Apocalypse: Transmigrated with an Overlord System
Chapter 227: The Shattered Wall

Chapter 227: Chapter 227: The Shattered Wall

The moment Xu Kai reappeared at the west wall, he felt the difference in the air.

It was heavier. Darker. More hopeless.

A thick stench of blood and scorched earth filled his lungs. The sky above was darkened with smoke, and the wall trembled beneath his feet as if it was about to collapse. Cracks spread along the stones like spiderwebs. Below, beyond the base gates, was a sea of mutated beasts—howling, clawing, climbing—tearing their way forward like they were possessed.

Xu Kai’s eyes widened at the sight.

The number of beasts here wasn’t just large—it was overwhelming. Hundreds upon hundreds surged across the earth like a tide of death. Each one was massive, monstrous, and far more powerful than what had attacked the south.

These weren’t weaklings.

These were Level 7, 8, and 9-class beasts—dozens of them. Their thick hides shimmered with energy, and their claws cracked against the walls with bone-breaking force. Some of them were even intelligent enough to target the same weak spot repeatedly. Their bloodshot eyes were fixed on the base like they could smell the fear inside. They weren’t just attacking.

They were hunting.

And the wall, under their endless onslaught, was beginning to buckle.

He saw awakened fighters struggling to hold them back. Some stood at the top of the wall, throwing out elemental attacks—fire, wind, ice, electricity. But none of it was enough. The beasts were too many. Too strong.

Xu Kai’s eyes quickly scanned the wall, his sharp gaze darting from face to face.

Liang Zihan was slumped against the stone, his clothes torn apart, blood oozing from is abdomen. A medic was beside him, trying to press down on the wound, but his hands trembled too much to stop the bleeding.

Shen Haoran lay nearby, completely still. His chest barely moved. Two healers were working on him, their abilities glowing faintly, but their faces were pale with despair. His injuries were deep—bones shattered, flesh torn, blood pooling beneath him. He was on the brink of death.

Zhou Yinuo was still standing, but just barely.

Her hands were stretched out, summoning violent gusts of wind to push back the beasts that had climbed up the wall. Her legs trembled with exhaustion, and her once-clean face was stained with dirt and blood. Her temple had been cut, and the blood had run down her face, staining her collar and neck. But still—she didn’t stop.

Behind her, other awakened fighters stood in a broken line, some missing weapons, some with shattered armor, but all still fighting. Their faces were ghostly pale. Desperation clung to them like a shadow.

This wasn’t a defense anymore.

It was survival.

"Where is she?" he asked, his voice sharp as steel. "Where is Liora?"

Everyone turned when they heard his voice. But no one had an answer.

Zhou Yinuo, still holding the wall with her wind, looked back. Her eyes were red and tired, but her voice was steady. "We don’t know."

Xu Kai’s hands clenched.

"What do you mean you don’t know?"

Zhou Yinuo took a deep breath, forcing her power to blast another beast off the wall before answering. "It was fine earlier. She was with us. Giving orders. Holding the line with that voice of hers. Everyone was fighting with more courage because she was watching."

Her voice cracked slightly.

"But then—she was just... gone."

Xu Kai’s heart stopped.

"Gone?"

"We noticed her commands had stopped coming," Zhou Yinuo explained, her voice tight with worry. "At first, we assumed she had simply moved to a different position, maybe to assist somewhere else. But as time passed, unease began to spread. No one had seen her fall back. There were no cries for help, no sounds of struggle, not even the clash of weapons or the chaos of battle that usually followed an attack. It was as if she had vanished into thin air—without a trace, without a single drop of blood left behind to mark where she had been."

She looked at Xu Kai, pain in her eyes.

"It’s like she just walked away. Disappeared. And then, everything started falling apart."

Xu Kai stood completely still.

The air around him grew colder, heavier.

He couldn’t believe it.

Liora... disappeared?

No. That wasn’t possible. She was stronger than this. Braver. Smarter. Those monsters below weren’t enough to beat her. They were strong—but not enough to make her vanish without a trace.

He had seen her fight.

He had felt her strength.

She would never abandon her people. Never walk away.

So then... what happened?

Where did she go?

Why didn’t she call for help?

Xu Kai’s mind spun with questions, but none of them had answers. And all around him, the wall trembled again—shaking under the claws and fists of a hundred beasts trying to tear it down. The stone cracked again, dust falling from the edges.

The beasts were more excited now.

They could sense it.

Their greatest threat—Liora—was gone.

And the scent of blood in the air only drove them madder. Their red eyes gleamed with hunger and bloodlust as they slammed against the wall with renewed energy. Their howls shook the sky, their claws gouged through stone.

The barrier wouldn’t last long.

Xu Kai could hear the panic in the voices of the wounded. The thin hope that had kept them fighting was now burning out. He could feel the hopelessness spreading, infecting the hearts of every soldier, every medic, every fighter still on their feet.

Without Liora, they didn’t believe they could win.

And something inside Xu Kai broke.

He had already used the power he descided he wouldn’t. He had already crossed a line once.

But now?

Now he didn’t care anymore.

He turned back toward the battlefield, eyes gleaming red again.

He could collapse everything in front of him. Wipe out the entire swarm like before.

But what then?

Liora was still missing.

And until he found her, he couldn’t breathe.

"...Where did you go?" he whispered under his breath. "Where are you, Liora?"

The roar of beasts filled the silence, but Xu Kai no longer heard it.

All he could see was the moment she vanished.

All he could feel was the emptiness she left behind.

The one person who gave him a reason to protect this base.

The one person who could silence his rage.

Now... she was gone.

And his reason shattered with her.

He stepped forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet as power surged through him once more.

But this time, he didn’t just feel angry. He felt desperate—like something inside him was breaking. And under that desperation was something even stronger: fear. Not fear of getting hurt or dying. He was used to that.

This fear was different. It came from the thought of losing her, and that scared him more than anything else.