Starting with one punch, I'll stop being human.

In the instant he passed the monster, Genos used his waist to deliver a powerful whip kick, accompanied by a sonic boom, which slammed into the monster's relatively soft side abdomen!

A dull thud resounded, and the beetle monster's massive body was kicked so hard that it staggered several meters to the side, letting out a painful groan.

Genos was overjoyed and immediately decided not to give the monster any chance to breathe. He immediately adjusted his posture and used the thrusters to start the stationary position that King had mentioned.

He no longer stood rigidly in a straight line with the monster, but instead moved around the monster at high speed, constantly changing angles.

Sometimes he would rush forward, sometimes he would retreat, constantly harassing the monster with small attacks and pressuring its movements, while rapidly analyzing its every move.

"Chirp chirp chirp—!"

The beetle monster was completely disoriented by him, and furiously swung its scythe-like forelimbs, slashing wildly, but it couldn't even touch the hem of Genos's clothes.

—Attack pattern analysis in progress…

—The forelimb slash has a large hitbox, but the recovery animation is slow!

—A collision requires the limbs to gather strength, resulting in tremendous power, but it is not agile in turning…!

In Genos's electronic eyes, countless data streams were being refreshed rapidly, and a complete combat model was being constructed.

The next moment, he deliberately created an opening, pretending to charge in from the front.

As expected, the beetle monster fell for the trick. Its six arthropods scrambled the ground, and its massive body charged toward Genos at a terrifying speed completely disproportionate to its size!

—Here it comes! It's a ramming attack!

Instead of retreating, Genos advanced. Just as he was about to be hit, his leg thrusters suddenly exploded to the side, and he moved sideways like a ghost, perfectly dodging the impact.

The beetle monster, due to its immense momentum, crashed headfirst into the rock wall behind it!

Rocks crumbled and dust billowed.

Genos seized the moment of stun caused by the beetle monster's impact with the mountain, instantly bringing his arms together and aiming the cannons from his palms at the monster's back, which was temporarily unable to defend itself due to the impact.

This time, instead of using large-scale incineration, he highly compressed the energy!

— "Compression Incineration Cannon"!

An exceptionally condensed orange-red thermal energy cannon shot out like a laser, precisely embedding itself into the gap in the beetle monster's carapace!

"Chirp chirp chirp chirp—!!!"

The beetle monster let out a shrill scream as green fluid gushed from its wounds.

Its back was blasted open with a huge hole, charred black, clearly indicating that it had suffered a severe injury!

"Success!"

Genos felt much more at ease; for the first time in battle, he experienced the thrill of strategic command!

However, he overlooked one point.

The wisdom of wild beasts can sometimes be more deadly than their calculations.

Wounded beasts are the most ferocious!

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

A furious scream erupted from the smoke and dust, and the next moment!

A stream of dark green, viscous liquid suddenly burst through the smoke, spraying out like a high-pressure water gun!

"Oh no! It's a ranged attack using acid corrosion!"

Genos was startled, but it was unrealistic to completely evade the sneak attack.

He immediately raised his arms to forcefully block the sudden attack of acid!

Zizzi——!

The acid fell onto Genos's arms, producing a piercing corrosive sound, and the metal arm armor visibly corroded and softened!

At the crucial moment, Genos's consistently high-speed combat chip and online combat intelligence came into play.

As he unleashed the "Incineration Cannon" instantly, Genos charged forward and plunged into the flames, using the high temperature generated by his attack to forcefully burn away the corrosive liquid on his machine!

—Success!

The next moment, the severely corroded alloy arms stopped deteriorating further!

But just as Genos's lips curled into a slight smile, the beetle monster moved!

Its seemingly clumsy body slid along the ground like a venomous snake at an extremely strange angle, instantly circling around to Genos's side and rear!

It even knows how to use ranged attacks to attract attention before launching a close-range sneak attack!

"what?!"

Genos's pupils contracted sharply, and he tried to turn around to defend himself, but he was already a beat too late.

With no time to think, he instinctively poured all his energy into his broken fists, attempting to trade blows with the monster using a high-speed barrage of "machine gun punches"—a fighting style he frequently employed as a cyborg!

However, just as he threw a punch with all his might, the strange man's gliding body suddenly came to a stop at an angle that completely defied biomechanics!

Its forelimbs, sharp as two giant scythes, flashed through the air with an extremely fast, crisscrossing light!

This is its killer move!

All the previous charges, slashes, and even acid spitting were to paralyze the opponent and pave the way for this final blow!

—Oh no! It's a trap!

Genos's punch missed, and the golden electronic eye suddenly contracted!

And that deadly cold light was already right in front of them!

Blue sparks flashed wildly in the air, instantly severing the alloy structure, scattering engine oil and wires everywhere.

Genos's legs were severed instantly from the thighs by the crossed scythe-like forelimbs!

The powerful impact caused him to lose his balance completely, and his upper body crashed heavily to the ground. His propulsion system was instantly damaged, emitting a series of crackling electrical sounds, and his vision began to blur.

"Damn it... I was careless..."

Genos looked at his legs, which had fallen to the ground not far away, and a mixture of resentment appeared on his handsome face.

They had already learned new fighting techniques and could clearly see the dawn of victory.

However, once again, due to his carelessness in his eagerness for quick success, he fell into an abyss of no return!

"Chi chi chi chi chi!"

The century-old Steel Armor Larva, emboldened by its advantage, dragged its heavy body step by step toward Genos, who lay on the ground.

It raised its sharp, oil-covered forelimbs high, aimed them at his core, and prepared to deliver the final blow!

"It's over, Tin Can! I'll savor your energy core!"

Chapter 230 Let me give it a try?

"Ah, it's back to how it was when we first met..."

On the hillside, Saitama looked down at Genos, whose upper body lay helplessly on the ground, sparking with electricity, and immediately stopped eating his skewers, his eyes twitching.

He shoveled the mouthful of pork belly into his mouth in one go, his cheeks puffing out like a hamster.

While chewing rapidly, he mumbled, "No, no, if I keep going like this I'll be torn to pieces!"

"Save me a skewer, I'll go help him!"

Han Sen: "..."

He couldn't help but sigh, "Saitama is unreliable as a teacher in many ways, but he really does step up when things get tough!"

It's a bit hard to resist grilling skewers even at this time.

Saitama: We can't just stand by and watch Genos get turned into a pile of scrap metal. After all, he paid his dues... no, it looks like it hurts a lot.

Just as Saitama quickly swallowed his food, wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth, and prepared to go and save the day with a punch...

King, who had been relatively inconspicuous, suddenly made a move.

He put down the half-eaten corn in his hand, slowly stood up, and stared calmly yet tensely at the battlefield in the distance.

King's inner world was far less calm than it appeared.

After all, his strong, expressionless face always showed no signs of emotion, and he could see through anyone, whether it was a powerful S-class hero or a vicious monster.

The roar of the "Emperor Engine" gradually resounded in my chest, each beat seeming to break free from the constraints of my ribs.

He saw Saitama preparing to make his move, which meant the battle would end in an instant.

But... what about myself?

Images flashed through King's mind.

At the hot pot table, I'm always the one who gets taken care of.

When facing a powerful enemy, friends or unexpected strongmen will take the initiative to attack, and because they are too lucky to survive, they are given credit for their achievements by people who do not know the truth, and even become heroes.

This time, Genos was in danger because he wanted to uphold the fighting philosophy he had taught.

—I...can no longer hide in the background with a clear conscience!

Even if it's just once, I want to... fight alongside them!

An unprecedented determination overcame the fear deep within King's heart, and his eyes changed.

"How about I give it a try?"

Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!

The deep, powerful roar of the "Emperor Engine" grew increasingly intense, but this time, it was no longer a tremor of fear, but a fighting spirit and determination from the bottom of one's heart!

Meeting the slightly surprised gazes of Han Sen and Saitama, King's eyes, beneath his scar, were more resolute than ever before: "I've always been grateful for everyone's care, and this time, I also want to do my part."

The two exchanged a glance, and Saitama's simple face broke into a big smile.

"Wow, King is so handsome!"

Han Sen casually patted King on the shoulder, a smile playing on his lips.

"Then it's up to you, King."

Having gained the approval of the hot pot team, a touch of gratitude for being trusted appeared on King's scarred face, which could stop a child from crying.

He took a deep breath, and suddenly two intense beams of pure white lightning shot out from those cold and terrifying eyes of the weirdo!

An invisible electromagnetic force, centered on him, spread out like ripples in an instant, covering the entire battlefield in the blink of an eye!

The camera zooms back to the battlefield.

"It's over, Tin Can! I'll savor your energy core!"

The "Centennial Steel Armor Larva" raised its sharp forelimbs high, aiming at Genos's core, ready to deliver the final blow!

A hint of frustration flashed in Genos's golden electronic eyes. The energy core in his chest silently overworked, and the humming high-energy plasma shone through the gaps in his body, illuminating the surrounding illusion as a deep blue.

As it turns out, the righteous cyborgs may fail repeatedly, but they will never give up the fight.

"I won't let you succeed, you weirdo."

However, just as Genos was about to unleash his once-in-a-lifetime self-destruct attack to take down the enemy with him!

He suddenly felt his body...

It started moving uncontrollably!

A mysterious, precise, and irresistibly powerful force, as if transformed into billions of invisible threads, instantly reconnected all the damaged circuits and transmission devices within his body!

That force bypassed his subjective thoughts and core processor, and directly issued commands to every part of his body!

The self-destruction process, which was halfway through, suddenly stopped, and the enormous energy squeezed out in a short period of time was fully mobilized.

Just as the beetle monster's sharp forelimbs were about to pierce through its core, its previously immobile upper body suddenly accelerated explosively!

It glided a short distance along the ground in an incredibly zigzag trajectory.

From the perspective of a Demon-level monster, this movement speed is not fast; in fact, it could be described as stiff and awkward, like someone trying it for the first time.

But the timing was perfect, and the fatal blow from the century-old steel armor larva was avoided with unparalleled precision!

The monster's forelimbs slammed into the ground, sending up countless pebbles and leaving a bottomless crater.

"……What?!"