"Defend yourselves!" Bang roared.
He immediately retreated while his palms moved in flowing arcs, creating layers of force that deflected the incoming venom.
Atomic Samurai's blade flashed continuously, forming an impenetrable web of sword light that sliced apart and vaporized the corrosive liquid before it could reach him.
Flashy Flash vanished in rapid bursts of speed, weaving through the venom rain without a single drop touching him.
Superalloy Darkshine simply stood his ground.
The venom splashed across his metallic skin with violent sizzling sounds, yet failed to break through his overwhelming durability.
The other heroes were far less fortunate.
Several heroes who failed to dodge in time screamed as the venom rapidly corroded both their armor and flesh.
Automated turrets and heavy artillery systems also began malfunctioning after being coated in venom, sparks and smoke erupting from their ruined machinery.
The heroes' momentum stalled instantly.
Gouketsu seized the opportunity to recover.
Roaring violently, he charged toward Superalloy Darkshine once more.
The two giants collided head-on like raging monsters, their fists crashing against each other with deafening force.
Meanwhile, Elder Centipede used the chaos to its advantage and began burrowing underground at high speed, desperately attempting to escape.
"Don't even think about it!" Tatsumaki snapped.
Her psychic power exploded outward as she grabbed Elder Centipede's tail with overwhelming force, trying to drag the massive creature back to the surface.
Elder Centipede struggled violently.
Its armored shell groaned under the pressure, cracks spreading across the tail section, but the monster still continued sinking deeper underground little by little.
Bang, Atomic Samurai, and Flashy Flash attempted to assist, but Gouketsu and the recovering monster army completely tied them down.
Ignoring the damage inflicted by Superalloy Darkshine, Gouketsu stubbornly blocked the three heroes from approaching Elder Centipede.
The battle fell into another deadlock.
Inside the command center, Sitch stared nervously at the screen.
"Drive Knight, is there any way to stop it from escaping underground?"
Drive Knight responded after several seconds of analysis.
"Unless Tatsumaki can fully restrain it, or another large scale burrowing unit intercepts it, stopping Elder Centipede will be difficult."
Sitch instinctively glanced toward Muzan standing silently in the corner.
However, after clenching his teeth, he chose not to ask for help again.
On the overpass of the western flank, Muzan observed the battlefield in silence, his crimson eyes completely unreadable.
Akaza stepped forward impatiently.
"Lord Muzan, are we still not moving?"
"Wait," Muzan replied indifferently. "This is not our mission."
At that moment, just as most of Elder Centipede's body disappeared underground and Tatsumaki's grip began slipping, a brilliant golden beam suddenly descended from the sky.
Boom!
The attack struck the exposed wound on Elder Centipede's tail with pinpoint accuracy.
The explosion tore the flesh apart and forced Elder Centipede's escape to halt.
It was Genos.
"Sensei, buy me a little time!" Genos shouted as the energy core in his mechanical arms began glowing intensely once again.
"Oh, sure."
Saitama casually punched away several monsters attempting to approach Genos before lazily standing in front of him.
Tatsumaki instantly seized the opening.
Her psychic power erupted again, combining with Genos's bombardment to forcibly drag a large section of Elder Centipede back out of the ground.
Atomic Samurai and Flashy Flash immediately broke away from Gouketsu and rushed toward the exposed body.
Sword strikes and precise thrusts targeted the previous wounds without mercy, rapidly worsening the damage.
At the same time, Bang fully occupied Gouketsu, leaving him no opportunity to interfere.
Superalloy Darkshine also continued pressing forward relentlessly, his massive fists slamming into Gouketsu again and again.
Under the heroes' combined assault, both Elder Centipede and Gouketsu were completely pushed onto the defensive.
They could only rely on their monstrous durability and regeneration to survive as signs of defeat gradually became obvious.
Elder Centipede's painful shrieks echoed throughout the battlefield.
Its massive body remained tightly restrained by Tatsumaki's psychic power, every struggle producing the unpleasant sound of cracking armor.
Gouketsu's condition was no better.
Fresh wounds continuously appeared across his body under the relentless attacks of Bang, Atomic Samurai, Flashy Flash, and Superalloy Darkshine.
Even with his powerful regeneration, he was slowly losing the ability to keep up.
"Lord Sol, what exactly are you waiting for?" Gouketsu growled through clenched teeth after taking another devastating punch from Superalloy Darkshine.
A dull cracking sound echoed from his chest.
His four eyes continuously scanned the battlefield, desperately searching for that familiar figure.
Elder Centipede also grew increasingly anxious.
Originally, it believed the appearance of the new Monster King would guarantee the destruction of the Hero Association.
Instead, the battle had turned into a nightmare.
Tatsumaki's psychic grip tightened around its body like invisible giant claws, crushing it little by little.
"Damn it... if this keeps going..." Elder Centipede twisted desperately, trying to burrow underground again.
But Tatsumaki's psychic power locked onto it completely.
Every movement only caused more cracks to spread across its shell.
Deep underground, countless split bodies of Black Sperm whispered among themselves inside the tunnels.
"Looks like things are getting rough up there~"
"Gouketsu and Elder Centipede are getting beaten pretty badly~"
"Why hasn't Master Sol given the order yet?"
"If we wait any longer, those two idiots might actually die~"
Black Sperm's main body lazily leaned against the tunnel wall while countless miniature faces displayed identical helpless expressions.
"Seriously, what exactly is Master Sol planning? Making us sit around down here."
Back on the surface, the monster army's morale had visibly collapsed.
After witnessing their leaders being overwhelmed, many lower level monsters started retreating in fear.
Some no longer dared to charge at the heroes at all.
"Hold the line! Nobody retreats!" Hellfire Flame roared.
Flames erupted around him as several fleeing monsters were instantly burned to ashes.
"Lord Sol has his reasons!"
Gale Wind manipulated violent currents of air to throw retreating monsters back toward the battlefield.
"Anyone who deserts dies."
Despite their efforts, the monster army continued losing ground under the heroes' relentless offensive.
Inside the command center, Sitch stared nervously at the monitors, cold sweat covering his forehead.
"Strange... why hasn't Sol appeared yet?" he muttered.
His fingers tapped anxiously against the control panel.
"Does he have another plan?"
While exchanging blows with Gouketsu, Bang spoke through the communicator in a heavy tone.
"Stay alert. That boy Sol is definitely watching from somewhere, waiting for the right opportunity."
Atomic Samurai slashed across Gouketsu's arm, sparks flying from the impact.
"Hmph, hiding and playing games. If he's got guts, he should come fight openly."
Flashy Flash moved around Gouketsu like a phantom, continuously targeting his joints and previous wounds with silent precision.
Superalloy Darkshine blocked another heavy punch head-on, the collision exploding with a thunderous boom.
"Whatever his plan is, we deal with the enemies in front of us first!"
On the overpass of the western flank, Muzan silently observed the battlefield without a trace of emotion.
Akaza stepped forward once more, unable to suppress himself any longer.
"Lord Muzan, Gouketsu and Elder Centipede are reaching their limits. Are we seriously not stepping in?"
Kokushibo's six eyes rotated slowly as his hand tightened around the hilt of his sword, his patience clearly wearing thin.
Muzan gently shook his head.
"Wait for the Ancestor's command."
___
Happy New Month