The strongest man on earth—
King.
He had arrived.
...
King offered no preamble and no explanation; he spoke directly.
"There is no time left."
"All S-Class Heroes, begin evacuating the citizens of City A immediately."
"..."
Deathly silence.
It wasn't the stagnation caused by the pressure of the emperor engine from before.
It was a mix of astonishment and absurdity.
As well as a deathly silence where anger was gradually rising.
Evacuate City A?
Does that mean the entire City A?
This order came too suddenly, too nonsensically.
Even Bang frowned slightly.
Feeling that King's order was too heavy-handed.
Metal Bat thought he had misheard; he picked at his ear.
"Hey! Wait! You bas..."
"No, I mean Mr. King!"
"You are ten whole hours late!"
"As soon as you walk in, you want us to drive the entire population of City A out like herding ducks?"
"Do you know how many people are in City A?"
"Over eighty million!"
"With so many people, do you know how complex the evacuation routes, shelters, and logistics are?"
"Do you know how much chaos this will cause?"
"What is the reason?"
"At least give us a decent reason first!!"
Metal Bat's roar was like opening a floodgate.
"That's right."
Drive Knight's metal face was full of disapproval.
"King, according to Article 17, Section 3 of the 'Hero Association Disaster Response Protocol'."
"Initiating a city-wide evacuation requires at least a 'confirmed arrival of a Dragon Level disaster'."
"And it must be jointly signed by at least three S-Class Heroes or the Association Headquarters."
"Currently, I have not detected any anomalies in City A and its surrounding areas that meet the 'Dragon Level' or higher standards."
"Your order lacks a basis."
His tone was still restrained, but the intent to question was obvious.
Atomic Samurai slowly sheathed his sword, making a soft "click" sound.
His face was still a bit pale, but his eyes looked sharply at King:
"I have waited ten hours for you, not to listen to you issue such nonsensical, disruptive, and costly orders."
"If you have perceived some kind of 'threat', you can just say it directly."
"Everyone here is S-Class."
"What kind of thing requires clearing out the entire city before it can be dealt with?"
His words represented the thoughts of a significant portion of the S-Class Heroes.
Who were they?
They were the combat power standing at the pinnacle of humanity!
They were heroes who had resolved countless city-destroying crises!
Evacuate the masses?
That was usually the last resort for low-level heroes when they couldn't control the situation.
And now, this "strongest man on earth" appears and wants to stage a city-wide mass exodus?
This was simply questioning their capabilities!
"Heh."
Tatsumaki floated in mid-air, arms crossed, her small face full of disdain and anger.
She had just been forced by King's look to let go, and she was bottling up her anger.
"Who do you think you are?"
"The Association President? Even if you were the President, you'd still have to follow procedure!"
"You want to make us work like your flunkies with just one sentence?"
"My time is very precious!"
"I don't have time to play this 'house' evacuation game with you!"
"If you can't give a one-two-three..."
Her emerald eyes narrowed dangerously, the surrounding air twisting slightly.
"Even if you are the strongest man on earth!"
"I will make you taste what it feels like to float too!"
Flashy Flash snorted coldly, golden light flowing slightly, mocking:
"Reckless."
"Even if there is a threat, a precision decapitation strike is the most efficient method."
"Large-scale evacuation? Utterly foolish!"
Zombieman yawned and slumped back onto the sofa in the corner, the meaning was clear—
You guys argue, it has nothing to do with me.
Superalloy Darkshine was at a loss, looking at this one, then at that one.
His muscles bulging, yet he exuded a simple-minded confusion:
"E-everyone, don't be like this. Mr. King must have his reasons for saying this."
"Although it is indeed very sudden, but, if we dare to disobey King's order..."
"We will be killed!"
All Might frowned, seemingly weighing the options.
Pig God silently fished a high-energy compressed biscuit out of his oversized backpack.
He stuffed it into his mouth, chewing, with no expression on his fat face.
But it was clear he had no intention of taking action immediately.
Prisoner held his hands to his heart, his gaze shifting between King and Genos.
Seemingly judging which side was more worthy of investing "love" in...
In the entire conference room, except for Saitama, who still had a dazed expression, and Genos, who was indifferent beside him, almost all the other heroes felt a varying degree of doubt, resistance, and even anger toward King's abrupt and extremely forceful order.
They were not cannon fodder; they were freaks, geniuses, and powerhouses who had reached the pinnacle of their respective fields!
The long wait, the nonsensical order, and that unquestionable attitude...
Even if the other party was the legendary "King", this was just too much!
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