"Do it," Sol commanded through the mental link.
"Understood~"
Deep beneath the battlefield, Black Sperm's countless tiny heads twisted into sinister grins.
Far underground, endless black masses surged through tunnels like a living flood. The split bodies moved silently through pipes, cracks, and maintenance shafts, rapidly infiltrating the underground structure beneath the Hero Association headquarters.
"Hehehe~ Time to give them a little surprise from below~"
"Let's tear the whole place apart~"
"Lord Sol really knows how to make things fun~"
The front line of the swarm soon reached the heavily reinforced underground foundation.
Thick concrete walls.
Alloy support layers.
Dozens of hidden sensors embedded within the structure.
The moment several tiny Black Sperm clones stretched out their tentacles to dissolve the first layer of security systems...
Buzz!
A piercing alarm suddenly echoed through the entire underground network.
At the same instant, glowing blue-white patterns lit up across the tunnel walls and surrounding rock layers, forming multiple high-density energy barriers that instantly blocked every route forward.
The temperature in the tunnels spiked violently.
Several Black Sperm clones at the front evaporated instantly.
"Oh crap! It's a trap!"
Countless voices shouted at once.
Black Sperm's main body froze briefly before rapidly retracting part of the swarm.
"They actually predicted an underground attack?"
More energy barriers activated deeper within the tunnels, completely sealing off every path leading toward the command center.
Then the walls themselves opened.
Dozens of hidden laser cannons emerged.
High-energy beams instantly rained down on the clustered black mass.
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
Entire sections of Black Sperm's clones vanished under the barrage.
"So annoying!" Black Sperm complained while splitting bodies scattered in every direction, desperately searching for blind spots.
Unfortunately for him, Drive Knight's defense system had been designed with almost no weaknesses.
On the battlefield above, Drive Knight's mechanical eye flickered.
"The underground infiltration force has been intercepted. Their advance is currently halted."
Inside the command center, Sitch immediately straightened up.
"Excellent!" he said with visible relief. "Keep suppressing them. Do not let them breach the underground defenses!"
But before anyone could relax, the situation on the battlefield changed instantly.
Gouketsu suddenly let out a thunderous roar.
The wounds covering his body began healing at visible speed while a far more violent aura exploded from him.
His four eyes turned blood red.
"The ten minutes are over!" he roared. "Lord Sol has finally given permission!"
Boom!
He abandoned defense entirely and launched himself at Bang and Superalloy Darkshine like a berserk monster.
Bang's expression sharpened as he immediately used Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist to redirect the incoming attack.
Normally, he could neutralize Gouketsu's strength without issue.
This time was different.
Gouketsu's power and speed had increased drastically.
The pressure behind his punch shattered the ground before the attack even landed.
Bang managed to deflect the strike, but the resulting shockwave still forced him backward across the battlefield.
Superalloy Darkshine stepped forward with a low growl, his metallic skin gleaming under the destruction around him.
He met the punch head-on.
Boom!
The collision exploded like two meteors crashing together.
Even Darkshine staggered backward several steps, each footstep leaving massive cracks in the ground.
Atomic Samurai's eyes widened slightly.
"He got stronger?"
Without hesitation, he slashed toward Gouketsu's exposed flank.
But Gouketsu didn't dodge.
Instead, he swung his arm like a steel whip, forcing Atomic Samurai to retreat immediately.
Flashy Flash appeared behind Gouketsu almost instantly, his blade aiming directly for an old wound near the monster's spine.
Gouketsu twisted violently and slammed backward shoulder-first.
Crack!
Flashy Flash's blade pierced through Gouketsu's shoulder, but the monster ignored the damage completely and rammed into Flashy Flash hard enough to send him flying.
"This bastard's insane," Atomic Samurai muttered.
Gouketsu stood there breathing heavily, blood pouring from fresh wounds while regeneration rapidly repaired them.
Then he looked upward.
Straight at Tatsumaki.
"Elder Centipede!" he roared. "Move!"
The giant monster, which had seemed close to death moments ago, suddenly released a deafening roar from deep within its massive body.
Every wound across its armored shell burst open simultaneously.
Green venom and steam erupted outward in huge quantities.
Its countless eyes gleamed with savage ferocity as its enormous body visibly expanded.
Child Emperor's horrified voice echoed through the communication network.
"Oh no! It's overloading its core energy!"
"Tatsumaki, get back!"
Tatsumaki's eyes narrowed instantly.
Almost on instinct, she released most of her psychic restraints and immediately erected defensive barriers around herself and the nearby heroes.
RUMBLE!!!
But Elder Centipede didn't explode.
Instead, all that compressed energy transformed into a devastating burst of propulsion.
Its gigantic body drilled into the earth at terrifying speed.
At the same time, every gap in its armor sprayed enormous amounts of high-pressure venom across the battlefield, forcing the heroes backward.
The ground collapsed violently.
A massive crater opened as Elder Centipede disappeared underground.
At the exact same moment, Gouketsu stomped downward and vanished beneath the surface as well.
Hellfire Flame and Gale Wind immediately led the remaining monster forces into a reckless charge to cover their leaders' escape.
"Don't even think about running!" Tatsumaki snapped furiously.
Green psychic energy exploded around her as she reached toward the collapsing tunnel with a massive psychic hand.
She grabbed nothing except dirt and shattered stone.
"Let's chase them," Atomic Samurai said immediately.
"Wait."
Bang stopped him.
His expression was grim.
"We don't know what's waiting underground. Charging in blindly could be exactly what they want."
Superalloy Darkshine flexed his slightly numb arm.
"That final attack," he muttered, "his strength jumped way up."
Nearby, Flashy Flash landed silently, though one arm hung unnaturally from the collision earlier.
Across the battlefield, the remaining monster army scattered in every direction.
Several heroes instinctively prepared to pursue, but Bang immediately raised his voice.
"Secure the battlefield first!"
"Treat the wounded and reinforce defensive positions. Stay alert for another ambush."
Inside the command center, Sitch slammed his fist against the control panel after seeing Gouketsu and Elder Centipede escape.
"Damn it!"
Still, he quickly regained composure.
"Drive Knight, track their underground movements immediately."
"Tatsumaki and Metal Bat, eliminate the remaining monsters on the battlefield."
"Everyone else stays on high alert. We cannot allow a second attack."
Meanwhile, on the left flank, Muzan quietly watched the monsters retreat.
A faint glimmer appeared in his crimson eyes.
"The Ancestor's plan has moved to the next stage," he murmured.
Beside him, Akaza watched the battlefield with visible excitement.
"Lord Muzan... can we finally join in?"
"Continue waiting," Muzan replied indifferently.
High above the battlefield, Sol observed the entire retreat from the cooling tower.
Gouketsu and Elder Centipede had escaped successfully.
Black Sperm had been intercepted exactly as expected.
Everything remained within calculation.
His senses stretched across the battlefield, carefully analyzing every fluctuation in the air.
Then it happened.
The moment the heroes relaxed slightly after the monsters' retreat...
A faint ripple suddenly spread through space itself.
It was subtle.
Ancient.
Deep enough to make reality feel distorted for a split second.
Sol's crimson eyes sharpened instantly.
Finally.
It had appeared.