The confrontation between Morrow and Shaiapouf was nothing short of intense.
To achieve his goal of "killing Shaiapouf," Morrow employed every means at his disposal.
This caused Shaiapouf's emotional aura to fluctuate wildly after suffering setbacks.
This nearly insane aura was the only obstacle preventing Knov from setting up 'Hide and Seek' portals within the palace.
That aura felt like a saw repeatedly grinding against his nerves.
In contrast, the King, immersed in his board game, and Neferpitou, focused on healing, didn't exert the slightest pressure on Knov.
Under these circumstances, he set up as many portals as possible without overexerting himself, retreating decisively into 'Hide and Seek' when the timing was right.
In terms of mission accomplishment, his performance wasn't outstanding, but it lived up to the nature of his ability.
"Morrow, you..."
Knov leaned out from a portal, looking at Morrow.
His heart was filled with an indescribable emotion, and his voice carried obvious hesitation when he called Morrow's name.
"Hmm?"
Morrow glanced at him.
Knov opened his mouth, intending to ask, "Aren't you afraid at all?"
But after hesitating for about a second, he ultimately swallowed the words and shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's return to the apartment first."
"Alright."
Morrow could detect a hint of weakness in Knov's breathing, surmising that Shaiapouf's distorted, frenzied aura must have affected him to some extent.
After the two returned to 'Hide and Seek' and reunited with their teammates, they immediately began consolidating intelligence.
Currently, the Meat Orchard in the central courtyard had suffered significant damage from Morrow's assault, with losses likely exceeding half.
However, the remaining flesh eggs could still hatch successively.
On the other hand, the puppet soldiers that had already hatched suffered considerable losses under Morrow's Shooting Star attacks.
Thus, even if Neferpitou interrupted her healing when they launched the final assault on the palace, she would lack sufficient puppet materials.
This indirectly reduced the pressure when engaging the Royal Guards.
Moreover, Knov had already set up 'Hide and Seek' portals in multiple locations within the palace, making their pre-battle preparations quite thorough.
The only concern was the girl playing against the King.
For the Extermination Team, their enemies were monsters among monsters.
Therefore, once they engaged these monsters, it would be difficult to manage too many things at once.
Regarding Komugi's safety, Morrow simply stated that he would take responsibility, instructing his teammates to focus on dealing with the Royal Guards.
Given the current situation, the most critical factor was actually the progress on Chairman Netero's end.
At least in Morrow's view, if Netero could enter the scene in time, there was a possibility of defeating the King.
Unlike the original storyline, where they were gradually forced into a desperate situation.
The King's current injuries, after Neferpitou's treatment, should be less than halfway sutured, overall still in a state of "severed but not completely disconnected."
Morrow based this conclusion on his earlier confrontation with the King, where he observed that although the bleeding on the King's severed arm had stopped, some exposed torn muscle tissue was still visible. What was even more apparent was that when the King attacked him, the half-sewn left arm had no aura protection at all, carrying a nearly rigid sense of dissonance.
This indicated that the healing progress hadn't reached the stage where the King could wield the arm freely, let alone mobilize aura smoothly.
Had luck been slightly better, that 'Insidious Shooting Star' might have completely destroyed the half-completed healing results achieved by Neferpitou.
Unfortunately, reality offered no what-ifs.
But as long as the King's left arm wasn't fully recovered, before a supreme expert like Netero, it made no difference from having a broken arm.
Morrow knew this well.
In this final assault operation, Netero's "entry timing" would significantly impact the ultimate outcome.
What he needed to do now, right after concluding an intense battle, was to continuously expend potential aura to interfere with Neferpitou's healing without pause.
Until Netero arrived at the scene at the fastest possible speed...
In other words, the time of Netero's arrival would also affect Morrow's final condition when participating in the total assault.
After confirming the final arrangements with his teammates, Morrow began continuously firing 'Deceptive Shooting Stars' at Neferpitou inside the palace with Knov's assistance.
The portals set up by Knov were divided into three types: long, medium, and short range.
The longest-range portals numbered four, distributed around the palace in the four cardinal directions.
Morrow was firing 'Deceptive Shooting Stars' from these farthest portals, so even if Shaiapouf noticed the portal locations, it wouldn't significantly impact their subsequent "escape routes."
While interfering with Neferpitou's healing using 'Deceptive Shooting Stars,' Morrow also relied on the combined abilities of Ponzu and Palm to constantly monitor the movements of the King, Neferpitou, Shaiapouf, and most importantly, Komugi.
"Faster..."
Morrow leaned his upper body out from the rippling black portal, looking up at the gradually receding fluorescent green shooting star as he muttered to himself.
His greatest concern now was that Netero's pursuit of martial arts purity might be too absolute.
So absolute that he would insist on challenging the King only when he was in perfect condition.
This wasn't beyond possibility.
Or rather, for someone like Netero, this would be considered normal and unsurprising.
Fortunately, Morrow's fears didn't materialize.
After about half an hour of interfering with Neferpitou's healing, Netero finally transmitted the modified attack signal to the Extermination Team members.
In truth, when Netero learned about the King's broken arm, his reaction was exactly as Morrow had feared, he became even more eager to face a completely intact King.
This was the purest obsession of a martial artist.
It was also Netero's inner "selfish desire" stirring within him.
But ultimately, Netero silently suppressed this selfish desire.
If it were only about satisfying his personal desires, he wouldn't hesitate to pay with his life.
But he couldn't deliberately ignore the situation and safety of these outstanding juniors around him.
Because aside from being a martial artist, his identity ultimately remained the Chairman of the Hunter Association.
Moreover, Morrow had risked great danger to attack the palace just to preserve that spark-like opportunity. Netero, wise with age, faintly discerned an unspoken meaning in Morrow's elaborate maneuvering: things have reached this point, old master... don't you dare falter at the critical moment.
Though lacking concrete evidence, he felt as if Morrow had subtly backed him into a corner.
That pressure conveyed through action was clearly forcing him to make a swift decision.
"In one minute, we assault the palace."
This was Netero's command to the Extermination Team.
Only sixty seconds remained.
But the team had long been prepared, swiftly shifting into a state of readiness.
This battle, which must conclude today, could very well determine...
The fate of the entire world.
Every person standing before the dimensional portal leading directly to the battlefield was resolved to stake their lives.
Time entered the final countdown.
—--
5 seconds.
High above the clouds, Netero and Zeno stood firmly atop the monstrous bird-type magical beast.
Netero, having shaved his beard and hair, now wore the Heart T-shirt, appearing noticeably rejuvenated. The aura radiating from him drew frequent glances from Zeno.
Netero's current state stirred memories of Zeno's youth.
—--
4 seconds.
On the palace's second-floor open balcony, Shaiapouf's eyes were shadowed as he scanned the ravaged central Meat Orchard.
The aura shimmering across his body fluctuated with a faint, peculiar rhythm.
—--
3 seconds.
Before the dimensional portal, the Extermination Team led by Morel wore expressions of grim determination.
Only Knov, holding the key by the doorway, couldn't conceal his sorrow with lowered eyes.
Morrow was not among the team.
—--
2 seconds.
In the palace's third-floor hall, the King rested his chin on his hand, pensively studying the board.
Playing both sides, he attempted to adopt Komugi's perspective, searching for the path to victory.
As this thought arose, so did the urge to play against Komugi again soon.
Nearby, Neferpitou summoned 'Doctor Blythe,' using intricate surgical instruments to continue suturing the King's arm.
Yet she repeatedly cast wary glances toward the darkened sky beyond the palace.
—--
1 second.
In the tower structure to the palace's right, Komugi, like the King, played both sides, replicating the brilliant strategies continuously emerging in her mind.
She tilted her head slightly toward the opposite side of the board. Though her world remained pitch black, a faint, sparse outline seemed to materialize.
How she longed to play.
And indeed, she was playing.
Amid this conflict between illusion and reality, she lifted a crucial piece that would completely isolate the opponent's General, securing immediate victory.
Once placed, she would firmly memorize another complete game.
With this thought, she slowly moved the piece toward the position that would decide the match.
Click.
The sound of piece meeting board, familiar to any player, rang clear.
The next instant.
An unending roar of explosions shattered that crisp, pleasant sound, violently and abruptly invading Komugi's ears.
—--
Zeno's Star Rain descended from the thick, black clouds. The multitude of glowing dragon arrows, falling like a sudden downpour, reflected in Shaiapouf's eyes with an unstoppable momentum reminiscent of a familiar scene.
But was that truly the case?
Having endured the devastation of Morrow's Shooting Star, Shaiapouf had allowed his "thoughts" to bear fruit within this brief half-hour. It was also these thirty minutes of disruptive behavior that completely locked down the numerous branching paths of abilities that should have flourished according to Shaiapouf's needs.
Compared to offense, he ultimately prioritized the importance of "guardianship."
If protecting the King required the sacrifice of cells, so be it.
But what Shaiapouf could achieve was to reduce the rate of cellular loss before this outcome arrived.
Thus, his response to the current situation was to steadfastly adhere to the principle of manipulation.
The scale powder transformed into clones endowed with parasitic abilities.
They implanted themselves like parasites into the still-dormant Nen-using soldiers within the flesh eggs, intending to realize the absolute concepts of "sacrifice" and "explosion" through these soldiers.
Shaiapouf had to admit he had made a foolish mistake earlier.
To assist the King in becoming the ruler of the world, the soldiers of the Meat Orchard were indeed crucial, a key stepping stone for the Chimera Ants to leave this nation and venture into the world.
But no matter how important they were, they paled in comparison to the task of "guarding the Ant King."
Moreover, within Peijin City, there were still human materials waiting for selection, densely packed like insects.
So there was no need to sacrifice the bigger picture for the sake of these several thousand soldiers in the Meat Orchard.
Driven by this shift in perspective and the pressure Morrow exerted...
Shaiapouf instead found the most suitable branching path of ability for the present moment.
The Nen-using soldiers in the Meat Orchard, parasitized by the scale powder clones, completed their hatching ahead of schedule and immediately displayed an exaggerated explosive power.
They surged forward like a swarm of winged termites, leaping one after another toward the descending multitude of glowing dragon arrows.
In this process, the scale of their aura visibly increased, but the skin exposed to the air rapidly lost its luster and sank inward like withered tree bark.
This was a physical manifestation of life force being exploited.
It was also Shaiapouf's clear understanding of "sacrifice."
Just as he would not hesitate to sacrifice cells to protect the Ant King's safety and future.
Now, he shared this understanding of sacrifice with the many manipulated Nen-using soldiers.
Thus, at the cost of a single cellular clone, he gained a sacrificial entity capable of bursting forth with a brief, brilliant life.
Boom, boom, boom...!
The sacrificers intercepted and detonated the glowing dragon arrows falling directly from the sky.
But only in the area where the King and Neferpitou were located.
Shaiapouf could wholeheartedly embrace the concept of devotion and sacrifice, but he was not foolish enough to waste life force meaninglessly.
He used the sacrificers to protect the King's area, allowing the remaining glowing dragon arrows to fall upon other parts of the palace.
Countless dragon arrows pierced through the palace structures, triggering dense explosions.
To Shaiapouf's disappointment...
When he turned his gaze toward the western tower where Komugi was, whether by chance or by the dragon arrows' intentional avoidance...
Despite the vast number of glowing dragon arrows and the widespread, overwhelming strikes they unleashed, the western tower alone suffered the least impact.
A flicker of bloodlust flashed in Shaiapouf's eyes.
Even if Komugi was lucky enough to escape unscathed, he could use this opportunity to create a scenario where she appeared to have died from the collateral damage of enemy attacks.
Intense jealousy and his vision for the King's future drove this emotionally fragile yet profoundly complex Royal Guard to make an instant decision.
"It would be the perfect ending if you could die in this 'accident'."
A vicious ferocity gleamed in Shaiapouf's gaze.
He manipulated the two sacrificial pawns that had fallen from the sky without being struck by Ryu's arrows, redirecting their trajectory amidst the surging aura explosion to crash onto the western tower's rooftop.
Instantly, the two pawns shattered the dome of the western tower.
Under the force of the raging aura, more than half of the tower collapsed abruptly, with numerous wall bricks immediately burying the room where Komugi was.
Excellent...
Shaiapouf swiftly concealed his triumphant smile deep within his heart.
-----------------
Note: Hi everyone! Since we've almost caught up with the raw chapters on Patreon, I'm adjusting the release schedule to 1 chapter per day on both platforms. Currently, there are approximately 60 bonus chapters on Patreon (equivalent to a month's worth of content at the previous rate), but this will gradually be reduced to 30 chapters. Please also note that the powerstone threshold for bonus chapters will be increased soon.
Bonus chapter @200powerstones