to have squandered its remaining zeal for drills.

A sense of uncertainty about what lay ahead gripped everyone.

Ka Lan Ka included.

He had believed himself the top contender to inherit the Bronze Order Leader role.

Rumors swirled that the Bronze Order Leader spot carried a curse. Past occupants rarely fared well; over half perished in combat, a third fell to assassins, while the rest stepped down from sickness, injury, wrongdoing, or betraying their kind.

Ka Lan Ka dismissed such talk. Having dealt with multiple former Bronze Order Leaders, he understood precisely how each had departed.

In his view, occupying that seat would allow him to outperform any leader from the past two decades.

Regrettably, whenever success seemed within reach, the clan chose someone else. This latest instance stung deepest—no major rivals remained, and he had briefly overseen the Bronze Camp. The Star-Eye Clan widely assumed only a formal declaration separated him from the post.

Anticipating that declaration, he discovered yet again it bypassed him.

His resolve shattered utterly.

He resolved to rebel, to claim the rewards he deserved.

Against another species, Ka Lan Ka might have held back, as challenging one's birth clan alone rarely yields victory.

Consider the 101st generation Bronze Order Leader; despite his remarkable gifts, even against a Star-Eye Clan not yet in decline, failure marked his end.

Yet today's Star-Eye Clan differed. Frail to the core, it could scarcely endure upheaval, particularly in its feeblest of the three key units, the Bronze Camp.

Moreover, backing from the Bronze Camp bolstered Ka Lan Ka's assurance.

On this note, gratitude went to that top Novice. The extended hesitation in assuming command bred discontent among the once-impartial Bronze Mask Warriors, tilting them his way. Abruptly, Ka Lan Ka secured allegiance from more than seventy percent of the squad—a perfect timely aid.

Come this day, he intended to show that leading Novice exactly why delaying the takeover meant forfeiting it forever.

A surge of elation washed over Ka Lan Ka, a sensation absent for ages. The prior occasion... perhaps his initial encounter with a woman?

Suddenly, one of the scarce Bronze Mask Warriors on the field yelled while unleashing an ability. To Ka Lan Ka, a Deputy Order Leader whose furelai surpassed ten thousand, it seemed minor, yet he deemed it splendid and impressive.

He pondered rewarding this hardworking underling handsomely once he claimed the Order Leader throne officially.

Footsteps approached, a jumble of soft thuds—typical of Star-Eye Clan fighters moving as one. Ka Lan Ka sensed his pivotal moment had dawned.

A knock preceded Leng Jiao's questioning tone.

Evidently, today's unexpected arrival by the top Novice had been quelled, forcing an acceptance of reality. Else, outbursts and a stormy exit would have followed.

Leng Jiao entered first, door swinging wide, flashing Ka Lan Ka a triumphant glance. Stepping aside, he revealed Ye Zhongming donning the Bronze Order Leader mask.

At once, Ka Lan Ka's face twisted in irritation. Though aware he ought not, he couldn't contain it, convinced that mask belonged to him.

"Hello, I am Ye Zhongming."

The King of Cloud Peak offered his hand to Ka Lan Ka.

Ka Lan Ka eyed the extended palm, recalling tales of this courtesy from the Novice's origin world. With a cold scoff, he merely stared at Ye Zhongming for long seconds, waiting until awkwardness prompted a possible retraction, before clasping it.

"I've long heard of your fame, yet you don't appear all... that..."

The trailing Bronze Camp officials, no matter their prior views, displayed scorn seeing Ye Zhongming's current unease.

Even unable to dominate here, shouldn't he maintain some pride? What was this display?

Yet that disdain endured just a moment, shattered by a crimson gleam.

Ka Lan Ka seized Ye Zhongming's hand. Upon contact, he reflexively squeezed hard, aiming to humble the newcomer. He planned, by sentence's end, to snap bones if no agonized cry escaped.

Yet uttering 'that,' heaviness weighed his frame. At the pause, his mind fogged slightly. As the next pause loomed unspoken, he glimpsed motion from the other, and words failed entirely.

A keen dagger sliced his throat, then slashed across, hacking away half of Ka Lan Ka's neck.

Ye Zhongming pulled back, shoving lightly. Ka Lan Ka's body toppled rearward, slamming the wall before toppling a cherished potted plant.

Out on the training ground, the devoted Bronze Mask Warrior cried out once more.

Ye Zhongming flicked blood from the blade, pivoted to the stunned Leng Jiao frozen in horror, and demanded icily: "Earlier, was it you who summoned me to meet this corpse?"

"I, no, I wasn't..."

Terror flooded Leng Jiao's core, overwhelming all restraint.

Outmatched by Ka Lan Ka in power and rank, with Ye Zhongming dispatching even him effortlessly, ending Leng Jiao would prove simpler still.

Still, dread offered no shield. Ye Zhongming lifted his arm, the dagger advancing deliberately slow.

Onlookers behind lunged to intercept, only to sense time dragging, an unseen force bearing down, delaying their response.

Leng Jiao fared worse, transfixed as the blade plunged into one eye socket, wrenched free, then drove into the opposite, twisting anew.

As Leng Jiao's form crumpled beside Ka Lan Ka's, Ye Zhongming ignored the Bronze Camp officials and strode from the chamber alone.

"Assemble every Bronze Camp member on the training ground within twenty minutes. Location and duties be damned; absentees after that time are barred from return."

Ye Zhongming issued commands while departing. "Furthermore, restore that earlier potted plant and shift it to my quarters. Oh, and dispose of those two bodies; heat will make them reek otherwise."

The cluster of Bronze Camp officials trailed, exchanging bewildered glances.