"It is close enough now. Let me see what the legendary strongest man on Earth is actually capable of."
"At least this time, I can collect some data on King." A mechanical voice rang out, it was the robot controlled by Metal Knight.
As the meteorite drew closer, the heroes of Z-City could already feel the heat wave hitting their faces, but no one panicked. Everyone was waiting for King to make his move.
Boom!
From atop a high building, Saitama shot up into the sky like a rocket, rushing toward the meteorite at incredible speed.
"Is that... Master?!"
Because Saitama was so fast, the other heroes didn't notice him at all. Only Genos managed to scan Saitama's figure.
Rumble!
Saitama's punch shattered the massive meteorite in the sky, and countless fragments scattered toward every corner of Z-City.
"Incredible, he actually shattered it!"
Bang stood on the rooftop, looking at the shattered meteorite in the sky with shock. He couldn't believe that King had actually managed to do it.
"To possess such power, and yet he is only ranked seventh? King truly hides his true strength."
The mech controlled by Metal Knight emitted a mechanical sound, then opened fire with full force at the falling meteorite, launching countless missiles.
Boom... Boom...
At this moment, the heroes in Z-City, who had been ready and waiting, also took action, shattering the falling meteorite fragments.
"King's really stealing the spotlight this time."
"Don't get distracted. Focus on clearing the fragments, or Z-City will still be doomed."
Genos watched the explosions constantly occurring in the sky, remaining silent.
"It must have been King who personally asked Master to take action. But that makes sense. Apart from Master, I'm afraid no one else could have resolved this crisis so easily."
"That is why I must give my all, desperately trying to get just a little closer to Master."
"Full firepower! Multiple Incineration Cannons!!!"
Boom... Boom...
Debris and stone fragments fell like raindrops. At this moment, all the heroes in the city were using every means at their disposal, shattering every piece of rubble that was even slightly large.
...
"Supervisor Jess, the meteorite has been shattered, and most of the remaining fragments have been cleared. Only the Ghost Town of Z-City suffered a certain degree of damage." Maria promptly reported the situation to Jess.
"As expected of King-san. This time, I can also apply to the higher-ups to re-evaluate his ranking."
"Supervisor Jess, a call from King-san!"
Jess was slightly stunned but immediately answered the phone.
"King-san, thank you for taking action to save Z-City from the doom of destruction. I express my gratitude on behalf of all the citizens. Furthermore, I will report to the association's upper management to raise your ranking."
"I am not the one who resolved the meteorite crisis this time."
King's words left Jess and the others stunned, they did not understand what he meant.
"King-san, I understand. The rankings of the other heroes will also be adjusted, the association has seen everyone's efforts."
Jess immediately understood that King did not want to take all the credit. For the sake of fairness within the association, and even more so, to ensure the contributions of other heroes were not buried—what a broad-minded person.
"This incident really has nothing to do with me. The meteorite was shattered by the C-Class hero, Saitama."
"C-Class Saitama?"
Beep! Beep!
Before Jess could react, the call from King had already ended.
"Supervisor Jess, what should we do now?"
Maria looked confused and puzzled.
Other heroes would be desperate to take all the credit for themselves, but King said it had nothing to do with him.
"Regardless, the resolution of this crisis is directly related to King-san's warning. As for the specific situation on the scene, we can verify it with the heroes who were assisting in Z-City at the time."
—
After conducting investigations and gathering evidence from various sources, the Hero Association discovered that the heroes present at the scene only saw the meteorite being shattered, but none of them noticed who had taken action. Everyone had subconsciously assumed it was King's doing.
At this moment, Genos's words drew the association's attention. He was absolutely certain he had seen Saitama shatter the meteorite with a single punch.
Jess pulled up Saitama's file and discovered that his physical fitness test scores during the entrance exam had broken all previous records.
Finally, after discussions among the association's high-level executives, the rankings of all the heroes who participated in the assistance were adjusted to varying degrees. As the greatest contributor, Saitama was adjusted from the 342nd place in C-Class to the 2nd place in C-Class.
As for King, it left the higher-ups in a bit of a dilemma. He had clearly stated that he was unrelated to the incident, and it was obvious that he didn't care about hero rankings at all. However, the association still deposited a large sum of money into his account.
At this moment, King tossed all that money to Saitama, lied that it was a reward from the association to him, and then left Z-City.
There were many heroes gathered here now. If he continued to slay monsters here and caused a huge commotion, his identity would be easily exposed. The only option now was to leave first and sneak back after things had calmed down.
—
"The air by the seaside is still great."
After several days of travel, King arrived in J-City. It was adjacent to the sea, and the fresh air hitting his face carried the scent of the ocean.
"Hmm? Why is there a smell of blood?"
"Ahhh! Help!"
Sharp cries for help rang out, and the crowd on the street looked at a towering figure in terror.
"A Demon-level monster?!"
King looked at the giant monster before him with a grave expression. It was the Messenger of the Seafolk, humanoid in appearance with a torso and four limbs, an octopus-like head, and wearing a lacy, ancient Greek-style white one-shoulder robe. Its combat power was astonishing, capable of reaching Demon-level.
"Hehehe. Weak humans, the Seafolk are the true kings!"
The Messenger of the Seafolk's tentacles flailed wildly, and the surrounding humans were grabbed by him and thrown into his gaping maw.
Boom!
A figure slammed into the face of the Messenger of the Seafolk, and its body instantly toppled backward, while the few humans who were about to be swallowed were rescued.
"So strong! Is that a hero?"
"Great! A hero has taken action! We are saved!"
Seeing King's skills, the crowd cheered instantly. However, before they could rejoice for long, several more massive figures leaped out from the sea.
"Alert! A group of monsters has been discovered in J-City! The current threat level is unknown! Please, nearby residents, head to the shelters immediately! The Hero Association will dispatch heroes to handle this right away!"
Piercing sirens rang throughout the city, and the surrounding crowd immediately panicked, scrambling to flee toward the shelters.