"Pfft!" The instant the vines snapped, the Long-Haired Man spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground as if he had been struck hard, wearing the drained, listless expression of someone who had jerked off too much.
"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 already the limit of human martial arts. I never expected to witness a technique capable of rivaling it today." Zeno Zoldyck looked at the enormous black figure and praised it without reservation.
Zeno's experience truly was extensive. At a glance, he saw the extraordinary nature of Meruem's move. It was absolutely a sure-kill technique on par with Netero's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva.
"As expected, it's an incredible move. As expected, he's a terrifying monster. This move should be self-created by that monster, right? It's quite frightening." Beyond was likewise shocked by Meruem's Hundred Demons Parade, but the shock in his eyes soon turned into delight. Yes, it was an expression of pleasant surprise.
"Hahahahaha! I never expected this, never expected this. I thought that after my father died, there would never again be anyone who could make me use this move. But I didn't expect to encounter a new opponent so soon."
"What? Could it be that you have a way to counter that move? Or are you confident?" The one speaking was Silva, whose lips were somewhat thick.
"I do have some confidence." After saying that, Beyond ignored Silva and looked at Meruem with a face full of fighting spirit.
"Go ahead. Use whatever techniques you have." Meruem looked at Beyond with great interest. Ever since becoming the Ant King, Meruem had developed a bad habit: he absolutely loved showing off. Honestly, this feeling of acting all cool like a villain was fucking amazing. He now understood why villains in novels and anime loved showing off so much. It felt secretly satisfying.
Moreover, he wanted to know what abilities this mysterious man, who had never revealed his strength in the original work, truly possessed. In the earlier battle, Beyond had been thoroughly ordinary. Nothing about him stood out, nor had he shown any exceptional qualities. His performance had been rather disappointing. It completely failed to match the bearing of someone who had gathered a group of capable experts in the original work. Though the original work said he had been suppressed by Netero and thus had taken no action, who could really say? Perhaps Beyond had refrained from acting out of respect for his father. That made sense too.
"Watch carefully, then. Hyakushiki Guan Gong!" A massive red-faced Guan Gong statue emerged behind Beyond, while countless Green Dragon Crescent Blades materialized behind it.
"What the hell? What kind of nonsense is that?" Pfft. Meruem had been waiting solemnly for Beyond's ultimate move, but upon suddenly hearing that name, he could not hold it in any longer. Meruem had heard of Hyakushiki Guan Gong in his previous life. That was right—it had been a technique fabricated by some netizen on a forum to parody Beyond. He never imagined that the move really existed, and that it truly was Beyond's ultimate technique.
"2333333!" The atmosphere of cool posturing was instantly ruined by the appearance of that particular technique. Meruem clutched his stomach as he laughed, looked at Beyond's huge beard, then at the gigantic Guan Gong statue, and realized that they really did look somewhat alike.
"What's so funny?! Are you looking down on me?" Beyond did not know the joke, so he instinctively assumed Meruem was mocking him. The others, who likewise did not understand it, stared at the two with blank, bean-eyed expressions, as if they were watching a gag manga conversation. Had they opened this the wrong way, or was something wrong with the art style?
"23333, no, no, no... Let me rest for a moment. All right, I've laughed enough. Cough, cough." Meruem finally managed to recover his composure, only to nearly lose it again the moment he saw Beyond's face.
"Enough! Hyakushiki Guan Gong - Azure Dragon, Slash!" Beyond had never been this angry before. Ever since he had used his strongest technique, Hyakushiki Guan Gong, this guy had kept laughing at him. Was he scorning his technique? Or provoking him? He had to show him what he was made of, so he opened with his strongest strike. The massive Guan Gong statue seemed to rage as well. Its already crimson face turned scarlet, and countless gigantic crescent blades rose into the air behind it. In the end, they merged into a huge blade radiating azure sword aura. Guan Gong lifted the blade and swung it viciously toward Meruem, as if intending to cleave him in two.
"Pfft, pfft. Cough, cough. That's a pretty good move. But I'm not weak either. Hundred Demons Parade - Lord of Chimi Mōryō." The huge black shadow behind Meruem lit up its eyes with a horrifying red glow. It likewise launched an attack at the enormous Guan Gong statue without yielding in the slightest.
And so, Meruem and Beyond clashed back and forth, with neither side able to determine victory or defeat for a time.
"Beyond probably can't hold out much longer. If that monster weren't trying to learn Beyond's techniques, Beyond probably wouldn't have lasted until now. That monster's strength and speed are simply too terrifying. Is there really no way to hurt him?" Silva said, biting down hard on his thumb. He was extremely irritated that he was completely useless in this battle. He was a master capable of pushing open a 256-ton gate, and the current head of the Zoldyck Family. When had enemies ever been unable to resist before him? When had he ever been helpless against an enemy? Damn it! I need to become stronger! A nameless fury welled up in his heart. Even though he belonged to an assassin family that needed to remain calm at all times, that did not mean he could not get angry.
"Let's attack together. One more time." Zeno Zoldyck extended both hands again, and two dragon heads appeared above his palms once more.
"Hey, slob. You keep an eye on that woman this time. Don't let her make a move." The Long-Haired Man, Xiedi, seemed to have recovered from most of his injuries by now. Naturally, he was speaking to the Bearded Uncle. During the previous confrontation with Meruem, the Bearded Uncle had been the one keeping Neferpitou in check. Neferpitou seemed deeply wary of the several black spheres floating around the Bearded Uncle.
"You're so heartless." The Bearded Uncle wore an expression that said, "You don't want me anymore. I'm hurt. My heart is broken," while secretly trying to wipe the finger he had used to pick his nose on the Long-Haired Man's clothes. Unfortunately, he was discovered before he could do so.
"Yo, little miss. Looks like I'm up against you again." The Bearded Uncle greeted Pitou with a familiar, easygoing look. Pitou's expression, however, was extremely unnatural. Rarely, Pitou did not answer. She stared motionlessly at the Bearded Uncle with immense wariness. For Pitou, who loved challenging powerful opponents and possessed immense curiosity, this was utterly unbelievable. If someone observed her skin up close or touched it, they would find that her palms were already drenched in sweat. The fur all over her body had also stood on end, a feline display of intimidation when encountering danger.
"King, this man is the most dangerous among them. His strength is simply... simply unfathomable. How could such a terrifying being exist in the human world? Fortunately, I can keep him tied down here for now. King, you must be careful. If necessary, I will sacrifice myself. Please, you must survive." A bead of cold sweat slid down Pitou's forehead. Never before had Pitou appeared so frightened. Even when facing Black Gon in the original work, she had not shown such wariness. Her evaluation of Black Gon had merely been that he could hurt the King, yet when facing the Bearded Uncle, she only asked Meruem to survive. One had to know that Meruem was even more perfect and powerful now than he had been in the original work.
"Time. Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock. Little miss, don't make any rash moves. Let's enjoy the young man's performance properly. I'm really looking forward to what he'll do~ I really want him to join my script. Heh heh." A mouthful of shark-like sharp teeth appeared before Pitou's eyes. Just who was this person? What was his purpose? He did not seem worried about his companions at all. No, perhaps they were not companions in the first place. Pitou's mind raced at high speed. It was too terrifying, the pressure this man exerted on her. And the others had not noticed anything wrong with him at all. This guy... was not human!
If Meruem knew there was a super boss here pretending to be weak, he would definitely say—Fuck, I showed off too hard this time. I've screwed myself over.
At this moment, the battle between Beyond and Meruem was nearing its end, because Meruem had already seen through Beyond's technique. It was fierce—utterly fierce, invincible, and relentlessly forward-driving. As the saying went, the best defense was offense. Beyond's technique perfectly embodied that phrase. But unfortunately, he had encountered Meruem, a monster with terrifying strength and even more terrifying learning ability.
"Supernova - Flower Bud!" Just as Beyond was about to be unable to withstand Meruem's attacks, support from the Long-Haired Man, Xiedi, arrived. A gigantic flower bud blocked Meruem's Sure-Kill Strike.
"Oh? Not bad. You actually managed to take one of my strikes. You really do have some skill." Meruem adopted a lofty posture. Lately, he had become increasingly addicted to this tone and this aura of coolness!
But if he kept using this villain-exclusive ability, there was a good chance he would be counterattacked by the protagonist or hero. The price he paid might be something he could never bear for the rest of his life. Were you prepared for that, Meruem?
"Ha! Super* Destruction Christina!" Silva fired two Nen bullets resembling Ki Blasts from his hands at Meruem. This technique had appeared in the original work as well. But what was with calling it Destruction Christina?
"Boring." Meruem did not take Silva's Nen bullets seriously at all and prepared to casually disperse them.
But Meruem did not notice that the flower bud previously summoned by the Long-Haired Man had already bloomed.
"True* Twin Dragons Play with Pearl!" Two Eastern divine dragons even larger than before appeared before Meruem. This was a combination technique performed by Zeno and Silva. It was also the strongest move they could use so far. If even this move could not deal with Meruem, then they truly had no other options.
"Are you people done yet?! I'm tired of this game!" Meruem shot into the air and charged straight at Zeno and Silva's technique.
"What?" In less than three seconds, the Nen dragons and Ki Blasts were torn to pieces by Meruem's hands.
"I said I'm tired of this game. Please die!" Though I had liked Silva and Zeno as characters in my previous life, I was the Ant King now! So die.
"Just in time! Die, Ant King! Supernova - Wither!" Xiedi's cold voice rang out.
PS: As usual, please vote, QAQ.
PS2: The slob is the clichéd part. Guess who he is! If you like a certain work, you should recognize him!
Muah muah (づ￣3￣)づ
Before you continue