The terror of the Royal Guards...
Only those who had faced them in combat could truly understand.
Yet even such troublesome existences had been smoothly eliminated one by one by Morrow.
Morel and the others felt shaken internally, but what dominated was pleasant surprise.
In contrast, Neferpitou, who understood Shaiapouf's abilities best, found it hard to believe despite her shock.
With Beelzebub's splitting ability and Spiritual Message that could read the opponent's emotional state at any time...
These two abilities combined might not grant Shaiapouf absolute dominance in direct combat, but they endowed him with exceptional survivability.
So how could someone as resilient as Shaiapouf have been killed?
Neferpitou struggled to accept this outcome, but there was no time to dwell on it now.
Is it a neurotoxin...?
Sensing the changes in her body, Neferpitou formed this hypothesis.
Just moments ago, as she lunged at Morel, her body suddenly stiffened, causing a slight delay in her attack.
It was this momentary opening that allowed Morrow, who had intervened, to precisely stomp her into the mud.
The abnormality in Neferpitou's body was Gel's doing.
Since the A.P.R. left behind by Knuckle was sufficient to ensure Neferpitou lost her ability to resist, Gel, when given the chance to inject toxins, decisively chose the faster-acting neurotoxin.
This decision proved crucial at the critical moment.
When Morrow made his move against Neferpitou, he naturally noticed this subtle change.
But he didn't need to guess.
While fighting Shaiapouf, whenever he had a spare moment, he would glance over at Morel's battle.
Though his observations were intermittent, he could still glean key information from them.
This included Gel's attempts to inject toxins.
As for the A.P.R. hovering beside Neferpitou...
Morrow's eyelids lowered slightly. Seeing the black Post-Mortem Nen swirling around the A.P.R., he understood exactly what had happened.
To defeat Neferpitou, Knuckle and the others had given their all.
His gaze swiftly swept over the "1027" displayed on the A.P.R.'s forehead, and based on this alone, Morrow could declare victory.
Even if their physical strength and aura output levels were far inferior to monsters like the Royal Guards, Knuckle and the others, through their deep cultivation of Nen and their strong willpower and resolve...
They found the only possibility of defeating Neferpitou in this battle with such a vast gap.
This was also the fundamental reason why Morel and the others were eager to disengage.
Morel, you go first.
Morrow didn't need any information from his teammates. With just a single glance, he could instantly grasp the situation on the battlefield and make precise judgments.
Not far behind him, Morel's expression shifted slightly.
Morel had already prepared a brief explanation to convey the current situation to Morrow, but now, it seemed such explanations were unnecessary.
Realizing that Morrow had immediately grasped the entire situation, Morel, who was himself adept at calculations, found himself at a loss for words to describe the admiration he felt for Morrow. But he knew this wasn't the time for reflection; every second counted for action.
Without hesitation, Morel immediately turned and swiftly dashed toward the direction of the Hide and Seek portal.
Meanwhile, Hisoka kept his eyes fixed on Morrow, narrowing them slightly with a trace of scrutiny.
After a brief moment of hesitation, he ultimately chose to follow behind several Deep Purple soldiers, moving together toward the entrance of Hide and Seek.
Kalluto and Menchi also couldn't help but pause and take a few extra glances at Morrow.
Both understood clearly that in the current situation, forcibly staying to help wouldn't be useful and might instead become a burden.
So like Hisoka, they closely followed the Deep Purple soldiers who were carrying Gon and Kite, quickly retreating toward Hide and Seek.
Gel stood at a slightly farther position, her eyes deeply fixed on Morrow who was radiating an astonishing aura.
Unlike Morel who was racing against time to organize the evacuation, she no longer displayed the intense focus and tension from during the battle, appearing remarkably composed with almost no trace of nervousness or anxiety.
This calmness wasn't without reason.
Gel knew the neurotoxin had already begun taking effect.
Under the toxin's influence, even if Neferpitou hadn't completely lost mobility, she absolutely shouldn't have any energy left to mount any substantial attack.
Therefore, in Gel's view, the operation to safely withdraw everyone to Hide and Seek was almost guaranteed to succeed.
Has his power already reached such heights...
With somewhat mixed feelings, Gel withdrew her gaze and turned to follow the main group.
However, just as she turned to run, she seemed to sense something and sharply turned her head, her eyes returning to the confronting figures of Morrow and Neferpitou.
The next moment, she saw Neferpitou, who had been completely suppressed in the mud, actually push Morrow back several steps through sheer explosive power and advantage in aura output.
How is this possible...!
Witnessing Neferpitou's explosive movements that seemed completely immune to the neurotoxin, the composure instantly vanished from Gel's face, her expression unavoidably changing.
She had clearly seen the subtle stiffness and delayed reactions in Neferpitou's body when the toxin took effect.
How could Neferpitou appear to have recovered so quickly?
As this doubt surfaced in her mind, Gel's sharp observational skills immediately caught a detail.
Behind Neferpitou, that clownesque puppeteer-like red phantom had now mostly solidified, as if about to gain physical form.
With her relatively deep understanding of Nen, Gel quickly formed a corresponding hypothesis upon noticing this change in ability manifestation.
Neferpitou had likely forcibly switched her ability nature from the previous "semi-control type" to the more consuming but extremely controlled "complete control type."
In other words, Neferpitou had completely turned herself into a puppet, letting the puppeteer Ben beast take over full control.
This would forcibly counteract the neurotoxin's effects on her body.
Realizing this possibility, Gel couldn't help but frown.
The thought of Morrow having to face Neferpitou alone, unaffected by the neurotoxin, made a trace of concern flash through her heart. But this flicker of concern had barely surfaced before it was replaced by the tension of facing a formidable enemy.
Because...
The first thing Neferpitou did after regaining her freedom was to completely ignore Morrow nearby and instead launch another attack toward those retreating into Hide and Seek.
Whoosh!
Under the Puppet Master's control, Neferpitou's figure shot forward like a black lightning bolt, carrying terrifying momentum and bloodlust as she lunged straight for Morel's back as he retreated at full speed.
The possibility that the humans possessed a "spatial-type ability" was actually a conclusion Neferpitou and Shaiapouf had reached after Youpi vanished near the Chimera Ant Nest.
However, due to the lack of more specific intelligence, they had been unable to determine the exact mechanics and limitations of this spatial ability.
But it was almost certain that the humans indeed possessed some means of rapid and safe spatial relocation.
Based on this judgment, Neferpitou's thoughts at this moment were exceptionally clear and ruthless.
That was to kill as many as possible before this group could utilize their spatial ability to escape.
Her reason for choosing to attack Morel first was also very clear.
Aside from Morel being the closest target, eliminating him would make it easier to kill Gon and Kite, who were being carried by Deep Purple.
Just as Neferpitou shot toward Morel like black lightning, a figure intercepted her path at even greater speed.
Morrow seemed to materialize out of thin air, appearing diagonally in front of Neferpitou.
This sudden interception made Neferpitou's pupils contract sharply. From the corner of her eye, she barely registered raindrops shattering into mist before an irresistible force pressed down on her head.
It was Morrow, pressing his hand against her skull and exerting tremendous force to slam her face-first into the muddy ground.
Boom!
Amid the deafening impact, Neferpitou's face was driven into the mire.
The tremendous force instantly created a shallow crater in the ground.
Murky water splashed upward like a fountain, blooming into sprays in the air.
This breathtaking scene finally allowed Morel's anxiously raised heart to settle back into place.
Dealing with Neferpitou's assault...
Among all present, only Morrow could accomplish it.
At this moment, the last trace of apprehension in Morel's heart completely vanished.
Rather than imagining worst-case scenarios, it was better to wholeheartedly trust in Morrow's ability.
Seeing Morrow successfully intercept Neferpitou's attack, the others dared not delay even for a moment, continuing to rush toward Hide and Seek's portal at maximum speed.
They all understood clearly that the sooner they entered Hide and Seek, the sooner Morrow could begin his withdrawal, minimizing the risks he faced.
However, as they raced toward Hide and Seek, a question arose simultaneously in everyone's minds:
Why did Morrow's strength seem to have increased significantly compared to before?
This doubt existed not only among the Extermination Team members but was also noticed by Neferpitou, who was still pinned to the ground.
This human's power... has grown far stronger than before.
To achieve such remarkable evolution in such a short time?
How exactly did he manage this? Could he possess traits similar to the "King"?
Countless thoughts flashed through Neferpitou's mind, ultimately settling on the scene of her first encounter with Morrow.
Compared to back then, this human was indeed growing stronger at an exponential rate.
Perhaps even Shaiapouf has become nourishment for his evolution... Otherwise, how could he undergo such a drastic transformation in such a short time?
Neferpitou grew increasingly convinced of this possibility.
She instantly elevated Morrow's threat level to maximum.
Under no circumstances could this human be allowed to escape using spatial abilities; he must be completely eliminated here!
Neferpitou weighed Morrow against the other members of the Extermination Team on a mental scale.
The result was obvious.
Morrow alone carried far more "weight" than all the other Extermination Team members combined.
Thus, Neferpitou abandoned her original plan of assassinating the others, her mind now solely focused on completely resolving the Morrow threat.
Unaware of Neferpitou's shifting thoughts, Morrow kept his right hand clamped like iron pincers against her head, Nen wildly gathering in his palm as if clutching a brewing storm.
When the intensely condensed energy finally took form...
In the next instant, he unhesitatingly employed Emission techniques to violently slam the highly compressed Nen sphere against the back of Neferpitou's skull.
BOOM!
Savage energy erupted from his palm, transforming into a visible shockwave.
Neferpitou's head violently compressed downward under the tremendous force.
The surrounding crater immediately collapsed accordingly, countless fragments turning to dust in the shockwave as rainwater that had flowed into the pit now reversed direction, shooting skyward.
BOOM!
Detecting no resistance from beneath him, Morrow unhesitatingly unleashed a second blast.
This time the Nen was more refined and rapid.
Accompanied by deafening roars, the crater collapsed deeper still, mud from the edges first flying upward before cascading waterfall-like back into the pit.
BOOM!
A third impact followed in quick succession.
Maintaining his suppression posture, Morrow drove Neferpitou ever deeper into the earth.
These three consecutive strikes had bought enough time to ensure Morel and the others' safe withdrawal.
With this thought, Morrow retracted his right hand like lightning, core muscles explosively contracting as his right leg swung high like a battle-axe before stomping heavily on Neferpitou's back.
BOOM!
The force of this kick brutally drove Neferpitou several meters deeper.
Meanwhile, Morrow utilized the recoil to arrow upward like a loosed bowstring, landing lightly on the devastated ground.
His palm cannon had directly created a massive pit here.
Yet it failed to penetrate Neferpitou's skull.
Offensive Nen abilities in normal states simply couldn't affect monsters like Chimera Ants.
Only mechanism-based abilities like Stellar Collapse, with hidden destructive power surpassing the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, could breach the monstrous skeletal strength and Nen defenses of Chimera Ants.
Take Netero's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva: after delivering thousands of strikes against the King, it had only accumulated negligible blunt trauma without even breaking the skin.
But Stellar Collapse, once its Limitation conditions were met, could directly secure the Vow effect of fatally eliminating the King. However, given the current situation...
Knuckle's remaining A.P.R. alone was enough to deal with Neferpitou.
Deceptive Shooting Star.
Morrow tossed a fluorescent green Nen bullet into the sky, then immediately looked down into the deep pit.
At the bottom of the pit, a blood-red malice bloomed like a flower.
Right at the center of this malevolent blossom, Neferpitou shattered through the heavy rain and charged straight toward Morrow at the pit's edge.
Yet, the Deceptive Shooting Star Morrow had just thrown, guided by the Star Mark's locking mechanism, transformed into a vertical fluorescent green beam that blasted the airborne Neferpitou back into the pit.
Boom!
The explosion at the pit's bottom churned up massive amounts of muddy water.
Facing the rain disrupted by the violent wind, Morrow calmly stated, "Stay put."
From this moment on, Morel and the others' retreat into Hide and Seek was practically guaranteed.
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Bonus chapter @1800powerstones