In the final assault against the Chimera Ants, the Extermination Team successfully divided the battlefield.
The one-on-one duel between Morrow and the King, despite consisting entirely of high-speed attacks and defenses, lasted over ten minutes.
After all, the number of exchanges between them exceeded a thousand.
It was during this process that Morrow continuously utilized Emission techniques interspersed throughout, ultimately accumulating enough hits on the King to ignite the Accretion Charge.
Ten-plus minutes wasn't particularly long, but it wasn't short either.
At the very least, for both sides, a significant amount of potential aura was expended in the offensive and defensive exchanges.
If not for a Nen ability like Stellar Collapse, which could decisively conclude battles with its mechanics, fights between powerful humans and Chimera Ants would mostly devolve into wars of attrition.
While skilled human fighters could force Chimera Ants to expend more energy in intense combat, Chimera Ants not only possessed astonishing aura output but also had seemingly bottomless reserves of potential aura.
Thus, if a battle dragged into a prolonged phase, humans would most likely end up on the losing side.
Although Morrow defeated the King, his own potential aura was nearly depleted.
This was precisely the main reason why the King, after being resurrected, confidently asserted that Morrow no longer had any chance of victory.
Of course, the King had no way of knowing that after killing him, Morrow had replenished most of his depleted potential aura thanks to the effects of leveling up three times in a row.
However, the other members of the Extermination Team did not possess Morrow's capabilities.
After Netero used the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva to divide the battlefield, he faced Neferpitou alone.
The 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, representing the pinnacle of his lifelong skills, consistently interrupted Neferpitou's assaults as before and delivered significant counterblows during defensive maneuvers.
Yet, Neferpitou's innate aura output and formidable physical defenses remained the first formidable barrier that humans had to overcome in battle.
Without breaching this barrier, how could victory be achieved?
Netero was acutely aware of this and knew that if the battle dragged on indefinitely, he would inevitably be the one to collapse from exhaustion.
Thus, relying solely on the 99 palms of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva might not be enough to secure victory.
Only the Zero Hand could bring a chance of triumph.
Throughout the relentless assault on Neferpitou, Netero, with his richer experience, foresaw the trajectory of this battle before Neferpitou did.
But he did not immediately deploy this final killing move. Instead, he patiently wore down Neferpitou's mental fortitude amid the hyper-speed exchanges.
Can't rush this.
Netero's hands always came together steadily, channeling the full power of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva upon his opponent through prayer.
He couldn't afford to be hasty.
Because within him still lay a Poor Man's Rose, a trump card that could overturn the table entirely.
This was the final safeguard; even if the extermination failed, it could resolve this biological disaster.
He only needed to consider one thing.
Without knowing the outcome of Morrow's battle against the King and lacking confidence in defeating Neferpitou, if he were defeated and forced to activate this last resort, he had to ensure two things simultaneously.
First, he must ensure his teammates could retreat safely as much as possible. Second, he must provide the residents of Peijin with sufficient time to evacuate.
If victory had to come at the cost of sacrifice... it would be best for him alone to shoulder this responsibility.
Netero's mind was as steady as a rock, each palm strike unleashed through his prayer gesture imbued with powerful willpower.
He might exhaust his strength.
But before that, his 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva would never give Neferpitou the slightest chance to catch her breath.
Why exactly...?
Streaks of golden light seemed to burn directly into the depths of Neferpitou's eyes, carving deep confusion into her heart.
Her Terpsichora ability had gradually matured and grown stronger through countless uses...
In other words, her current power and speed were faster and stronger than when she faced Netero at the Chimera Ant Nest.
So why couldn't she penetrate those ever-present golden palm strikes?
Why couldn't she break through this impenetrable offense?
Just once would be enough!
Yet all attempts and variations ultimately ended in failure.
Amid repeated failed assaults, Neferpitou felt an indescribable bewilderment.
And deep within this confusion, a profound respect for the elderly human before her quietly took root.
But precisely because of this, as someone who revered the King above all else, she had to ignite fiercer fighting spirit, had to eliminate all potential threats to the King as a Royal Guard.
Especially this old man before her, and his unfathomably terrifying ability.
She must win this battle!
The more Neferpitou struggled, the more determined she became. Bolstered by this resolve, she suddenly unleashed an even more ferocious offensive.
"Hoh..."
Amid the intense exchange, Netero could clearly sense Neferpitou's continuously rising spiritual energy.
The Chimera Ants' potential for constant evolution in battle made him inwardly alarmed once again.
Yet the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva maintained its solemn and dignified form, repelling every attack from Neferpitou.
The outcome remained unchanged.
Even though Neferpitou had discovered through countless failures that she must conceal her aura flow, and strained to adjust her attack patterns...
She still couldn't breach the 100-Type Guanyin's palm strikes.
What weighed even heavier on her heart was how Netero's emitted aura remained as steady and silent as an ancient tree, revealing almost no fluctuations.
This made an involuntary thought surface in her mind:
It's simply impossible to maintain such an almost withered mental state amid such violent rapid assaults.
This inconceivable realm forced Neferpitou to accept the cruel reality.
She might be able to exhaust Netero to death through sheer endurance advantage, but she could never truly defeat the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Which meant she couldn't quickly end this battle and return to the only one she cared about, the King.
Netero's Nen was like a merciless sharp blade, directly piercing through Neferpitou's last vestiges of wishful thinking.
Subtle changes consequently manifested in the fierce battle.
She had given up.
Netero noticed this immediately.
This outcome made him involuntarily think of Morrow.
Both used Terpsichora to push their power and speed beyond limits, yet Morrow could breach the 100-Type Guanyin while Neferpitou couldn't no matter how she tried.
What was the difference between them?
Even while completely suppressing Neferpitou, Netero found himself pondering this question. The answer might lie in the "instantaneous burst of cognitive processing."
He could see that Neferpitou possessed astonishing reaction speed, top-tier decision-making abilities, and could push her physical speed to the limit using her puppet-master-like ability.
What was even more remarkable was Neferpitou's capacity to recognize her own shortcomings mid-battle and rapidly adapt and improve.
For the vast majority of human Nen users, such power was undoubtedly a nightmare.
Yet before the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, she couldn't stir even a ripple.
Fundamentally, no matter how much Neferpitou enhanced the coordination between her "thinking speed" and "physical speed," she still couldn't bypass the essential step of "needing to think" and "transmitting commands to her body."
This step, which couldn't be omitted under normal circumstances, was precisely the fundamental reason she couldn't break through the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva.
In contrast, Morrow might not need to execute this step at all.
Almost there...
Having reached this conclusion while completely suppressing Neferpitou's spirit, Netero felt the timing was right to deploy the "Zero Hand."
Just then, Morrow emerged from the underground emergency shelter and immediately noticed the intense battle dominated by the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva a kilometer away.
Both Netero and Neferpitou in their duel were fully focused, closely tracking each other's movements, completely unaware of the concealed gaze from afar.
Morrow observed how Neferpitou in the battlefield kept being slammed to the ground or blasted away by the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, yet always managed to regroup and resume her assault unscathed.
As expected... the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva still can't break through Neferpitou's defense?
During his intense battle with the King over the past dozen minutes, Netero's fight might have appeared less convoluted due to the open terrain, but it must have involved countless perilous collisions.
Yet Neferpitou could still withstand the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva's strikes.
Morrow wasn't particularly surprised by this outcome.
This conclusion had been evident during their earlier assault on the Chimera Ant Nest.
Moreover, he recalled from the original storyline that during the Extermination Team's attack on the palace, Neferpitou made a fatal mistake, presenting an opening directly to Netero.
In such a situation, if Netero could have exploited that opening to severely injure or kill Neferpitou, it would have significantly reduced the casualty rate for other Extermination Team members.
However, even when Netero seized that opening and delivered a heavy blow to Neferpitou...
The result was Neferpitou emerging completely unharmed.
Morrow wasn't surprised by this outcome, which was why he felt more confident in bearing the Limitation of ending the battle faster than Netero.
The final result was him defeating the King more quickly.
Now, it was time for him to make a move against Neferpitou.
With this thought, Morrow quietly gathered his aura and swiftly closed in.
But just as he initiated his move, the situation within the combat zone changed.
Netero deployed his trump card.
Namely, the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva's Zero Hand, concentrating all his aura into a single strike.
Neferpitou had no room to react before being enveloped by the Guanyin's merciful palms.
Simultaneously.
Determined to secure this victory, Netero rapidly channeled all his aura into the impending Guanyin's roar.
Yet another anomaly occurred. A condensed Nen beam carrying immense Nen output shot diagonally from the clouds above the sea, striking with impeccable timing directly at Netero, who had neglected his defenses to concentrate all his aura into a single blow.
It was a sniper shot from the Stone Wall team.
—--
Aboard the airship.
Muherr let out a low whistle.
As a sniper, seizing that perfect moment to pull the trigger brought an indescribable mental exhilaration.
Just like now, relying on experience, Muherr had precisely identified that fleeting opening amid the fierce clash between Netero and Neferpitou.
And he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
He was utterly confident in this shot.
It couldn't possibly miss.
This was the conviction born of mastery in his field, much like how those of the Enhancer always believed their fists were the strongest.
And indeed, that was the case.
The coordinated firepower assaults of the Stone Wall team had never failed in either power or accuracy once a target was locked.
That was the very foundation of their legendary reputation.
Of course, if external factors intervened, that would be another matter.
At the critical moment when this powerful strike was about to pierce through Netero's life, Morrow blinked into existence, materializing out of thin air behind Netero.
Faced with the choice between launching a surprise attack on Neferpitou or aiding Netero, Morrow unhesitatingly chose the latter.
Confronted with this formidable blow condensed from the Nen output of several Emission ability users, he merely raised his hand with an almost casual flick, forcibly dispersing it.
This scene, clearly visible to Muherr through his visual enhancement ability, shattered the overflowing confidence on his face in an instant.
How is this possible!?
Muherr's face stiffened, disbelief written all over it.
This was a powerful strike condensed from his and several companions' Nen output. Under the premise of guaranteed accuracy, he was confident it could even deliver a fatal blow to Beyond.
Yet such a formidable attack was casually swatted away by Morrow. What was more terrifying... how could he even track the trajectory? Was that something a human could do?!
Muherr's shock was beyond words.
Beside him, several Stone Wall members responsible for the "ammunition duty" had no idea what had happened, exchanging confused glances in bewilderment.
Only Golem, piloting the giant robot, sensed something amiss.
Anything that could make Muherr lose his composure so drastically must be beyond their understanding.
"Should we retreat?"
Golem cautiously asked.
—--
On the battlefield.
Netero stood with his back to Morrow, who had appeared at the critical moment to aid him. His eyelids lowered slightly, and a faint, imperceptible smile touched the corners of his mouth.
It seems we've won...
As this thought crossed Netero's mind, he knew that even if he interrupted the release of Zero Hand now, he and Morrow could still join forces to ensure Neferpitou's defeat.
Yet he unhesitatingly continued channeling Zero Hand!
Morrow, standing with his back to Netero, who was steadfastly adhering to his martial path, let out a silent sigh. He raised his right hand high, gathering an astonishingly vast amount of Nen in the blink of an eye, aiming it in the direction from which the beam had come.
An old man and a young man, standing back to back.
Each gathering their strongest strike against their respective targets. The 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva gradually widened its mouth, unleashing a stellar-like torrent of energy from its slightly ferocious maw, crashing down upon Neferpitou trapped between its clasped palms.
Morrow's colossal Nen bullet shot forth like a missile, carrying terrifying energy as it carved a brilliant vacuum trail across the sky, subsequently blasting a massive hole through the turbulent clouds.
It flew with precise and unwavering trajectory toward the airship where Stone Wall was stationed.
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Bonus chapter @2500powerstones