Then, in the next moment, his eyes widened in shock.
As Germain leapt onto the high wall, a figure flew out from inside the palace at the exact same moment.
It was covered in spots, resembling a leopard, but it was actually Cheetu, the Chimera Ant squad leader.
Cheetu had previously fought against Morel and Knuckle. Although none of the battles ended in a decisive victory or death, they had parted ways afterward.
Now, Cheetu's Nen abilities had grown even stronger.
Unable to resist seeking a new opponent, Cheetu had fixed its sights on Zeno.
As it followed Zeno, it noticed Zeno meeting with Germain and Knov.
With three Nen users present, Cheetu decided to wait and see how the situation unfolded.
When Zeno left and Germain prepared to climb over the wall, Cheetu believed it had found the perfect opportunity.
It immediately flew out of the shadows, intending to use its prideful speed to quickly ambush and kill Germain in one strike.
Then, it would toy with the white-haired, glasses-wearing man like a cat playing with a mouse.
However, Cheetu didn't expect one thing.
The fact that it had been following Zeno was already known by both Zeno and Germain, though they kept quiet about it.
Cheetu charged at Germain like an arrow.
But Germain acted as if he didn't see it. He simply thrust his left arm forward with great force!
"Chaos: Spiral Spike!"
The spiral staff formed by his left arm twisted and slammed with a deafening noise, crushing Cheetu's head without mercy!
The fight was over before it even began.
Cheetu, who had been fiercely attacking, instantly fell to the ground like a marionette with its string cut, buried in the dust with a soft thud.
Knov was shocked as he quickly recognized Cheetu.
He certainly knew Cheetu. Morel and Knuckle had mentioned Cheetu many times in strategy meetings, saying Cheetu was a difficult enemy to deal with.
Yet that "Cheetu" had died in front of Germain with a single move.
Germain had dealt with him as easily as if Cheetu were just an ordinary Nen user.
Knov looked back at Germain, but by then, Germain had already passed over the tall wall and was out of sight.
He had a vague feeling that Germain's words earlier might have been the truth.
Neferpitou was dead.
Germain still had to deal with another of the "Three Royal Guards."
He had to support Chairman Netero and defeat the Ant King.
And the choice Germain had left him made Knov clench his fists, feeling a bit lost.
Then, he looked down at the unconscious Komugi and decided to take him to a safe rear area first.
For the final battle, there were a group of emergency doctors from the Hunter Association waiting in the rear.
Like Dr. Lee from Fanlin Medical College, who had tried to save Ant Queen's life.
Knov could use his "Dimensional Mansion" to quickly send Komugi to the rear, where the doctors would take care of him. Afterward, he could return quickly.
Of course, whether he would return or not was up to him.
Germain fell into the palace, and in the next moment, he released his "En" without hesitation, covering the entire palace with it.
He didn't need the "En" to investigate enemy movements, at least not completely. He did this to announce his arrival to all the Nen users within the palace.
"En" is an outward release of Nen. As long as someone is a Nen user, they can usually sense it.
For the Chimera Ant Extermination Team, the sudden appearance of this "En" didn't carry the kind of evil that smelled like a foul sewer, so it could not be one of the "Three Royal Guards."
The Ant King and Chairman Netero had both left, and this was something all the members of the Chimera Ant Extermination Team were already aware of.
So, by continuously ruling out potential candidates, the team would gradually reach a startling conclusion: this "En" was released by one of their own.
It wasn't Chairman Netero, nor was it the recently departed Zeno. So, there was only one possibility left…
The Chimera Ant side would understand this was their enemy, a powerful enemy.
The defense lines of the palace were breached in just a few minutes, but as long as the "Three Royal Guards" remained, the advantage still belonged to the Chimera Ants.
Now, with another enemy in the mix, the situation would become even more unpredictable.
Germain didn't know if his actions would boost the morale of the Chimera Ant Extermination Team members or weaken the resolve of the Chimera Ant side, but he did it anyway.
He just did it and moved on.
He wouldn't hesitate over something so small. His experiences over the past year, especially those in the labyrinth and wasteland, had made him more decisive.
However, the "En" ultimately revealed some information.
Beneath his feet, in the underground world, several Chimera Ants were active, but none of them were particularly strong.
The strongest was only at the rank of a squadron commander, equivalent to the level of the recently killed Cheetu.
Apart from that, in the underground world and throughout the palace, there was a mix of Chimera Ant and human presences, though most of them were insignificant.
Rescuing any surviving humans was not Germain's task.
For example, there were women trapped in rooms below, forced by the human surrender faction under Bizeff's threats, or those humans who were kept alive as fresh food…
Not far away, in the palace hall, a "Three Royal Guards" level Chimera Ant was fighting a human.
If there were no surprises, it should be Youpi and Shoot.
In the hall, there were also Knuckle and Meleoron.
However, Meleoron's "God's Accomplice" completely concealed their presence, making it impossible to detect them for now.
On the third floor of the palace, smoke was thick in the air.
There was also the presence of one of the "Three Royal Guards" and the aura of Morel.
Pouf could release hypnotic pollen and read minds.
Morel, with his large lung capacity and steady mind, was the perfect person to deal with Pouf among the Chimera Ant extermination team.
This meant that Morel had temporarily trapped Pouf, one of the "Three Royal Guards," but it wouldn't last long.
Which one?
The one closest.
Germain didn't stop for a moment. In an instant, he headed straight for the palace hall. He soon heard roaring and the sound of walls crumbling from a distance.
Boom, boom, boom—
The entire palace seemed to tremble, with dust flying everywhere.
Germain quickly pulled up his mask to cover his mouth and nose before rushing in.
What he saw was a hall covered in blood.
A huge red monster, with six thick arms stretching out, glaring with numerous compound eyes, stood threateningly in the center of the hall.
Shoot lay on the ground, his three floating arms had fallen, his body covered in blood, struggling to crawl.
He crawled in the direction of the red monster, Youpi.
Even in this state, Shoot still wanted to keep fighting...
Youpi had intended to deliver the final blow to Shoot, but Germain's "En" and his powerful presence as he entered the hall caused Youpi to stop.
Youpi froze, which caused the other two present to stop as well, as if they were dominoes. However, they were still hidden by Meleoron's "God's Accomplice."
Knuckle and Meleoron had been exposed once, because Meleoron had to breathe, and when he did, it alerted Youpi to the anomaly.
There is no such thing as perfection in this world. If Meleoron, with his "God's Accomplice," also had Morel's lung capacity, they would be able to maintain their concealment much longer.
It's even possible to directly achieve the tactical objective.
Unfortunately, there is no "if."
However, before Youpi could find them, Meleoron had already completed his breathing. Then, both the "Perfect Plan and God's accomplice" were activated, and their presence disappeared once again.
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