Ring!
King was currently sparring with Saitama while leisurely picking up the call.
"Hello?"
"Is this Dark Mask?"
"Who is this?"
King glanced at Saitama, who was already sweating profusely. Fortunately, Saitama's attention was entirely on the game screen, and he didn't notice the voice on the phone.
"We exchanged numbers before, did you forget?"
"Death Gatling, is something the matter?" King was a bit surprised.
He had only befriended them to cover his identity, he hadn't expected the other party to actually contact him.
Currently, the Hero Association and the Monster Association were on the eve of a final showdown, and the plan to rescue Waganma was being urgently formulated. That was why he was staying home, waiting for the Hero Association's summons. After all, King was an indispensable force.
However, Saitama's arrival was an accident. The two of them started playing games together. King had perfectly inherited King's superhuman gaming talent, easily crushing Saitama until he was utterly defeated.
"We've discovered the whereabouts of the Hero Hunter, Garou. We plan to gather a team to surround and suppress him. Are you interested?"
"What?!" King's pupils constricted slightly.
He was very concerned about Garou, especially the man's ability to keep growing.
"Fine, tell me the location. I'll head over later. Whatever you do, do not act on your own."
Hanging up the phone, King was a bit distracted.
However, Saitama was truly terrible at the game. After a few rounds, his character was dead.
"Dammit! What kind of crappy game is this!"
Saitama was so frustrated he almost smashed the controller, but luckily King stopped him in time.
"You can take it back and practice more, just don't break it."
"Really?" Saitama's eyes sparkled.
He was already planning to secretly improve his skills after going back so that next time he could beat King until he couldn't fight back.
King nodded. "Yeah, I have something to take care of and need to head out. Let's play together again when we have the chance."
Saitama asked, "Has another monster appeared? It's been so frequent lately, do you need my help?"
"No need, I can handle it myself. You should head back too." King waved his hand repeatedly.
He didn't want Saitama to get involved, mainly because the system's notification sound had suddenly rung out.
[Ding! Mission triggered: Slay Elder Centipede. Reward: 1,000,000 talent points, one random talent, and one exclusive skill.]
'This reward is just too...'
Seeing the mission rewards, King's heart couldn't help but pound. The deafening King Engine echoed throughout the room.
'What is an exclusive skill? Could it be...? But why is this damn system suddenly so generous?'
King calmed down, feeling that something was off. Such an inhumanly lavish reward must have a corresponding penalty.
[Failure Penalty: Removal of three S-Class talents.]
'You might as well just say you'll clear them all out for me.' King was speechless.
Such a penalty was undoubtedly forcing him to start from zero. This also showed how important this mission was.
—
After leaving M-City, King resumed his disguise, putting on his mask and Battle Suit, and rushed toward the location given by Death Gatling.
'Garou should be cornered in an abandoned hut in the forest. I need to get there quickly. If they act prematurely, the outcome will definitely be a crushing defeat.'
'Moreover, the Monster Association will appear this time. Elder Centipede will definitely take action then.'
A cold light flickered in King's eyes as he subconsciously quickened his pace.
What he didn't know was that Death Gatling had already assembled a luxurious lineup of eight heroes, including four A-Class heroes and four B-Class heroes. The group had already arrived at the edge of the woods.
At this moment, the A-Class Chain'n'toad was becoming somewhat impatient. "Death Gatling, hasn't that guy arrived yet?"
"I've already notified him. Just wait patiently for a bit." Death Gatling checked the time, a flash of anxiety crossing his eyes.
He had organized this crusade against Garou. To be safe, he had summoned a total of eight heroes. However, since Garou had a precedent for defeating S-Class Heroes, Death Gatling had also counted on Dark Mask's strength. After all, Dark Mask had once defeated Garou head-on at the Hero Headquarters.
"According to intelligence, Garou is currently heavily injured. Are you sure you want him to participate? Most of the credit will probably go to him then."
Chain'n'toad's words resonated with the heroes present. These people, who weren't highly valued by the Hero Association, wanted to use this operation to get a promotion in the rankings.
Furthermore, if they could successfully defeat Garou, who had once beaten an S-Class hero, the Association would view them in a new light, and other S-Class Heroes would no longer look down on them.
"Chain'n'toad has a point. He's just a heavily injured man on the verge of death. As long as we follow our pre-arranged plan, we can definitely win easily." Smile Man stepped forward, his words dispelling Death Gatling's worries.
"Alright, then let's get ready to move."
In truth, Death Gatling's biggest worry was also that the credit would be split with Dark Mask. After all, given the other's combat power, he might just instantly defeat Garou as soon as he arrived. If that happened, wouldn't they have worked for nothing?
But what the eight heroes, including Death Gatling, didn't know was that King really couldn't make it now.
"Who are you two?" King narrowed his eyes as he looked at the two people blocking his path.
"This guy doesn't look like an ordinary person. Why do I feel like I've seen him somewhere before?"
"He's probably a hero from the Hero Association. If we don't recognize him, it just means he's a minor character. Just kill him."
The two men dressed as ninjas stared coldly at King, killing intent flashing in their eyes.
Gale Wind!
Hellfire Flame!
King was on high alert. Others might not know, but he knew that these two had already swallowed monster cells and joined the Monster Association.
The most terrifying thing was that once they underwent Monsterization, their strength could jump from Demon-level to Dragon-level. They were absolutely not to be underestimated.
"Finish him quickly, we need to hurry back."
Gale Wind's scimitar swung out, aiming to take King's head, but unfortunately, it was blocked by a metal bat.
"Oh? You have some skill."
Bang... Bang...
Their figures blurred as they exchanged dozens of blows in an instant, countless flashes of cold light weaving together.
At this moment, Hellfire Flame, who was watching from the side, was surprised to find that Gale Wind was actually at a disadvantage, and King's Fighting Spirit was constantly growing stronger.
"I didn't expect that besides Flashy Flash, there would be someone in the Hero Association with this kind of speed."