"Oh! Are you Dark Mask from the Association? Although I am very sorry, Garou is my disciple after all. Could you allow me to settle this?"
Bang looked apologetic, then gazed at the fallen Garou with complex eyes.
Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The surrounding monsters were cut into pieces one after another, and the remaining monsters looked at Bomb in terror.
"Leave the monsters to me, go handle your business."
"Thanks, brother."
"Alright, leaving it to you is no problem, but I'm afraid the Monster Association won't let this go easily this time."
Since the mission was already completed, King didn't have any objections, but he feared things were not as simple as Bang thought.
"You are truly pitiful, Garou. It's my fault for not guiding you onto the right path back then. Today, let me end it all with my own hands."
A hint of wavering appeared in.Bang's eyes as scenes of the past between master and disciple flashed before him. After all, this was his most prized disciple. With extraordinary talent, he had mastered the essence of Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist in a very short time. Unfortunately, Garou had ultimately chosen a path completely different from him.
'Are you really unable to bring yourself to do it?'
King watched the master and disciple before him. He knew that deep down, Bang still wanted to save Garou and didn't want him to go down a path of no return.
In fact, King didn't dislike Garou, he even admired him quite a bit. Although Garou was nominally a hero hunter, he had never harmed anyone's life, he just wanted to prove himself too much.
Rumble!
Just as Bang was hesitating, the earth suddenly trembled, and countless cracks appeared on the ground.
"What is this?!"
Bang and Bomb were shocked as Garou's body was suddenly thrown into the air by a massive body rushing out from underground.
"Don't even think about it!"
Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!
Bang's eyes narrowed, and countless punches shot out from his hands.
"What? This tough!"
Bang discovered that his attacks hadn't even broken through the opponent's defense.
"Elder Centipede, I'll leave this to you!"
A colorful phoenix suddenly appeared in the air, grabbing Garou with its sharp claws.
King prepared himself, Elder Centipede was his main target this time.
"The Monster Association? Why would they want to take Garou away?"
Bang's expression was grave, but facing the behemoth before them, they had no time to worry about anything else.
"Bang, we must stop this monster. We cannot let it enter the city, or it will involve innocent civilians."
Bomb came to his younger brother's side, a look of regret in his eyes. He naturally understood Bang's feelings for Garou.
"Dark Mask, can leave this to us? Could you please take these heroes to be treated first?"
—
At Hero Association headquarters, alarms began to sound.
"Alert! A massive energy reaction has been detected in the suburbs of Z-City!"
"Jess-san, look!" Maria stared at the screen, terrified.
"It's Elder Centipede! Hurry! Emergency evacuation of the city citizens! The ordinary shelters can no longer guarantee their safety!"
Cold sweat broke out on Jess's forehead, he had long known the power of Elder Centipede.
"Gather the nearby S-Class Heroes and head over to handle it immediately!"
"There are currently people on the scene already engaged in battle with Elder Centipede!"
"What? Who is it?" Jess was slightly stunned.
He knew that Elder Centipede's combat power was top-tier even among Dragon-level threats, ordinary heroes were simply no match for it.
"They are S-Class Rank 3, 'Silver Fang' Bang, and a martial artist named Bomb. And there is one more..."
When Maria saw the last person, she was a bit surprised.
"Who is it?"
"It's B-Class hero Dark Mask."
"What?! It's him?"
"There are also several heroes on the scene who have lost their combat ability."
"Why are they all there?"
Jess was puzzled, not understanding why so many heroes were gathered there, and why the casualties were so heavy.
"Wait! This is..."
Jess zoomed in on the sky footage and saw a giant colorful bird carrying a figure flying off into the distance.
"It's Garou! So the heroes were besieging Garou, but how did he get involved with the Monster Association? Could it be that Garou and they..."
Jess suddenly realized, but the urgent priority was dealing with the Monster disaster.
"With Silver Fang and the others there, they should be able to hold out for a while. Call other S-Class Heroes to reinforce immediately."
"I hope it's not too late."
Jess stared at the behemoth on the screen, a look of worry flashing in his eyes.
—
King shook his head. "Sorry, I refuse. I leave the heroes to you, I will hold him off."
"Wait..."
Bang!
Before Bang could speak, King bent his knees slightly, and with a sudden burst of power from his legs, he shot toward Elder Centipede in the sky.
"That's too reckless!"
Bang watched as King leaped onto Elder Centipede's back, continuing to advance along his massive body.
Savage Tornado!
Boom... Boom...
King seized the opportunity, arriving at the head and launching an attack at Elder Centipede's face.
"Damned ant!"
Elder Centipede was furious, his giant body spinning wildly.
Rumble!
The thousand-meter-long body flipped wildly, causing the earth to crack and forming countless deep pits.
"Not good! Bang, take them away from here first!"
Seeing that the situation was bad, Bomb hurriedly carried the nearby heroes on his shoulders. Bang also hurriedly joined the rescue work, and then the two of them sped off into the distance.
"It's you again, you ant!"
King's move was instantly broken. The moment Elder Centipede saw him, he became frantic, and his huge pincers slashed over in rage.
Ding!
Two shiny, huge bone spurs surged from King's chest, firmly blocking the attack of the pincers. A look of surprise appeared in Elder Centipede's eyes.
"Finally, they've all left. Now it's just the two of us."
A smile appeared on the corner of King's lips, and countless bone spurs emerged from his body.
Monsterization: Bone King!
After Monsterization, King's strength increased by two levels, reaching at least High Dragon-level.
"No matter what you are, you must die!"
Elder Centipede had been blinded by rage, and his massive body spun.
Boom!
Elder Centipede turned into an incomparably huge spinning top, enveloping King's figure with terrifying power.
Bone Shield!
A white shield firmly blocked in front of King at the last moment.
Pop... Pop...
Unfortunately, the Bone Shield only lasted for a few seconds before being pierced by Elder Centipede's attack.
At this moment, terrifying airflow condensed in King's hands.
Cross Fang Dragon Slayer Fist!