"Your turn. Have you decided? Are you going one at a time, or all together?"
"Though I hate to admit it, it's true. We have no chance against you one-on-one, so... attack!" Zeno and the others answered Meruem with their actions. They had no intention of dueling him. They were preparing to gang up on him.
To be honest, Meruem wanted to gang up on others too. Unfortunately, the other Chimera Ant members were simply too disappointing. They could only handle ordinary human powerhouses. Against true experts, they were nothing but cannon fodder. The only ones capable of fighting human elites were the Royal Guards. However, the Royal Guards still lacked real combat experience, despite their intelligence and extraordinary talent. There was also a whole group of burdensome Chimera Ant troops. Before the insect swarm had reached a sufficient scale and their abilities had been fully developed to their limits, Chimera Soldier Ants were undoubtedly weak before experts. But once the Soldier Ants reached a certain number and fully mastered Nen, no matter how strong someone was, they could be buried beneath sheer numbers. Thus, when facing humanity's greatest experts, only Meruem could handle them. It was like in the Naruto World: when facing Madara or Kaguya, no number of genin and chunin would be of any use. But what if there were massive numbers of Elite Jonin and Kage-level powerhouses? Especially if their leader was no weaker than themselves? Even Kaguya and Uncle Madara would have to avoid their edge. How many Kage-level fighters could Uncle Madara take out at once? If not for the Chakra Fruit, how many Kage-level fighters could Kaguya defeat? Though ordinary Kage-level fighters were vastly inferior to those two, that did not mean numbers could not make up for it.
Meruem wanted to challenge the strong, but the opponents he wanted to challenge were martial arts masters.
Other than Lovskiy, who had left due to his injuries, the remaining five attacked Meruem at the same time.
Meruem truly did not fear any of them in a one-on-one fight. But with all of them attacking together, though he was not afraid, he was still somewhat pressed.
Silva's sharp, Nen-covered hand blade, Zeno's Nen dragon, Beyond's fist, the Long-Haired Man's vines, and Bearded Uncle's black monster sphere all came hurtling toward Meruem at once.
However, Meruem was the Ant King, the pinnacle of physical evolution in this world. He was somewhat rushed at first, but after grasping the rhythm of their attacks, he gradually adapted. Not only did he fight them evenly, he could even strike back. Of course, many battles did not begin with ultimate moves. Those consumed too much stamina and Nen. The 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva was powerful, but it could not be used constantly. Naturally, Meruem had more than just the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva. He also had the Hundred Demons Parade.
"This won't do. If we keep fighting like this, that monster will probably completely grasp the rhythm of our attacks. Looks like we'll need to use some methods."
"Dragon Head Play - Fang Thrust!" This was Zeno Zoldyck's Nen ability, a technique that concentrated Nen in his hands and transformed it into a dragon to attack others. It was Zeno Zoldyck's signature move, an exceptionally powerful Emission-type technique.
Unfortunately, Meruem blocked the move head-on with nothing but his right hand.
"Good attack power and destructive force, but unfortunately, it's useless against me." That was Meruem's evaluation of Zeno's Nen ability.
"An opening!" While Meruem arrogantly criticized Zeno's Nen ability, Silva found an incredibly tiny opening. His hand blade struck fiercely into Meruem's abdomen.
"I told you, moves like that are useless against me." Although he had been hit by the hand blade, Meruem was completely unharmed. Instead, he struck out with his palm and injured Silva. Had Silva not reacted quickly enough to let the blow merely graze him, it might have left something behind. Fortunately, it was only a minor injury.
"What a terrifying monster. We could see it during his fight with Lovskiy, but I never expected the gap to be this great in actual combat." He quickly stopped the bleeding and restored his fighting strength in the shortest possible time. Against a monster on Meruem's level, Silva and Zeno were at the greatest disadvantage among them. After all, their fighting styles both leaned toward close combat.
Having absorbed the martial arts essence of Lovskiy, Jed, and Netero, Meruem could now be considered invincible in close combat. If anyone disagreed, they were welcome to fight him!
"Beyond, you and Father hold him back first. This time, I'll try this!" Silva flipped his hands, and a faint green glow appeared over both palms. That was poison—a terrifying blood-sealing toxin from the Hunter World: Fallen God. Its meaning was that even a god would fall if poisoned by it. Resorting to poison when he could not win was indeed something an assassin would do, but it made sense. As long as he could win, what did it matter what method he used? Whether the cat was white or black, a cat that caught mice was a good cat.
"Alright. Heart Source Style Martial Arts Ultimate—Benevolence!" Beyond lifted his right foot from the ground as though about to soar, then slowly brought his hands together before his chest, forming a heart shape. Netero had used this move before. However, this was Meruem's first time learning its name. Although the move was practical, it was simply too embarrassing. Even if Meruem learned it, he would never use it even if it killed him. He had to make a heart shape over his chest, right in front of his opponent. Those who knew would know it was a technique, but those who did not might think he was trying to pick up a boyfriend.
Now, watching Beyond—a muscular man with a full beard and a cross-shaped scar in the middle of his face—strike that pose was enough to make anyone nauseous. Wasn't Zeno, who had originally intended to attack alongside him, looking disgusted too?
"Dragon Head Play—Twin Dragons Playing with a Pearl!" Two enormous Eastern divine dragons flew from Zeno's hands, one from the left and one from the right, closing in on Meruem. The twin dragons in Twin Dragons Playing with a Pearl naturally referred to these two conjured Nen dragons. As for the pearl they were playing with, that was obviously their opponent.
"Emission, Manipulation, and Conjuration are all involved. Nen truly is an amazing thing. It can even conjure a legendary species like a dragon in such lifelike form." Meruem praised it, but his hands did not stop for even a moment. A massive palm materialized behind him and grabbed both gigantic divine dragons in one hand.
"So what if they're divine dragons? Today, I will subdue dragons."
"Beyond," Zeno called out in a low voice. This monster's strength is simply too great. I'm about to lose control. No wonder an expert on Lovskiy's level was defeated. Forget Lovskiy alone—among us, not one of us is his match in terms of raw strength.
Beyond's attack followed immediately, accompanied by the roar of tigers and the cry of dragons. Though Meruem had no idea why a move involving a heart gesture would produce tiger roars and dragon cries, its power was indeed impressive. At the very least, it made Meruem feel a trace of pain—though only a trace.
"Good!" Meruem turned again, materializing another massive arm and swinging it fiercely at Beyond, determined to flatten him into a little pancake. However, Beyond dodged it with the agility of a nimble monkey.
"World Tree Vines - Binding Power!" At that moment, several vines that seemed to appear from nowhere tightly bound Meruem's limbs.
"Got him." The Long-Haired Man held his hands in a seal-like position as he slowly stepped out from the side.
"Don't waste your strength struggling. No one can escape the Binding Power, no matter how strong they are. It will absorb your strength to restrain you. In other words, it is like another you constantly suppressing you. Unless you can surpass yourself, you will never break free from the World Tree's vines."
"Even if you can break free, it'll be too late." Silva's voice came from behind Meruem. Then his hands came together and spun like a drill as they struck viciously into Meruem's waist.
"Even if ordinary attacks cannot hurt you, if I exhaust all my strength, I can at least break your skin a little, right? As long as there's even the slightest wound, this poison will quickly enter your body."
Sure enough, an extremely tiny wound appeared at Meruem's waist, and a drop of purple blood slid from it.
"Hmph. Die beneath the combined efforts of the five of us, monster!" After doing all this, Silva leaped away from Meruem and joined the others. They silently watched Meruem, waiting for him to die.
"Good coordination. Good techniques." Meruem allowed the vines to bind his limbs tightly as he looked at Silva and the others and spoke slowly. "If I were an ordinary human expert, perhaps I would already have died beneath your combined attack. But unfortunately, while this poison makes me feel slightly unwell, unless it is something like nuclear radiation capable of altering DNA, it cannot defeat me. Biological toxins may be powerful, but given my immunity, I only need a few seconds to neutralize it. Unfortunately, you cannot kill me within those few seconds."
"Unfortunately, it's useless against me."
"How is that possible? Even an exceptionally powerful Nen User would die without question after being poisoned by this." Silva's expression was filled with disbelief. Every opponent, no matter how powerful, had died after being hit by Fallen God. It had never failed even once.
"Even if the poison is useless against you, you still cannot escape my vines. These are World Tree vines that draw energy from the earth." The Long-Haired Man said, "Even if we cannot kill you now, we will eventually find a way to kill you."
"Oh? You mean these mere World Tree vines?" Meruem pointed with the only fingers he could still move at the vines binding his limbs.
"Today, I'll show you power so terrifying it will drive you into despair." Purple Nen burst from every part of Meruem's body, different from the golden Nen of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva. This was the Nen of the Hundred Demons Parade.
"Die in despair. Hundred Demons Parade - Lord of Chimi Mōryō!"
One of Meruem's trump cards, Hundred Demons Parade - Lord of Chimi Mōryō, was a terrifying technique completely no weaker than 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva - Ninety-Ninth Hand.
A hundred ghosts and monsters of all kinds appeared behind Meruem. Then, they slowly merged together, forming a gigantic black figure.
The vines binding Meruem snapped apart like withered grass.
Before you continue