'The Monster Association's goal this time is to distribute monster cells, seek out powerful humans, and have them consume the cells for Monsterization. The Super Fight Tournament is also a key target of theirs, but since Saitama is inside, my only target is him.'
King arrived outside the Super Fight Tournament venue and waited quietly.
Not long after, a monster nearly ten meters tall walked out of the venue.
'He's here! Monster Association, Dragon-level executive, Gouketsu!'
King did not rush to make a move, instead waiting for Gouketsu to move away from the Super Fight Tournament venue. After all, if he started fighting here, the commotion would surely attract other heroes. Especially since Saitama was still inside the venue. If he happened to find his way here, Gouketsu would likely not escape the fate of being killed in one hit.
King followed Gouketsu into a dense forest. Just as he was hesitating whether to make a move, Gouketsu stopped in his tracks.
"Come out. You've been following me for quite a while now."
"You noticed? As expected of a Dragon-level executive of the Monster Association."
Since he had been discovered, King simply stopped hiding and walked out from the tree trunk.
"Who are you?"
Gouketsu did not rush to attack, wanting instead to see what exactly King intended to do.
"I am a hero. If it's convenient, I'd like to borrow your head."
King grinned, vines spreading from his arms, while the surrounding trees unknowingly surrounded Gouketsu in the center.
"Hero? What a boring title. I can give you a chance to become stronger and then join us."
Splat!
A pulsating monster cell was tossed in front of King, while Gouketsu stood in place waiting for a reply.
"I refuse. You might as well obediently become fertilizer for the forest."
Swish... Swish...
Countless vines immediately bound Gouketsu like a dumpling, but they were unable to pierce his body.
"Such strong defense. As expected of a Dragon-level executive."
Boom!
Gouketsu exerted a little force and broke free from the restraints. He stomped one foot on the ground, and the violent tremors of the earth caused the surrounding trees to collapse one after another.
King leapt into the air, a metal bat materialized in his hand, and he smashed it towards Gouketsu with all his might.
Boom!
Gouketsu's massive body was knocked back several meters, which surprised him a little.
"You are different from the trash from earlier. If you won't join us, I have no choice but to kill you." Gouketsu's tone held a hint of regret.
He could sense that while King's strength was inferior to his own, if he could undergo Monsterization, he would surely become a new high-ranking executive of the Monster Association.
"My brain isn't waterlogged. To abandon one's human identity for power and become this kind of monster... Does it feel good to be driven by others?" A look of disdain appeared on King's face.
People who don't train to break through their own limits but instead seek external objects are ultimately just weaklings.
"That is because you don't even know what true strength is. It is a realm that humans can never reach no matter how they train."
Boom!
Gouketsu threw a punch imbued with immense power, but unexpectedly, countless vines suddenly surged from King's arms, blocking his offensive once again.
"I happen to know of a hero who, through his own efforts, broke through his limiter and became an existence that everyone must look up to."
Bang!
King knocked Gouketsu back with another strike of his bat, and countless vines surged from his arms, continuously restricting Gouketsu's movements.
"Is that so? If such a person really exists, I would like to see it for myself."
Gouketsu no longer held back and went all out, throwing a punch at King.
King used the vines to nimbly dodge the attack, the dense forest for a hundred meters behind him being razed to the ground by this single punch.
Thump... Thump...
Taking advantage of the opening in Gouketsu's attack, King rushed along his massive arm to get in front of him.
Savage Tornado!
Rumble!
A tornado rose from the ground, and countless bat swings slammed into Gouketsu's body.
"Annoying ant, get lost!"
Boom!
Gouketsu's fierce punch was caught, leaving him shocked. He looked up to see a humanoid treant similar in size to himself.
'Crap, he's here! I have to go all out!'
Out of the corner of his eye, King saw a shiny bald spot in the distance. He knew that this was Saitama coming to steal his Talent Points.
Fighting Spirit fully unleashed, plus the energy stored from before!
King's hands gathered massive amounts of energy simultaneously. Red and blue lights intertwined, and a terrifying shockwave instantly blasted towards Gouketsu.
Gouketsu Fist!
Cross Fang Dragon Slayer Fist!
Boom!
The giant fist struck, but King had no intention of dodging. He simply had the treant slightly deflect the trajectory of Gouketsu's attack, avoiding a direct head-on collision with Gouketsu.
The Cross Fang Dragon Slayer Fist, carrying monstrous power, slammed into Gouketsu's head. The distance between the two was extremely close, there was absolutely no room for either side to dodge.
The attack shattered Gouketsu's head instantly, and he collapsed stiffly onto the ground.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a High Dragon-level Monster, obtained 100,000 Talent Points and one random Talent Trial Card.]
Thud!
King wasn't feeling great either. Gouketsu's punch just now had pulverized more than half of his body into dust, but fortunately, he had retracted his Battle Suit at the last moment, otherwise, it would have entered a cooldown period again.
'As expected of a Monster Association executive, they are so strong.'
King's body recovered rapidly, but what he didn't know was that an eye flying in the sky in the distance saw the situation here clearly.
—
"To think he was actually able to survive Rover's attack. Such a person is only A-Class? Is this a secret trump card of the Hero Association? What a cunning human."
In Z-City's Ghost Town, deep within the underground Monster Association, Gyoro Gyoro had taken in the entire battle between King and Gouketsu.
And just at this moment, a shiny bald head entered their field of vision.
"What is this thing? A monster?"
Puff!
The clairvoyant eye was suddenly destroyed, and the vision was cut off.
Gyoro Gyoro was lost in thought. "I didn't expect that besides the S-Class Tatsumaki, the Hero Association would actually have such powerful combat strength. It seems we need to re-evaluate their strength."
"At first, I thought victory was assured, but now that we have lost so many executives, the matter of the decisive battle needs to be re-planned."
"Besides this person, the Hero Association might have other powerful forces that haven't surfaced yet. It seems we need to test them further."
"And this Dark Mask... having killed so many of the Association's executives in succession, it seems necessary to prioritize dealing with him."
—
In the forest, Saitama looked at the wreckage left behind after the battle and Gouketsu's corpse, seemingly understanding something, and then immediately saw King's figure.
"You actually took care of the monster. You really are strong, Kotaro."