Chapter 68 - Ten Cockroaches’ First Battle

With a fierce command, Xu Tie sent his Heroic Iron Skins barreling towards Han Wu’s units. Their fists, the size of sandbags, shot out and smashed into the Cockroaches.

Xu Tie grinned, the image of the Cockroaches being pulverized into a fleshy paste vivid in his mind. Yet, the persistent sounds of metal colliding with flesh caused his smile to stiffen and then vanish entirely. He stared in shock as the Iron Skins’ powerful blows had absolutely no effect on the Cockroaches. Even the strongest of them, the Steel Skin Strongman, had barely left a mark.

“What’s going on? What kind of trick did you pull?” Xu Tie yelled accusingly, convinced Han Wu had cheated somehow. Han Wu simply smiled enigmatically and shook his head.

The Cockroaches then launched their counter-attack. They eerily mirrored the movements of the Iron Skins, lifting their razor-sharp insectoid claws and delivering swift, powerful punches.

Clang!

The sound was deafening, and the Iron Skins went flying backwards like ragdolls. When they finally got their feet under them, distinct fist-shaped imprints were visible on their iron hides. Only the Steel Skin Strongman had been quick enough to deflect its opponent’s fist.

Those Flesh Golems are terrifying!

The unexpected display of strength from the Cockroaches left Xu Tie and the other students in utter astonishment. They had never imagined that these units could surpass the durability and power of the Iron Skins! It was as if the Cockroaches had been specifically created for the sole purpose of destroying Iron Skins.

Han Wu innocently asked, “Do you still wish to continue?”

After all, within the span of a single clash, the Cockroaches had demonstrated their superior strength against the Iron Skin units.

Xu Tie was furious, not accepting for a second that his amazing Iron Skins were weaker than those Cockroaches. He still had one more trick up his sleeve.

“Don’t get all smug just because you got lucky in the first round! You have yet to witness the true strength of my Iron Skins!”

Xu Tie then ordered his Iron Skins to merge. They all swarmed the Steel Skin Strongman and started intertwining their arms and legs, creating this enormous, unbelievable being made entirely of Iron Skins.

The sight of ten heavily muscled Iron Skins intertwining their limbs in such a manner was rather unsettling, verging on indecent. Nevertheless, the power they amassed through this combination was massive. Their individual powers converged, elevating them to a level just shy of being categorized as a Lord life form.

The merged Iron Skins lunged forward with immense speed and delivered a powerful punch to the ten Cockroaches. The destructive energy of their blow had been amplified dramatically, appearing to be ten times greater than before.

The force of the combined Iron Skins’ attack proved too great, and the Cockroaches’ resilient dragon scales shattered upon impact. They were sent flying a full hundred meters away from the impact.

Xu Tie laughed, shaking his head. “You honestly think that little display is enough to get you into Imperial College? Well, let me show you what a real genius on the reserve list can actually do!”

Seeing his Cockroaches get blasted away like that, Han Wu had to admit the merged Iron Skins had considerable strength.

Its power level is likely on par with an Osteomancer’s bone giant form. But even so, isn’t he looking down on the ten Cockroaches too much?

Xu Tie was totally shocked to see those ten Cockroaches get back on their feet. Their injuries healed at an astonishing rate, and the shattered black dragon scales reformed themselves in the blink of an eye. Having fully regenerated, they spread their wings and flew directly towards the Iron Skin giant.

With a clumsy swipe, the Iron Skin managed to knock away one of the incoming Cockroaches, but the other nine successfully landed on it. They then opened their large maws, revealing sharp, rapidly rotating teeth, and bit down forcefully on the giant's metallic exterior.

Their sharp teeth rotated with incredible speed, tearing apart the Iron Skin’s flesh with the efficiency of a meat mincer. Even the remarkably durable, iron-like flesh of the Iron Skins was ground into small fragments and consumed by the Cockroaches as a source of energy.

In a last-ditch effort to survive, the Iron Skin began to seize the Cockroaches individually, trying to kill them through brute force. It threw them forcefully onto the ground, attempted to crush them underfoot, and even managed to rip some apart. However, the Cockroaches’ remarkable Hyper-regeneration rendered these efforts futile. They rapidly regenerated and relentlessly attacked the combined Iron Skins, intent on devouring it.

The combined Iron Skins held out for no longer than three minutes before one of them was eaten alive by the Cockroaches and died. The lifeless Iron Skin detached and fell away. With the loss of one member, the merged entity’s overall strength noticeably diminished.

The moment the Iron Skin fell, the Cockroaches swarmed over it and consumed it within mere seconds, leaving behind no remnants whatsoever. A powerful Heroic Iron Skin had been eliminated with remarkable ease.

Xu Tie and the other students were utterly stunned by the unexpected outcome of the battle. The others started thinking about how they’d even try to fight Han Wu’s Flesh Golems and quickly realized that they would be completely helpless! There was nothing they could do!

The chilling realization of their weakness compared to Han Wu caused them to break out in a cold sweat. As elite students from their respective high schools, they had carried a certain arrogance when they were chosen for the Imperial College reserve list. However, they now understood that they were utterly incapable of contending with Han Wu’s ten Cockroaches.

Xu Tie visibly crumbled under the pressure of seeing one of his cherished Iron Skin Strongmen perish. He had painstakingly cared for each of them, pouring a significant amount of time, effort, and resources into their development. He refused to let them die such a meaningless death, so he swiftly surrendered.

Han Wu instructed his Cockroaches to cease their attacks and return to the divine realm. When he emerged from the landing pod, the previously haughty students were now humbled; not one of them dared to label him a dubious transfer student or demand his departure from the class.

Han Wu’s power was unmistakably greater than that of most of his classmates. Qin Shuang, however, was even more astounded by his display, knowing that he had been deliberately holding back, and that he had even more powerful Heroic life forms he had chosen not to reveal.

Qin Shuang was just about to ask Han Wu what had happened to him when another individual entered the arena. The newcomer was a huge, muscular man wearing the unmistakable uniform of a full-fledged Imperial College student. He approached Han Wu and embraced him warmly.

His face beaming with delight, the newcomer, Xiang Meng, exclaimed, “Locust Plague, it truly is you! It seems my recommendation for you to enroll in Imperial College was indeed correct. You really managed to pass the entrance examination!”

“Brother Meng! You can just call me Han Wu,” Han Wu gasped, trying to pry himself out of Xiang Meng's crushing hug.

The other students were taken aback by Xiang Meng’s statement. Despite witnessing Han Wu’s victory over Xu Tie, they had still thought he had just used connections to get in, never considering that he might have enrolled through one of the official and legitimate channels.

They felt a pang of shame and guilt as they realized they’d been unnecessarily awful to someone innocent.

“I’m really sorry for jumping to conclusions about you.”

“Yeah, Han Wu... I’m really sorry.”

The first apologies came from two students, prompting the rest of the group to follow suit. Han Wu wasn’t the kind of guy to hold a grudge, so he just forgave them, since they hadn’t really done anything that bad in the first place.

Xiang Meng, understanding the situation from their apologetic demeanor, gave Han Wu’s shoulder a squeeze.

“Alright, listen,” he announced, “I’m Xiang Meng, a first-year here at Imperial College. Han Wu is under my protection now. If you even breathe in his direction with bad intentions, you’re picking a fight with me. Got it?”

The students nodded their heads, each silently swearing not to bother Han Wu again. Xiang Meng, appearing satisfied with their remorse, nodded in acknowledgment.

“Alright, come on,” he said to Han Wu, “follow me. I want you to meet two awesome friends of mine!”

Just like that, Xiang Meng grabbed Han Wu’s arm and dragged him along without even waiting for an answer. Han Wu quickly realized he was no match for Xiang Meng’s strength, so he just had to go along with it.