In a battle between Nen users, mental state is crucial.
It not only constantly affects the stability of Nen but can also directly determine the outcome of the entire fight.
Morrow could have completely waited for Zeno to attack first, then used Terpsichora's speed advantage to charge in amidst the chaos.
Yet he still chose to step into the palace openly and honorably from the front.
All to gain a slight advantage for his companions before the battle began, and he sincerely hoped his companions would achieve a decisive victory in this life-or-death confrontation.
Above the central courtyard, Shaiapouf was tightly bound by golden chains.
Although the restraint was brief, this short time was enough for Morrow to charge straight in, crossing the entire central courtyard.
Simultaneously, deafening explosions came from the distant sky.
The Shooting Star Morrow had released was ultimately shattered mid-air by Neferpitou in her Terpsichora state.
Rampant energy poured out, causing violent tremors.
But the unleashed power only caused negligible damage to Neferpitou.
However, from this moment on, Morrow met the conditions to activate Stellar Collapse against Neferpitou at any time.
Neferpitou naturally had no idea that all her reactions and actions when facing the attack were within Morrow's calculations.
After neutralizing the Shooting Star threat, her thoughts aligned largely with Shaiapouf's.
That was, after accepting the "consequences of dereliction of duty," they must stop Morrow from approaching the King at all costs.
But just then, a new assault arrived.
Having just shattered the Shooting Star, Neferpitou seemed to sense something, sharply looking up at the churning black clouds.
She saw glowing arrows tearing through the cloud layer, pouring down like a torrential rain, enveloping the entire palace.
The overwhelming sight was strikingly similar to the splitting Shooting Star.
This was Zeno's star rain.
At this precise moment, it tugged at the nerves of the two Royal Guards.
There was no time to think... the Nen strings in the Terpsichora puppeteer's hands suddenly tightened, pulling Neferpitou like an arrow from a bow, shooting skyward at full speed to reinforce the main hall.
Shaiapouf, the moment the golden chains shattered, completely unaware a Star Mark had appeared on his body, frantically charged towards where the King was.
Regarding their reactions, Morrow, who had already leaped onto the third-floor open balcony of the main hall, merely glanced back indifferently.
In his hands, he condensed Nen bullets each a meter in diameter, bright light swirling continuously within.
These were just ordinary Shooting Stars; their power aside, their advantage lay in speed.
Morrow casually threw these two Shooting Stars.
Guided by the lock-on pull of the Star Marks, the two Shooting Stars, once released, shot towards Neferpitou and Shaiapouf like meteors.
These were unavoidable attacks.
The Shooting Stars slammed heavily into the two guards, the explosive impact force violently throwing them back, further increasing their distance from the main hall.
It could be said that Zeno's star rain caused a crack in Neferpitou and Shaiapouf's mental pressure.
Allowing Morrow to easily repel them at this moment.
Thus, the intention to divide the battlefield was initially accomplished.
Morrow strode into the main hall without looking back.
In truth, if Neferpitou and Shaiapouf could have been a bit calmer, they would have noticed that while the star rain seemed overwhelming, it deliberately avoided the palace's core areas.
But such was their nature and duty; in this situation, as Royal Guards, they absolutely couldn't remain calm.
This was inherently a targeted design.
The star rain arrows fell all over the palace, causing continuous explosions.
Even the Meat Orchard in the central courtyard was affected, instantly becoming a scene of devastation.
These Meat Orchards were important for the King's future campaigns.
But currently, Neferpitou and Shaiapouf had no mind to pay attention.
After dissipating the impact force of the Shooting Star explosion, they still frantically rushed towards the main hall.
Unfortunately... like a relay baton, Netero, accompanied by a sky full of Nen aura Dragon Lances, coldly swung out two palm strikes.
These were still unavoidable attacks.
And more impactful than ordinary Shooting Stars.
The two golden pillars struck out by Netero's palms solidly slammed into Neferpitou and Shaiapouf.
Mid-air with no leverage, they could only fly backward in shock towards even more distant places.
After completing this step, Netero glanced back at the palace being bombarded by the star rain.
The next moment, golden light surged behind him again.
Only this time, the target was himself.
Slap!
A suddenly materialized golden palm heavily struck his back, the immense impact force propelling him like a meteor through the sky, directly pursuing Neferpitou.
—--
Elsewhere.
Neferpitou, after being slapped away by the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, immediately materialized Doctor Blythe. Relying on the Limitation of not being able to move far from the repairer, she forcibly halted her momentum in mid-air.
Although her reaction was swift enough, the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva's speed was simply too fast.
This meant that even with her timely response, she was still slapped over a kilometer away, completely removed from the palace vicinity.
Their goal is to isolate the King...
Neferpitou tightly gripped her tail, using the force to counteract inertia, realizing the tactical intent of the human side during this process.
Her instinct as a guard surged with intense unease regarding the King's safety.
But on the other hand, she was well aware of the King's absolute strength and absolutely did not believe a single human could threaten the King.
In her view, that overconfident human would only become the King's nourishment, then transform into part of the King's power.
Neferpitou looked towards the palace direction, but her pupils suddenly reflected an oncoming fierce golden flash.
It was Netero pursuing to kill.
Neferpitou's eyes turned sharp, a cold severity showing on her face.
—--
Elsewhere.
Shaiapouf lacked emergency measures like Neferpitou's. His body, caught in the residual shockwaves, uncontrollably flew backward towards the direction of Peijin City.
And the other combat squad of the Extermination Team had already prepared to receive him along this path.
The division of the battlefield was completely accomplished at this moment.
—--
Third floor of the palace main hall.
The large-scale bombardment of the star rain did not affect this area.
However, the deafening noises inevitably interrupted the King and Komugi's game.
For players fully immersed in the game, this was undoubtedly the worst.
Komugi might still be bewildered by these sounds.
While the King, upon seeing Morrow enter the hall, revealed a cold bloodlust in his eyes.
He was indeed more focused on the game, but he hadn't failed to detect the wantonly released aura from Morrow outside the palace.
However, in his view, Morrow's aura wasn't important enough to interrupt his game with Komugi, and he knew Neferpitou and Shaiapouf wouldn't let enemies approach easily.
But the result differed from his expectation.
He wouldn't feel meaningless emotions like disappointment due to Neferpitou and Shaiapouf's dereliction. His displeasure stemmed more from the interrupted game.
And this displeasure was the nourishment for his intense bloodlust.
The King glanced at the half-finished game, then looked at the bewildered Komugi.
"Let's change locations."
He withdrew his gaze, slowly rising from before the board, expressionlessly looking at Morrow.
Morrow also glanced at Komugi and gently shook his head.
"I'm afraid not."
"..."
The King's eyes suddenly sharpened, an almost tangible pressure bursting from his entire body.
"Your target is only me, right?"
He casually raised his right hand, his thick knuckles slowly stretching out.
Just this seemingly insignificant movement felt as if it could transform into a life-taking blade the next second.
Morrow nodded. "Correct, but there's no need to change locations. And you needn't worry about 'uninvolved persons.'"
As soon as he finished speaking, before the King could react, Zeno entered the hall from the other side open balcony, hands behind his back.
Morrow's gaze passed over the King, landing on Zeno. "I'll trouble you."
"Taking the 'uninvolved person' away from here is a minor issue."
Zeno looked at the King. "But he... doesn't seem the type to comply easily."
"Take Komugi away."
As soon as Zeno finished speaking, the King ordered in an indisputable tone.
His earlier suggestion to change locations was precisely to avoid involving Komugi.
Now, seeing that Morrow and Zeno had no intention of harming Komugi, nor any plan to use her to threaten him, he simply complied with this arrangement.
"S-Supreme Commander..."
Komugi uneasily gripped her cane, groping her way to stand up, her face full of confusion.
The King turned his head to look at her, his voice low but brooking no argument. "Go with that person first. I will find you soon."
"O-okay..."
Though Komugi had many doubts in her heart, obeying the King's command was always her top priority.
Previously, the King had ordered her to be silent, and she truly didn't make a sound.
Resulting in difficulty breathing due to nasal congestion, ultimately leading to suffocation and fainting.
In this situation, even with questions, she would only silently suppress them in her heart.
Zeno's gaze shifted from the King to Komugi.
He wasn't the type to get angry over the King's commanding tone. Instead, he felt a sliver of admiration for the King's straightforwardness in letting them take Komugi away.
So when approaching Komugi, Zeno had no reservations.
He went straight to Komugi, efficiently lifted and carried her, and quickly took her out of the hall.
With Zeno and Komugi's departure, only Morrow and the King remained facing each other in the vast hall.
Their gazes collided in mid-air.
One's aura surged with fighting spirit, the other's aura was filled with cold bloodlust.
One thing was certain.
This battle would determine superiority and decide life or death.
Their auras clashed fiercely across the space; there was no need to announce the start officially.
When the clashing, surging auras touched the hall's walls and dome, Morrow and the King each took action.
Starlight Convergence・Cosmic Choreography
The surging Nen aura on Morrow's body instantly transformed into dazzling starlight, like a frozen field of vision, spreading towards the area in front of the King.
The King, meanwhile, flashed, instantly appearing before Morrow.
His thick, powerful hand, like a blade, stabbed towards Morrow's face.
Morrow tilted his head slightly, and the King's Palm Blade, wrapped in white aura flow, missed.
But the King's other hand also transformed into a Palm Blade, attacking Morrow's chest from below.
Maintaining his tilted head posture, Morrow followed with a sidestep, again evading the strike.
Both lightning-fast attacks in their initial exchange missed, but the King paid no mind, connecting with subsequent attacks at the fastest speed.
He moved both hands simultaneously, stabbing like sharp spears continuously towards Morrow's vital points all over his body.
In an instant, numerous afterimages stirred the air currents. With the boost in speed, they nearly sealed off the dodging space available to Morrow's human body.
Biological Mutation
However, Morrow's body, upon reading the attack information, timely altered the structure of local limbs, forcibly creating space for evasion.
In just a blink, the King stabbed out over a dozen palm strikes, and Morrow dodged every single one.
Seeing the bizarre changes in Morrow's limbs, the King's expression remained impassive.
His powerful speed attacks were all dodged by Morrow, which was proof enough of strength.
But the King hadn't intended to end the fight immediately with speed attacks from the start.
Like a game of chess, some preparation is always needed before directly taking the "King."
The King's true killing move was the stinger on his tail.
Whoosh!
A sharp sound of something cutting through the air suddenly rang out. The stinger, coordinating with the King's all-out offensive strikes against Morrow, passed through the only gap in the attack-defense interplay, instantly striking a seemingly unavoidable blind spot on Morrow.
Facing this extremely tricky stinger sneak attack, Morrow indeed did not dodge.
He merely placed the back of his right hand horizontally in front of his chest while continuously evading the incoming Palm Blades.
As if prearranged, the stinger precisely pierced the back of Morrow's right hand.
Clang!
But the expected scene of his hand being pierced did not occur. Instead, the collision between the sharp stinger tip and the back of his hand produced intense Nen aura ripples, actually emitting a metallic clanging sound.
The indestructible nature of Tree Rings served its purpose at this moment.
Morrow used it to block the King's stinger killing move, though the ensuing impact force still sent him flying back.
As he flew backward, the King's rapidly successive Palm Blades also missed.
But the range of Starlight Convergence had been locked onto the King all along.
Thus, the ability conditions were met as a matter of course.
The star points connected by red thin lines instantly turned into golden chains, coiling tightly around the King's body like pythons.
This sudden, unforeseen ability phenomenon caused the King's gaze to shift from the flying Morrow to the golden chains.
And precisely in that instant his gaze shifted, Morrow, who should have been pushed far away by the impact force, disappeared from mid-air as if by design.
The Starlight Convergence disappeared along with him.
No, more accurately, the starlight lost its aura amount support and suddenly dissipated.
The newly manifested aura output had already arrived above the King along with Morrow.
Astral Step
Morrow, using the power of teleportation, precisely seized that momentary opening.
King, fall to hell...
Morrow flipped his wrist mid-air, the dazzling Nen power wrapped around his right hand burst forth like raging waves. Instantly, an aura pillar roared out, directly blasting the top of the King's head.
Boom!
The explosive Nen pressure slammed the King, along with the shattering golden chains, into the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang...!
Amidst the continuous crashing sounds, numerous fragments of stone flew about.
The King, wrapped in the immense impact force, crashed through floor after floor as he fell downward.
Until he heavily smashed onto the first-floor ground, the Nen power pillar released by Morrow still did not cease. Instead, it pressed down with even greater force.
Crack!
The first-floor ground of the palace shattered accordingly, collapsing with a roar.
The King was once again forcefully pressed into the ground by this power.
As his body continuously sank into the earth, the aura pillar bombarding him actually blasted out what seemed like a bottomless pit.
At the pit's end was a specially constructed emergency shelter located beneath the palace.
The King fell straight down onto the shelter's floor. Only then did the Nen power pillar that had been suppressing him slowly dissipate.
Palace third floor.
The Nen aura glow in Morrow's palm gradually faded as he looked down at the broken floor section his Nen had blasted through.
His calm gaze passed through the layers of holes, directly seeing the dark pit on the first-floor ground, and faintly discerning the King's Nen aura at the pit bottom.
Next...
Morrow's right hand gathered Nen aura again, rapidly condensing a fluorescent green light. A Deceptive Shooting Star took shape in an instant.
The condition for activating Stellar Collapse is first implanting a Star Mark on the target, then attacking once with a Shooting Star.
As long as this final step is completed, he can sacrifice the Star Mark at any time to activate the Stellar Collapse ability.
All preparations are complete.
Morrow flicked his wrist, sending that fluorescent green Shooting Star down into the pit below.
—--
On the ground of the underground shelter.
The finally stirred eyes of the King reflected the rapidly descending fluorescent green glow.
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how???????!!!!!!!!
Bonus chapter @15892985powerstones