Chapter 116: Corrode Surname
Inside the underground command chamber, every pair of eyes remained fixed upon the enormous display. Since only a single King-Class Beast still retained its transmission, nobody dared look away, fearing that the connection would disappear at any moment just like the previous ones.
The beast itself had been specially selected for this mission. Unlike the others that relied upon overwhelming strength, this creature had evolved almost entirely toward concealment, patience, and survival.
It possessed dark scales capable of blending seamlessly into shadows, its breathing was nearly nonexistent, and its movements were so light that even dry leaves failed to rustle beneath its feet.
Throughout countless operations carried out by the Corrode Family, this beast had successfully infiltrated territories occupied by semi Emperor-Class creatures before escaping alive. If anything could observe the mysterious city without immediately dying, they believed it would be this one.
The beast silently crawled across the roof of a partially collapsed apartment building before lowering itself into the darkness between two structures.
Every movement displayed remarkable discipline, and its golden eyes remained locked upon the lone student wearing an ordinary school uniform.
The young man seemed completely unaware that a terrifying King-Class Beast had already positioned itself within striking distance.
Inside the command chamber, several officers quietly released relieved breaths.
"So far, it has not been discovered."
"The concealment remains perfect."
"It may finally reveal the truth behind this city."
The old patriarch remained expressionless.
His attention never left the screen.
Then...
The student unexpectedly stopped walking.
His head tilted slightly.
Instead of looking toward the hidden beast, his gaze shifted to the empty space beside him, almost as though another person stood there.
Every viewer instinctively frowned.
Before anyone could understand the strange behavior, the student calmly spoke.
"Wait."
His voice was relaxed.
"There is no need for you to deal with this one."
"Let me handle this one."
The command chamber became silent.
One commander immediately leaned forward.
"Who is he talking to?"
Nobody answered.
Then...
Something slowly entered the camera’s field of view.
At first, only the tip of an enormous crimson blade-like forelimb became visible.
Then another.
Moments later, the creature fully stepped out from behind the student.
An enormous mantis.
Its body possessed a dark crimson exoskeleton covered with intricate patterns resembling flowing veins of molten metal.
The sharp edges of its armor reflected faint crimson light, while countless smaller ridges layered across its limbs gave the impression that every part of its body had been refined solely for combat.
Its head no longer resembled that of an ordinary insect.
The elongated shape carried unmistakable draconic features, complete with fierce horn-like protrusions sweeping backward and eyes that glowed with cold intelligence rather than instinct. Folded behind its back rested enormous wings whose translucent membranes shimmered with faint crimson lines, as though spiritual energy constantly flowed through them.
Even while standing motionless beside the student, the creature radiated overwhelming pressure.
Several military researchers immediately recognized the danger.
"...That..."
One of them unconsciously swallowed.
"...isn’t recorded in any biological archive."
Another hurriedly compared its appearance against thousands of known mutations.
"No match."
"No partial match."
"No evolutionary branch corresponds to this organism."
The mantis lowered its head slightly toward the student, almost appearing to await instructions.
The student simply smiled.
"I said wait."
He casually bent down before picking up a small fragment of broken concrete from the roadside.
The action caused several commanders to exchange puzzled glances.
"...A stone?"
"What’s he planning to do with that?"
The student rolled the tiny fragment across his fingertips once before placing it against his thumb.
The hidden King-Class Beast finally sensed danger.
Its instincts exploded into alarm.
Without hesitating, it abandoned concealment entirely.
The creature spun around and fled at full speed, its body becoming nothing more than a dark blur racing between ruined buildings. Every ounce of strength it possessed was poured into escape. It no longer cared about completing its reconnaissance mission.
Survival became its only objective.
Inside the command chamber, several commanders immediately understood the beast’s intention.
"It has detected lethal danger."
"Increase image enhancement."
"Don’t lose visual contact."
The cameras struggled to keep pace as the beast leaped from rooftop to rooftop with astonishing speed. Entire streets vanished behind it in moments. Broken buildings blurred together as it desperately widened the distance.
Then...
The student flicked his thumb.
The tiny fragment disappeared.
There was no explosive sound.
No visible shockwave.
No dramatic flash of light.
The pebble simply vanished from the camera’s frame.
The fleeing beast continued running.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then its body suddenly jerked violently.
A tiny hole appeared through the center of its torso.
The fragment had pierced completely through its body before continuing into the distance, punching effortlessly through several reinforced concrete walls behind it without losing momentum.
The beast stumbled.
Yet it refused to collapse.
Driven by survival alone, it continued running.
Blood poured from the wound.
Its movements became increasingly unstable.
It smashed through abandoned storefronts.
It crashed into overturned vehicles.
It clawed desperately across cracked roads, refusing to stop.
The observers inside the command chamber watched in complete disbelief.
"Impossible..."
One researcher whispered.
"That was only a pebble."
Another slowly shook his head.
"A King-Class Beast may not specialize in defense, but its body is still incomparably tougher than armored steel."
The commander clenched both fists.
"...And it was pierced that easily."
The cameras faithfully followed the beast’s desperate escape.
Its breathing grew heavier.
Its speed steadily declined.
Every few dozen meters, it staggered before forcing itself onward again.
The wound refused to close.
The internal damage spread relentlessly.
The once-proud King-Class Beast continued fleeing through the ruined city while blood marked its path across the streets.
Eventually...
Its legs gave out.
The creature collapsed heavily onto the broken pavement.
It struggled to rise once.
Then a second time.
Its claws scraped helplessly against the ground.
Finally...
Its enormous body became still.
After a final, ragged breath, the King-Class Beast died where relentless pursuit and the seemingly insignificant projectile had ultimately brought its escape to an end.
Clayne calmly watched the enormous King-Class Beast breathe its last breath before slowly lowering the hand that had casually flicked the pebble. The ruined street gradually returned to silence, broken only by the distant cries of mutated creatures echoing somewhere beyond the abandoned buildings. Blood slowly spread beneath the fallen beast’s massive body, while fragments of shattered concrete rolled across the cracked pavement after the tremendous impact caused by its collapse. Standing beside him, the crimson mantis remained perfectly still, its draconic head quietly observing the surroundings as though waiting for another command from its master.
Clayne looked at the corpse for several moments before shaking his head in disappointment.
"Alright, this is still nowhere near enough. These creatures are getting stronger compared to the ones I fought earlier, but they still can’t force me to fight seriously. If this is all the outside world has to offer, then I still have a long way to go before I can accurately judge my own limits."
He slowly turned his head toward the crimson mantis standing faithfully beside him.
"You heard that too, didn’t you? This isn’t nearly enough. We still haven’t found an opponent capable of pushing either of us."
The crimson mantis released several low clicking sounds before slightly lowering its head.
Through the spiritual connection between master and beast, Clayne could clearly feel its agreement. The mantis also desired stronger prey. Ever since its evolution, every battle had ended too quickly. None of the creatures that appeared had managed to withstand more than a single exchange, leaving it equally dissatisfied.
Far away beneath the Corrode Family estate, the command chamber had become significantly quieter than before.
Every failed deployment only deepened the tension among those present. None of them had expected an ordinary-looking student to eliminate King-Class Beasts with such absurd ease, nor had they imagined that the mysterious crimson mantis rarely needed to intervene because its master seemed perfectly capable of dealing with every threat himself.
The old patriarch remained silent while studying the recorded footage over and over again.
One commander finally spoke.
"We cannot stop gathering information. Every minute we remain ignorant increases the danger this city poses to the family."
Another strategist nodded.
"The previous beasts failed because they eventually revealed themselves. If direct observation is impossible, then we shall continue using our finest stealth units. We need more recordings of that young man and the crimson creature accompanying him."
The old patriarch slowly inclined his head.
"Proceed."
Within minutes, another group of King-Class Beasts quietly departed the underground fortress.
Unlike the previous waves, every one of these beasts specialized almost exclusively in concealment. Some possessed skin capable of blending perfectly with surrounding environments, others could suppress every trace of their aura, while several evolved specifically for long-range reconnaissance. They spread apart after entering the city, approaching from entirely different directions so that even if one failed, the others might still gather valuable information.
Unfortunately...
Their calculations once again proved meaningless.
The first hidden beast silently crawled beneath a collapsed highway, believing itself completely invisible.
Clayne suddenly bent down.
Without even looking toward the creature, he casually picked up another pebble from the roadside.
His thumb flicked forward.
The pebble disappeared.
Hundreds of meters away, the concealed King-Class Beast suddenly froze before collapsing lifelessly, a tiny hole passing cleanly through its skull.
The second beast attempted to observe from the upper floors of a ruined office building.
Clayne merely glanced toward the distant structure before casually kicking a loose stone across the ground.
The stone ricocheted several times between broken walls before unexpectedly changing direction and piercing directly through the beast’s chest.
The third attempted to remain motionless beneath stagnant water.
The fourth hid within the shadow of an abandoned shopping mall.
The fifth buried itself beneath cracked asphalt.
The sixth disguised itself as a broken concrete statue.
One after another...
Without exception...
Every hidden King-Class Beast was discovered.
Every one of them died from nothing more than ordinary rocks and pebbles collected from the ruined streets.
No treasured weapon.
No profound martial technique.
No spiritual artifact.
Only fragments of stone that should have been completely harmless.
Inside the Corrode Family command chamber, countless recordings played simultaneously.
Every screen showed the same result.
A casual movement.
A flick of the thumb.
A flying pebble.
Another King-Class Beast collapsing.
Silence gradually spread throughout the underground hall.
Many commanders no longer knew what to say.
One elderly military advisor slowly removed his glasses before speaking in a solemn voice.
"...If those recordings are accurate, then the combat capability displayed by that young man has already surpassed what ordinary King-Class hunters should possess."
Another elder slowly nodded.
"Our family possesses many powerful warriors."
He paused before continuing.
"But among the younger generation..."
His voice became quieter.
"...none should be capable of such feats."
A veteran commander folded his arms while staring at the central display.
"Only our highest-ranking elders can dispatch King-Class Beasts with this level of ease."
Another family member slowly inhaled.
"In other words..."
He looked around the chamber.
"...that student’s combat ability has already reached the same general level as our family’s strongest active combatants."
Those words caused the atmosphere to change completely.
Several elders exchanged meaningful glances.
The young man was no longer merely someone worthy of observation.
He had become someone whose existence could potentially alter the balance of power.
One strategist spoke firmly.
"We must recruit him."
Another immediately agreed.
"If someone this talented remains unaffiliated, then every great force will eventually seek him."
A third elder added calmly, "Whether through negotiation or cooperation, we cannot allow another ancient family to discover him first."
The old patriarch remained silent, but he did not reject the suggestion.
At that exact moment, the final surviving recording device continued transmitting.
The image showed the student calmly walking toward the body of the last King-Class Beast he had defeated.
He stepped onto its enormous corpse without the slightest hesitation.
The crimson mantis quietly stood behind him.
The young man slowly folded his arms before speaking to himself, seemingly unaware that distant observers were still watching.
"With strength like this..."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"...I’m already far stronger than my little brother."
He looked toward the distant horizon.
"The so-called golden boy..."
His smile widened slightly.
"...Clay Corrode."
The command chamber instantly became silent.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
The young man continued speaking.
"Even if I returned to the Corrode Family today, I wouldn’t be easy to deal with anymore, even if the elders themselves decided to come after me."
The words echoed through the underground hall.
Every elder.
Every commander.
Every researcher.
Every member of the Corrode Family watching the transmission slowly widened their eyes in complete disbelief.
One elder unconsciously stood from his seat.
"...What?"
Another stared blankly at the frozen image.
"...He..."
The old patriarch’s pupils narrowed for the first time since the meeting began.
The command chamber fell into absolute silence.
Only one thought remained in everyone’s mind.
He’s... a member of the Corrode Family too?