On the ground.
Superalloy Darkshine's sudden retreat disrupted the rhythm of all the heroes.
At this moment, he was fearfully inspecting the few insignificant corrosion marks on his arm.
His fighting spirit, which had been built upon his pride in his muscles, collapsed the moment they were proven not to be indestructible.
Groribas stood still, his chest heaving violently.
The damage inflicted by Superalloy Darkshine's several "Superalloy Bazookas" was far more severe than it appeared on the surface.
His hard carapace was covered in visible cracks, and the shock to his internal organs made every breath accompanied by excruciating pain.
He did not pursue, partly out of disdain, and partly because he needed this precious moment to catch his breath.
However, the balance of the battlefield did not tilt towards the Weirdos because of this.
Because, the figure of an old man had, at some unknown point, quietly appeared in the center of the battlefield.
He was thin and gaunt, dressed in simple martial arts attire, his back slightly hunched, and his silver hair fluttered in the wind.
S-Class Hero Rank 3, "Silver Fang" Bang.
He saw Atomic Samurai's predicament, Superalloy Darkshine's wavering, and Sexy Prisoner's desperate struggle.
"This can't go on any longer."
His hunched body slowly straightened at this moment, and at the same time, his feet shifted slightly on the ground, adopting a steady stance.
In that instant, his entire aura changed dramatically.
A powerful surge of aura, like a mountain torrent and a tsunami, completely at odds with his aged appearance, erupted from his body.
"His aura… changed?" Sexy Prisoner, who was entangled with Melzargard, keenly noticed this change.
He looked back and saw that Bang's entire demeanor had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
"Everyone, please step back." Bang's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every hero present, carrying an undeniable tone.
"This enemy, this old man will handle him."
As he spoke, he adopted a peculiar stance with his hands in front of his chest, his eyes slightly closed, and his breathing became long and deep.
"Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist · Secret Art · Breathing Method."
With each breath he took, the surrounding air seemed to flow with him.
An invisible "water stream" began to slowly swirl around him.
Melzargard's remaining three heads almost simultaneously felt this deadly threat.
The oppressive feeling emanating from this tiny old man was even far greater than that from the muscular, shining brute from before.
Its beast-like combat instinct immediately made it abandon its current opponent, and its three heads simultaneously turned towards Bang, letting out ear-piercing shrieks.
"Kill him!"
Three bodies attacked Bang from three different directions, forming a pincer movement.
Sharp bone blades, coiling tentacles, and heavy, powerful swings formed an impenetrable net of attacks aimed at Bang.
Facing this world-destroying siege, Bang's face remained as calm as an ancient well.
His old eyes, which should have been cloudy, now gleamed with astonishing sharpness.
"Too slow."
He shook his head lightly, and his body finally moved.
He did not retreat; instead, he stepped forward, instantly merging into the storm of attacks.
Facing the bone blade slashing from the left, he merely shifted his body slightly, his arm coiling around the opponent's arm like flowing water.
Then, with a gentle pull, the massive bone blade grazed his clothes and sliced through empty air, the immense force even causing that body of Melzargard to stumble.
Facing the tentacles lashing from the right, his figure moved, precisely weaving through the gaps of dozens of tentacles, not a single one touching his body.
Facing the heavy punch smashing down from the front, he didn't even bother to block, only retreating half a step with the air current of the punch just before it connected, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
Sexy Prisoner and Metal Bat, who was nearby, were completely stunned.
In their eyes, Bang seemed to have transformed into a silver stream of water, moving leisurely amidst the impenetrable attacks.
In the world after Bang activated his Breathing Method, all of the enemy's attack intentions and all the flow of power were clearly presented to his senses.
He could predict everything without needing to see with his eyes.
"Too many openings."
Bang's voice calmly sounded in the pauses between Melzargard's attacks.
Before his words faded, his counterattack began.
He guided the bone blade of the left body, following its attacking force, to the right, causing it to violently collide with the tentacles attacking from the right.
"Pfft!"
The bone blade easily severed several tentacles, and green blood splattered everywhere.
Just as Melzargard was momentarily disoriented by this sudden scene, Bang's figure had already ghost-like, pressed close to the chest of the frontal body.
He pointed his fingers like a blade, the muscles of his arm bulging slightly, and an extremely condensed force, guided by his breathing, instantly gathered in his arm and concentrated at his fingertips.
"Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist · Piercing Kill."
His finger, seemingly casually, poked the chest of that body.
However, an invisible shockwave erupted from his fingertip, instantly penetrating the tough flesh and accurately striking the core hidden deep within.
"Crack!"
The core shattered with a sound.
The movements of the frontal body abruptly ceased, and the ferocious expression on its huge head instantly froze.
The next second, it rapidly withered as if all life force had been drained from it, turning into a puddle of mud.
Killed in one hit!
The remaining two heads let out terrified screams; they finally realized that the old man's fighting power had undergone a qualitative leap.
They abandoned their attack and turned to flee.
"It's too late to think of leaving now."
Bang's figure blurred into a phantom, catching up to the body fleeing to the left.
He didn't use any complex moves, just a simple hand chop, striking the back of its neck.
The same power, the same penetrating force, and the second core shattered with a sound.
Immediately after, he tapped his toe on the ground, his body folding back at an incredible angle, confronting the last body attempting to escape.
This time, he drew a perfect wave with both hands in front of his chest, like flowing water.
"Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!"
His palms transformed into countless illusions, continuously striking Melzargard's last body like giant waves.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
After a series of dull thuds, Bang retracted his palms and stood still, slowly exhaling a turbid breath.
And in front of him, a huge hollow appeared out of nowhere in the chest of Melzargard's last body; that final core, along with the surrounding flesh, had been completely pulverized by his furious palm force.
From the moment Bang made his move until all three of Melzargard's heads were destroyed, the entire process took only a few tens of seconds.
This S-Class Rank 3 martial arts master, with an almost crushing dominance, completely annihilated this Dragon-level Monster that had put several S-Class Heroes into a bitter struggle... Almost simultaneously with Bang ending his fight, Groribas and Atomic Samurai became entangled again on the other side.
Atomic Samurai's situation had deteriorated to the extreme.
His forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, trickling down his resolute cheeks.
The piercing sound of corrosion constantly assaulted his nerves.
The sword in his hand, the sharp blade that had accompanied him in slaying countless Weirdos, was now emitting a painful wail.
The luster of the blade had long vanished, replaced by ugly nicks and chips.
Every forced block against Groribas's body meant that the life of this sword was rapidly draining away.
Groribas clearly enjoyed this cat-and-mouse game as well.
He saw Atomic Samurai's predicament, his opponent's care for and reliance on his weapon.
His attacks became increasingly tricky, no longer aiming for a single fatal blow, but constantly compressing Atomic Samurai's dodging space, forcing him to use that long sword to directly parry his acid-covered fists and feet.
"What's wrong, swordsman? Where's your speed?"
Groribas swung his giant fists, covered in viscous liquid, while letting out a mocking laugh, "Why can't your proud slashes even touch my body?"
"Your sword is your shackles! It restricts your movements and erodes your will! Without this piece of metal, what do you have left?"
Every word was like a heavy hammer, striking Atomic Samurai's heart.
He couldn't refute it.
A sword is a swordsman's life.
This was a creed he had adhered to since childhood.
All his glory, all his power, stemmed from the sword in his hand.
His swordsmanship, fast enough to cleave atoms, was the cornerstone of his identity as an S-Class Rank 4 Hero.
"Damn it…"
Atomic Samurai gritted his teeth, once again narrowly dodging a sweeping kick by shifting his body.
A few drops of acid splashed onto the broken walls behind him, immediately corroding several bottomless pits.
He could feel that the sword's limit was fast approaching.
The vibrations transmitted from the blade were becoming increasingly faint, a premonition of imminent collapse.
Looking at Bang's figure, standing with his moves concluded, not far away, and then at his own current disheveled state, an unprecedented sense of humiliation surged into his heart.
As martial artists standing at the pinnacle, Bang could do it, but he, was he truly going to be helpless just because his weapon was countered?
No! Absolutely not!
Groribas seemed to have lost his patience, and he decided to deliver the final blow to this tenacious swordsman.
"Game over!"
He let out a deafening roar, and acid secreted wildly from the cracks in his carapace at an unprecedented speed.
Soon, a visible surging tide formed in front of him, gathering on his arms.
He violently pushed his arms forward, and a massive wave of acid, over ten meters wide, carrying terrifying power capable of melting steel, crashed down upon Atomic Samurai!
"Killer Move · Strong Acid Bullet Punch!"
This attack covered all of Atomic Samurai's dodging space; there was no escape!
The shadow of death instantly enveloped Atomic Samurai.
Looking at the green tide rushing towards him, and feeling the foul stench, his pupils suddenly constricted to their extreme.
However, in this moment of life and death, his fear, unwillingness, and anger dissipated like dust in a strong wind, vanishing without a trace.
His state of mind reached an unprecedented clarity and emptiness.
He lowered his head and took one last look at the beloved sword in his hand, which was on the verge of breaking.
He saw his own reflection on the blade, seeing himself, trapped in a predicament due to excessive reliance on his weapon.
"Yes… you're right." He murmured softly, as if answering Groribas, and also as if speaking to himself.
"My sword is my shackles…"
"But, it is precisely because of these shackles that I can constantly break through and surpass!"
He slowly raised his head, the confusion in his eyes completely swept away, replaced by a desperate and wild resolve to embrace death!
"The end of a sword should not be to quietly decay in its scabbard, but to fulfill its final mission in the most brilliant battle!"
He abandoned all defense and evasion.
Facing the wave of acid that could melt him into nothingness, he tightly gripped the sword, which had only a sliver of life left, and adopted an unprecedented stance.
He rested the hilt against his waist, the tip of the blade slightly lowered, and all his strength, spirit, and will began to converge on this single point.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze at this moment.
"This one slash is a funeral for my sword!"
"Secret Art · Atomic Slash!"
This time, he did not unleash hundreds of sword lights, but condensed all his spirit, all his will, and all his power into this single, unique slash.
He faced the world-destroying acid wave and unleashed his sword with daring!
A silver light, impossible to catch with the naked eye, flashed and vanished like a meteor streaking across the night sky.
The moment the blade touched the acid, it began to melt at a visible speed!
From the tip to the body of the blade, in less than a second, it transformed into a wisp of smoke and dissipated into the sky.
However, in that less-than-a-second, Atomic Samurai's sword intent had already broken free from the sword's restraint.
That extremely condensed slash penetrated the acid's obstruction, disregarded the hard carapace, and directly acted upon Groribas's body.
Time, at this moment, seemed to stretch.
Groribas's charging figure suddenly froze, the sinister grin on his face not yet faded, replaced by an extreme bewilderment and incomprehension.
He felt no violent impact, no tearing pain.
He only saw the swordsman, maintaining his sword-wielding posture, standing silently in place.
"What… happened?"
He looked down in confusion at his chest.
There, there was nothing.
No, that's not right!
He strained with all his might to see clearly.
On his chest, from the left shoulder blade all the way to the right waist, a white line thinner than a strand of hair appeared.
At first, it was just a line.
The next second, this line suddenly burst open!
"Puff—!!!"
A terrifying wound, bone-deep and several meters long, suddenly appeared on Groribas's chest!
This wound was as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been cut by some incomprehensible method.
Green blood gushed out like a flood.
"Ugh… Ah… How… is this possible…"
Groribas let out a painful and unwilling roar, his massive body could no longer maintain its standing, and he fell heavily backward, creating a huge crater in the ground.
His proud acid armor was vulnerable to the Atomic Slash, which condensed everything of Atomic Samurai.
And in the battlefield, Atomic Samurai remained in his sword-wielding posture, breathing heavily.
In his hand, only a bare hilt remained.
He won.
At the cost of sacrificing his beloved sword that had accompanied him for many years, he finally inflicted a decisive, heavy blow on this powerful Dragon-level Monster!
What defines an S-Class Hero?
They are beings who stand at the pinnacle of humanity!