"This... what is this…"
Upon seeing the Deep Sea King slowly rise, the faces of the nearby citizens displayed terror and disbelief.
Compared to these citizens, the recently awakened Deep Sea King also seemed somewhat bewildered.
His last memory remained on the beach, where he was about to torment a cyclist from the land, but a sudden intense pain struck from behind, and then he remembered nothing.
"What... what exactly happened?" the Deep Sea King muttered, furrowing his brows in an effort to recall.
However, having died twice in succession, his brain was blank.
Now, surrounded by screaming land-dwellers emitting a scent he found utterly repulsive, he couldn't focus his mind on anything.
"Forget it, no matter..." he muttered, shaking his head irritably before his expression twisted into a snarl, his gaze turning towards the nearby citizens: "Let's just kill them all first."
"Yikes!" The citizens, upon feeling his gaze, immediately experienced a chilling dread.
It was a primal instinct, the palpitation and despair when preyed upon by a top predator... Although these ordinary people did not understand what "killing intent" truly meant, they were genuinely terrified at that moment.
"Are you... joking?" A few individuals instinctively stepped back, their cold sweat uncontrollably flowing: "Why has the monster suddenly revived?"
Upon witnessing this, Fang Mo's face lit up with a smile: "Ah... there's your proof, why has everyone run off?"
"Hey, hey, Priest."
The scene had also made the Puri-Puri Prisoner a bit nervous: "You're not planning to..."
"Don't worry." Fang Mo reassured him with a hand gesture, then suddenly stepped forward with one foot: "Kneel down!"
The Deep Sea King, not yet reacting, felt an overwhelming force and was smashed into the ground, creating a large circular crater.
"What...?" The Deep Sea King struggled to lift his head, having heard Fang Mo's voice and recognizing the familiar form of humiliation; it was clearly that detestable land-dweller again, which made the Deep Sea King gnash his teeth in fury: "It's you again! You damned creature!"
Facing the Deep Sea King's roar, Fang Mo hardly paid any attention.
Instead, he turned and looked towards a sneering, slightly overweight man nearby.
"What... what are you planning to do..." The man was visibly nervous but still forcefully brazen, saying: "You're an S-rank hero of the Hero Association, you can't possibly intend to harm a civilian like me, right? You do realize that could get you fired from the association, right?"
"Ha, you're overthinking it." Fang Mo replied cheerily: "Didn't I just agree with you? These monsters are indeed trash, and anyone who fights desperately can defeat them..."
"Ah...?"
"Let me give you a chance." Without waiting for the man to comprehend, Fang Mo smiled and pulled out a bar of gold: "This monster is now subdued. You were quite bold in your words earlier, so why not spit in his face? If you do, this gold is yours."
"Are you serious?" The man seemed tempted.
"Of course." Fang Mo declared confidently: "I'm an S-rank hero of the Hero Association, how could I deceive you? If I lied to you in front of all these people, how could I continue to be a hero? Come on, take the chance, I guarantee there's no danger."
"That..." The man thought it over, seemingly convinced.
However, before he could speak, several concerned voices suddenly called out to him: "Hey, don't go, that monster looks too terrifying, don't gamble with your life! What if it breaks free?"
"Huh?" Rather than discouraging him, these comments seemed to spur him on.
With a face mixing scorn, sarcasm, and provocation, the man sneered: "Are you just jealous I have this opportunity?"
"What?" The other citizens were stunned: "We're just worried about you..."
"Do I need your concern?" The man pointed at Fang Mo's nose: "He's an S-rank hero, and I've paid my taxes to the association, under the watchful eyes of everyone here... he wouldn't dare not protect me."
"You... what..."
The crowd was at a loss for words, but due to the man's repulsive attitude, many were frowning at him.
Unfortunately, he was oblivious to their stares.
"Ha." After taunting the crowd, the man sighed in relief and turned back to Fang Mo: "You guarantee it, right? If I do it, you'll really give me the gold?"
"I'll give you the gold right now." Fang Mo smiled, letting the gold bar float towards the man through the air.
The man's eyes sparkled as he grabbed the gold bar, feeling its heaviness and immediately became excited.
"Oh, one more thing." Fang Mo suddenly produced a name tag: "You've taken the gold, I'll need to report this, could you tell me your name?"
"I'm Tsuneta Kousho." The man, touching the gold bar, grinned sleazily, his small eyes squeezing into slits, his greedy nature fully exposed before everyone.
"Mm-hm, it's noted." Fang Mo cheerfully wrote down the man's name, considering such a good 'toy' shouldn't be discarded after just one use. After recording the name, he gestured towards the Deep Sea King: "Alright, begin your performance."
"I'll do it." The man, deliberately rubbing his nose and forcing a calm smile, said: "Heh... it's just a subdued monster, no threat at all."
And with that, he walked towards the Deep Sea King.
"Um, Priest..."
Just then, the Mumen Rider sensed something amiss and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could finish, a hand stopped him.
"... Sorcerer Supreme, ma'am?"
The Mumen Rider looked puzzled at her.
"Call me Senior Sister."
The Ancient One corrected him.
"Uh..." The Mumen Rider hesitated, but quickly corrected himself: "Okay, Senior Sister, but isn't the situation too dangerous? Shouldn't we really be doing this? Maybe we should advise..."
"There's no need." The Ancient One interrupted him.
"What?"
The Mumen Rider was taken aback: "But..."
"You should know, Junior Brother." The Ancient One spoke calmly: "Sometimes, to prevent greater conflicts in this world, sacrifices are necessary. We can never save everyone; this is a truth I've learned over nearly a millennium."
"But..."
The Mumen Rider wanted to say more.
But the Ancient One shook her head, stopping him: "I understand your feelings, but there's still much you need to learn. If you need, you can always come to me later, but now, please focus on this scene; it's your first lesson."
After saying this, the Ancient One lightly touched the surroundings.
The blurred space became clear, the soundproof barrier she had created vanished as if it had never existed.
And just as the Ancient One lifted the barrier, the sneering man approached the Deep Sea King.
"What... what a trash monster..."
He looked at the Deep Sea King lying on the ground and turned to the nearby crowd, saying: "See, I told you this thing is weak, pah!"
With that, he spat directly on the Deep Sea King's head.
Covered in the disgusting, sticky liquid, the Deep Sea King's eyes filled with crimson blood, humiliated to an unimaginable extent by a land-dweller resembling a fat swine.
And at that moment, he felt the weight on his head suddenly lighten.
The Deep Sea King immediately lifted his head and spat back forcefully: "Pah!"
The sneering man didn't react in time and was doused in digestive fluids, immediately letting out a pig-like scream as his skin visibly smoked and melted, struggling to escape from the Deep Sea King.
"Help! Save me!"
As he struggled, raising a hand towards the heroes, his arm dissolved, snapping off and falling to the ground.
The entire process took less than three seconds.
He had turned into a bubbling mass of flesh on the ground.
"Sorry, my hand slipped." Fang Mo smiled again as the gold by the flesh mass flew back into his hands, his teasing gaze unabashed: "I did promise you the gold, but... whether you have a life to spend it is your own affair."
As Fang Mo finished speaking, the Deep Sea King also sneered from the ground: "Ha, what trash land-dwellers..."
After speaking, he turned his gaze to other citizens, like a little girl holding a doll nearby: "Enjoying the show, huh? Then you can just melt nicely, little brat!"
However, this time Fang Mo wouldn't let him continue.
A flicker in his eyes, and he was instantly in front of the panicking little girl: "Suck it back up!"
The acid in the air instantly reversed direction, drenching the Deep Sea King.
Thus, the Deep Sea King started smoking himself, though his physical strength was high, so the damage was minimal.
After dealing with the Deep Sea King's attack, Fang Mo turned to look at the trembling little girl.
"Good girl, did that scare you?" He smiled, patting her head, then pulled out the gold bar again: "It's alright now, here, take this to calm your nerves..."
But unexpectedly, the little girl, seeing the gold bar, turned pale with fear, tears streaming down her face, and a middle-aged man, likely her Father, also began to tremble.
"Eh? What's this..."
Fang Mo was confused, thinking they were just scared, about to speak when Ancient One's voice came from not far away.
"Just leave the child alone, she's afraid she won't live to spend it."
~~~
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