"Heh heh, serves you right. Who told you to stand in the way of the underground people's rule? Bear the wrath of the people of the great earth!"
Though Shiromaru Chi spat mocking words, his body kept running toward the cannon ship. He still anxiously ordered,
"Chagu! This isn't enough. Go all out and obliterate him—turn him into minced meat!"
Hearing the command, the clay doll pulled its buried fist from the ground and viciously hammered down again, pounding the crater repeatedly with several punches.
While dodging the robots' attacks, Kurano Kiriha checked on the situation over there.
Seeing the giant clay doll madly hammering the ground like it had gone berserk, Kurano Kiriha looked stunned.
Kurano Kiriha [Is... is this really necessary?]
But the clay doll seemed to feel punching with fists wasn't satisfying enough. It switched tactics, raising its foot and slamming it down hard.
Boom!
[I see you're addicted to smashing now.]
The ground shook violently. The clay doll's foot suddenly exploded, its body instantly shattering into fragments that scattered across the ground.
Saiki landed calmly, not even a speck of dust on his clothes.
The robots gradually surrounded him.
"Truly a monster!"
Saiki looked at Shiromaru Chi, whose eyes were slowly filling with terror.
[You old bastard.]
Feeling Saiki's gaze, Shiromaru Chi ran even faster.
"Kill Kurano Kiriha quickly!"
As soon as Shiromaru Chi spoke, the robots that had been surrounding Saiki rushed toward Kurano Kiriha.
Kurano Kiriha: ?
Her two clay dolls were already tied up, and she herself was knocked to the ground.
The swarm of robots' gun barrels were now aimed at Kurano Kiriha.
As the robots fired, yellow lasers streaked toward her. Kurano Kiriha instinctively closed her eyes.
[Yare yare.]
A flash of red light passed. The surrounding robots instantly shattered into pieces.
Kurano Kiriha opened her eyes to see Saiki standing in front of her, blocking the way. Not a single robot around them remained intact.
"Th... thank you."
Kurano Kiriha looked at Saiki and thanked him.
After seeing Saiki instantly obliterate the troublesome robots, Karama and Korama returned to Kurano Kiriha's side.
"Sorry, big sis, we're too useless."
"We even let you get hurt."
Kurano Kiriha tried to stand, but sharp pain shot through her leg, preventing it. Still, she comforted them.
"It's fine. You already did your best. This wasn't something you could stop anyway."
But Karama and Korama lowered their heads in guilt.
"Hahaha, you're all going to die!"
Shiromaru Chi's voice rang out. By now he stood atop the large ship cabin, gripping the barrel of a ten-meter-long cannon aimed directly at Saiki and the others.
"This is bad."
Kurano Kiriha saw Shiromaru Chi had reached the top of the ship cabin. The cannon in his hand had to be the dangerous weapon Saiki mentioned.
"Shiromaru Chi, surrender now and come with me to see the clan head. He'll still show leniency."
Shiromaru Chi: "Looks like your brain's fried, Commander. The advantage is mine now, and you're still telling me to surrender?"
After mocking Kurano Kiriha, Shiromaru Chi smugly looked at Saiki, hoping to see panic in his eyes.
But Saiki remained expressionless, showing no emotion at all. This made Shiromaru Chi frown, feeling a twinge of displeasure, but he still taunted.
"You monster from the surface—see this? This is my latest superweapon, simply called the cannon."
[What a terribly ordinary name.]
"Once hit by this, no matter how strong your body is, the brainwaves and electromagnetic fields will destroy your brain. You're out of options. Feel despair!"
Shiromaru Chi lowered his head to activate the switch and input commands while continuing to mock. When he looked up again, he saw Saiki had already teleported right in front of him.
Shiromaru Chi Σ( ° △ °|||)︴: "Eh?"
"You..."
Saiki said nothing more. He delivered a massive slap right across Shiromaru Chi's face.
Do you know how much damage a big slap does to a middle-aged man?
Shiromaru Chi collapsed to the ground, twitching for a moment before forcing himself to look at the ground inches from his face, falling into deep thought.
Kurano Kiriha: "How did he do that?"
Just a second ago on the screen, Saiki had been hundreds—nearly a thousand—meters away from Shiromaru Chi. In an instant, he appeared in front of him and delivered that massive slap. The shocks and surprises Kurano Kiriha experienced today had already surpassed everything she had accumulated in her entire life.
Shiromaru Chi, in pain, forced himself to roll over, then half-crouched on the ground, glaring defiantly at Saiki.
"This doesn't count for anything."
[Hey, old man, blood's dripping from your mouth.]
Shiromaru Chi wiped his mouth with his hand. Sure enough, a smear of blood. Rage surged in his heart.
"Hahahaha, you monster—I absolutely cannot let you leave alive. You think you've won? You haven't."
[Old man, has your brain finally broken?]
Shiromaru Chi ignored Saiki's words and continued on his own.
"I've already planted massive Baka Baka explosives throughout this ship cabin and secret room. Once I activate them, none of us are getting out alive!"
[What a weird name.]
"What! Shiromaru Chi, you madman!"
Kurano Kiriha glared angrily at Shiromaru Chi.
Kurano Kiriha [If what he says is true, this so-called Baka Baka explosive is the deadliest bomb created by the underground people. If it really detonates, it will blow up this entire place—including Shiromaru Chi's own headquarters.]
(But that weird name doesn't match the power at all.)
Hearing Kurano Kiriha's explanation and agreement, Shiromaru Chi looked smugly at Saiki again and pulled a remote from his pocket.
"If I can bury you here, then my sacrifice will be worth it. For the people of the earth—you'll be buried here with me. Detonation commence—"
[I commence your head!]
Before Shiromaru Chi could finish, Saiki snatched the remote from his hand, crushed it in one grip, and followed up with another massive slap.
The immense force sent Shiromaru Chi's face smashing into Mother Earth once more in intimate contact.
Shiromaru Chi [This guy doesn't play by the rules at all. Shouldn't he wait for me to finish talking first?]
[Why are you blabbering so much?! If you want to detonate it, just do it! You think I won't move or stop you?]
As he spoke, Saiki stayed cautious. With one punch, he smashed the cannon in half, then tore it apart, followed by a palm strike that split the pieces into fragments, which he then shook into dust.
The entire sequence flowed smoothly like water. Shiromaru Chi watched in stunned amazement.
Saiki looked at Shiromaru Chi's shocked and incredulous expression and felt utterly refreshed. Then he rewarded him with yet another big slap.