Swish... Swish...
Amidst the dance of several long trunks, Baquma shoved the corpses of Showerhead and Unihorn into his mouth.
"I can absorb others' abilities, converting them into energy to attack different enemies."
"I have enough time to eliminate you before I fully digest them. After all, there's no such thing as an immortal human."
As Baquma's trunks swung, countless energy spheres gathered, then blasted toward King like a torrential downpour.
"Petty tricks." King's eyes showed no fluctuation.
Attacks of this level were completely child's play to him now.
Boom... Boom...
The bombardment of energy spheres was continuous, causing the entire corridor to tremble incessantly as if it were about to collapse.
"Damn monster, turned to dust this time!"
Baquma panted heavily.
The pressure King had given him just now was far too intense, he had to be dealt with immediately.
"Is this all you've got? What a pity."
As the dust settled, a bone tail firmly shielded King in its center. Incredibly, he was completely unscathed from head to toe.
'No good! To deal with this monster, we need a Dragon-level executive to take action. Run!'
Baquma realized that the man before him possessed strength worlds apart from his own, they were simply not on the same level.
"Run if you want."
King wasn't in a hurry to kill Baquma. Instead, he let him escape. Mainly, this was his first time in the Monster Association. The paths inside were intricate and complex, and he needed someone to lead the way.
"Damn bastard, once the Dragon-level executives make their move, it'll be your death!"
Baquma fled downward into the depths of the Monster Association, while King followed unhurriedly, maintaining a certain distance.
'Are they all down below?'
The further down he went, the more clearly King could sense waves of immense malice. It seemed the Monster Association's core strength was gathered there.
"Dammit, Gyoro Gyoro should have noticed the situation here by now, right?" Baquma cursed as he fled.
Everything that happened near the Monster Association was under Gyoro Gyoro's surveillance. Their mission to intercept Dark Mask came from a telepathic message from Gyoro Gyoro, but he didn't understand why no reinforcements had arrived yet.
Thud!
In his panic, Baquma accidentally crashed headfirst into something furry.
"What the hell is this, blocking the way!"
Baquma grumbled and looked up, only to fall speechless the next second.
Before him sat Rover, whose body was like a small mountain, right in the middle of the path, its six eyes fixed intently on him.
"Ro... Rover..."
Thud!
Before Baquma could even beg for mercy, Rover swatted him into a pulp with a single paw.
Tap... Tap...
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from the corridor.
"We meet again."
The corner of King's lips lifted slightly.
He recalled the last time Rover had hunted him, leaving him in a sorry state, nearly buried here.
"Roar!"
Rover seemed to recognize King, its massive body pouncing toward him.
Cross Fang Dragon Slayer Fist!
Facing an enemy like Rover, King held nothing back. Two immense streams of air gathered in his palms before he unleashed them with a fierce blast.
"Sit the hell down!!!"
Rumble!
Rover's colossal body was blasted into the corridor wall by this strike. However, this only served to enrage it completely.
Boom... Boom...
Countless laser cannons erupted. King didn't dare be careless, dodging and weaving frantically to avoid the attacks.
Unfortunately, the corridor space here was limited. In the end, he was hit by several laser blasts, his figure completely engulfed.
Rover reappeared in the corridor, its gaze icy as it stared at the collapsed rubble.
'Activate Hero's Heart!'
Thump... Thump...
A powerful heartbeat sounded. Unlike the King Engine, this rhythm was clearly more vigorous and potent.
A vast power surged through his entire body. King felt as if his physical form had entered a higher level.
'Only ten minutes? That's enough.'
Bang!
King appeared above Rover, a fist slamming onto its enormous head.
Rumble!
Caught off guard, Rover was blasted underground, crashing through layer after layer of corridors.
"That's the place!"
King's strength had now reached an unprecedented level. He could sense the increasingly powerful malice with perfect clarity.
Swish!
Following Rover's plummeting form, King finally arrived at a massive plaza.
"To think you found your way here. Rover, rest to the side for now." A voice filled with surprise rang out.
Rover, who had just risen to counterattack, obediently retreated to the side.
"What is this place?"
Standing in the center of the plaza, King looked around. From within the layers of tall structures, countless pairs of eyes peered out.
"Hahaha! It's actually a human!"
"How dare he come here? Let's eat him!"
"I'm about to die of boredom here! Let me torture him slowly!"
Gyoro Gyoro sat upon a high seat, its gaze fixed on King with anticipation, making no move to stop them.
Swish... Swish...
Countless figures charged madly toward King at the plaza's center. A rough estimate put their numbers at least in the hundreds.
Savage Tornado!
A tornado erupted from the ground as countless punches blasted out. Instantly, all the besieging monsters turned into a bloody mist.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for killing a Peak Wolf-level Monster, obtained 100 Talent Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for killing a High Tiger-level Monster, obtained 400 Talent Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for killing a Peak Tiger-level Monster, obtained 500 Talent Points.]
...
Countless notification sounds chimed incessantly. Soon, the charging monsters were swept clean. The remaining ones, seeing this, no longer dared to act recklessly.
"Are you the leader?"
King looked up at Gyoro Gyoro, then shot toward it.
A tentacle suddenly shot from the darkness. King instinctively raised a hand to block, but he had vastly underestimated its power.
Boom!
He was smashed into the ground by this blow. He struggled to climb back out, most of the bones in his body shattered.
'This kind of power? Could it be...' King's face was filled with disbelief.
After all, with Monsterization and Hero's Heart activated, his strength was nearly at its peak. He could even fight monsters at the peak Dragon-level. Yet now, he had been reduced to this state by a single move from the opponent.
"You are mistaken. The Monster King, Orochi-sama, is the true leader of the Monster Association."
"B-Class Hero, Kotaro."
Gyoro Gyoro revealed King's identity. After all, it knew him all too well.
"You actually dared to come here alone. Was it just to play the hero?"