Get Out of My Way, I'm Here to Show Off

"Pfft." The moment the vines snapped, the Long-Haired Man spat a mouthful of fresh blood and collapsed to the ground as if struck by a heavy blow, his expression listless and drained, like someone who had overindulged to the point of exhaustion.

"Damn it, my World Tree Vines - Binding Power was actually broken by him." The Long-Haired Man's voice sounded extremely weak.

"What a terrifying technique. I thought Chairman Netero's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva was the limit of human martial arts, but I never imagined I'd see a move that could rival it today." Zeno Zoldyck gazed at the massive black silhouette, offering praise without reservation.

Zeno's experience was undeniable; he recognized at a glance the extraordinary nature of Meruem's technique. It was undoubtedly a Sure-Kill Strike on par with Netero's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva.

"Truly an impressive move, truly a terrifying monster. This must be a technique the monster created himself, right? Quite frightening." Beyond was equally stunned by Meruem's Hyakki Yagyō, but then the shock in his eyes turned to joy? Yes, it was an expression of pleasant surprise.

"Hahahaha, I never expected this. I thought after my father passed, no one would ever make me use this move again, but I didn't think I'd find a new opponent so soon."

"What? Do you have a way to counter that move? Or do you have confidence?" asked Silva, his lips somewhat thick.

"I have some confidence." Beyond finished speaking and ignored Silva, instead fixing a battle-hungry gaze on Meruem.

"If you have a move, go ahead and use it." Meruem looked at Beyond with interest. Since becoming the Ant King, Meruem had developed a bad habit—an extreme love for showing off. To be honest, the feeling of being a villain showing off was way too damn satisfying. He now understood why villains in novels and anime loved it so much—because it felt great inside.

And he was also curious about what this enigmatic man, who had never revealed his true strength in the original story, was capable of. In the earlier fight, Beyond had been unremarkable, with nothing outstanding or exceptional—his performance was frankly disappointing. It didn't match the caliber of someone who had gathered a group of strong experts in the original, though the story said he was held back by Netero and didn't act. But who could say for sure? Maybe Beyond didn't act out of respect for his father—that explanation worked too.

"Watch closely, Hyakushiki Guan Gong!" A massive statue of a red-faced Guan Gong emerged behind Beyond, and behind the statue, countless Green Dragon Crescent Blades materialized.

"What the hell? What is that?" Pfft. While waiting seriously for Beyond's ultimate move, Meruem suddenly heard the name and nearly lost his composure. He had heard of Hyakushiki Guan Gong in his past life—yes, it was a move some netizen on a forum had jokingly made up for Beyond. He never thought it actually existed, and that it was really Beyond's special technique.

"LOL." The cool, showy atmosphere from before was instantly ruined by the appearance of that move. Meruem, clutching his stomach with laughter, looked at Beyond's big beard and then at the giant Guan Gong statue, and realized they actually looked a bit alike.

"What's so funny! Are you looking down on me?" Beyond had no idea about the joke and instinctively thought Meruem was mocking him. The others, equally clueless, stared at the two with blank expressions, as if watching a comedy manga dialogue. Was the approach wrong, or was the art style off?

"LOL, no, no, no. Let me rest a moment. Okay, I'm done laughing. Ahem." Meruem barely managed to compose himself, but when he saw Beyond's face again, he couldn't help it.

"Enough! Hyakushiki Guan Gong—Green Dragon, Slash!" Beyond was angrier than he'd ever been. Ever since he used his strongest move, Hyakushiki Guan Gong, this guy had been laughing at him nonstop. Was he mocking my technique? Or provoking me? I need to teach him a lesson. So he went straight for his strongest strike. The giant Guan Gong statue seemed to rage, its already red face turning crimson. Countless massive guandao blades floated up behind it, converging into one enormous blade radiating green saber energy. Guan Gong grabbed it and swung it fiercely toward Meruem's position, as if to cleave him in two.

"Pfft. Ahem. Not a bad move. But I'm not weak either. Hyakushiki Guan Gong—Hyakki Yagyō - Lord of Chimi Mōryō." The massive black shadow behind Meruem's eyes glowed with a terrifying red light. It launched its own attack at the giant Guan Gong statue without backing down.

And so Meruem and Beyond clashed back and forth, locked in a battle where victory was hard to determine for a time.

"Beyond probably can't hold out much longer. If that monster weren't trying to learn Beyond's techniques, Beyond wouldn't have lasted this long. After all, that monster's strength and speed are just too terrifying. Is there really no way to hurt him?" Silva bit his thumb hard, furious at his own uselessness in this fight. He was, after all, a master who could push open a 256-ton gate, the current head of the Zoldyck Family. Once, enemies were helpless before him—when had he ever been powerless against an opponent? Damn it! I need to get stronger! A nameless rage surged within him. Even though he was from a family of assassins who needed to stay calm at all times, that didn't mean he couldn't get angry.

"Let's go together. One more time." Zeno Zoldyck extended both hands again, and two dragon heads once more appeared on his palms.

"Hey, slob, this time you keep an eye on that woman. Don't let her act." The Long-Haired Man, Xiedi, seemed to have mostly recovered from his injuries. Of course, he was speaking to the Bearded Uncle. Earlier, when they fought Meruem, the Bearded Uncle had been watching Neferpitou the whole time. And Neferpitou seemed quite wary of the black orbs floating around the Bearded Uncle.

"You're so heartless." The Bearded Uncle wore an expression like "You're abandoning me, I'm hurt, heartbroken," while secretly wiping a finger that had just been picking his nose on the Long-Haired Man's clothes. Unfortunately, he was caught before he could.

"Yo, little miss, it's me against you again." The Bearded Uncle greeted Pitou with a familiar, easygoing expression. But Pitou's expression was unusually stiff. Rarely, Pitou didn't respond, staring at the Bearded Uncle without moving, extremely wary. For Pitou, who loved challenging the strong and was intensely curious, this was incredibly unusual. If someone got close enough to see or touch Pitou's skin, they'd notice her palms were drenched in sweat. And her fur was standing on end—a feline's warning display when facing danger.

"King, that guy is the most dangerous of them all. His strength is... unfathomable. How could the human world have such a terrifying existence? For now, I can keep him stalled here. King, please be careful. If necessary, I will sacrifice myself. Please survive." A bead of cold sweat slid down Pitou's forehead. Pitou had never been this afraid before. Even in the original story, facing Dark Gon, Pitou hadn't shown such wariness. Pitou's assessment of Dark Gon was only that he could hurt the King, but facing the Bearded Uncle, Pitou only hoped Meruem could survive. And this Meruem was far more perfect and powerful than his original counterpart.

"Time, tick, tock, tick, tock. Little miss, don't make a move, okay? Let's enjoy the show this young man is putting on. I'm really looking forward to his performance~ I'd love to add him to my script, hehe." A mouthful of teeth as sharp as a shark's appeared before Pitou's eyes. Who was this person? What was his goal? He didn't seem worried about his companions at all—no, maybe they weren't even companions. Pitou's mind raced. Too terrifying, the pressure this man gave her. And the others didn't even notice anything wrong with him. This guy! He wasn't human!

If Meruem knew there was such a super big boss here playing the fool, he'd definitely say—Damn, I overdid it this time, I screwed up.

Meanwhile, the battle between Beyond and Meruem was nearing its end, because Meruem had seen through Beyond's technique—fierce! Extremely fierce and unstoppable, always charging forward. As they said, the best defense is a good offense, and Beyond's technique fully embodied that. But unfortunately, he ran into Meruem, a monster with even stronger learning ability and power.

"Supernova - Flower Bud!" Just as Beyond was about to buckle under Meruem's assault, the Long-Haired Man Xiedi's support arrived. A massive flower bud blocked Meruem's Sure-Kill Strike.

"Oh? Not a bad move. To block my strike, you've got some skill." Meruem wore a haughty expression. Lately, he'd grown more and more addicted to this tone, this style!

But using this villain-exclusive move too often might lead to a counterattack from the protagonist and the hero. The price you pay might be something you can never bear. Are you ready for that, Meruem?

"Ha! Super* Destruction Christina." Silva fired two nen bullets from his hands at Meruem, like Ki Blasts. This move had appeared in the original story too. But why was it called Destruction Christina?

"Boring." Meruem, dismissing Silva's nen bullets, prepared to casually swat them away.

But Meruem didn't notice that the flower bud the Long-Haired Man had summoned earlier was already blooming.

"True* Twin Dragons Play with Pearl!" Two Eastern divine dragons, even larger than before, appeared before Meruem. This was a combined technique from Zeno and Silva. It was also the strongest move they could currently use. If this couldn't handle Meruem, they were truly out of options.

"Are you done yet! I'm tired of this game!" Meruem shot forward, charging straight at Zeno and Silva's technique.

"What?" In less than three seconds, the nen dragons and Ki Blast were torn to shreds by Meruem's hands.

"I said, I'm tired of this game. Please die!" Even though I liked Silva and Zeno's characters in my past life, too bad—I'm the Ant King now. So die.

"Just in time! Die! Ant King! Supernova - Wither!" The Long-Haired Man Xiedi's cold voice rang out.

PS: Daily request for votes QAQ

PS2: The slob is the cheesy part—guess who he is! If someone likes a certain work, they should recognize him!

Mwah (づ￣3￣)づ