Chapter 49: King, A Man Like God
king was shopping for food at the supermarket when he suddenly saw some pedestrians run into the supermarket in a panic, shouting that there was a Monster outside. He was momentarily stunned. A Monster? The Monster at the supermarket entrance… it could only be Piccolo, right?
Alarmed, he quickly put down what he was holding and hurried outside. Just as he reached the entrance, he saw Lightning Kid get sent flying by Piccolo and was about to be killed by him.
He anxiously roared, "You little brat, hold it right there!"
He was furious. He had only been away for a short while, and Piccolo, that little punk, had immediately stirred up a huge mess. He was already worrying about how to openly take Piccolo out in public; now Piccolo was openly causing a ruckus on the street. He feared the citizens would grow to fear and hate it. How could they possibly accept it?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and he furiously rushed towards Piccolo.
"Who... is shouting? A hero?"
Lightning Kid, who was severely injured, watched helplessly as Piccolo's fist descended. Powerless to resist, despair had already risen in his heart. However, things suddenly changed. After that roar, the Monster before his eyes wilted like an eggplant hit by frost—it went limp.
He stared blankly at the cowering Monster, not understanding why. How much powerful might was contained within that roar to make a Monster so terrified? And who could unleash such a powerful sonic attack?
King!
Subconsciously, he thought of King, whom he had previously met—the strongest man on Earth, who could force Monsters to scream "I surrender" with his mere presence. A man like a god. Perhaps only he could possess such a powerful aura, capable of intimidating all lesser beings with just a roar.
At this moment, Piccolo had long lost the arrogant aura of a great demon king. The cruel smile frozen on its face, and panic spread across its features. Its four-meter-tall body slowly shrank down, and the iron fist that, according to its will, should have smashed into Lightning Kid's face, stopped abruptly. king's roar was like an unchallengeable divine decree, forcing it to obey, imbued with the power to make its words law.
"Though I've long known my body and mind are subservient to that guy, what I never expected was that kind of subservience has already been carved into my soul, allowing no room for even a shred of doubt or hesitation."
It felt extremely wronged, wanting to escape, to flee from this devil, king, and once again become the mighty Earth Emissary, no longer enduring this indignity. Unfortunately, its body and mind had already completely submitted to king. Even if it felt wronged, even if it hated, its body and mind would uncontrollably submit to king. This situation filled its heart with utter sorrow.
king came to Lightning Kid's side, glanced at Piccolo, and knelt down to help Lightning Kid up. "How are your injuries?" Seeing the weakened Lightning Kid, he felt extremely awkward. After all, his own subordinate had beaten someone to this state.
"Cough, cough, Mr. King, I'm fine." Lightning Kid, seeing his idol, was extremely excited and immediately aggravated his injuries and coughed heavily.
"Calm down, rest for a bit. I'll call the Hero Association hospital to come over." king quickly laid Lightning Kid flat on the ground, pulled out his phone, and notified the Hero Association's M-City branch hospital.
After dealing with Lightning Kid's situation, he looked at the fidgeting Piccolo. Seeing Piccolo like a child who had done something wrong, both scared and wronged, he felt both pained and angry. Damn it, it left his side for a short while and immediately caused trouble. How could he trust it to go out alone in the future? Wouldn't it cause absolute chaos then?
"Kill it, King, kill it!"
"Yes, all these heinous Monsters deserve to die!"
The fleeing citizens, seeing that they were safe, gradually gathered again, glaring angrily at Piccolo, shouting for king to kill Piccolo and restore peace and order to the world.
Piccolo clenched its fists and gritted its teeth. If king hadn't been by its side, with its temperament, it would have long since gone on a rampage.
At the same time, it secretly glanced at king, internally terrified, afraid king would be swayed by the citizens and deal it a killing blow. Oh no, he wouldn't even need to lift a finger to kill me; just a simple command, and I'd probably commit suicide without hesitation.
king took a deep breath and said calmly, "Sorry, I will not kill it." He swept his gaze over the stunned citizens and said, "Truth be told, I hope it can become my subordinate and fight alongside me in the future. Therefore, I will never kill it. As for the trouble it has caused everyone, I apologize on its behalf."
"Hoo~"
Seeing that king had no intention of killing it, Piccolo sighed in relief, its tense body relaxing.
The citizens stirred slightly.
"What's going on? How could King take a Monster as a subordinate?"
"Exactly! And that Monster almost killed someone just now."
"How could Mr. King be so unwise? Could he have been mentally swayed by the Monster?"
"What's more, Monsters are thoroughly ruthless and ambitious creatures. If Mr. King takes it in now, he might very well be bitten back later."
Their faces were filled with confusion. King, admired by thousands, was actually going to take a Monster as a subordinate? Had the King, who used to be cold-blooded and ruthless towards Monsters, begun to feel compassion? If that were the case, could King still be humanity's guardian deity?
They cursed inwardly, "Damn it, we hate bleeding hearts! How could King fall to such a state? Where did the decisive and ruthless King go?"
"King, you are a dignified S-Class hero! How can you associate with Monsters?" a man excitedly roared. "Besides, that Monster just tried to kill someone! How can such a brutal creature be allowed to remain in the world? King, we absolutely disagree with your actions that endanger others' lives."
If King were to adopt a non-intelligent Monster as a pet, they could understand, even support it. After all, non-intelligent Monsters could be slowly tamed. However, this Monster before them was a brutal, intelligent Monster that instinctively hated humanity. How could such a vicious and dangerous Monster be allowed to roam freely? It should either be killed or thrown into the Hero Association's Monster prison to spend the rest of its miserable life there.
"So what?" king had his hands in his pockets and said calmly, "I'm adopting it simply because I want to adopt it, and I won't change my will because of anyone's opposition, not even the Hero Association."
Thump-thump... thump-thump... thump-thump...
His heart suddenly pounded violently, emitting a sound like an engine. Damn, playing tough is truly thrilling!
"This is... the Emperor Engine?"
"King has already entered combat mode?"
"So... so powerful an aura!"
The citizens stared blankly at the expressionless King. This was their first time speaking with King up close, and the first time they felt the powerful pressure emanating from King, which made it difficult for them to breathe. Especially when King's icy gaze swept over them, they would inexplicably feel a tightening in their chest, as if someone were squeezing their hearts, making them instinctively gasp for breath.
"Hey, stop spacing out, let's go."
king pulled his hoodie's hood over his baseball cap and casually walked back with his hands in his pockets. "Whew, looks like I bluffed my way through."
"Uh..."
Piccolo stared blankly at king, who was willing to sacrifice his reputation just to protect it. A strange warmth inexplicably rose in its heart; it felt very comfortable.
*Master? Hmph, I am a dignified Earth Emissary! How could I easily acknowledge you as my Master? Unless you yourself order me to call you "Master", otherwise, even if you made such a great sacrifice to save me today, I still wouldn't actively call you "Master".*
"King, you don't deserve to be a hero!"
Splat!
A fresh egg, just bought from the supermarket, flew towards king.
Crack!
The egg shattered, yolk and albumen spilling out.
king paused, then looked back, stunned, at Piccolo, who had blocked the egg for him.
"Those who wish to harm my Master, all deserve to die!"
Piccolo stared coldly at the crowd, extended its hand, aimed at the people, and an energy blast the size of a duck egg instantly condensed.
"Hmph, with me here, you won't harm anyone."
Lightning Kid struggled to his feet, swaying unsteadily as he stood in front, gritting his teeth and glaring at Piccolo, the electric baton in his hand crackling with lightning sounds.
king glanced sideways at Lightning Kid and turned to leave.
"Hey, stop fooling around, let's go home and eat hotpot."
"Yes, Master!"
Lightning Kid watched king and Piccolo walk further away, his expression blank. Just now... that Monster just called King "Master"?
The citizens were all stunned. That brutal, inhuman Monster actually recognized King as its Master?
They looked at each other, all wearing expressions of disbelief.
However, upon closer thought, they suddenly realized: perhaps only a super-strong individual like King had enough charisma to make a Monster willingly submit and become its Master.
King, a man like a god!
Thanks to A Slightly Bigger Ant (Last time I suggested you, I, and Salted Fish form a 'Waste Trio', how's that coming along?!), Really Boring (If you're bored, go help me advertise!), Book ID 20171001230715826 (Big bro, pick a name! This string of numbers makes my head numb!), King of the Poseurs (Another King, huh? Are you here to challenge my King's Emperor status?!), and Little New Driver (Hand over your resources, let everyone share the joy!) for their tips.
(end of chapter)