The Deep Sea King believed that defeating humanity would be effortless.
Yet the humans' brutal counterattacks—and the mounting deaths among his Deep Sea soldiers—made him realize that their resistance was, in fact, troublesome.
At the very least, self-proclaimed "heroes" kept popping up one after another, daring to stand in his way.
Now, staring at the human dressed in a spider suit before him, veins bulged across the Deep Sea King's forehead.
"Oh? Are you here to perform acrobatics for me, little spider?"
"Hey, you overgrown fish, listen up! I'm Spider-Man! You've trashed New York into a complete mess, and today I'm going to tie you up in all sorts of poses so everyone can admire how embarrassingly pathetic you look—"
"So noisy."
The Deep Sea King scratched his ear as he watched Spider-Man ramble on without pause.
Was this guy a chatterbox? He'd already been talking for three full minutes without stopping.
But the Deep Sea King had waited long enough. He had no intention of listening to this meaningless chatter any longer.
He licked the corner of his mouth. His shark-like teeth gleamed, and the predatory look in his eyes sent chills down the spine.
"A bit skinny, but you look like a fine piece of meat. Top quality."
"Whoa, whoa! What's with that look? You're not thinking of eating me, are you? I'm telling you, too much meat is bad for your health—you should really eat more vegetables—"
"Try being a little more serious."
The Deep Sea King's figure vanished from where he stood. A fist packed with explosive power hurtled straight toward Spider-Man's face.
Every hair on Spider-Man's body stood on end. Like a real spider sensing vibrations in the air, he could feel everything around him.
That punch carried the force of over a thousand tons. If it connected head-on, it could easily level a skyscraper.
Even with Spider-Man's enhanced physique, taking such a blow directly would instantly knock him out of the fight.
His spider-sense reacted before his brain could. His body moved instinctively, dodging the attack by the narrowest margin.
He immediately pulled back, widening the distance between them. If he stayed too close, he might not be able to react in time to the next strike.
"Danger! Danger! That almost hit me!" Spider-Man muttered, shaken. "The pressure coming off this guy is terrifying."
Even the shockwave from the punch brushing past him had felt like a brush with death.
This enemy was on an entirely different level from anyone he had ever faced before.
At the peak of Demon-level disaster, the Deep Sea King possessed enough raw power to destroy the entire city of New York by himself.
"Exhilarating," the Deep Sea King said.
"What exactly are you?!" Spider-Man snapped back, focusing with absolute intensity. Losing concentration in a fight like this meant instant death.
The creature before him had strength measured in thousands of tons, speed reaching the speed of sound, and a monstrous body built for punishment.
By comparison, Spider-Man's strength was only around thirty tons. His speed might be comparable, but in terms of durability, they weren't even in the same league.
This monster could withstand hundreds of Spider-Man's attacks.
If Spider-Man got hit once, it was game over.
"I am the Deep Sea King—the sovereign of the Deep Sea race, ruler of the ocean's depths!"
"All things in this world shall fall under my dominion."
"Will you… resist me as well?"
He bared his razor-sharp teeth, his expression savage.
Once, three regiments of modern armed forces had attempted to oppose him. They were slaughtered without the slightest suspense.
A battle of that scale hadn't even qualified as a warm-up for him.
If this little spider was willing to surrender, the Deep Sea King wouldn't mind granting him a position. After all, he had decent strength and could be useful in conquering the surface world.
But if he refused to recognize his place…
Then death would be his only gift.
"Hah! Your bunch of small-fry troops think they can rule the surface? Let me tell you something—according to the Hero Association's evaluation, you're nothing more than a Demon-level threat! You should've just stayed peacefully at the bottom of the sea, you pitiful fish—"
"I see… Then you may die."
"That's my line! I was going to spare you, but now you've lost your chance. Get ready to be caught and grilled into seafood!"
Boom!
The Deep Sea King surged forward again, delivering another murderous punch.
Relying on his spider-sense, Spider-Man twisted through the air and narrowly evaded it.
"Fishhead, I can read every move you make. You're way too slow!"
"What did you just say?"
The Deep Sea King's tongue suddenly transformed into a horrifying moray eel and shot toward Spider-Man mid-air.
If it caught him, escaping would be nearly impossible.
In an instant, Spider-Man fired a strand of incredibly tough webbing onto a nearby wall, forcefully changing direction mid-flight and barely dodging the sudden attack.
"Ugh, that's disgusting."
Clinging to the wall like a spider, Spider-Man stared at the writhing moray eel inside the Deep Sea King's mouth, his face full of revulsion.
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