Perched atop a fractured skyscraper, a group of six watched the Lighthouse slowly descending and the terrifying swarm of Phage Beasts—towering hundreds of meters high—gathering below. Peculiar expressions played across their faces.
"Boss, is that 'giant pot lid' trying to get itself killed?"
A cute girl in a retro-style skirt swung her legs back and forth; clearly, she found the Lighthouse's actions baffling.
"If they keep throwing their lives away like that, who knows what new monstrosities might evolve from the carnage."
"Boss, does Master Lai have a grudge against you? Sending us here at a time like this... it feels like he doesn't intend for us to make it back."
Another man, sporting a mohawk, looked grim. Even with Boss Bai leading them, they stood no chance against such a massive horde of Phage Beasts.
The critical issue was that Boss Bai's body couldn't sustain combat for long; unleashing her full power always triggered a severe backlash.
"Don't talk nonsense!"
A long-haired woman carrying a bow and arrows immediately snapped at the mohawk-wearing man.
Bai Yuekui, clad in a long coat and wielding a Tang-style saber, raised a hand:
"Maintain the Guiyuan state. Don't let those Phage Beasts detect us; we'll wait and see how things unfold."
She had received a call from Master Lai in the early hours of the morning. The plan had changed: a mutated boy with terrifying power had appeared on the Lighthouse and helped Mark seize the position of City Lord.
Furthermore, preparations were underway to launch an operation to purge the Phage Beasts and destroy the Mana ecosystem.
Consequently, the next phase of "Operation Ape-Strike" had to be put on hold.
Master Lai was her former mentor. After a tumultuous brain-transplant process, he had ended up inhabiting the body of "Test Subject No. 19."
He now resided in an off-world space station, existing as an ecological chimera.
Having integrated with artificial intelligence, he was capable of remotely monitoring everything that occurred on the Lighthouse.
According to Master Lai's original calculations, Mark was destined to be destroyed by Charles—who was possessed by the "Lord of Light and Shadow"—while aboard the Lighthouse.
She had intended to seize that opportunity to implant a special spinal parasite into Mark, forcing him to transform into a "Life Chimera."
Afterward, she helped Mark achieve the "Triple-Chain" state and enter the "Scarlet Miasma" mode, ultimately putting an end to the Mana ecosystem.
"Master Lai said you were strong—that you even crushed Charles, while he was possessed by the Lord of Light and wearing the 'Abyss-Walker' armor, with a single squeeze. So, let me see just how strong you really are!"
The "Operation Ape-Strike" could not proceed smoothly; Master Lai had advised first determining the mutant boy's identity and true strength...
...and seeing if cooperation was possible.
That was why she had returned with the elite warriors from Dragon Bone Village—to see exactly how the Lighthouse intended to wipe out the Phage Beast.
"What is he doing? Is he taking on that many Phage Beast all by himself?"
At that moment, everyone let out a collective gasp of astonishment.
They saw "Goku" appear near the mountain of beasts and issue a challenge to the dense, countless horde of Phage Beast.
Seeing this, Bai Yuekui couldn't help but frown.
No matter how strong the boy was, taking on so many Phage Beast alone was an incredibly reckless move.
That mountain wasn't just filled with ordinary Phage Beast; there were also various enhanced types and even higher-level ones present.
Even she—if she unleashed her full power without regard for the backlash—couldn't possibly take out that many Phage Beast.
BOOM!
However, the next moment, her eyes widened in shock.
"What is that?"
Her wide-eyed reaction was shared by the five elites from Dragon Bone Village, as well as Mark and the others who were watching from the Lighthouse, ready to provide backup at a moment's notice.
A blinding white light instantly illuminated the world.
A powerful Ki blast engulfed all the Phage Beast with unstoppable force; the terrifying energy fluctuations caused all monitoring equipment to explode on the spot.
In the blink of an eye, the vast numbers of low-level Phage Beast were reduced to ash.
Two or three seconds later, the mid-to-high-level Phage Beast—capable of releasing Life Source to form energy shields—were likewise annihilated.
By the five-second mark, the Ki blast finally subsided, and the strongest among them—dozens of "Commander-class" Phage Beast—collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Charred husks. Although they hadn't been reduced to ash, they had all been completely...
"Th-this... what kind of ability is this? It's even more terrifying than a nuclear bomb!"
The energy blast that had just occurred absolutely surpassed the explosive power of a nuclear bomb.
After all, even nuclear bombs couldn't kill Dominator-class Phage Beasts; humanity had already proven this through experimentation when the apocalypse first struck.
Aside from their explosive force, nuclear bombs relied on radiation damage—but Phage Beast were completely immune to radiation.
The shockwave the boy had just unleashed was capable of wiping out every Phage Beast in an entire city, including the Dominator-class ones.
This proved that, at least in terms of explosive power, it had surpassed a nuclear bomb.
"Oh no!"
Just as everyone was reeling from the sheer power of the shockwave, Bai Yuekui's expression suddenly shifted.
She knew that such a massive disturbance— and the death of so many Phage Beast—would inevitably trigger a major reaction from the Mana Ecosystem.
They might even dispatch a Monarch-class Phage Beast to investigate.
And as for Monarch-class Phage Beast... the once- mighty Hela Alliance had been utterly destroyed by just one of them.
"Huh? Not a single one survived? Are they really that weak?"
Goku dropped his Kamehameha stance, a look of disappointment crossing his face.
He had intended to clear out the fodder while leaving behind a few Phage Beast with actual strength to help hone his martial arts.
That was why he had used only half his power for that Kamehameha.
Yet, he had ended up wiping them all out in a single stroke.
Out of so many Phage Beast, not one had been worth a real fight.
"I should've just used a quarter of my power."
He couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret.
But then again, it didn't really matter. If they couldn't even withstand half his power, he'd be taking them out with a single punch each— hardly useful for honing his martial arts.
He hadn't used his breathing technique, nor Giant Magic, nor transformed into a Great Ape.
He had fought using only his raw, fundamental physical strength.
If they couldn't even withstand half his energy blast under those conditions, then they truly weren't worth using as sparring partners. "And just like that, it's all over!"
High atop the Lighthouse, everyone stared blankly at the scene below.
The disappearance of the Phage Beast felt almost dreamlike.
The very creatures that instilled the greatest terror in this post-apocalyptic world hadn't even managed to withstand a single move from Goku.
"We won! We won! We won!"
Everyone couldn't help but cheer with joy.
To be honest, aside from Mark, Ran Bing, and their team, most people hadn't held out much hope for this extermination mission.
Many had already prepared themselves for death.
Yet, to their surprise, the operation ended before they had even fired a single shot.
More importantly, this mission gave them a glimpse of hope—
hope that the apocalypse could end and humanity could return to the surface.
With Goku around, if they took the time to clear out the cities one by one, they could eventually wipe out every single Phage Beast in the world.
However, their celebration was cut short; a strange, furious roar exploded in their ears like a thunderclap.
Then, they saw a humanoid Phage Beast with six arms—standing three hundred meters tall— charging wildly toward them.
"...prepare!"
"A Monarch-class Phage Beast!"
Expressions of terror washed over everyone's faces.
"Raise the Lighthouse's altitude! Aim the central electromagnetic railgun..."
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