Battles on All Sides

"Ohohoho, I never imagined we'd meet again like this." Netero's tone was as nonchalant as ever when he saw Jed, as if he were chatting with an old friend. And Jed truly had been his friend—once, his closest friend.

"Hmph, you know? I've been wanting to see you for a long time, because I can't wait to tear you apart." Jed's voice carried the same casual air, but his words sent chills down the spine.

"Do you really hate me that much?"

"Hate you? No, I hate the entire Hunter Association. Greedy, fawning over the rulers of great nations, completely indifferent to the lives of ordinary people, doing everything for selfish gain. An organization like that should disappear as soon as possible."

"So that's why you did this? Taking control of the entire Heaven's Arena and holding all the spectators hostage as leverage—what's your goal?" Netero's smile slowly faded. The Jed before him was no longer the man he once knew. The old Jed might have done shady things sometimes, but he would never stoop so low as to threaten innocent lives as hostages.

"Of course it's to see you, then capture you and use you to threaten the Hunter Association into making the Dark Notebook public! Let the world see your ugly, dark side, let them see what you've really done!" Jed grinned, his black eyes and golden pupils blazing with madness.

"In the end, you're just satisfying your own desires, aren't you? You're a Hunter too, doing the very things you despise. And do you really think the Association would agree to release the Dark Notebook just because I'm the hostage? That thing has been sealed away, along with you back then." There was a hint of self-mockery in Netero's voice. Was his life really that precious? Would the Hunter Association and the nations really expose the Dark Notebook, which hid the history of their dark dealings? Ridiculous. Impossible. Those people would do anything to cover up their crimes. And he himself wasn't that important—whoever became Chairman, as long as they didn't oppose them, they wouldn't care. Otherwise, he wouldn't have planted the "Rose" in himself. Netero touched his chest, where a deadly weapon lay buried—the Poor Man's Rose.

"You talk too much. You're as annoying as ever, Netero. I'm going to have to teach you a proper lesson." Jed leaped into the air first, charging at Netero with incredible speed and power. As an Enhancement Type, martial arts were always their strongest move.

"Teach me? That depends on whether you have what it takes. Let's continue that unfinished fight! You couldn't beat me decades ago, and you can't beat me now." The moment Jed attacked, Netero reacted just as swiftly. If you ignored his face, his body was as strong as a man in his prime.

As the two clashed, the entire building trembled from the shockwaves. Was this what they called a building quake?

Hunter Association Chairman vs. Dark Shadow Leader

"This aura? The Chairman?! Who's fighting him? How can they have such immense power? Unbelievable." At the same time, every Nen User in Heaven's Arena felt those two overwhelming, destructive auras.

"Focus on saving the hostages. Chairman Netero will win! He's a monstrous powerhouse who's lived for centuries!" Morel said, though worry gnawed at him. He couldn't afford to lose his composure now.

"Watch out!" Sensing something, Morel swung his massive pipe in front of him, blocking a huge blue fireball. The impact forced him back a step.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Hunters." A lazy, arrogant voice rang out ahead of them.

"Who goes there?" The four Hunters immediately went on alert. From the attack just now, their opponent was clearly no pushover.

"You come to our turf and ask who we are? How ridiculous. Don't you think so, Lord Aureole?" A blue-mohawked Evil Spirit stepped out from the shadows. Beside him stood a monster with a Lion's head, dressed in casual clothes. The Dark Shadow Three Giants—Evil Spirit and the Squad Leader trio—Aureole, reporting in.

Whether it was fate or something else, Aureole, who had died at Morel's hands in the original story, now faced him again in the Heaven's Arena battle. Only this time, Aureole might not die. His power had more than doubled compared to before.

"Chimera Ants?! How is that possible? How can there be Chimera Ants here?" Morel's eyes widened in shock. He had thought only the three from the files were here. Though they were strong, his group could handle them, which was why he'd let Yin Hu leave—his presence wouldn't matter. But he never expected Chimera Ants. Having fought them many times, Morel knew that while he was no weakling, going head-to-head with a Squad Leader-level monster wouldn't be easy. And with the situation unclear—Jed had allied with the Chimera Ants, and whether there were more Squad Leaders or even the Ant King here was unknown—this was a real mess. Knuckle, with his space-escape abilities, had never returned from scouting the Ant King's palace. They knew almost nothing about the enemy. How many Squad Leaders were here? Was the Ant King present? He had to get this information out.

"Morel, what are those monsters? You seem shaken—old enemies?" The Two-Star Bounty Hunter immediately noticed Morel's unease and asked.

"You all know about Chairman Netero's injury, right?" Morel hesitated, then decided to tell them. Though the higher-ups knew about the Chimera Ants, no one had as complete intel as he did.

"You mean the Chairman's broken arm? Are you saying this guy did it? Impossible. He feels strong, but nowhere near Chairman Netero's level." The non-main-tower Gourmet Hunter spoke up. Aureole had grown much stronger, but he was still far from Netero.

"Not this one. Their king. You all know about Chimera Ants, right? The race from TV and the Association files." Morel continued.

"You mean those recent man-eating monster incidents? Was it these Chimera Ants?" The muscular brother seemed to recall something.

"This isn't just a man-eating monster incident. Chimera Ants are a race from the Dark Continent. A few months ago, they took over NGL and birthed a terrifying monster—their king. Chairman Netero was injured by their Ant King's attack, and it only took one move. We only survived because he didn't bother to kill us." Morel revealed a truth that shocked the three Star Hunters.

"How is that possible? The Chairman couldn't even withstand one move?"

"So that's how it is? Unbelievable." The Two-Star Bounty Hunter said slowly. The invincible Chairman Netero, defeated? Was there anything harder to accept? Then, as if remembering something, his face paled.

"Don't tell me the Ant King is here too?"

"That's exactly what I'm worried about. If the Ant King is here, we don't stand a chance." Morel said grimly.

"You've been muttering over there for a while now. What's the matter? Relax, the King isn't here. Even if he were, he wouldn't bother with weaklings like you. We Squad Leaders are enough." Aureole sounded impatient. The King's orders were to kill everyone invading the building. He'd sensed a decent opponent running into Zazan earlier—if he could eat someone of that caliber, his strength might increase further.

These three Squad Leaders didn't care about Meruem's rule against eating humans, as long as they weren't caught.

"Good, he's not here. Then these Chimera Ants joining Jed must be the ones scattered earlier. The reports said they were all wiped out, but a few survived here. Or maybe they were sent by the Ant King. But if he's not here, why send Squad Leaders to die? He should know they're no match for the Chairman. Unless he thinks Jed can win? Hmm, Jed's strength is indeed on par with the Chairman—possible." Morel quickly analyzed the situation, coming close to the truth.

"Evil Spirit, you take one. Leave the other three to me." Aureole said confidently. He'd grown much stronger and hadn't had a good fight yet. Let these humans witness Lord Aureole's power! Tremble, humans! Though his arrogance had been tempered a bit after being taught a lesson by Meruem and Jed, he still underestimated these weaker humans. Facing three Star Hunters at once—unless they were pushovers—even a Zodiac Twelve member wouldn't dare boast like that.

As for the three Squad Leaders, they had been following Jed on Meruem's orders, so the Dark Shadow Three Giants and the Squad Leaders initially didn't get along. But after the Hunters' extermination campaign, worshiping the strong became the Dark Shadow Tribe's creed. So the Squad Leaders and the Three Giants had patched things up, with Aureole and Evil Spirit getting along best—simply because Evil Spirit was straightforward and easy to fool.