"It was hard to believe that someone as strong as Lovskiy had only been played with by his opponent." Silva found it hard to accept for a moment. It was not as if he had never seen powerful Nen Users, nor had he never killed powerful Nen Users. He had killed quite a few experts of all levels. But he had never encountered an enemy this powerful. If he had still held a trace of contempt for Meruem while the two were fighting, all that remained now was seriousness and vigilance.
The Zoldyck Family was indeed powerful, but as a family of assassins, their greatest strength was not direct confrontation, but assassination. Yet the monster before them had reached a level where he was practically immune to assassination. Silva did not know whether poison would work, but he felt that with his current strength, assassinating Meruem was basically an impossible task.
"I heard that this Ant King and the Chimera Ant race also came from the Dark Continent. Could there be many beings there as powerful as them? That really makes me look forward to it." Beyond actually looked full of anticipation. As expected of the man said to be exactly like Chairman Netero in his youth—his adventurous spirit nearly rivaled that of the Freecss family, a family of legendary adventurers.
"Stop thinking about that nonsense. Think about how we deal with this monster first. If I'm not mistaken, once that monster has had enough fun, it will be Lovskiy's death. I estimate Lofikis can last at most another five moves. And that female ant standing over there, her strength should not be far behind. Anyone who still dares to stand here and watch at a time like this is no simple opponent." Zeno calmly analyzed the situation. Among them, his combat experience was the greatest. Of course, that excluded the missing Maha Zoldyck. Unfortunately, he did not know that Pitou in the original story had very much wanted to fight Zeno, and judging from the original plot, Zeno had clearly been at a disadvantage when their strength was compared. What he knew even less was that Meruem was not playing with Lovskiy. He was merely learning Lovskiy's moves—or rather, stealing them outright. He was simply doing so openly and without shame.
"Hey, Xiedi, do you think we should help Thick Eyebrows later? That guy's about to be killed." The disheveled Bearded Uncle tugged on the pants of the long-haired young man beside him. Well, Bearded Uncle had been sitting cross-legged the entire time, while the long-haired young man had remained standing.
"If you want to die, go ahead. I'll warn you one more time—don't touch me again." The long-haired young man called Xiedi snatched his pant leg from Bearded Uncle's hand. Of course, an inexplicable yellow stain still appeared on that spot.
"Tch, how heartless. Aaah." Bearded Uncle grumbled while picking his nose, then covered his mouth and let out a long yawn. Of all of them, he was the least nervous, the most relaxed, and the least eager to fight. If a bed had appeared on the ground right then, he would definitely have been the first man to lie down on it—or rather, the only one.
"Alright, I've learned your fighting techniques. Thank you for your guidance." Right after Zeno finished speaking, during the third exchange between the two, Meruem suddenly said this to Lovskiy.
Although Lovskiy was somewhat dumbfounded, he had no time to care about that. Drenched in sweat, all he wanted was to kill the monster before him as soon as possible. After fighting for so long, not a single drop of sweat had appeared on Meruem's body. To Lovskiy, that was simply absurd. If this continued, he would most likely be worn to death.
"I've already seen through your moves. Now I can send you on your way. But to thank you for contributing your fighting techniques, I've decided to kill you with Netero's signature technique. What do you think? You should feel honored." Meruem did not care what Lovskiy thought. Since he had already learned the other man's moves, the other man no longer had any value.
"Damn ant, do you think you've won just—" At that moment, a massive Guanyin Statue appeared before Lovskiy, identical to Chairman Netero's.
"What?" "That technique?" "How is that possible?!" "That's Father's—"
"Lovskiy, you can die now." Completely ignoring the shocked cries and stares of the others, Meruem lightly swung a palm at Lovskiy.
"100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva." Meruem bent his middle finger to meet his thumb, raising a delicate orchid finger. It was a required gesture for the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva technique. The massive Guanyin Statue's hands smashed down viciously upon Lovskiy. He did not even have time to dodge and was hit head-on.
"This monster can even use Chairman Netero's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva. We can conclude that this monster's Nen ability is not ignoring defense. It should be similar to the Phantom Troupe leader who stole other people's abilities back in Yorknew City, though we don't know what conditions he needs to activate it or obtain them." Zeno closed his eyes as though he could not bear to watch Lovskiy get smashed into a meat pie. What he did not know was that Meruem's ability was not theft, but learning, fusion, and improvement. It was a far more terrifying ability than theft. Stolen things were never truly one's own, and using them would always feel somewhat unnatural or reveal flaws. Learning, fusion, and improvement were different; they could certainly be utilized one hundred percent.
"The first one. Who's next?" Meruem coldly swept his gaze over the people around him.
"Are you going to come at me together now, or continue with one-on-one duels?"
"Wait. I'm... not dead yet." A figure that looked like a blood-soaked man crawled out of the huge crater created by the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, writhing as though he were some sort of creature. Multiple bones throughout his body were broken, some had even been ground into powder, most of his internal organs had ruptured, blood vessels had burst in many places, and everything below both shoulders had been reduced to pulp. Surviving in that condition was already a miracle. As for fighting, perhaps even an ordinary person could kill him now.
"He didn't die after taking my full-strength strike?" Meruem looked at Lovskiy in surprise. What did a full-strength strike from him mean? Even Netero would lose arms and legs if he were hit. Yet this unremarkable-looking man had endured it through sheer vitality. Unbelievable.
"Was that your ability called God's Ability?" Not bad. It could greatly improve one's survivability, making it quite a practical technique. Unfortunately, it was useless to him. A strengthening technique of that level would basically have no effect on him. If the opponent had the ability to hurt him, he would already be dead. No matter how much the body was strengthened, it would be pointless. If the opponent could not hurt him in the first place, then adding that ability meant little. Meruem had fought Lovskiy for so long only because he wanted to learn his martial techniques. Put simply, Lovskiy's defense was 50, while his speed and strength were both 20. Lovskiy's ability could raise his defense to 100 and his speed and strength to 90. But Meruem's own defense was already 300, while his speed and strength were around 400, so this Nen ability did not significantly improve Meruem's strength. Of course, those figures were merely an analogy and were not meant for actual calculation.
"I can still fight!" Lovskiy said unsteadily.
"Are you determined to die? Though I admire your attitude of dying in battle, I do not approve of this behavior of seeking death because you cannot win. Has a single defeat made you lose your fighting spirit? Could you not train again after this defeat, surpass me, and then return to challenge me? It seems your capacity is only this much. Leave. Since you survived my full-strength strike, I will not kill you. Nor will I fight you again." After saying that, Meruem did not look at Lovskiy again.
After hearing Meruem's words, Lovskiy closed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
No one disturbed him. Not the companions who had come with him, nor Meruem or Pitou.
After a long while, Lovskiy opened his eyes. His entire bearing changed in an instant. Though his body was covered in wounds, no one would dare underestimate him now.
"Hehehe, I was actually lectured by a monster. If you and I survive this incident, then the next time we meet—the next time we meet, I will definitely defeat you." Lovskiy looked at Meruem and spoke each word with determination.
"Next time, I won't let you live so easily. I'll definitely kill you." Though Meruem was slightly displeased at being called a monster by Lovskiy, he did not dwell on it. As for next time? They could talk if they ever met again. Before long, he would leave the Hunter World to adventure in other worlds. Whether he could return was still uncertain. Even if he did return, he would surely be even stronger. What would Lovskiy use to fight him next time? His ass?
Lovskiy's body trembled as he walked toward the royal palace exit. Everyone made way for him. After all, his determination had earned their respect for not killing him. Though they disdained the idea of one-on-one duels, that did not stop their opinion of him from changing.
Chimera Ant Extermination Force—Lovskiy exits.
"King." Unlike the extermination force, Pitou did not understand Meruem's thoughts. Why had he spared that man? He had openly provoked the King, saying that next time he would defeat him. How insolent. Though Pitou did not believe that man could defeat the King no matter how much he trained, that change in his bearing meant he might truly be able to hurt the King next time. It was only Pitou's intuition. But shouldn't the provocation of a weak creature be eliminated? Why let him return? Even if he was not killed, he could have been turned into a toy. Pitou could not understand the King's actions. A question mark practically hovered over her head.
"Pitou, this world is vast. Sometimes, wouldn't it be better to have more variables, more unknowns, and more challenges? I finally understand Netero's attitude back then. Even though he knew he could not defeat me, he still chose to fight me. Only by challenging stronger people can one become stronger. Right now, I also want to fight those experts stronger than myself. The path of martial arts is like rowing against the current—if you do not advance, you retreat. You cannot crush someone in the cradle just because they may one day threaten you. Don't be a coward. Just fight! Face them head-on!" Pitou understood Meruem even less after hearing that. Did people stronger than the King truly exist? Meruem had once said that humans in this world could defeat him, but Pitou had always thought he was lying to them. What she did not know was that even if this world did not have such people, that did not mean other worlds did not.
PS: The Hunter arc is nearing its end. Fewer than ten chapters remain, and a new arc will begin soon.
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