The palace was divided into three battle zones.
Only Knov and Palm were not engaged in combat.
The two of them were responsible for moving the hypnotized humans into the Fourth-Dimensional Apartment.
For the Chimera Ant extermination team, both the fighting and the rescue operations were races against time.
At this moment,
At the central palace,
On the throne room.
The Chimera Ant King set down the book he was reading.
Around him, a mountain of books had piled up.
These books were not mere decorations, as many had already been read by him.
As he read through them, the King paid no mind to the noises and Aura fluctuations coming from outside the grand hall.
But the sound of approaching footsteps at the front gate made him set aside the book he was halfway through.
He slowly lifted his gaze toward the palace doors.
There, dressed in his 'heart' t-shirt and with a clean-shaven head, Isaac Netero strode confidently across the threshold and into the luxurious hall.
But what truly made the King put down his book was the overwhelming fighting spirit radiating from Netero at that very moment.
That fighting spirit, almost tangible, was as blinding as the sun.
Even without looking directly at it, its presence was impossible to ignore.
Tap… tap… tap…
The rhythmic footsteps echoed through the vast hall.
Netero was shrouded in a still Aura, and his eyes were filled with unwavering resolve as he looked toward the King seated on the throne.
He saw the mountain of books beside the King, and also felt the immense Aura of the King.
With just one glance, the two pieces of information were collected into his head.
'The Chimera Ant King-'
'Was actually taking in knowledge like a human?'
'Compared with half a month ago, his Aura has become even stronger, and not just a little, but significantly.'
From Netero's perspective, the King's Manifested Aura had at least increased by fifty percent...
'I expected he still had room to grow...'
A shadow quietly appeared in Netero's eyes, and he muttered to himself in his heart: 'But I didn't expect him to grow this fast.'
After a brief time apart, this rematch revealed a chilling truth: the King, who was already an extremely difficult opponent, had raised his Manifested Aura to an even more despairing level in less than a month.
This outcome had caught Netero off guard.
But the arrow had already been nocked and there was no turning back.
Facing the King's overwhelming presence head-on, Netero didn't flinch. Like a lone boat in a stormy sea, he advanced fearlessly.
For this battle-
Netero had meditated deeply, and adjusted his body and mind to their peak condition.
This momentum,
Would be brought crashing down upon the King.
From atop the throne-
The King's eyes reflected Netero's steadily approaching figure.
For this 'old warrior's' arrival, the King actually felt a tinge of interest.
After all, in the battle in front of the nest, the old warrior in front of him had chosen to escape.
But now-
The King slowly stood up and looked down at Netero, who had stepped into the center of the hall.
"Have you decided how you want to die?"
That emotionless voice echoed through the hall and reached Netero's ears.
Judging from the tone of his voice, it sounded like the King was simply stating an inevitable fact.
And Netero's response wasn't to banter or regain momentum with words. Instead, he simply swung his arms and put his palms together with a surge of Aura swirling around him.
Talk?
It's unnecessary...
From the moment he stepped into this hall, this
battle to the death had begun!
Without any intention of speaking, Netero took the initiative, summoning the Golden Guanyin, which swung down its staff-like arm in a crushing blow toward the King.
However-
It was as if the King could see the trajectory of the 100-Type Guanyin's attack. With a swift motion, he raised his arm and struck the descending hand of the 100-Type Guanyin mid-air.
Boom!
A fierce shockwave exploded from the point of impact.
The King's swatting motion resembled someone brushing away a fly, and he casually knocked the 100-Type Guanyin's palm aside.
"Hmm!?"
Seeing this scene, Netero's eyes narrowed slightly.
But in that split-second clash, he had no time to think about why the King could easily block 100-Type Guanyin's First Hand.
Netero's mentality remained as solid as a rock, not affected at all.
Netero's gaze remained locked on the, and the Golden Guanyin standing behind him launched the follow-up strike.
[100-Type Guanyin: Second Hand]
A beam of golden light whizzed towards the King from the side.
Once again, the King reacted instantly. He leapt into the air and allowed the golden palm strike to sweep past underneath.
However, while in the air, he was immediately met with the next barrage from the 100-Type Guanyin.
Because the true power of the 100-Type Guanyin wasn't just its speed, and it lay in its relentless, continuous barrage of infinite palm strikes.
[100-Type Guanyin: Third Hand]
Two massive golden palms, filled with serene might, closed in from both sides toward the airborne King.
Even if he'd memorized the attack patterns, he still can't keep up with the attack rhythm.
With dazzling golden light flashing at the edge of his vision, the King had no way to dodge. He could only extend his arms in advance, attempting to block the clapping palms of the 100-Type Guanyin.
Boom! Boom!
And he actually did it. His palms, which were filled with terrifying Aura, firmly resisted the force of 100-Type Guanyin's combined palms.
This time, the Third Hand of 100-Type Guanyin failed to squeeze the King into its palms. Instead, the King managed to stop it just in time, holding them apart.
It was clear-
There was a certain structure and method hidden within the King's fighting style.
Netero had seen through it, and instantly understood the reason why.
This monster in front of him is a fusion of countless superior genes...
Not only does he possess strength beyond human limits, he also possesses wisdom that should not be underestimated.
Reading books was one way to showcase intelligence, and memorizing an opponent's moves in battle is also a way to show intelligence.
That's right-
This monster had remembered the striking points of the 100-Type Guanyin's palms during their previous clashes, and from that, he deduced the entire structure of the technique.
That was how he could formulate such a targeted counter.
"Truly terrifying…"
In that fleeting moment, Netero murmured softly.
It is unknown whether it is an awe or admiration.
What was certain was that Netero's hands did not hesitate for even a second.
The Fourth Hand of 100-Type Guanyin struck toward the King.
Even though the King had spread his arms in advance to block the clamping force of the third palm, the 100-Type Guanyin didn't just have a single pair of hands.
The golden palm, which is glowing like divine light, struck the temporarily immobilized King and slammed him straight into the ground.
Boom!
As the King's back smashed violently into the floor, the impact shattered the palace tiles like soft tofu.
Netero's gaze swept toward the King's syringe-like tail, which peeked out from beside the golden hand.
One moment, he was whispering about how terrifying the King was, and the next moment, he calmly manipulated the 100-Type Guanyin to deliver the fifth and sixth palm strikes...
Bang, bang, bang!
One after another, unrelenting palm strikes crashed down on the King.
Just like that, the tide of this deathmatch reverted to how it had started.
The King relied solely on the sheer toughness of his body and endured every strike from the 100-Type Guanyin.