Chapter : 707

Gargantua did not fall over. The giant beast did not stumble. It did not even flinch. The monster stood perfectly still. The massive kinetic punch did zero damage. The rusted steel hide did not even have a single tiny dent.

Ares dropped his jaw. His bloodthirsty smile vanished instantly. His green eyes widened in pure, unfiltered shock. He had never hit something that hard without breaking it. His strongest attack was useless.

Ken sat on the floor. He pulled out another potato chip.

"He forgot to check the boss stats," Ken mumbled lazily. He slid his free hand deep into his pocket. "The boss definitely has maxed out physical defense. Punching a steel wall is a massive waste of stamina. Now the boss gets a free counter-attack. This is going to look very painful."

Gargantua slowly tilted its faceless head downward. It looked at the tiny human floating near its leg.

The Solurius Behemoth raised its massive right arm. The arm was as thick as a large tree trunk. Rusted metal spikes covered the forearm. Toxic green sludge dripped from the joints. The sludge sizzled when it hit the floor.

Gargantua did not use a magical spell. It did not charge up an energy blast. It simply swung its giant arm.

It swatted Ares Belmontia. It looked like a person swatting a tiny, annoying fly.

The speed of the giant arm was terrifying. The metal collided directly with Ares.

CRACK.

The impact was brutal. Ares took the hit perfectly on his side. His red kinetic aura shattered into a million tiny pieces. His tough combat armor cracked loudly. The sound of breaking metal echoed through the room.

Ares flew backward. The sheer force of the swat launched him through the air like a fired cannonball. He broke the sound barrier.

He crashed through a solid concrete wall. The concrete exploded into gray dust. He did not stop. He flew into the next room. He crashed through a second concrete wall. The wall crumbled instantly. He flew into a dark hallway. He finally slammed into a third reinforced wall.

The third wall cracked wildly. Spider-web fractures spread across the stone. Ares fell to the floor. He landed in a massive pile of rubble and broken pipes.

Ares did not get up. He lay perfectly still in the dirt. He coughed up a small amount of blood. His eyes rolled back. He was knocked out. His cracked armor smoked slightly. The strongest physical fighter in the entire empire was defeated in a single, effortless strike.

The entire underground laboratory went silent. The sirens continued to blare, but nobody spoke.

The Vanguard unit of the 4th Prince froze. The large, muscular men dropped their giant axes. They stared at the hole in the wall. They could not believe their invincible leader just got swatted away like a bug. terror filled their eyes.

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The 13th Unit stood in shock.

Naomi gripped the handles of her twin silver daggers. Her knuckles turned white. She breathed fast. Zinia opened her mouth in disbelief. Laxmi lost the bright orange spark of fire on her fingers. Sayma pushed her thick glasses up her nose with a shaking hand.

Princess Iris stared at the broken walls. She felt a cold chill run down her spine. Ares was strong. Ares could punch through solid rock. And the monster just swatted him away with zero effort. The power difference was astronomically vast.

Ken Eliot chewed his potato chip. He swallowed it slowly. He let out a loud, dramatic sigh.

"The Worf Effect," Ken analyzed casually to himself. He crossed his ankles. "This is a very famous television trope. The writers introduce a brand new villain. They want to show the audience how scary the new villain is. So, they make the new villain defeat the toughest character in the group with one hit. It establishes the threat level instantly. It is very effective storytelling. But it is very bad for the tough guy's ego."

Ken looked at the giant hole in the concrete wall. He shook his head.

"He is going to need a lot of healing potions when he wakes up," Ken noted lazily. "Or a very long nap. A nap cures almost everything."

Gargantua slowly turned its massive body. The rusted metal gears whined loudly. The toxic green sludge dripped onto the white tiles. The bright green core in its chest pulsed ominously. Thump. Thump. Thump.

The faceless monster faced the 13th Unit. It locked its attention onto the glowing white holy magic radiating from Princess Iris. The holy magic agitated the beast. The toxic radiation surged around the monster's body.

The real boss fight was officially starting. The 13th Unit was outmatched, but they had no choice. They had to fight for their lives.

---

Princess Iris did not run away. She did not panic.

She stood in front of her team. The violet-eyed royal raised her silver rapier high into the air. The glowing white shard of the Core of Luminus shined brilliantly. The holy light cut through the toxic green mist. She showed true, undeniable leadership.

"Stand your ground!" Princess Iris commanded smoothly. Her voice rang clear across the ruined laboratory. "Do not let fear control you! Form a defensive line! We have to step in and fight!"

The 13th Unit snapped out of their shock. They rallied behind their Princess. They readied their magic.

Laxmi jumped forward. The fire user wore bright orange pants. She grinned a fierce, determined grin. She punched her open palms together. Bright orange flames roared to life around her fists. The heat pushed the cold air away.

"I will melt this ugly pile of junk!" Laxmi shouted bravely. "Nobody swats a prince without answering to us!"

Laxmi pulled her arms back. She channeled a massive amount of fire mana. She threw a gigantic fireball directly at Gargantua.

The fireball sailed across the room. It glowed like a miniature sun. The intense heat left a scorched trail on the white floor tiles. It aimed perfectly for the monster's steel chest.

The fireball struck the beast.

But it did not explode. It did not create a massive blast of fire. It did not scorch the rusted metal.

The bright orange flames hit the glowing green radiation field surrounding Gargantua's body. The toxic sludge reacted instantly. The radioactive energy sizzled loudly. It acted like an anti-magic shield.

The toxic energy grabbed the fire magic. It ate the flames. It broke down the molecular structure of the spell in a fraction of a second. The bright fireball dissolved . It turned into a harmless puff of gray smoke. The smoke drifted away into the ceiling.

Laxmi gasped. She dropped her arms. Her golden eyes widened in confusion.

"My fire!" Laxmi yelled. She looked at her empty hands. "My fire just vanished! It did not even touch the armor! The green slime just ate it!"

Zinia stomped her tough combat boots onto the cracked floor. The strong earth mage crossed her muscular arms.

"Stand back, Laxmi!" Zinia ordered deeply. "Fire will not work. We need solid impact!"