Ultraman: It turns out this is the easy mode.

The deafening roar of the collapsing rock wall had not yet subsided when the remaining two Flame Demon Warriors went berserk. The one with the broken knee dragged its severed limb as it charged forward, its left Flame Demon Claw sweeping across, the scorching air almost scorching Cui Ming's combat suit; the other roared as it charged toward Tiga, the glowing orb on its chest throbbing violently, clearly charging up its Hellfire Bullet.

In an instant, Cui Ming switched to an underarm firing stance, the butt of the rifle pressed firmly against his right shoulder, his left hand gripping the handguard and pushing it forward to counteract the recoil. Using the momentum of the Balrog warrior's charge, he rolled to the side, dodging its claws, while simultaneously aiming his gun at its forehead—where the orange glowing orb was flashing, as conspicuous as an exposed eye. "Bang!" The first shotgun shell blasted out, the pellets slamming into the glowing orb, the orange light instantly dimming. The Balrog warrior let out a piercing scream, staggering backward and crashing into the rock wall.

Before it could recover, Cui Ming had closed in to within ten meters, the optimal killing distance. He stepped forward with his left foot, leaning forward at a 45-degree angle to the aiming line, keeping the barrel horizontal, and then pulled the trigger, firing three rounds in quick succession. The shotgun shells created a deadly spread at close range. The first shot shattered the outer armor on the Flame Demon Warrior's forehead, the second shot pierced directly through the core of the luminous body, sending dark red energy fluid mixed with fragments flying out, and the third shot struck its nose, blasting its wailing face into a bloody mess.

"Roar—" The Balrog warrior swung its claws blindly, but couldn't even catch Cui Ming's shadow. Cui Ming seized the opportunity to circle behind it, pressed the muzzle of his gun against the gap in the back of its head, and fired two more shotgun shells. This time, the Balrog warrior's movements suddenly stopped, the glowing orb on its forehead went out completely, and its massive body crashed to the ground, smashing up shards of lava.

On the other side, Tiga Power Type was already locked in combat with another Flame Demon Warrior. Before the opponent could fire its Hellfire Bullet, Tiga lunged forward, locking its throat with his left arm and slamming his right fist into its luminous chest with tremendous force. With a muffled thud, sparks flew from the luminous body, and the Flame Demon Warrior doubled over in pain, only to be struck hard in the abdomen by Tiga's knee, instantly losing its balance.

Tiga pressed him against the scorching rock wall, grabbed the Flame Demon Warrior's left arm with his right hand, and forcefully twisted the red-glowing claw towards the joint. A crisp "crack" echoed through the cave, the sound of bones breaking mixed with screams.

Before the Flame Demon Warrior could struggle, Tiga's heavy punches rained down: first, two punches shattered its shoulder armor, then his right fist struck its face, smashing its mournful face armor to pieces, followed by a series of knee strikes to its vital chest, each impact accompanied by a splash of energy fluid.

The Balrog Warrior attempted to headbutt Tiga, but Tiga pressed his left hand against its forehead, clenched his right fist, and slammed it hard into its jaw. The force of the punch was enough to shatter rocks; the Balrog Warrior's neck twisted into a bizarre angle, and its body slumped limply to the ground. But Tiga didn't stop. He grabbed the Balrog Warrior's body, spun it halfway around, and then slammed it to the ground. Immediately afterward, he leaped up and stomped on its chest. With a muffled "plop," the Balrog Warrior's body was flattened, and the glowing orb on its chest extinguished completely, turning into a pool of dark red slime.

Cui Ming put away his shotgun, looked at the flashing color timer on Tiga's chest, and wiped the dust off his face. Tiga slowly straightened up, his powerful muscles gleaming coldly in the firelight, the remains of the Flame Demon Warrior still emitting smoke at his feet—this fierce battle had finally come to an end with absolute power.

The smoke of battle had not yet completely dissipated, and the lava cave still reeked of a mixture of burnt and sulfurous odors. Cui Ming and Tiga exchanged a glance, without further ado—years of fighting side by side had forged an unspoken understanding between them, and the next steps were self-evident.

Cui Ming strode into the depths of the cave, pulled several high-explosive directional bombs from his tactical backpack, and rapidly operated the control panel on the bombs. Tiga remained where he was, his powerful arms slightly tense as he warily scanned the surrounding rock walls—this was the "vigilance principle" Cui Ming repeatedly emphasized; even if the enemy had been defeated, vigilance could not be relaxed, for no one knew if hidden remnants or regeneration mechanisms might be triggered.

"Daigo, make sure to cover the lava layer at the top of the cave. Don't let the explosion cause a collapse that could affect the outside area," Cui Ming instructed into the communicator while securing the bomb. The detonation points he chose were extremely precise, all around the load-bearing pillars and energy network nodes surrounding the remains of the Flame Demon Warriors—these locations ensured that the explosive force covered all the enemy remains while preventing the entire cave from collapsing completely. This was a "precision blasting method" he had summarized from countless battles.

Tiga immediately understood, slowly walking to the center of the cave and raising his arms towards the lava wall at the top. A dazzling red light condensed from his palms, not an offensive beam of light, but an adjusted "energy shield"—a technique that Cui Ming had specially taught him, using powerful energy to construct localized protection, which could both buffer the impact of explosions and control the range of falling debris.

"Bomb set, ten seconds countdown." Cui Ming stepped back to Tiga's side and pressed the detonator. "10, 9, 8..."

The countdown numbers echoed in the communicator, and Cui Ming reminded again: "Remember, check the debris for any residual energy immediately after the explosion. Even if there is only a little red light, use light to completely remove it—the regenerative ability of extradimensional creatures is far beyond imagination. The 'split-type alien' we encountered last year split into three more because the debris was not completely destroyed."

"7, 6, 5..."

Tiga nodded, his gaze fixed intently on the remains of the Flame Demon Warrior on the ground. He always remembered Cui Ming's words: "Mercy towards the enemy is cruelty towards oneself and the people. Complete annihilation is the safest option."

"3, 2, 1!"

"boom!!!"

With a deafening roar, the directional bombs detonated simultaneously. A pale blue shockwave spread in a fan shape, precisely engulfing the remains of all the Flame Demon Warriors. The intense heat instantly reduced their dark purple armor and bodily fluids to ash. Protected by Tiga's energy shield, only a small amount of debris fell from the lava layer at the cave ceiling, preventing a large-scale collapse.

After the explosion, Tiga immediately switched to his composite form, conjuring "hand-shaped light arrows" in his hands and shooting them at the few remaining faint red lights on the ground. The beams struck the ground, instantly igniting pale blue flames and completely burning away the last trace of energy. Cui Ming, holding an energy detector, carefully scanned every inch of the area until the instrument displayed "no abnormal energy reaction," only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Well done." Cui Ming put away the detector and patted Tiga's calf—a unique way for the two of them to encourage each other. He looked at the color timer on Tiga's chest gradually returning to normal and was very satisfied: Daigo was always the most obedient kid, and he could always perfectly execute the tactics and precautions he was taught, which was why he was willing to teach him everything he knew.

Tiga nodded slightly, and the energy shield in his palm slowly dissipated. Inside the cave, the remains of the Flame Demon Warrior had completely vanished, leaving only a few charred marks, with no possibility of regeneration. Cui Ming looked up at the gradually brightening sky outside the cave and said into the communicator, "Return to base. Go back and let the Victory Team know we're safe."

Ultraman Tiga responded, his body gradually transforming into light and disappearing into the cave. (End of Chapter)