Champion

As for the demolition work, Zhou Hong had already handed it over to a professional; after all, Uncle Li was a true veteran craftsman.

Although he had retired and was living a carefree life, Zhou Hong felt that such idleness would only make a person soft, so he decided that giving Uncle Li something to occupy his time was the right thing to do.

On top of that, those alien layabouts had begun the work of remodeling in every sense of the word.

Meanwhile, Zhou Hong had begun his special training—or rather, theirs.

"What's wrong? Won't you come closer?" Zhou Hong took a small step forward, while Daigo slowly retreated.

"If you don't get close to me, you can't defeat me."

You make a very good point, Daigo thought, deciding he should charge head-on; with a loud shout, he rushed toward Zhou Hong.

Zhou Hong's words were indeed very reasonable, Daigo thought, while lying flat on the ground and gasping for air, feeling absolutely miserable.

His standard straight punch had been caught by the wrist, followed by a side throw that forced him into intimate contact with the ground, and he still hadn't caught his breath.

His technique for taking a beating was rising in a straight line, and well, his technique for hammering others was also growing rapidly.

Daigo stood up cautiously, assuming a fighting stance, and slowly approached.

After closing to a relative distance, he suddenly accelerated, throwing a heavy punch from bottom to top.

However, the gap between them was far too vast; those swift movements were riddled with openings in Zhou Hong's eyes.

He easily bypassed the block of Daigo's left hand, grabbed him by the collar, and with his thick arm muscles instantly tensed, he lifted him up with one hand.

Under the gaze of Hibiki Gousuke, who wore an "I knew it would be like this" expression, Zhou Hong threw Daigo away.

The fluid force allowed Daigo to roll a few times on the ground before standing up unscathed, if one didn't count the fact that he was a bit dizzy.

Zhou Hong did not pause; his footsteps shifted, tapping the ground with exceptional lightness, and in a few strides, he reached Daigo.

As his right hand grabbed downward, Daigo, with zero grace, rolled rapidly on the ground and kicked toward Zhou Hong.

Joneus often encountered such situations; every time he knocked down an enemy, they would always do this, so he had taught Zhou Hong how to deal with it.

Brute force.

The muscles in Zhou Hong's legs tensed violently, and he kicked directly at Daigo's foot.

The "slap" of flesh colliding—a straight kick meeting a side kick—sounded like a face-slap, and Daigo slid away across the ground.

The impact of his back against the wall looked painful, though the wall had protective padding, even if the sound was a bit bone-chilling.

The others who were training felt their hair stand on end, unable to help but worry for Daigo.

"Captain, is Daigo-senpai really going to be alright?" Yumimura Ryo asked Hibiki Gousuke beside her with some concern.

To be honest, Hibiki Gousuke was also a bit worried; given the physical disparity between Daigo and Zhou Hong, he had been concerned from the moment the sparring began.

"It should be fine, right?"

"Hey, Captain, that was a question," Koda Toshiyuki retorted.

Hibiki Gousuke pursed his lips, "This was Daigo-senpai's own request; a real man doesn't back down."

Daigo climbed up once again, crouching slightly with one foot perpendicular to the ground, hands held by his cheeks, the determination in his eyes unchanged.

His fighting spirit remained unextinguished; the slight fatigue and chill in his body did nothing to dampen his enthusiasm.

Just as Zhou Hong was preparing to organize the next wave of attacks, the communicator at Daigo's side rang, causing him to halt his assault.

Daigo ran over nimbly to answer the call, "Daigo here."

"The monster carcass in Qinggang County needs to be hoisted. To prevent any accidents, we need you to pilot Guts Wing 2," Megumi Iruma relayed the order quickly.

Monsters could not be understood by conventional logic, so they needed ace pilot Shinjoh on standby to guard against the monster, and for Rena's hoisting operation, they needed Daigo to pilot.

"Understood."

Constant beatings over these past few days had taught Daigo how to minimize the damage he took, and he stood up in a few quick motions.

"By the way, may I ask if our mythology consultant has any information regarding this monster?" The PDI's voice was exceptionally loud.

I didn't know what you were talking about before, but now I understand.

"That monster is not a mere carcass. According to ancient legends, it is an immortal monster that crawled out of the underworld of the Yellow Springs. Its name has been lost to history in the documents," Zhou Hong said with a straight face, spouting nonsense.

There were no myths or legends about this monster at all.

After hearing Zhou Hong's words, Megumi Iruma, who was already somewhat worried, felt her pupils constrict, "It seems my intuition was quite accurate; I have had a lingering sense of unease all along."

Megumi Iruma felt that she should believe Zhou Hong's words.

"Rena, cancel the hoisting plan and re-equip Guts Wing 2 with weapons," Megumi Iruma said, turning to Rena at her side.

"Understood." Rena immediately stood up and headed toward the hangar; the modifications to Guts Wing 2 had just begun, so calling it off now was still in time.

Munakata suddenly thought, "If it is called immortal in ancient times, would modern freezing shells and high-intensity incendiary shells be effective?"

Megumi Iruma thought that made sense and had Yazumi immediately notify logistics to increase the supply of incendiary and freezing ammunition.

Generally speaking, if something was immune to physical attacks, its magical resistance couldn't be too high, though it was clear this monster would exceed Munakata's expectations.

Zhou Hong would not offer a reminder, nor would he go to the scene himself.

That monster was simply too much of a trial for anyone.

A stench so foul that even the GUTS helmets could not filter it out, a body that resembled rotting flesh, and a physique that would likely make one die of disgust before ever managing to kill the monster with a single punch.

His body resisted it on an instinctual level; he would rather be subjected to a tag-team beating from Joneus and Nexus than face this monster.

It was better to leave this arduous task to Daigo.

"Daigo, return to the command room first to report, and head to Qinggang County immediately after the Guts Wing 2 modifications are complete."

Daigo had no idea what lay ahead for him, his voice sounding exceptionally resolute, "Understood."

Under the gaze of Zhou Hong, who was looking at him as if he were a Champion, Daigo hurried out of the training room.

Zhou Hong's uncharacteristic behavior caused Hibiki Gousuke to approach him, asking with some curiosity, "Ah Hong, is there a problem with that monster?"

"A huge problem. You've seen the news reports, haven't you?"

"The local residents are strongly demanding the fastest possible elimination of the monster; that thing has an unbearable stench."

"Rotting flesh soaked in seawater—it's like taking a dirty sock fished out of a sewer, tossing it into a rice cooker, and adding a can of surströmming to the mix. It's a special test for both the eyes and the nose."

The exaggerated description was enough for everyone to understand just how disgusting this monster was.

"Then Daigo-senpai really has it tough."