"So this is the so-called battle suit..." Zombozo looked at Ben, who stood frozen with terror, and suddenly sneered. "Looking at you like this, I'm afraid you don't even have the courage to throw a single punch at me, do you?"
"Ben, it's up to you, resist for just these few minutes!"
Asher was positioned behind Ben. After encouraging him several times, he finally distanced himself from both Ben and Zombozo, creating space between them.
"It's okay, Ben. It's just a bald Mediterranean clown with a red nose, nothing to be afraid of!" Ben whispered to himself, trying desperately to comfort his own fear. But the moment he raised his head and saw Zombozo's pale, corpse-like face looming before him, horror flooded through him again!
He had to force down the emotion, willing himself not to be a coward.
"Huh? So you actually have some fight left in you after all?" Zombozo's eyes widened slowly. To be honest, he was running on fumes himself, fighting again would be extremely difficult in his current state.
Instead of attacking Ben directly, Zombozo pointed toward a cluster of hypnotized puppets standing nearby. He called out loudly to Ben, "Boy, look! Are any of your family members over there?"
"Gwen... Grandpa..."
Ben's eyes followed Zombozo's finger. At a single glance, he recognized the orange-haired girl and the tall, sturdy figure of Max among the crowd. He couldn't help crying out, his voice filled with worry.
Snap!
Zombozo's expression became satisfied. He snapped his fingers with theatrical flair. Gwen and Max shuffled forward from the crowd, weird smiles plastered across their faces. It was obvious that Ghostfreak's illusion had shown them mercy earlier, so much mercy that Zombozo's psychic control still held them firmly in its grip.
Seeing the two of them laughing mechanically, Ben felt uncontrollable fear rising in his chest. His body began gradually retreating backward.
Even though Asher shouted encouragement and comfort from behind him, Ben couldn't hear any of it. The world in his eyes contained only Zombozo's face, that horrifying, nightmare-inducing face that made his entire body freeze.
"The two of them will keep laughing like this until they die," Zombozo threatened directly, his voice dripping with malice. "If you're not obedient, you'll end up just like them! You'll lose your family!"
Zombozo began his psychological assault. He assumed Ben would become even more afraid of him.
But after hearing those words...
Ben's expression suddenly transformed, like someone waking from a terrible dream!
His anger exploded instantly. Looking at Zombozo standing before him, his sense of fear shattered piece by piece!
Instead, a single thought crystallized in his mind:
I'm going to beat up this ridiculous clown and save Grandpa and Gwen!!
"Now, immediately release your transformation and kneel on the ground, otherwise they'll become my servants forever!" Zombozo declared arrogantly, still immersed in his previous state of successfully intimidating Ben.
He never expected what happened next.
Ben's armored fist swung out instantly! The heavy punch, covered in super alloy plating, slammed directly into Zombozo's body with devastating force!
CRASH!
"You, you're not, " Zombozo clutched the bloodied horn ornament on his costume, staring at Ben in disbelief as the boy continued throwing punches.
"Right now, I just want to crush you! That's all!" Ben said decisively. He rushed toward Zombozo bravely, constantly attacking with both hands and feet, palm cannons and martial arts strikes combining in rapid succession!
This sudden assault made Zombozo fall into a completely passive state. He was utterly overwhelmed!
This idiot doesn't even understand how important Grandpa and Gwen are in our hearts. How dare he try to blackmail us with them? Asher sneered, looking at Zombozo dismissively.
Asher's encouragement had helped Ben wake up completely!
Ben had accumulated several previous combat experiences. Combined with Zombozo's already insufficient stamina, the clown was gradually becoming nothing more than a giant experience pack!
The biggest experience pack Ben had ever encountered!
During the battle, Ben's fighting skills steadily increased. He could defend against Zombozo's attacks, then immediately counter with a backhand strike!
Soon Zombozo was beaten bloody and battered. His body slammed into a shipping container with tremendous force, BANG!, making a deafening sound!
"Ben, after you beat him up, smash his clown instrument! That's the most crucial piece of equipment!" Asher reminded Ben loudly, afraid his cousin would forget the real objective.
"No, NO! You can't do that! It's my heart and soul, you can't destroy it!"
When the clown instrument was mentioned, Zombozo became even more agitated than before. He instantly grabbed one of the tubes connected to the machine and firmly attached it to his back, as if fusing himself with the device!
He was using his own body as a shield to protect the clown instrument!
"Weirdo. I'll try to be careful and just blow up the clown instrument, so you don't end up looking too ugly," Ben said. Despite some reluctance to harm Zombozo directly, his determination to fight for his family was stronger. He raised his armored palm and aimed it at the clown instrument behind Zombozo!
Flicker...
A light began glowing.
But...
It wasn't the palm cannon that was glowing.
It was the arc reactor energy on Ben's chest, flickering and dimming.
"Damn, that's bad! Ben's had his transformation active for too long today, several times in a row, so the reactor energy isn't enough!" Asher noticed the problem immediately, and his expression darkened.
"Ah..." Ben lowered his head to look at the darkening reactor. The armor on his body quickly faded away, the nanomachines retracting into the chest piece. His body gently landed on the ground, and he showed an embarrassed smile toward Zombozo.
"Ben, you've dragged out enough time. Now it's my turn with the Omnitrix transformation," Asher said calmly. He looked at his Omnitrix, and his expression brightened with a confident smile.
The fully charged Omnitrix glowed with vibrant green light!
Now there was no need to worry about what kind of storm Zombozo could make!
"NO! I won't let you have another chance to beat me! I'm going to absorb the power of all these joyful souls and make my body swell with strength!" Zombozo's eyes suddenly firmed with desperate resolve. Looking at the clown instrument and the captured souls behind him, he suddenly pressed a button with his finger!
BOOM!!
The clown instrument made a tremendous roar. The strange ghostly faces trapped inside were suddenly sucked into the tubes, compressed and squeezed through the conduits until they poured directly into Zombozo's body!
Every time a soul was injected, his body distended and swelled a little more. His expression grew increasingly ferocious, as if he was becoming stronger bit by bit!
Seeing this terrifying scene unfold, Ben quickly stepped backward until he stood behind Asher. This time, it was Asher's turn to protect him.
"Idiot. Do you really think I'll give you a chance to absorb all those souls?" Asher sneered confidently. While muttering to himself, he quickly turned the Omnitrix dial, scrolling past the Heatblast pattern.
"DING!"
"SIGN-IN OBJECT DETECTED: FULL-BODY CLOWN ZOMBOZO (DRAINED A LARGE QUANTITY OF HUMAN JOYFUL SOULS)!"
"THE HOST CHOOSES TO TRANSFORM INTO ALIEN HERO XLR8 TO COMPLETE THE SIGN-IN!"
The system's voice resounded in Asher's mind. It hadn't appeared for quite some time, and hearing it again felt slightly unfamiliar.
This time, it was actually an exclusive enhancement for XLR8!
Finally, it was the turn of the most handsome alien hero!
"Wait, system, what do you mean by 'full-body clown Zombozo'?" Asher recalled the specific wording of the sign-in prompt and noticed something unusual. After twisting the dial to XLR8's position, he consulted the system again.
"AS THE HOST'S STRENGTH INCREASES, THE SIGN-IN CONDITIONS WILL GRADUALLY BECOME STRICTER. THE HOST WILL ONLY MEET THE SIGN-IN CONDITIONS IF THE ENEMY FACED IS STRONG ENOUGH!"
Is there really such a setting?!
Asher was genuinely surprised!
No wonder when he first transformed into Heatblast, the transformation sign-in conditions were so lenient. But now they were becoming so harsh and demanding.
It turned out the system required enemies powerful enough to match his current level! The stronger the enemy, the more likely they would trigger a sign-in opportunity and bring him enhancement rewards.
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
☆☆☆
-> 50 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/AshenMoon
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you