Chapter 148: King and Garou
King was treating reality like a game now.
And if that were the case, then King was practically invincible. After all, there had been theories—or rather, memes—about this before.
If someone connected a controller to Genos and let King control him, he could probably defeat numerous Dragon-level monsters despite the power gap.
Some argued that King's reaction speed wouldn't be fast enough for high-speed combat, making it impossible for him to control a Dragon-level battle. But in reality, King's neural reflexes were extraordinarily fast—inhumanly so. If he played League of Legends, he might just surpass the peak Demon King and become the legendary King God.
Chang Wei was curious about what King could truly accomplish. From his memories, he knew that ever since King had become a genuine hero, he had never been injured!
That was an incredibly powerful concept.
Maybe King's path to power wasn't blocked by a lack of ability but rather by a missing obsession—something other than the supercell solution Chang Wei had given him.
If King found his obsession and his defining trait, he could become stronger instantly.
Wasn't that similar to how monsters evolved?
At that moment, a monster suddenly jumped out.
"Hahaha! Hero, die! Take this sneak attack!"
The monster bizarrely shouted and yelled while launching its so-called ambush.
King indifferently lifted his gaze, and in the next instant, his body vanished from sight. A moment later, the monster's body exploded into pieces.
Cosmic Phantom!!!
"Incredible! He opened with a mini finisher... But damn, so cautious?"
Chang Wei clicked his tongue. On the surface, King appeared insignificant and calm.
But inside, he was extremely anxious.
What do I do? What do I do? A monster just appeared. No idea what level it is. Whatever, I'll start with Cosmic Phantom first. If it doesn't die, I'll follow up with Megaton Air Strike and Supreme Heaven-Shattering Fist... Wait, I need to prepare for aerial counterattacks and hidden enemies too... Should I chain into Lunar Crescent Slash after Cosmic Phantom?
But in reality, his first punch had already obliterated the monster—no unexpected developments, no sudden twists.
"That's it…?"
King breathed a sigh of relief. Even though Cosmic Phantom drained quite a bit of stamina—it was, after all, his mini finisher—he felt an inexplicable surge of energy, instantly replenishing the stamina he had just used.
"I don't know what level that monster was, but if it was killed by Cosmic Phantom in one hit, it probably wasn't a Demon-level threat."
King never considered himself strong. He always avoided Demon-level monsters. Aside from training at the gym, his only means of improving were playing games and fighting monsters.
In fact, he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt like playing games made him stronger at an even faster rate.
"And also… my eyes seem to be acting weird?"
King frowned. When the monster exploded just now, the flying chunks of flesh seemed oddly slow—like they were moving in ten times slow motion.
But that was probably just his imagination.
As King continued forward, he encountered several more monsters, one of which was a Demon-level threat that forced him into a tough battle.
"Titanic Crush!"
King's right arm became engorged with blood, the terrifying pressure concentrating in his fist, turning it a blood-red hue.
The sheer heat distorted the air itself. Then, with lightning speed, his punch struck the Demon-level monster's abdomen, defying the usual order of action and reaction.
"You… bastard… this is—urk!"
The Demon-level monster was exhilarated. It had consumed a Super Monster Cell and evolved beyond the rabble, transcending its previous limits. Yet, why had it encountered such a powerful enemy so soon?
With its lower body obliterated, it collapsed, unable to support itself. The impact sent a shockwave that blew King's hat off, revealing his fearsome face. The three scars across his eyes made him look even more menacing.
So I ran into the strongest man on the surface—King!
The Demon-level monster closed its eyes in satisfaction. Dying at King's hands—wasn't that a privilege reserved for Dragon-level threats?
"That was close. Almost got hit there."
King took a deep breath. The Titanic Crush put immense strain on his arm, akin to compressing a ton of water into a single plastic bottle. Naturally, the resulting explosion was terrifying.
By accelerating his blood flow, King achieved this power. But the pressure his arm had just endured was insane—if he had slipped up, his arm might have exploded first.
Still, he had succeeded.
"The Titanic Crush worked… but my ultimate finisher hasn't been perfected yet. I still need to play more games to refine the mechanics. How exactly does it work? Can humans fly too? Or do I need to find the Three Sacred Artifacts to unlock Earth's will or something…"
King's mind wandered into wild theories.
Chang Wei kept a close eye on King, this unexpected rare beast. At this rate, King might just become another Garou.
But for now, the most important thing was Garou.
He had woken up!
Defeated multiple times by Monster King Orochi, Garou had eventually lost consciousness. After being treated by Evil Natural Water, he was thrown into a room to recover.
Then, Garou had a nightmare—returning to his childhood, where he had suffered under oppression.
That resentment surged within him once more, pushing him beyond the boundary of life and death.
"Huff…"
Lying on the ground, Garou suddenly sat up without support, his back arched, head tilted up as he exhaled a long breath. The airflow blasted the dust off the ceiling, filling the room with swirling debris.
"Where… am I?"
Garou looked around in confusion before quickly recalling his last memory—he had encountered the Monster Association's leader and been defeated.
"Did I escape? Or was I captured?"
As he pondered, he realized something was off with his body. The overwhelming strength he felt… it was just like that time before—when he had mysteriously blacked out and awakened stronger.
"I've grown even stronger? Yes, this is it. Evil will never lose to justice. Monsters won't lose to heroes. I am the one who executes evil! The so-called Monster King? He's no match for me!"
Garou burst into laughter, oblivious to the eerie sight—his tattered clothes floated around him without wind, as if they were alive. His flesh even seemed to merge with the fabric, connecting at an unnatural level.
"How interesting… I used to wonder if this was because he wrapped himself in Hundred-Eyes Octopus's bandages and mutated. But now it seems he had the potential to mutate all along."
Chang Wei sighed in relief. He had worried that Garou might hit a bottleneck and stop evolving. He had even considered killing Hundred-Eyes Octopus and wrapping Garou in its bandages—after all, some theories suggested that Garou's monsterization came from using Hundred-Eyes Octopus's bandages, which infected him with monster cells, explaining why his clothes seemed to come alive.
"But now… it's time to take down the Monster King. There's only room for one monster—me!"
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