A bloated, monstrously large figure appeared in everyone’s line of sight.
It was a giant, over three meters tall.
His body had completely lost its human form, becoming a constantly writhing mountain of flesh piled high with rotting meat, tumors, and pustules.
Its skin was a corpse-like grayish-green, covered in all sorts of unidentifiable, slimy mosses and fungi.
Countless fat, white maggots crawled in and out of the sores on its body, producing a skin-crawling RUSTLE.
Its left arm had been replaced by a thick, rust-spotted mining drill, its surface still stained with dark red blood and minced flesh.
In its right hand, it dragged a massive War Axe cobbled together from scrap mechanical parts.
The most nauseating part was its abdomen.
There, a massive, crater-like wound gaped open, its edges curling with putrid, granulated flesh.
Through the wound, one could even see its writhing, bacteria-infected innards and several fist-sized flies nesting within.
Step by step, it walked out of the mine tunnel.
With each step, it left behind a foul-smelling footprint on the ground—a mixture of pus, mucus, and maggots.
It raised its head, revealing a face just as bloated and rotten.
Its eyes were nothing but two black, gaping holes, yet everyone could feel a gaze full of venom, madness, and... joy scrutinizing them.
"Ghh... ghh..."
It opened its mouth, and a hoarse laugh like a broken bellows issued from its throat.
"Fresh... flesh... Fresh... souls..."
Its voice had a thick, unsettling quality.
"Emperor’s... little puppies... Why... have you come to disturb... our wondrous... rebirth?"
BOOM!
Before the words had even faded, Kro’s massive body moved.
His speed was completely at odds with his bloated frame.
Like a cannonball fired from a barrel, he crossed dozens of meters in an instant, appearing before Chu Lan, who was closest to him.
The giant War Axe, cobbled together from scrap iron, descended upon Chu Lan’s head with a terrifying power that seemed capable of cleaving the very earth!
CLANG—!
A deafening metallic crash echoed throughout the entire mine pit.
At the last possible moment, Chu Lan raised his Horse-Slaying Saber horizontally, barely managing to block Kro’s thunderous blow.
A terrifying force surged down the axe handle and flooded into his arms.
CRACK!
The ground beneath his feet instantly fractured. The immense force drove him, power armor and all, halfway into the ground.
The joints of his power armor groaned under the unbearable load, emitting a grating CREAK.
"Vitality Index... 14.5..."
Chu Lan’s voice, tinged with disbelief and gravity, came over the comms channel. "His strength is far beyond the data assessment!"
Kro cracked open his rotten mouth in a grin, his empty black sockets fixed on the pinned and helpless Chu Lan.
"Little guy... uses a saber... Good... very good..."
He laughed hoarsely and suddenly put more force into his arms.
BANG!
Chu Lan could no longer hold on. An irresistible force blasted him away, sending both him and his saber flying.
His power armor tumbled across the ground for over ten meters before slamming into a massive rock. A clear dent had appeared on his chest plate.
One blow. Just one blow, and Chu Lan, widely recognized as the second strongest in the class, had been crushed in a direct confrontation!
"Chu Lan!"
"Dammit!"
Shi Potian and two other students, the closest ones, roared and charged in to flank the creature.
"Courting death!"
Kro’s massive body spun around with an eerie agility.
The mining drill on his left arm whirred to life with a piercing, high-frequency sound. Like a viper striking from its den, it shot toward Shi Potian.
Shi Potian’s pupils contracted. He precisely struck the rapidly spinning drill with his Long Saber.
CLANG!
Sparks flew.
A powerful recoil traveled up the blade. The webbing of Shi Potian’s hand was instantly numbed by the shock, and he nearly lost his grip on the Long Saber.
But the mining drill only paused for a fraction of a second before continuing forward, even faster than before.
Shi Potian used all his strength to roll clumsily aside, barely dodging at the very instant the drill was about to pierce his chest plate.
At the same time, the other two students’ attacks landed on Kro’s bloated back.
SQUELCH! SQUELCH!
A War Sword and a Long Saber simultaneously bit into its rotten flesh.
However, the expected spray of blood did not occur.
Their weapons felt like they had struck a huge, tough piece of cowhide. They only sank a few inches deep before getting stuck.
A slick, cold sensation traveled up their blades, as if countless tiny insects were crawling up the steel toward their arms.
"The Garden’s... gift... is not something... your mortal steel... can harm."
Kro let out a low roar, and his obese body suddenly shuddered.
BANG!
A powerful force erupted from his back.
The two students grunted as if struck by a giant hammer. They spat blood as they were sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground. The alarms on their power armor instantly began to blare shrilly.
In the blink of an eye, three students were down: two seriously injured, one left in a sorry state.
The monster’s power was completely beyond their ability to handle.
"I’ll hold him off!"
Qian Duoduo roared, raised his giant shield, and charged forward again.
"All of you, attack from the sides! Concentrate fire on his head and limbs!"
THUD!
Qian Duoduo’s tower shield slammed solidly into Kro.
This time, Kro’s massive body only swayed slightly before steadying itself.
He lowered his head, his empty black sockets looking down at the short, stout man before him, who resembled a tin can.
"A shield... heh... Just like me, back in the day..."
He reached out a huge, fan-like hand and grabbed the edge of the tower shield.
CR... CRACK!
To everyone’s horror, the giant tower shield—forged from high-strength alloy and reinforced with an Energy Field—was being torn, crumpled, and twisted in his hand as if it were made of paper!
"No... Impossible!"
Qian Duoduo was horrified beyond belief.
"Nothing... is impossible..."
Kro’s voice suddenly grew clearer, no longer so hoarse and thick.
"When you’re stuffed into a cold mining Mecha, day after day, year after year, digging these damn rocks that never end... you learn just how... fragile the Empire’s steel really is..."
BOOM!
He threw a punch, smashing the deformed shield—and Qian Duoduo behind it—and sending them both flying.
Qian Duoduo’s body traced an arc through the air, fragments of his power armor scattering in all directions.
"Qian Duoduo!"
Qin Feng and Shi Potian cried out in alarm at the same time.