The job change is a bizarre and calamity; the nation begs me to tone it down.

After saying this, Gu Xu stood up straight.

He looked down at Yamamoto Furukawa one last time.

Then--

boom!

One kick!

The kick landed squarely on Yamamoto Furukawa's waist with such precision that it was breathtaking.

It's not the kind of ruthless force that aims to severely injure someone, but rather a very refined level of strength.

How should I put it? It's like seeing a stray dog ​​blocking your way on the street and kicking it away because it's in your way.

Yamamoto Furukawa's body flew out again.

This time, it didn't follow the arc of a home run, but rather a pathetic trajectory of rolling along the ground. It tumbled seven or eight times before finally collapsing face-up into a pile of rubble.

His gray hair was scattered all over the ground.

Her kimono was torn in several places. A long trail of blood stretched from the corner of her mouth.

Half of his face was swollen like a steamed bun.

If he walked the streets of Tokyo looking like that, the patrolling police would probably mistake him for a homeless person and take him home.

After kicking the person, Gu Xu didn't even glance at him.

He turned around.

Their gaze fell on Kanzaburo.

Kanzaburo froze.

This stiffness wasn't feigned.

It's that kind of stiffness you feel when you're a kid and get caught eating snacks in class by the teacher—your whole body freezes instantly, your mind goes blank, and your soul shrinks.

Gu Xu looked at him for about two seconds.

He didn't say anything.

I just glanced at it.

But that one glance is more effective than a thousand harsh words.

Because the meaning in that look was all too clear—

Next time you jump around, you'll be the same.

Kanzaburo felt his back was soaked with cold sweat.

He didn't even dare to blink, afraid that if he blinked, Gu Xu would appear in front of him and slap him too.

then.

Gu Xu's figure disappeared.

They arrived silently, just as they had.

There wasn't even a decent exit effect.

Kanzaburo stood there, maintaining that stiff posture for about ten seconds.

It wasn't until an eighth-tier saint behind him whispered, "Lord Kanzaburo, Lord Yamamoto, he..." that he stiffly turned his head as if someone had pressed play, looking in the direction where Yamamoto Furukawa had fallen.

His lips moved slightly, but he ultimately said nothing.

What are you saying?

"Are you alright, sir?" — Clearly not.

"Sir, should we chase after them?" — Chase them my foot!

"Sir, would you like to apply an ice pack?" — It would certainly be necessary.

Further afield, the people of the Cherry Blossom Country fell into a deathly silence that lasted for several seconds.

Lord Yamamoto... has he lost?

It wasn't a close call.

It wasn't a narrow defeat after a hard-fought battle.

It wasn't a close match; in the end, they were just one or two moves apart.

He was slapped across the face, stepped on, said a few words, and then kicked away again.

The whole process took less than twenty seconds.

The whole process was like an adult disciplining a disobedient child.

The only difference is that the "adult" is the young man from Sherlock Holmes who has recently become famous worldwide, while the "child" is a demigod from their Sakura Kingdom.

How impactful is this realization?

It's roughly equivalent to being told since childhood that "your dad is Superman," and then one day you witness the neighbor's kid pinning your dad to the ground and beating him up.

The feeling of that faith collapsing is indescribable.

The discussion on social media quickly went from boiling over to a strange silence.

That silence wasn't calm; it was a collective aphasia—everyone's mouth was open, but no one knew what to type.

……

When Gu Xu returned to the temporary base, Jiang Shu was the first to rush up to him.

Her eyes lit up, and she almost dropped the tablet from her hand as she jumped up in front of Gu Xu with a look of fervor.

"Sir!!!"

Her voice was so loud that it almost startled the soldier on duty nearby.

"You were so cool just now!!! That slap! That kick! And that last look at Kanzaburo! I saw it all with my senses heightened the whole time!"

Jiang Shu spoke twice as fast with excitement, gesturing wildly in the air like a fan who had just finished watching her idol's concert.

"From now on, if anyone says our Calamity Army has no prestige, I'll throw tonight's recording in their face! Demigods! We'll trample them underfoot! Do you know how crazy the military forums are right now? The servers are about to crash!"

Gu Xu glanced at her: "Is there a recording on your tablet?"

"No! But I have it in my mind! I can draw it for you right now!"

"...Then remember to make me look handsome when you draw me."

"Sir, you're already handsome!"

"Alright, alright, Chief of Staff, show some restraint."

Su Qiong walked over from behind, reached out and pulled Jiang Shu aside, then looked at Gu Xu.

Her expression was completely different from Jiang Shu's.

There was no excitement, no worship, only a complex, indescribable solemnity.

"This has blown up."

Su Qiong's voice was very low.

"He slapped the demigod of the Sakura Kingdom away, spoke to him while stepping on his face, and then kicked him at the end."

"This involves diplomatic pressure, and the military will definitely have a headache."

Do you know what you just did?

Gu Xu put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"I know."

"Then why don't you—"

"Sister Qiong."

Gu Xu interrupted her, his voice suddenly changing.

It wasn't his usual nonchalant tone, nor the coldness he displayed during battle.

Rather, it is a rare and earnest tranquility.

"Last time."

He said.

Su Qiong was stunned for a moment.

"During the East China Sea attack, you almost died on the battlefield."

Su Qiong's expression changed slightly.

Gu Xu turned around, looked at her, and smiled.

The smile was faint, but genuine.

"Consider this slap as revenge for you. I won't say anything more; you know what I mean."

Su Qiong opened her mouth.

What was she trying to say?

Do you want to say, "Don't use me as an excuse"?

Or are you trying to say, "I don't need you to stand up for me"?

Or you might think, "Can you stop explaining why you did it all?"

But in the end, she said nothing.

He simply turned his head away, his gaze drifting elsewhere.

The corners of his mouth curved slightly.

Jiang Shu, who was next to her, was holding a tablet. Her eyes rolled around a couple of times, and she muttered "tsk tsk tsk" under her breath.

Then Su Qiong glared at him and sent him flying.

Gu Xu didn't say anything more.

He turned around and gazed at the distant horizon.

The ghostly image of the giant worm still hung in mid-air. Dark red ripples continued to spread in concentric circles.

Countless ghostly faces floated in the red mist, still grinning.

It's time to get down to business.

Gu Xu took a deep breath.

Bring your index and middle fingers together.

pat-

The realm of calamity, full power activated.

This time was different from before. When he crushed the Kyoto Great Barrier before, his Domain of Calamity only "expanded," like opening an umbrella.

This time it was a "crushing defeat".

The moment the pitch-black mist exploded beneath his feet, it didn't spread slowly in all directions, but instead surged into the sky like a tsunami.

It possesses a tyrannical power that makes heaven and earth tremble.

They headed straight for the phantom of the giant worm.

The moment the black mist of the Calamity Domain came into contact with that dark red ripple, a strange change occurred.