"Since its physical defense is so high, the chances of an elemental attack being effective are higher!"
Borrowing the buildings nearby to generate a terrain advantage, Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero constantly fought against the Mystic Beast while thinking of strategies.
He was not the only Hero on the scene; there was also the elemental-type Esper, Blazing Butterfly who was preparing a big move on the side.
The Cyclops Predator's Spider Pike was incomparably sharp, easily piercing through the outer walls of the building as though they were made of beancurd.
The moment Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero was hit, although he wouldn't be severely injured on the spot, he would still sustain a considerable wound.
The Spider Pikes stabbed out from all sorts of sinister angles. When fighting the Cyclops Predator in close combat, Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero discovered that this fellow's control over its body was not on the same level as a human's at all. Its attacks were filled with an inexplicable sense of coordination, and it could always use the smallest price to launch the most optimal attack.
In a short while, Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero was covered in injuries all over.
Carrying on like this was not a solution at all. Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero gritted his teeth and slammed into the enemy, bringing it tumbling towards the ground with him.
If not for Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero's superhuman strength being high enough to suppress the Cyclops Predator, this Mystic Beast would likely have dismembered Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero with its many sharp pikes in the time they took to fall to the ground!
But even so, Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero was still enshrouded with peril!
At this critical moment, Blazing Butterfly's ultimate move was finally ready!
A group of flame butterflies, each the size of a palm, flapped their wings and quickly approached the Cyclops Predator, silently attaching themselves to its body.
With a loud voice, Blazing Butterfly shouted, "Senior, dodge!"
Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero brutally kicked against the Cyclops Predator and with a back-somersault through the air, he landed solidly on a building nearby.
"Everyone, you can see that Blazing Butterfly's sure-kill technique has successfully landed thanks to Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero's work on restraining the target. If nothing goes wrong, this Mystic Beast's life is already at its end."
Hat Emperor said as he prepared to conclude the show.
However, Coach Ge's expression was solemn as he stared at the livestream. "No, not necessarily."
Mystic Beasts were intelligent creatures. But right now, he did not see any trace of nervousness from this Cyclops Predator.
As expected, an unscathed Cyclops Predator soon appeared, walking out casually from the explosion of flames and smoke!
"This fellow has mutated. Its body's resistance to fire is extremely strong, to a ridiculous point!"
Blazing Butterfly's Thousand Butterflies Kill was a sure-kill technique that instantly erupted with a temperature that ordinary flames couldn't compare to. However, this Cyclops Predator was able to remain unscathed under such an attack. This could only mean that its resistance to fire elemental damage was extremely high.
"Damn it, Senior, my attack was countered by it, can you hold him back for a while longer? It will still take some time for other Heroes to arrive!"
Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero glanced at his timer. There was not much time left before he could no longer maintain his transformation. But looking down, he saw the citizens on the ground, still streaming into the buildings. He saw their eyes that were looking up at him. Above him, there were several livestream robots flying in the air.
He thought about the conversation he had with his agency this morning.
"You're already at the end of your career as a professional Hero. Although your popularity is stable compared to other young people, the chances of you achieving any growth in popularity are negligible if you don't have any phenomenal battles. If you still want to be the company's first-rate superstar, you can't lose any fights. If you lose, your popularity will fall, and the resources the company can give you will only decrease!"
"Therefore, we suggest that you limit the times you take action and attack more seldomly. You should only attack when you are fully confident. After all, your Esper Ability is very special. Even if you are discovered, you can just say that you were looking for hot and sour rice noodles to eat as an excuse."
Closing his eyes, Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero's determined face looked a little lonely. He recalled the glory he had when he first debuted. But now, this Hero was already past his prime. Many years of battle had accelerated the aging of his body. After all, using such a powerful Esper Ability would more or less take its toll on his body. It was already not bad that he could last until now.
Unknowingly, fame and fortune had already taken control of him. If he lost to this Mystic Beast today and gave up his position as the company's top star, then the decrease in income would make it impossible for him to service the huge sums of money he owed. If the news of his finances falling apart were to spread, then the debt collectors of the various casinos would trample through his house.
"I will never allow this to happen!"
Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero made a decision, and a blue pill appeared in his palm.
He swallowed the pill in one gulp, and a strange aura surged out of his body.
Meanwhile, Yang Xi, who was watching everything with Super Brain active, instantly narrowed his eyes!
At this point, the commentators were shouting anxiously, "What should we do? Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero's attacks are obviously ineffective and Blazing Butterfly's abilities can also be basically ignored due to the elemental defense of the Cyclops Predator. Before the new Hero arrives, no one will be able to protect the citizens from the Mystic Beast!"
In the livestream, a local viewer from Deer Harbor was currently spamming. "The nearest Hero, Prodigal Swordsman, is driving over but he encountered a traffic jam!"
"Heavens, don't these people know that Prodigal Swordsman is going to save people? They are actually not giving way!"
"I don't know. An old man had rear-ended someone else with his car and refused to move. He said that this was the other person's fault and wanted to wait for the traffic police to arrive to collect evidence!"
"It's not that the people turn nasty as they age, but that the nasty people have grown old! This old man was definitely not a good person as well when he was young!"
Coach Ge crossed his arms in front of his chest. As a retired professional Hero, he was well aware of the current situation of Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero.
"Hurry up and run! The two Heroes can't defeat that Mystic Beast! They're going to die! I don't want to die here! I've not even been in love yet!"
"Oh my god, I haven't collected my clothes yet. If this continues, will it take even longer?"
"Hey, don't think that you can take the opportunity to touch me just because there are more people. Do you believe that I'll let my boyfriend beat you up?"
"Who dropped their phone? If no one wants it, I'll take it."
"…"
The change in the situation made some of the people who had been staying behind panic even more.
"Ga Ga Ga!!!"
Although it was difficult to understand where the Cyclops Predator's vocal cords was, the arrogant laughter of the Mystic Beast was undoubtedly ringing out loud and clear, echoing in the air. It knew that coming right up was open season for free hunting!
First, it had to deal with the woman who had scalded it!
Its huge, ferocious eye swiveled and locked onto Blazing Butterfly, who was hovering in the air.
Blazing Butterfly: "╰ (*° ▽ °*) ╯!"
"Save me, Senior!"
Screaming, she could only fly crazily upwards into the sky. But who would have expected that by merging three Spider Pikes together, the Cyclops Hunter's actually formed a pair of wings behind itself! A pair of gauze-like transparent wings took form, and mucus flowed to cover these new wings. Then like a huge insect, it chased after Blazing Butterfly!
Coach Ge slapped the table. "Blazing Butterfly is in a bad situation! This Cyclops Predator actually has the ability to fly, and it can even fly faster than her!"
Blazing Butterfly used every ounce of her strength and fled. "What should I do? What should I do!"
"Fly towards me!"
A strong male voice sounded in front of her. Unknowingly, Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero, who had been determined to lose his transformation soon, had now appeared on the rooftop.
"Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero has stood out once again. It's already very good that he could last until now. Could it be that he still wants to continue fighting the Cyclops Predator?"
"But his ability clearly can't break through its defense!"
The Cyclops Hunter saw the two humans coming together and flapped its wings even faster. It had already thought of a hundred ways to dismember these humans who'd made it feel pain.
It would absolutely make it excruciating for them!
"Good timing!"
Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero felt that his current strength had far exceeded his past limits, reaching 30 times the strength of a normal human. The muscles on his body expanded further, and he reached almost 2.5-meters tall.
Countless veins bulged under his skin, and a stream of gas rose slowly from his body, visible with the naked eye!
"Hot and Sour Critical Hit!!!!"
The rumbling punch seemed to have sucked out all the air in the surroundings. The violent power formed a straight line and crushed towards the Cyclops Predator that was flying over, smashing it into minced meat!
"Screech—!"
The Cyclops Predator's body exploded in midair, its previously iron-like outer shell unable to withstand a single blow.
"Hu Hu Hu!"
Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero sat down tiredly. He was originally on the top floor, but because of the counterforce of his punch, he directly stepped through the floor and fell down into the hotpot shop below. The fragrance of food lingered in his nose, but he couldn't suppress the violent desire in his heart to destroy everything.
"Senior… you… what happened to you!"
Blazing Butterfly flew a little further away. She could also tell that there was something strange about Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero. Due to her sixth sense, she didn't dare to get too close.
"I'm… I'm fine. I just used too much force."
With great difficulty, he managed to suppress the thought of tearing off Blazing Butterfly's flaming butterfly wings. Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero staggered as he stood up. His body constantly released vaporized matter, gradually shrinking from a height of more than 2-meters back to about 1.7-meters.
"Yes!!!"
"Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero is super awesome!!!!"
"Heroes are still dependable at critical moments."
Just as the crowd and people on the livestream channels were cheering, a small Mystic Beast quietly flew out from the pile of minced meat.