In the Sand Village, the clones are everywhere, and the Arkham game begins

Chapter 470 Sweet Mask
Therefore, in order to adjust the combat strength of various cities and respond to disasters at any time, the association had to step in and use incentives such as salary increases to transfer some volunteers among the A-level heroes to cities that lack manpower, so as to ensure that each region has one or more A-level heroes.

In the event of a major disaster, cities without S-class heroes can at least send A-class heroes to try and buy some time until the S-class heroes arrive.

This method is indeed very effective against Demon-level disasters, generally limiting the damage. However, it is not very effective against Dragon-level disasters.

In fact, the Hero Association is severely lacking in high-end combat power.

Let's turn our attention back to the hotel.

"No, Lord Black Whirlwind Warrior, the person who paid your bill was, was..."

The waitress sounded so excited she could hardly speak.

"who is it?"

Shimizu looked at the waitress hesitantly.

He was too lazy to correct the waitress's way of addressing him anymore.

"It's Lord Sweet Mask!"

The waitress answered softly and excitedly, as if afraid of being overheard.

Is Sweet Mask coming after us?

No wonder the streets outside were so lively just now; it turns out that the planet's super idol has arrived.

"He seems to have rushed over after hearing about the appearance of a Demon-level monster here. Now that you've dealt with the monster, he's just promoting his new movie here. When he passed by earlier, he heard you were having a meal, so he didn't disturb you but quietly paid your bill and asked me to pass this note on to you!"

The waitress nervously pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket.

Shimizu was speechless at the waitress's attitude, but then he realized it was quite normal.

Sweet Mask is an idol that almost all men envy and are jealous of, and that all women go crazy for. His popularity is far beyond what those "pigeons" can compare to. If we were to make a horizontal comparison, his fame might be similar to that of global phenomena like Michael Jackson and Jackie Chan, but even more fervent. He is a true national idol.

Open the small note; it says the location of an uninhabited area on the outskirts of D City, bordering Z City.

Shimizu remembered that it was a grassland. A Dragon-level monster once appeared in the vicinity and was destroyed by a meteorite that fell from the sky, creating a huge crater.

Prove to me that you have the ability to become an S-class hero. I'm here waiting for you.

The last line of the note read "Sweetheart Mask".

Is that guy planning to fight me?

Otherwise, why would they choose a remote, uninhabited area on the outskirts of a city, far from densely populated areas?
"Lord Black Whirlwind Samurai, are you about to be promoted to S-rank? Will you be undertaking a hero mission with Mr. Sweet Mask this time as a test for your S-rank promotion?"

"There's a bit of a gap, but after this trip, I should be able to advance to S-rank."

Shimizu put the note away and answered the waitress.

Before today, although he was somewhat confident that he could pass Sweet Mask's test and reach the Dragon-level threshold set by this top-ranked A-level expert, after defeating the Selfie Queen and learning the Mind Domain ability, which raised his normal combat strength by a small level, he should be able to pass this test relatively easily.

A few minutes later.

In the countryside, in an uninhabited meteorite crater.

Shimizu, dressed in black armor, slowly descended from the sky.

A handsome blue-haired man in a white suit jacket and slim-fitting trousers heard the noise, looked up, and stared at Shimizu with great interest through his two bright eyes that shone even in the night sky.

"You must be the Black Whirlwind Warrior."

Sweet Mask put his phone away in his pocket and looked at Clearwater.

"I don't really like this hero name, which doesn't sound very good. I've already submitted an application to the association to change the hero name. You should just call me by my name."

Shimizu was also sizing up Sweet Mask.

He had to admit, this guy was really handsome.

In the world of anime and manga, there are many ways to depict the good looks of handsome men, but there is always an upper limit, which depends on people's knowledge, imagination, and the artist's skill.

In the real, three-dimensional world, it's hard to imagine that there could actually be such a devastatingly handsome man.

Reality is not built on imagination.

In terms of looks, even the notorious womanizer and scumbag from Sunagakure, the Sandstorm Jonin, is significantly less attractive than Sweet Mask.

It seems that this person standing there represents the symbol of the word "beauty".

This is a guy who loathes ugliness and evil to the extreme, and pursues justice and beauty to the point of becoming morbidly freakish.

“I agree with what you said. As a hero, one must maintain a righteous and beautiful image at all times and in all aspects, including one’s name. If you can satisfy me tonight, I will persuade the association’s higher-ups to help you change your hero name.”

Sweet Mask looked at Shimizu, who hadn't yet put on his armor and helmet, and seemed quite satisfied.

Strength, appearance, and character—especially his attitude towards justice and evil—are all important indicators for evaluating a hero.

In Sweet Mask's opinion, Shimizu's appearance is not perfect, but it still deserves an outstanding score.

As for his strength, that was the main purpose of his trip tonight.

This is also the most important criterion for his scoring.

"So you've come here to fight me?"

Shimizu looked at Sweet Mask and thought to himself that if a new world opened up in the future and he needed to use the transformation technique, he would wear Sweet Mask's face.

"I hope you don't misunderstand. This is just an assessment, like the test you took when you joined the Hero Association. It's to determine if you have the ability to meet my standards. After all, you've only fought a Dragon-level monster once so far, and most of the credit goes to King. I can't yet judge whether you have the strength to shoulder this responsibility."

But before that, I have a piece of advice for you.

Sweet Mask took his phone out of his pocket again, looked at the popularity ranking data on the association's official website, and said:

"In the past two months, your hero popularity ranking has risen rapidly, and you are about to break into the top 20. I can see that you have your own pursuits, which is normal, just like I have my idol career. But there is one thing I have to advise you on."

As a hero, regardless of whether you gain my approval tonight and become an S-class hero, or even an A-class or lower-class hero, besides being strong, sharp, and beautiful, you must also eliminate evil swiftly, brilliantly, decisively, and completely.

I noticed the news about your dealing with that Demon-level monster earlier today, and I also checked the association's report. It took a little longer than expected, but that's not the key issue. The key issue is that you shouldn't have spared the monster's life for such a small gain. As a hero, you shouldn't have done that, because true justice cannot be tainted in the slightest. It requires absolute zero tolerance for evil; only then can it be considered perfect justice.

The white suit fluttered in the night wind, and under the moonlight, Sweet Mask's face, so perfect that it had no flaws whatsoever, was filled with a strong sense of preaching.

Sweet Mask felt that he was really interested in Shimizu, the newcomer.

Ordinary heroes don't deserve such heartfelt and earnest words from him.

Even though this dialogue, which he considered sincere, seemed somewhat condescending.

At least, Shimizu really dislikes Sweet Mask's way of speaking.

He originally wanted to say that Sweet Mask was a shill, but considering that Sweet Mask's behavior and words were quite polite, he retorted instead.

“I have my own considerations and my own way of carrying out my justice. I don’t need you to teach me how to do things or impose your own sense of justice on me. If you’re going to take action, do it quickly.”

"Very good! Shimizu, keep up that sharp attitude, and then... prove it to me!"

With his expensive white suit billowing, Sweet Mask finished speaking and charged towards Shimizu, throwing a punch at her face.

"boom!"

A shiny black metal fist blocked Sweet Mask's fist solidly, creating a shockwave in the air.

The immense force caused the ground beneath their feet to crack into a spiderweb pattern.

"Not bad."

Sweet Mask's expression remained unchanged, but his footwork shifted, and he unleashed another punch, much heavier than the previous one.

Instead of confronting Sweet Mask head-on with his fists, Shimizu swiftly retreated, drew his sword, and unleashed a torrent of sharp sword energy, like a vast ocean, slashing towards Sweet Mask.

Sweet Mask chuckled softly, clenched his fists, and used them to block Shimizu's sword energy. He then burst forward, pushing off the ground with his feet, and charged towards Shimizu.

As the number one A-class hero, Sweet Mask, since he positions himself as an inspector for S-class heroes, it means that he also possesses the combat power of an S-class hero, and his overall strength is quite good among all S-class heroes.

His strength mainly comes from his powerful physique, comparable to a Dragon-level monster, his extremely exquisite fighting skills, and his super-strong self-healing ability, which makes him almost impossible to kill.

In close combat, neither Sexy Prisoner nor Tank Top Master can compare to him!

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Each sword aura was dispersed by his bare fists, and even the sharp blade of the black steel longsword was directly blocked by Sweet Mask with his bare fists.

As for other magic, cannonballs, and freezing bombs, Sweet Mask either uses his fists to overpower them or forcefully bursts out with speed to dodge them.

Even with the Wind Release Chakra Mode boost, Shimizu's speed was only slightly faster than Sweet Mask's, without much of a difference.

This guy is a complete numerical monster.

Although he has limited abilities and lacks variety in offensive methods, Sweet Mask is extremely outstanding in terms of speed, strength, skill, and even physical defense.

While its self-healing speed is not as fast as that of the zombie man, it is still fast enough to ignore ordinary injuries.

Even if he suffers a fatal wound, as long as it's not an instant kill, he will only experience a slight reduction in the speed and power of his heroic attack due to the injury, and he will recover within a few seconds.

Unless there is a counter to his abilities, or someone with the strength of a higher-level Dragon-level monster can completely overwhelm him, Sweet Mask's strength is enough to contend with most Dragon-level monsters.

To be precise, it should be "killed".

With his self-healing ability, he could either wear down those weirdos to death or at the very least, achieve a draw.

The two fought with lightning speed, flashing left and right in the huge crater, leaving the ground in ruins.

The surrounding cliffs were also sheared away several layers by the sword energy of the clear water.

"Breath of Separation, Second Form, Flowing Dance of Separation".

Beneath the dazzling bright blue sword light, the black steel longsword, while retaining its former sharpness, gained a smoother, more fluid quality, making it virtually impenetrable to any opening.

Sweet Mask blocked Shimizu's slash with his arm held horizontally to his side.

Amidst the spray of blood, a fist harder than steel slammed heavily onto the Black Knight's breastplate.

"Boom!"

Two figures passed each other.

Sweet Mask smiled excitedly, glanced at the rapidly healing wounds on his arms, threw his tattered designer suit on the ground, revealing his streamlined, muscular body wrapped in a long-sleeved shirt underneath, his movements exuding undeniable coolness and elegance.

On the other side, Shimizu saw a crack appear on the Black Knight armor and tried to distance herself from Sweet Mask again. She raised her hand and released endless lightning and gale, which, along with the missiles and freezing bombs launched from the Black Knight, attacked Sweet Mask.

By now, both sides have pretty much figured out each other's playing styles and how to counter them.

Sweet Mask has high stats, extremely strong melee ability, fast health regeneration, and near-infinite endurance. Its weakness is its limited offensive capabilities, which can only be compensated for to some extent by its speed.

Shimizu is faster, has a wider attack range, and a variety of methods, including both offensive and defensive capabilities. Its melee ability is sufficient to fight Sweet Mask.

Of course, if it comes to close combat, Sweet Mask, with his super self-healing ability, has the advantage because he can keep going like that.

Therefore, the best fighting style for Shimizu is kiting. Even though Sweet Mask has high defense, after being enhanced in the Mind Domain, he still has enough ability to break through defenses. Even if the speed difference between the two sides is not large, various attacks, as well as the Krakan Chain, the Crimson Magic Belt of Setorak, the Freeze Bomb, and various restrictive and suppressive talismans, can all be used as means to control Sweet Mask's movement.

It seems that Sweet Mask can keep going like this indefinitely. While Shimizu's armor can certainly give him a high degree of leeway and endurance, Sweet Mask will ultimately win.

But once Shimizu truly gains temporary control, and a sealing technique is used to seal Sweet Mask, then Shimizu will be the one to win.

If it were a true life-or-death struggle, the outcome would be unpredictable.

The two of them are certainly not going to fight to that extent now.

In fact, at this moment, Sweet Mask had already acknowledged that Shimizu possessed the ability to serve as an S-class hero.
(End of this chapter)