Right on Target (TARGET)
At this moment, Su Heting's mind echoed the words of the Hermit.
Someone had dismembered Titan.
Just what kind of creature was King Shen? A biological chimera? Su Heting had never seen anything like this—
"Cat!"
King Shen roared at being ignored by Su Heting. Like a mountain of flesh, he suddenly lunged forward, barreling toward Su Heting with brute force.
He lunged!
His speed was completely at odds with his massive frame as it was impossibly fast.
Su Heting abruptly sprinted along the ground, not dodging but charging straight at him.
"This is truly unexpected!" the commentator shrieked. "The kitten isn’t backing down! You have to remember, King Shen is a super heavyweight phantom!"
The gale-force wind stirred by King Shen swept across the arena as he closed the distance in an instant. The dramatic collision between their vastly mismatched sizes played out vividly on the screens.
The wind howled past, straightening Su Heting's tail in its wake. But he wasn’t sent flying—his blocking arm held firm against King Shen, though the ground beneath his feet cracked explosively for several meters and sent water splashing.
—Damn, you’re heavy!
King Shen braced himself on all fours like a beast and stretched his neck to roar at Su Heting. The two cold snakes coiled around his abdomen struck like lightning, hissing as they split apart to attack from both sides.
Su Heting had already leaped into the air, driving a kick down between the snakes.
BOOM—
The massive serpent heads were slammed into the ground, shattering the floor. Yet their white-armored scales—sleek, mechanical, and eerily similar to Viper’s tail—were far tougher as it remained unscathed under Su Heting’s strike.
"Wowza!" the commentator yelled repeatedly. "The kitten’s got guts, but those cold snakes are too hard! No contestant has ever pierced them—he’ll have to find another way!"
King Shen pushed off with his forelimbs before swinging his grotesquely swollen hind legs in an impossible flying kick. His movements were chaotic, and before Su Heting could brace, he was sent hurtling backward.
The cat shot through the air like a cannonball and crashed into the water with a thunderous splash. The snakes lunged again, with their jaws gaping—only to snap shut on empty air as Su Heting vanished from the spot.
"So fast!" the commentator gasped. "Above you!"
Su Heting’s black hair whipped back in the wind, revealing his smooth forehead. His gaze sharp as he plummeted from midair, stomping King Shen’s skull and driving his face into the ground.
The shockwave sent water spraying in all directions.
"Gah—!" King Shen clawed at the floor and wrenching his face free with a furious shake. "Snakes!" he bellowed.
The two cold snakes slithered low as their armored scales shifted with a mechanical whir. The impenetrable plating lifted like bristling spines, and with a series of metallic clicks, their backs reconfigured into multi-barrel machine guns.
"Holy shit!" The Hermit, watching from the sidelines, sucked in a sharp breath.
King Shen reared up, gripping the snakes like shoulder-mounted cannons, and opened fire. The shells screamed from the barrels, chasing Su Heting’s heels in a relentless barrage of explosions.
Su Heting sprinted at breakneck speed, nearly skimming the ground. Behind him, the barrage tore the arena apart and kept sending debris flying into the stands—where panicked spectators ducked for cover.
"Cat!" King Shen roared in fury. "Don't run!"
As his voice fell, he steadied his stance and slammed his arms together in front of him with a thunderous "boom". Two icy serpents coiled around each other, their mouths gaping wide. A fiery glow ignited within their bodies, and in an instant, two gleaming "serpent shots" were launched.
The shots exploded behind Su Heting with terrifying force, the blast radius engulfing half the arena. Su Heting had hesitated just a fraction too long—the shockwave swallowed him whole. Like a kite torn loose in a gale, he was hurled toward the edge of the arena and nearly slamming into the gray buildings.
The crowd erupted in cheers as King Shen's name echoed through the stands. The live stream was flooded with comments—the match had delivered explosive action.
"These are brand-new Frost Serpents!" The commentator's voice sped up with excitement. "The roar of the cannon still rings in my ears—King Shen almost ended the match right there! But Mao is just too fast, unbelievably fast! My eyes can barely keep up—I'll need a replay later!"
Smoke billowed across the screen as the arena lay ravaged by the bombardment, a scene of utter chaos.
Su Heting dangled midair, gripping a protruding beam from an upside-down structure with one hand. With effortless grace, he swung in a half-circle and landed atop the beam, crouching to observe King Shen below.
"Where are you?!" King Shen bellowed while hefting his massive Frost Serpent cannon as he scanned the arena. His bloated belly swayed near his thighs with each step, like a mound of melting cream.
Su Heting noticed that no matter how the two serpents morphed, their tails remained firmly embedded in King Shen's fleshy crevices—they never detached to act independently.
"Where are you?!" King Shen's rage boiled over. He spread his legs, crouched low, and suddenly leaped. His towering body, over ten meters tall, crashed into the structures above before slamming back down. The impact sent tremors rippling outward like an earthquake and hurling debris in all directions with a deafening roar.
The commentator had to cover one ear. "That impact rivals artillery fire..."
King Shen vented his fury, dominating the arena with sheer weight. The entire battleground quaked with each of his jumps, even sending the hovering Ghost Crows above sliding downward.
"...I wonder how Mao will handle this—this is King Shen in full fury..."
Su Heting's tail swayed as he whistled mockingly at King Shen.
The moment King Shen landed, the two serpents split apart, reverting to their slithering forms. His murky eyes rolled before locking onto Su Heting's position.
"Can you show me something else?" Su Heting gripped the beam beneath him and leaned slightly forward with curious amusement. "Like legs or arms, maybe?"
King Shen responded instantly—he leaped again in the blink of an eye. His colossal frame was terrifying in motion, and within a single breath, he crashed headfirst into the spot where Su Heting had just been.
The structure collapsed with a deafening crash, and massive chunks of debris raining down.
Seizing the moment, King Shen lashed out with his serpents. They slithered along the inverted ruins, suspending his massive body midair.
Su Heting darted through the exploding wreckage, King Shen's fists hot on his trail. Each punch, several times larger than Su Heting himself, pulverized the hanging structures. Occasionally, King Shen's fingers would stretch out, grasping at Su Heting's afterimages.
"Running... around!" King Shen snarled while tearing through the ruins. He stretched his neck and snapped his jaws just beneath Su Heting's feet, his face twisted with rage. "You're infuriating!"
Su Heting spun mid-air before landing lightly on the building's wall like a dragonfly skimming the water. Pushing off with his legs, he suddenly reappeared, answering King Shen with his fists.
King Shen took the blow to his face, his head snapping back with a loud thud against the wall, which instantly cracked apart. He coughed up blood, his mouth injured and a tooth dangling precariously.
A cold snake emerged from the building that lunged unexpectedly at Su Heting. With no leverage in the air, Su Heting nearly got bitten. He wrapped his arms around the snake's head, but it immediately thrashed, slamming him sideways into the building.
The structure shattered instantly. Su Heting was carried high by the violent wind as debris rained down around him.
The cold snake whipped fiercely at high speed, its scales slippery. Su Heting was flung some distance, sliding toward its gaping maw.
"My teeth..." King Shen grew increasingly enraged.
The cold snake's mechanical head clicked as it reconfigured. Its eyes sank inward as a cannon barrel protruded from the center.
A flash of fire—the snake's projectile blasted between the buildings!
"Ah!" The commentator couldn't tell if he was excited or disappointed. "So close again!"
King Shen, relying on brute strength, lunged toward the explosion and bit wildly between the buildings. He kicked, trying to climb higher.
Su Heting's tail nearly caught fire. Swiftly, he grabbed onto one of the Nine-Headed Bird's descending heads and locking eyes with its crimson gaze for a second before flipping onto its back—actually stepping on the monstrous bird.
King Shen had eyes only for Su Heting. He clawed at the Nine-Headed Bird, firing the transformed cold snake's cannon directly. The projectile exploded against the bird's back, eliciting a shriek as its nine steel heads thrashed wildly, their shadows writhing like frenzied serpents on the ground.
"Warning to contestants," the Nine-Headed Bird's electronic voice screeched. "Stay clear of the referee unit! Three, two, one!"
Su Heting leaped from the heights.
As the countdown ended, the Nine-Headed Bird's nine heads exploded simultaneously. One of King Shen's cold snakes was obliterated and the shockwave hurled him down like a gale.
"Cat!" King Shen howled in pain, his hands and face scorched. After landing, he rolled once, bulldozing like a tank over where Su Heting had touched down. His eyes snapped open, his roar distorted: "I'll kill you!"
The referee unit exploding was a first for the arena, yet the commentator didn't call for a stop. The live chat surged like a tidal wave of text, flooding the space and lapping at Su Heting's calves. The crowd's unified roar drowned everything, their faces hidden beneath the flickering lights, twisted into screaming masks.
[Kill him!]
The murderous comments blazed red, swirling around Su Heting like whispered nightmares. His blood boiled and his heartbeat accelerated in his chest—the thrill of slaughter already assaulting his mind.
King Shen's eyes were bloodshot and veins bulging unnaturally. He too seemed caught in a frenzy, panting heavily. "Kill you... kill you... kill..."
His lips trembled, the last remaining cold snake at his waist hissing as it raised its head. Its eyes, like King Shen's, were fixed solely on Su Heting.
Su Heting clenched his right fist, a faint click sounding from within. But no one noticed—King Shen had already arched his back slightly.
Jiali leaned closer to the screen, doubting her eyes. "What was that?"
A brand new brown snake emerged from King Shen's back, its head resembling a viper's tail—only more complete. It slithered out through torn flesh before its triangular head coiling around King Shen's body amidst the sickening, grotesque sound of tearing mucus.
Su Heting frowned and took two steps back in disgust. "That's revolting..."
Before he could finish, King Shen vanished.
The sound of sprinting footsteps was already upon him. Without hesitation, Su Heting dodged sideways. King Shen’s foot slammed down beside him, shattering the already damaged floor.
Su Heting tried to leap away, but King Shen blocked him with his body, his swollen belly nearly pressing against Su Heting’s face.
"Tonight, I’ll send you..." King Shen lashed out with a kick, "straight to hell!"
The leg was taut with muscle, its power concentrated—completely unlike King Shen’s upper body. Enhanced by virtual scaling, the kick carried an earth-shattering force.
Two snake heads closed in from behind at terrifying speed, especially the brown one, its fangs bared. Debris flew as the snakes carved deep furrows into the ground, threatening to trap Su Heting completely.
A wave of dust surged, threatening to swallow him whole.
"The kitten’s overwhelmed," the commentator lamented. "This match might just be..."
An inexplicable wind swirled, sweeping the dust aside.
The Hermit caught sight of it and suddenly slapped his thigh, stammering in excitement, "H-hey! H-here it comes!"
Su Heting’s cybernetic eye glowed faintly and his pupils shifted subtly—like a 2D animation—revealing a tiny "X". Sparks burst between the fingers of his right hand as a ring of flames erupted around him.
By the time the snake heads struck, Su Heting was already gone. King Shen’s leg hadn’t even fully landed before all that remained was the trailing blaze of fire.
The cat’s finger-gun was aimed squarely between King Shen’s brows. He said, "Bang."
BOOM—!
The fire bullet, trailing flames, pierced King Shen’s forehead in an instant. A moment later, King Shen collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Match over.
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