Muheer casually waved a hand to disperse the nearby dust, frowning slightly.
"What is it doing?"
"Warming up before the fight?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a series of thunderous rumbles grew louder, approaching from...
The entrance behind them!
Beyond's lips twitched as he turned his gaze toward the passage they had come from, his expression grave.
"It's not warming up!"
"It's calling for reinforcements! By now, all the stone giants are probably rushing here!"
"Those are footsteps—our enemies are multiplying by the second."
It hadn't attacked immediately because it was waiting for its kin to arrive?
Even in its rage, it had retained a degree of calm—and caution.
Ging crossed his arms, glancing sideways at Jin as he silently pondered.
The thunderous footsteps grew increasingly violent. Before the dust in the cavern could even settle, the first wave of enemies had already arrived.
And they were none other than the strongest stone giants aside from Jin!
The sight of those glints of gold in the distance made many hearts sink.
Clearly, those were Golden Giants—though not as powerful as their leader, their strength was nothing to scoff at.
Muheer hadn't been wrong.
As the highest-ranking members of their race, the Golden Giants lived nearby.
Being the strongest, they had naturally outpaced the others to arrive first.
Three of them, by the looks of it.
Feeling the tremors beneath his feet, Jin's lips curled into a cruel smile.
He knew his kin were coming!
There was only one outcome to this battle.
Victory!
Even as the thought crossed his mind, Jin didn't stop moving.
With a single stomp, the already fractured ground shattered completely.
His massive golden foot sank into the rock, splitting it into fragments as plumes of dust erupted skyward!
In that instant, the aura he had been building surged to its peak, radiating sheer, tyrannical dominance.
Like a bloodthirsty beast, he seemed ready to tear everything before him to shreds!
Amid the dim lighting, his silhouette stood out starkly—a devil emerging from hell, exuding an overwhelming presence.
The recoil from his stomp only amplified his speed.
In the blink of an eye, Jin became a golden streak of light, his target unmistakable—Akira atop Steelix!
In his eyes, Akira was the leader of these creatures, the one who needed to be dealt with first.
As for the rest? His kin would handle them easily.
*****
In another chamber nearby,
The little diamonds were still hard at work when an unusual series of tremors shook the cavern.
The vibrations rattled the walls—even the transformed diamonds trembled.
Fortunately, the little diamonds floated in midair, so they remained largely unaffected.Among them, only a few understood the full picture.
The silver giant wielding vine whips paled dramatically, immediately wanting to charge toward the cavern where Jin was located.
But then it reconsidered—the matters here were more critical.
Moreover, the leader had given strict orders: this place must not be compromised under any circumstances.
Otherwise, death would be its only fate!
After hesitating for a few breaths, the silver giant retracted its step, deciding to continue guarding this place.
Meanwhile, the diamond sentinels also sensed something amiss.
They subtly glanced at the silver giant, taking in its movements and shifting expressions.
Not being of the stone giant race, they couldn't comprehend the meaning behind the earlier disturbance.
But they knew one thing for certain.
The stone giants must be in danger!
An enemy had likely invaded the underground!
The three diamond sentinels exchanged glances, confirming their shared understanding with a nod.
This might be their chance—an opportunity to break free from years of enslavement and escape!
*****
In an instant, time seemed to freeze.
Then came a deafening explosion!
"BOOM!!"
A tremendous force erupted from Jin's fist, his residual power surging through his entire body.
Jin's eyes widened in shock, his body trembling uncontrollably as he struggled to believe what he was seeing.
His attack had been intercepted mid-strike?
And… what kind of monster was this?!
Suddenly, grains of sand began rising from the ground, rapidly multiplying until they filled much of the crater Jin had created.
Then, fierce winds howled, whipping the sand into a violent frenzy, gradually forming a massive sandstorm!
At the eye of the storm, an enormous figure emerged before Jin.
Under the dim lighting, its body gleamed with a terrifying metallic sheen, towering like an iron fortress in deep green.
Its sharp, crimson eyes sent chills down the spine, radiating an overwhelming, domineering aura.
A massive, steel-like arm blocked Jin's full-powered strike with ease.
With a thunderous stomp, Tyranitar sent rubble flying and unleashed an earth-shaking roar!
"ROAR!!"
An even more oppressive force bore down on Jin, causing his shoulders to sag as dread settled in his heart.
This was bad!
How had such a terrifying creature appeared out of nowhere?
Outwardly, Jin remained composed, but inwardly, he was reeling.
He wasn't afraid of the monster before him—their auras were roughly matched, with Jin only slightly weaker.
With his hidden trump cards, Jin was confident he could defeat this foe.
But what truly frightened Jin was another possibility.
What if there were more of these monsters?
This one had appeared unpredictably, leaving Jin bewildered.
Yet he knew one thing for certain.
He had to prepare for the worst—what if more monsters emerged, or even something far more terrifying?
As these thoughts tangled in his mind, streaks of white light flashed across the battlefield one after another, accompanied by surges of formidable auras!