Betrayal X Interceptor

"Shacuan, do we really have to do this?"

The giant spider- Chimeric Ant moved swiftly through the forest, but its movements would occasionally falter, as if it were somewhat reluctant.

The Chimeric Ant running at the front is one of the Division Leader among Chimera Ant, and also the one most like a human.

Apart from the scorpion tail at her rear, she seemed to be almost indistinguishable from a human.

"Hmph, what's there to be afraid of? The Queen might already be dead."

Another Army Leader was also following beside him, chuckled, seemingly unconcerned.

Hearing his companion's words, the spider- Chimeric Ant was still somewhat conflicted.

"From now on, don't call me 'the one who slaughtered everyone,' call me 'Queen!' Hahaha, I will become the new Queen and build my own empire!"

The Scorpion Woman running ahead laughed heartily, her ambition undisguised in her voice.

Besides the three Chimeric Ant, there were some other Chimera Ant around them.

Not all Chimera Ant were willing to defect with the Division Leader, especially when they were unsure whether the Queen was dead.

Although a certain organ of the Queen's body had been removed and she had lost her ability to reproduce, this latent effect was broken, and the first to be affected were naturally these Division Leader.

They are the ones with the strongest wild instincts, followed by the Army Leader.

Unless they witness the Queen's death firsthand, or confirm her inability to control the situation.

So even though she defected, she only took a portion of her team with her; the rest of the Chimera Ant remained in the forest and, as required by the mission, began their return to the nest.

However, this Shacuan who is now trying to become Queen doesn't care about any of that; she is very confident in her own abilities.

"Wait, there seems to be someone ahead!" a Chimeric Ant suddenly exclaimed.

As soon as these words were spoken, all the Chimeric Ant stopped instantly.

The Scorpion Woman at the forefront stopped, frowning as she warily surveyed the dark forest ahead.

Footsteps approached. One step at a time, steady and unhurried.

As they drew nearer, in the cool moonlight, all the Chimera Ant saw the approaching person—an ordinary-looking human.

"Oh, so you've come to deliver food."

The Chimeric Ant next to the spider chuckled, and then prepared to raise the pistol in its hand.

"Bang!"

The trigger was pulled.

The bullet was fired instantly.

However, the young man who approached simply tilted his head slightly, and the bullet was easily dodged.

"Judging from your appearance, you must be what are known as Chimeric Ant, right?"

The young blond man stood there like a statue, exuding an aura of composure and determination.

He stared intently at his opponent, his Shacuan.

"You're not an ordinary human, but I think you'll taste delicious." She had eaten Nen user before, and she could never forget that taste.

"Go! Take him down!" At her command, the surrounding Chimera Ant swarmed forward.

A variety of strange moves followed one after another.

Gowen remained unmoved when faced with the swarming Chimeric Ant.

"By order of my lord, I have come to take your lives." The voice was calm and collected, as if the enemies before him were nothing more than chickens and dogs.

"To fight against many is considered Courage."

A greatsword materialized and was firmly grasped by Gowen.

"To fight for humanity is Honor."

A pair of wristbands appeared on his hands, pressed tightly against his wrists, and a powerful burst of Nen Aura suddenly erupted from them.

"To obey the lord's command is considered Loyalty."

A blood-red Cape appeared behind him, fluttering even without wind.

Three pieces of equipment with different effects were stacked on him.

The first attack came from several strands of spider silk.

Having Cape with you might seem to restrict your movements, but it actually makes your body exceptionally flexible.

With a twist of his body, he easily avoided all the spider silk.

With a swift slash of his greatsword.

A semicircular, cold light gleamed.

All the spider silk was cut directly.

"Is it real spider silk, or not Nen Aura?"

The Courage Greatsword can cut through Nen Aura, but since the opponent's spider silk is a physical object, its special attack effect is negated.

But the greatsword's sharpness is undeniable.

However, this spider silk also possesses some kind of Nen ability, seemingly something like trapping or sticking.

However, this is meaningless, because the greatsword can sever the Nen Aura, and the sharp greatsword will easily cut through the sticky spider silk without being affected.

The fastest to pounce was a Chimeric Ant that looked like a Monkey.

It has several tails behind it, each with a sharp blade attached.

The tails lashed out like whips, while the Monkey itself landed on a nearby tree branch, taking advantage of the forest's complex environment to move freely.

"Too slow."

Gowen muttered something to himself, then swung his sword.

The Monkey that had just landed on the tree branch lunged forward, but before it could even unleash its tail attack, it was sliced in two by the sharp greatsword, its corpse crashing down.

Gowen then lowered his body and bent over backwards.

Even in this situation, he could still wield his greatsword.

A thrust upwards.

The strange Chimeric Ant, which lunged forward with half its body in its lunge, had its neck pierced instantly.

With Cape of his cloak, all the spilled blood was skillfully dispersed.

Gowen turned his body and kicked away another Chimeric Ant that was approaching, then slammed his free left fist down.

With the wrist guards providing added protection, the punch was incredibly powerful, instantly folding the opponent's body in half.

He turned around and kicked again.

He kicked the opponent's folded body like a ball.

It smashed another, slower but larger wild boar Chimeric Ant away.

With a horizontal slash of his greatsword, the dense Nen Bullet was instantly sliced apart by the sharp sword light.

After a dozen or so rounds, the surrounding Chimera Ant were all dead or wounded.

Only the spider Chimeric Ant that had been shooting webs from afar in an attempt to restrict Gowen's movements, and the leader of the Shacuan Queen, remained alive.

"What a bunch of useless trash."

The self-proclaimed Queen retorted without any politeness.

"But human, you'd better become my meal; I'll turn you into my new subordinate."

As she spoke, the scorpion tail behind her swayed incessantly.

"Shacuan lord, and then let me—"

Before the spider- Chimeric Ant could say anything, it was struck hard by the scorpion's tail, sending its entire body flying.

"Shut up, get out of here, and call me Queen Majesty!"

As she spoke, she began to walk towards Gowen. As the distance closed, her speed increased until she finally charged at Gowen.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

As she closed the distance, she kept punching with both fists, while the scorpion tail behind her tried to pierce Gowen's body at various tricky angles.

The main target in front of them was far stronger than those weak Chimeric Ant they had just encountered.

Gowen dodged left and right, occasionally raising his arm to block a punch, or gripping his sword tightly to precisely deflect the opponent's sharp tail needles.

The intense clanging of ping-pong balls echoed continuously through the forest in the dead of night.

As the battle intensified, Gowen's full strength began to be revealed.

Seizing the opportunity, he slashed down with his greatsword.

This attack forced her opponent to take a step back, but the sharpness of the sword exceeded her expectations.

Even the smallest detail resulted in a wound appearing immediately on the other person's cheek and neck.

Even though the wound was very small, just a break in the skin, it still bled.

Taking a few steps back, Shacuan stopped in place, stretched out his claws, looked at the blood on his face, and frowned.

The opponent is very strong.

She knew it from the beginning.

To become Division Leader and lead her troops in a defection to establish her own empire, she was more than just ambitious.

She ordered her men to swarm him, aiming to injure Gowen, even if it didn't weaken him, to gauge his fighting capabilities.

However, things didn't go as planned.

The enemy's strength seemed even greater than it appeared. The swarm of subordinates did nothing to the enemy; instead, they easily turned into a pile of corpses.

Fortunately, it wasn't entirely useless; at least it gave her a glimpse into Gowen's fighting style.

Moreover, now only she and her last subordinate remain.

Even with her focused concentration, the other person still managed to leave wounds on her body.

"Hehe----"

She forced a cold, mocking laugh from her throat.

"It seems this body is no match for yours. I'm going to tear you to pieces and devour you piece by piece!"

As he spoke, Shacuan's face contorted into a ferocious expression, and then, like a madman, he forcefully tore off his own tail.

As her tail was torn off, a teeth-grinding tearing sound rang out, and her skin began to swell violently as if it had been ripped apart, causing her entire body to grow rapidly larger.

She was originally the most human-like of the Chimeric Ant, but now she has become a pure monster.

It was over three meters tall and had a robust build, resembling an upright giant.

It has completely transformed into a monster.

"You made me look like this, are you ready to die? You damned human."

Her voice became extremely rough, her anger and bloodlust undisguised.

Gowen stared intently at the enemy before him.

Indeed, this is the true strength the enemy should possess.

The enemy charged forward like a runaway behemoth, its massive body resembling a tank.

Gowen moved to the side, gripped the greatsword with both hands, and slashed downwards with force.

The blade struck the arm, which was covered in thick armor, with a harsh, scraping sound, as if it were hitting a steel plate, and even sparks flew.

Even so, it still didn't cause any fundamental damage to the opponent's outer shell.

A powerful punch, accompanied by a whistling sound, came crashing down on him.

Gowen dared not take the punch head-on, and nimbly dodged it with a backflip.

Seeing that his attack had been ineffective, Gowen frowned as he observed the situation.

With the change in size, the Chimeric Ant in front of me experienced a fundamental increase in strength.

The main difference lies in the opponent's close-combat ability, which has been completely overturned.

It possesses great strength and power, and has not become clumsy or lost its agility due to changes in body size.

More importantly, it seems that the opponent's body is now covered with a thick aura, and coupled with the opponent's innate ability to withstand physical attacks, it now appears that even breaking through the opponent's defenses has become somewhat difficult.

"Now, do you feel fear? You damned human." Realizing that Gowen's attacks could not break through his defenses, the massive Shacuan laughed smugly.

As he spoke, he charged forward again like a raging bull.

Faced with such an attack, Gowen could only continue to dodge, quickly creating distance between himself and the attacker.

Then he squatted slightly.

"I am bound by my Vow and should therefore have Mercy."

As he spoke, his Nen Aura surged in his hand, and a bow and arrow, shimmering with light, appeared.

As he trained, his strength naturally improved, and his Nen ability also became more refined and applicable.

For example, his Vow Equipment is now complete, but just like he used to, he has to choose the appropriate gear for each battle based on the Vow that fits the situation.

In a battle, the closer one's actions are to the Vow, the more equipment one can manifest, and naturally, the greater one's advantage.

Moreover, one cannot simply say things offhand; they must align with Gowen's own beliefs.

Fortunately, although Gowen was a Knight, his views were not as rigid as those of ancient Knight, and he still had a certain degree of flexibility.

Even so, he still has to face situations where some battles don't align with a particular Vow, but the equipment corresponding to that Vow is extremely suitable for that battle.

As he honed his skills, he added a supplementary clause: he could force the use of a particular piece of equipment that was not suited to the specific combat situation during battle. However, only one piece of equipment could be used in this way per battle.

Take now, for example.

"Armor Piercing!"

A bow and arrow formed from concentrated Nen Aura, drawn and shot.

The arrow shot out instantly, striking the opponent squarely in the chest and piercing through him in a flash!

Blood gushed out, leaving a gaping hole. The seemingly strong defense formed by the Nen and the carapace was instantly breached.

"What! This is impossible!" the other person screamed in shock. Her defenses were so strong, how could such an attack penetrate them?

Gowen wouldn't give the other person a chance to breathe, his body pressing against him like lightning.

The greatsword in his hand pierced straight down from the bloody hole.

It pierced the opponent's chest in an instant.

With this opening, everything became clear.

Grip the sword with both hands and forcefully slash downwards.

A huge wound appeared on the other person's chest, sliding down to their side.

Internal organs slid off one after another, and a large amount of blood gushed out like a fountain.

"Aaaaaah!"

Overwhelmed by the pain and agony of the slaughter, he screamed wildly and, with his last ounce of strength, swung his arms at Gawain with Gowen blow.

Faced with this situation, Gowen immediately let go. The greatsword vanished.

Gowen did not dodge, but instead gathered his Nen Aura in his fists and met the attack head-on.

Although he was in pain, he was seriously injured, so the power of his opponent's fists was not at its peak.

Meanwhile, Gowen's arms surged with Nen Aura, instantly causing the power to stalemate in the exchange of blows.

In this situation, Gowen exerted sudden force, causing the wound to reopen, and a large amount of blood could no longer be concealed.

Her entire body seemed to have lost its strength.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Gowen delivered a powerful front kick, striking the huge wound directly and sending the opponent flying.

His body followed instantly, as if a shadow.

The greatsword in his hand flashed with cold light once more, and this time he thrust it forward, piercing through the opponent's massive body and pinning it to a thick tree stump behind him.

"Uh----you----"

The other person seemed to want to say something more, but Gowen remained unmoved and twisted his wrist forcefully.

The Chimera Ant that aspired to become Queen has died.

"Go to hell!"

A dense rain of spider silk shot out from behind.

Even under these circumstances, the spider did not flee. All its silk remained tightly wrapped around the blade.

Gowen held his sword with both hands, calmly wrestling with his opponent. His eyes were fixed on the Chimera Ant with a hint of respect.

"You didn't run away; I saw your Loyalty."

"I will give you a dignified and respectable death."