Maintain patience!
Maintain distance!
Whittle down the King's staggering, massive reservoir of Aura bit by bit!
This was the combat strategy Allen had set for himself. Although he had prepared two trump cards specifically for this situation, it was always better to avoid using them if possible.
As expected, when dealing with an opponent of equal caliber, one must maintain distance and utilize a Hunter's greatest strength: ranged combat.
Watching the Ant King, who clearly possessed immense power yet was now reduced to a pathetic state of dodging and parrying, Allen finally realized that his greatest advantage was distance. As long as he kept enough space, he could kill any enemy using kite tactics, never even giving them a chance to strike back. At that point, the opponent's raw strength ceased to matter; what mattered was maintaining his own rhythm.
In contrast, the King's brain was operating at high speed while he was being bombarded by arrows of various elemental attributes. He desperately squeezed his potential, attempting to break free from this predicament. Even if he were to die, he wanted to teach his opponent an unforgettable lesson rather than being suppressed so miserably, unable to even touch the hem of the other's clothes.
Undoubtedly, there were usually only two ways to deal with a ranged attacker. The first was to find a way to close the gap and force a melee brawl. The second was to return fire with ranged attacks of his own.
The former had already been attempted and had failed. Thus, only the second option remained: the King had to immediately develop an Emission-type ability. It didn't need to have incredible destructive power; it only needed to disrupt his opponent's rhythm, preventing him from firing his bow with such reckless abandon.
As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. Furthermore, having previously consumed countless Nen users, the King quickly found a suitable ability. He thrust his arm forward, beginning to gather Aura in his sole remaining hand.
The next second...
BOOM!
A blinding pillar of light erupted from his palm!
"An Aura Cannon?!"
Thanks to the assistance of the scales, Allen read his opponent's emotions in advance. He leaped aside, avoiding a direct hit. However, this evasive maneuver undoubtedly broke his offensive rhythm and forced him away from the Portal of Transit he had been standing near.
"Got you at last!"
The King seized this opening. He kicked off the ground with explosive force, closing the distance at an incredible speed. Just as Allen was about to draw his bow again, the King fired another powerful Aura Cannon. In less than three seconds, the distance between them shrank from five hundred meters to less than thirty.
This was exactly the maximum range the 100-Type Guanyin could cover.
Without hesitation, the King unleashed 100-Type Guanyin: 99th Palm. Countless massive golden hands descended from the sky, hammering down with overwhelming force.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Empowered by his immense Aura, the destructive force of these golden palms was over ten times greater than when Chairman Netero had used them. The earth shattered and mountains swayed. Wherever the 99th Palm landed, a crater spanning hundreds of square meters was forcibly carved into the ground.
As the dust eventually settled, Allen was revealed at the center of the impact. He had wrapped his body in his dragon wings and reinforced them with Ko, successfully blocking the majority of the assault. Though he looked a bit disheveled, his injuries were not severe; he had lost less than 1,500 Health Points, which he instantly restored with a single healing potion.
Looking at his refilled health bar, Allen let out a small sigh of relief. "Lucky for me your Aura has already been mostly drained. Otherwise, that would have been truly dangerous."
"You... you're uninjured?!"
The King's expression turned grim. 99th Palm was effectively the strongest move of the 100-Type Guanyin aside from Zero Hand. To see his second-strongest technique fail to inflict meaningful damage was a massive psychological blow.
"I wouldn't say 'uninjured,' but it was much less than expected. This means the gap between our Aura capacities has widened completely, and soon it will be too large to bridge. At that point, your resistance and struggle will be meaningless." Allen curled his lips into a meaningful smirk.
The black liquid that could rot anything was clearly more lethal than anticipated! In just about ten minutes, the Ant King had lost 70% of his Aura, and the remainder would be exhausted within minutes. Truly, a rule-based Nen ability that defied logic was the most terrifying of all!
"No! I don't need to wait until then! I told you, I have accepted that I will die here. Therefore... 100-Type Guanyin: Zero Hand!"
The King unhesitatingly unleashed his final, mutually destructive move. Instantly, two massive golden hands closed in from the left and right!
In the past, Allen would have never been able to escape such millisecond-level speed. However, after devouring numerous Chimera Ant Squadron Leaders and two Royal Guards, his physical attributes had long since transcended human limits. Just as the palms were about to snap shut, his brain, reflexes, and muscles completed their transmission. He lunged outward.
Aura Burst activated!
BOOM!
With a thunderous roar, instead of retreating, he charged directly in front of the King and raised his hand for a practiced Scatter Shot. Due to the close proximity, the King had no time to react before falling into a state of bewildered confusion.
Feign Death! Freezing Trap!
Clink!
Under the effect of the white frost energy, the Ant King was frozen solid, unable to even blink.
"Phew… that was close! I almost got caught by the Zero Hand!" Allen patted his chest, feeling a lingering fear. He knew Zero Hand released all of a user's Aura at once. Given the King's current capacity, it would have dealt catastrophic damage, potentially even killing him. He had no intention of gambling with his life.
Penetrating Shot!
Aura Burst!
Big Bang Arrow!
Liquid Air!
A pinch of gunpowder!
Cyan Philosopher's Stone: Airflow Manipulation!
...
Allen knew the Freezing Trap would only buy him a dozen seconds at most. He didn't hesitate, drawing his bow and pouring a massive amount of Nen into the arrow. At the exact moment the trap was about to expire, he released his fingers, firing the finishing shot.
Still frozen, the King was unable to dodge or command the 100-Type Guanyin to parry. He could only watch as a cold glint flew toward him. With a deafening explosion, he was severed at the waist. More than half of his body was pulverized by the strike, with blood and flesh spraying everywhere.
However, the golden armor compressed from Aura still provided a decent amount of protection; otherwise, there might not have been a corpse left at all.
Finally, the fierce battle reached its conclusion.