"What a reckless fool," Silva said.
"Is he that eager to die? That guy is no match for that monster. Still, this is pretty entertaining. Ging, you really missed out by not coming this time. What a shame you can't watch such an interesting fight," Bearded Uncle said.
"It's not bad to let him test the other side's strength. Hopefully, he can force him to reveal some of his tricks. Otherwise, losing an ally for nothing would be a huge disadvantage for us," Zeno said.
"I quite admire this spirit of challenging oneself. If he survives this, I'll recruit him into my team. This time, I must uncover the secrets of the Dark Continent," Beyond said.
"I hope this monster won't disappoint me. Let me see just how strong you are," Long-Haired Man said.
"This guy is dead," Pitou said.
"Oh? I admire your courage." Meruem stared at the thick-browed Lovskiy Dragon. Knowing full well that his opponent was far stronger than him, he still dared to propose a one-on-one duel. It had to be said that this man truly was a warrior. He was even more of a warrior than Netero—though that referred to Chairman Netero in his old age. Perhaps they had been the same when they were young, but old Netero had simply borne too much.
"Come." Meruem crooked a finger at Lovskiy Dragon.
"Take this—Iron Fist!" He moved with incredible speed, so fast that it surpassed sound itself. This was an attack beyond the speed of sound, but unfortunately, merely exceeding the speed of sound was not enough against Meruem.
Smack! The incomparably fierce punch struck Meruem squarely in the forehead. Meruem made no move to dodge, directly taking a blow that would have certainly killed anyone else.
"Oh? So this is the so-called Iron Fist?" Meruem had not moved even a single step, and his forehead remained completely uninjured.
The moment Lovskiy began attacking him, he had known that an attack of this level could never hurt him. These people all knew that Netero had been defeated by him, but they had no idea that Netero had been crushed by his overwhelming strength. No matter what Netero tried, he could not injure him—not even Zero Hand, Netero's life-sacrificing attack.
"Show me your true ability. Use your full strength. If this is all you have, you cannot defeat me." Meruem calmly stated a truth that others would find hard to believe.
"Heh heh... Hahaha! It's been a long time since I met such an arrogant opponent. You're quite good. It seems probing attacks won't be enough to deal with you. Then here I come." Beads of cold sweat appeared on Lovskiy's forehead. That attack had looked like a simple strike, but he had actually used eighty percent of his strength.
From the very beginning, he had known that he was no match for his opponent. It was intuition—the intuition of a warrior.
So unlike ordinary probing attacks, where one used thirty percent of one's strength and held back the remaining seventy, he had used eighty percent from the start.
He had expected that even if his opponent was not injured, he would at least suffer a minor setback. Yet he never imagined Meruem would take the punch without moving at all—and emerge completely unharmed.
He was only putting on a brave face. In truth, he knew perfectly well that if he did not use Nen, the result would remain the same.
Huff. Lovskiy let out a long breath and slowly raised both hands before his chest, assuming a pose as though he were gripping something.
"That guy's getting serious. He's using his signature move this early," Silva said, stroking his smooth chin.
"Is his opponent really that strong? He forced Lovskiy to use his ultimate move right from the start. Though I hate to admit it, Lovskiy is indeed no weaker than I am. Even against him, if it weren't an assassination, the odds would only be even."
"I Am Everywhere. I am indestructible. I am unstoppable." Lovskiy spoke as if praying. A thick layer of armor seemed to cover his body, while his muscles continuously contracted, becoming denser and tougher.
"A move that strengthens the body? For a fighter, Nen abilities are generally either combat techniques or body-enhancement types.
So even Heaven's Arena's strongest person cannot escape that pattern? True masters like Netero and Jed, who integrated their martial arts into Nen, really are rare. I really want to meet one again."
Meruem ignored Lovskiy's strengthening process, which seemed excessively complicated and drawn-out to him. He only wanted to see how far the other man could strengthen himself. As for using his body to contend with Meruem?
Unless he was a Saiyan or from Frieza's race. And with such a long preparation time, anyone else would have already taken his life.
"I've fought this guy before. Even if someone attacks him, he can keep strengthening himself during battle and grow braver the longer he fights. It just takes more time. But the Ant King actually isn't taking the chance to attack him? Once he finishes strengthening himself, even I wouldn't dare engage him in close combat." Silva took on the role of commentator and explained that Lovskiy could strengthen himself while fighting.
"I will surely win." After completing the final layer of his prayer, Lovskiy opened his eyes and felt the power filling his body. After glancing at Meruem, he launched another attack.
"Boring. Is this all you have?" Meruem's fist passed through Lovskiy's fist as though it had encountered no resistance whatsoever. One of Lovskiy's arms was instantly smashed to pulp as if it were made of tofu.
"Aah!" After merely one exchange, Lovskiy was utterly defeated. Clutching his broken arm, his forehead drenched in sweat from the pain, he rapidly retreated dozens of meters away from Meruem.
"How is this possible? How is this possible? After my body was strengthened by God's Ability, I could easily shatter even steel and diamonds. Why? Why can you ignore my defense? Damn it, could this be your Nen ability?"
Clearly, Lovskiy mistook Meruem for a Nen User with an ability that could ignore bodily enhancement and pierce through everything.
Unfortunately, Meruem had simply strengthened his physical body to the peak of this world. It was nothing more than raw physical domination. Lovskiy was strong, but there was still a vast gap between him and Netero.
"What? Ignoring defense?" Silva was startled upon hearing that. He himself was mostly a close-combat fighter. If his opponent possessed attacks that ignored defense, he would be at a severe disadvantage in a fight.
"Doesn't seem like it. I think that monster is simply overpowering him through raw physical strength. If that's the case, it's even worse. We can only attack him from afar. Otherwise, if we fight him in close combat, we may die horribly." Zeno, an old hand in the world, saw through the truth at a glance. Yet his expression only grew uglier. At this level, it would have been better if the opponent's Nen ability ignored defense. At least then they might have had a chance of victory. If it was the former, winning would be very difficult.
"Are you still coming?" Ignoring everyone else, Meruem crooked a finger at Lovskiy. Meruem had used eighty percent of his strength when attacking Lofikis just now. Forget Lofikis—even Netero's body could not endure such an attack.
"Damn it! You think you can defeat Lord Lovskiy just like that? Rapid Regeneration!" Layer after layer of Nen covered Lofikis's broken arm, gradually emitting a white glow. With Meruem's eyesight, he could clearly see Lovskiy's arm slowly regenerating beneath the light.
It could attack, defend, and heal. That was quite a good Nen ability. He wondered what other interesting moves it had. He just did not know what restrictions and vows this technique carried. Meruem did not believe such a practical Nen ability would have no restrictions at all.
"Hmph. As long as I'm careful not to confront you head-on and don't touch your body, you won't be able to use your ability, right?" Lovskiy asked tentatively. He did not expect Meruem to answer honestly, but it would be even better if he could draw out the method behind Meruem's Nen ability.
"Can you manage that?"
"You can try. I Am Everywhere!" This time, layer after layer of Nen covered Lovskiy's legs.
Lovskiy charged at Meruem again, several times faster than before.
A vicious punch struck Meruem's body, yet Meruem did not even sway. He immediately threw a punch at Lovskiy.
But this time, Meruem's fist did not strike Lovskiy again. Lovskiy dodged it at an angle unimaginable for a human.
"Not bad. This is finally getting interesting." The left corner of Meruem's mouth lifted slightly as he began attacking Lovskiy.
Two incredibly fast figures appeared in the air, constantly exchanging attacks. An ordinary person would have been completely unable to see their movements clearly.
"Silva, what do you think of their fight?" After watching the two exchange several moves, Zeno suddenly asked Silva.
"For now, they seem evenly matched. Lovskiy can strike that monster every time, so he appears to have the upper hand. But Lovskiy's attacks have no effect on that monster at all. As long as that monster lands one hit on Lovskiy, Lovskiy will undoubtedly lose," Silva said objectively.
"That makes a lot of sense, but you got one thing wrong." Zeno spoke with his slightly drooping eyes open. Of course, his hands were still behind his back. It seemed he only extended them when attacking or eating.
. His hands behind his back and his hunched posture made him look no different from an ordinary old man. Naturally, that was excluding the two ribbons bearing "active for life" and "one kill a day."
"One thing wrong?" Silva asked in confusion, then seemed to realize something. "Could it be you mean..."
"That's right. That monster is just playing with Lovskiy." Beyond, the man with the cross-shaped scar who was stroking his Two Twirled Mustaches, cut in.
PS: As usual, please vote~~ Cute begging for votes! Pitou's sparkling Big Eyes are begging for votes!
PS: Thanks to reader Yan Changgong and reader 104003 for the tips, (づ￣3￣)づ mwah!
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