Bang bang bang!
Neferpitou's body sank into the ground.
Enraged, Oboro, who looked like a demon, gave her no room to breathe.
He immediately followed her descent, striking with his elbow.
His arms swung repeatedly… In just a few seconds, dense fist shadows rained down, each strike a divine fist delivered with 100% force.
As Oboro used his boxing techniques, his spine and entire skeleton moved as one, cracking… His aura locked onto the ant buried in the dirt.
After the man and ant landed, the surrounding ground instantly exploded. Dozens of meters around collapsed into a giant pit, and with each punch from Oboro, the pit's area continued to expand. His offense was like a tidal wave, making it difficult for Neferpitou to counterattack.
Her vision was obscured by falling dirt… and every time she tried to retaliate, the man seemed to sense her intentions, his fists striking down at the exact position where she raised her arm or lifted her leg.
"Humans… can have this kind of strength?"
Neferpitou's delicate face was brutally ravaged by iron fists.
Her body seemed to be sinking dozens of meters into the ground, as if he wouldn't stop until he pulverized her.
Her eyes turned red. Neferpitou, who had always handled everything with ease since birth, felt anger for the first time… It was the rage of a superior being provoked by a lower-class human!
This human named Oboro was getting a little too carried away!
As her emotions changed, Neferpitou's Nen aura also shifted…
Oboro's attacks continued relentlessly, but amidst the churning dust, a afterimage suddenly shot out.
Her descending fist was firmly grasped by the cat-woman.
And the cat-woman's other hand transformed into a blade, slashing directly at Oboro's neck!
The speed was extraordinary!
It was even a step above Oboro's stormy fist speed.
In a sudden turn of events, Oboro had no choice but to change his move and block with his arm.
After a loud bang, Oboro, who seemed to be riding the cat-woman, was sent flying by a terrifying force, tumbling through the air and landing dozens of meters away.
He thrust his other hand into the ground to stop his momentum.
A ten-centimeter-long wound appeared on his forearm, inflicted by claws…
Amidst the swirling dust that hadn't yet settled, a pair of red pupils lit up. Neferpitou's body slowly stood up from the ground in an unnatural posture… like a broken toy, but still functional and capable of movement.
Swish!
With just a flick of her arm, the cat-woman stirred up a terrifying surge of aura, clearing away the mist that filled the surroundings.
This cleared her vision.
Neferpitou's clothes were tattered, with only a few strips of cloth hanging on her body.
Despite suffering such heavy blows, her skin showed no apparent injuries… Although she was bleeding, most of it was superficial.
Some slightly twisted joints and limbs healed instantly as she moved.
Even though there were no fatal injuries, she was still bleeding…
"I've decided… I'm going to make you into the most perfect collectible…" Neferpitou said, her eyes filled with ferocity as she looked at Oboro, who was slowly standing up.
Her expression was manic.
As her words fell, a shadow condensed behind the cat-woman, filled with an aura of absolute killing intent, like a surging tide of blood.
Black Daze!
Her Nen ability.
The appearance of the demon doll master signified… the cat-woman was going all out.
She had thought her previous strike would directly sever Oboro's arm, but it only caused a scratch…
This precisely indicated that her assessment of the human's danger level was mistaken.
Oboro knew how terrifying the doll master controlled by Neferpitou was. This was the move the cat-woman used against Gon in the original work!
From the activation of the ability to the attack, it only took 0.1 seconds.
Oboro immediately retreated, and a large expanse of ghost fog billowed out, enveloping him… and the entire area.
Even with his armor stacked to this extent, the cat-woman could still break through his defenses… Not only in terms of aura, but also in Nen intensity. Neferpitou, who had only recently learned Nen, was terrifying!
After being killed by Gon, she awakened post-mortem Nen, showing how strong her obsession was… Even if she died a thousand times, Neferpitou would definitely awaken post-mortem Nen; it was not a matter of probability.
This also indirectly confirmed how terrifying her Nen intensity was…
Oboro's attacks, even against someone like Beyond, who he considered to have the strongest human body, could not be avoided. Yet, the effect on Neferpitou was astonishingly weakened!
Her natural body… was a bit too tough.
Among the three members of the Royal Guard, there was a significant gap between Neferpitou's strength and that of Pouf and Youpi… and it was a large gap.
Because although Pouf and Youpi were also very strong, they could still be injured by human Nen users… whereas if Gon had gone berserk, perhaps only Netero going all out could have injured Neferpitou.
The Ant King Meruem could casually kill a division chief with a single tail whip, but it only left a slight scratch and bleeding at the corner of Neferpitou's mouth… The contrast was too stark!
It was truly like heaven and earth.
The ghost fog could weaken Neferpitou's Nen aura diffusion and allow Oboro to hide in the dark, waiting for an opportunity.
Oboro was retreating; he was heading towards the location where Kite had just died.
However, just as he made his move, the mist beside him exploded, creating a huge hole.
Neferpitou, with her red Nen aura soaring like a torch, instantly located him and attacked.
This!
Oboro's cheeks tensed.
His pupils constricted…
How did she do that?
Even beings like Beyond and Netero would be restricted by the ghost fog!
"Roar!"
The cat-woman descended rapidly, roaring at the surprised Oboro, her voice resembling a cat's, exceptionally piercing.
Immediately, several sharp rays of light descended.
Oboro instantly changed his breathing technique, his heart pounding. He gathered all his blood energy in his chest, causing his Nen to flow, strengthening his defense, and also employing various body-tempering techniques. Yet, hot blood still splattered…
The flesh on Oboro's chest was instantly torn open, but fortunately, his internal organs were not injured!
Was this the monster Black Gon was fighting?!
Beyond had fought him for a long time, but the injuries he inflicted were not as fatal as this single blow from the cat-woman!
"Although the ghost fog can block Nen radiation and indirectly weaken perception… it has no effect on her. This effect only applies to Nen users. Even without Nen… this ant's innate extreme sensory ability is unimaginable. Any slight movement, even a wisp of wind generated by her actions, can be detected by her. This is beyond human capability." Oboro understood.
"Roar!"
It was clear that the cat-woman was determined to kill Oboro!
After landing, she was controlled by the red doll master from above and instantly sprang up… this was a power and speed that surpassed her own limits!
Even Oboro… couldn't lock onto her movements!
Neferpitou's Nen ability, the doll master, had multiple forms. The most dangerous was the demon doll master activated by Black Daze, which had no physical form. Another was the automated doll master after death, with different effects.
There was also the toy repairer, with various forms and appearances of the doll master.
Swish.
Too fast…
It was truly too fast.
This was the first time Oboro felt that his control and flow of Nen couldn't keep up with the enemy's attack speed.
Simply put, his reaction was too slow…
The cat-woman passed by Oboro, landed in a half-crouch, and her Nen ability dissipated.
She released Black Daze and the state of Transcendent Dance.
A smile appeared on her face, and her crazed, angry eyes gradually calmed down…
She raised her hand, looking at the blood and flesh on her palm, and laughed happily.
And behind her, Oboro's abdomen was torn open, half of his body seeming to have been bitten off by a giant beast… With a thump, he fell to the ground.
Blood flowed out, mixing with the dirt…
The surrounding ghost fog and souls also dissipated immediately.
Oboro lay on the ground, blood constantly flowing from his mouth, but he was still breathing… His consciousness was still clear.
The ghosts in the ethereal mist seemed to have no effect on the cat-woman. Judging by her Nen intensity, one could tell how strong Neferpitou's will, or soul, was… Her loyalty to protecting the King remained unshaken. If she failed, the human before her could definitely threaten the yet-to-be-born King!
As for whether the ant colony was destroyed, Neferpitou cared not.
Her only concern was the Ant King.
Therefore, Oboro must die…
She would not allow the Ant King to be threatened.
"Mhm…"
Neferpitou's body instantly relaxed, returning to its usual leisurely state. She walked to Oboro's side, looked down at the human from above, and smiled. "You've done very well. Originally… I thought there wouldn't be any humans who could make me go all out… especially in such a short fight. This means… I acknowledge your existence as a significant threat."
"So next… let me search your head for something interesting…"
Saying this, Neferpitou bent down and reached for Oboro's skull.
She had already determined that Oboro posed no threat, and his life force was rapidly draining.
He was doomed!
"That's why… you're just an inferior creature…"
However, Oboro, lying on the ground with a pale face and weak in spirit, suddenly smiled eerily.
The cat-woman's hand froze in mid-air.
Her fur instantly stood on end… truly like a startled cat.
But… Oboro had created an opportunity!
Combat… has never just been about Nen and the body.
It's also about the mind!
He understood the cat-woman's abilities, but the cat-woman knew nothing about his.
Just like his initial ranged attack on the cat-woman… When fighting Beyond, Oboro could only use basic attacks at extreme ranges, unable to perform complex techniques. Now… he could. But after battling Beyond, in the past six months, he hadn't been idle, only focusing on training Menchi and the others.
Oboro knew very well… his body had reached its limit. Besides a few additional attributes that could be improved through Nen abilities, his realm had stagnated.
Therefore… he had to find a way.
One was the development of Nen abilities… another was to seek variation within existing means.
Although it was difficult to improve his hard power, there were still hidden enhancements. Each additional variation meant one more weapon in his arsenal…
As his voice fell, Oboro's hollowed-out torso instantly filled with flesh and tissue.
The moment the cat-woman let down her guard, he struck…
Without even touching her body, Neferpitou's eye sockets instantly burst open.
As if pierced by some force…
It had to be said that in this situation, Neferpitou could still react, turning her head… otherwise, both her eyes would have been blinded.
Swish!
The cat-woman instantly retreated, putting distance between them, and covered her blinded left eye.
She looked at the man slowly standing up in disbelief.
Under her gaze, a surge of vital energy erupted from his body… as if regenerating flesh from bone, pulling the human back from the brink of death.
How could this be?
The cat-woman was stunned…
This was his Nen ability?!
Instantly, Neferpitou realized.
That's right, it was Oboro's added attribute, Life Steal.
Originally, Life Steal was supposed to convert a percentage of the damage dealt to the target into life force to replenish oneself… But Oboro had developed it slightly, temporarily storing the converted life force, which could be given to his body at an appropriate time, equivalent to drinking a large potion.
In fact, he hadn't dealt much damage to the cat-woman, meaning the converted life force couldn't heal such injuries… Therefore, before Oboro decided to fight the cat-woman, he had already found several ants and deliberately dealt damage to store life force.
For use at a critical moment.
It seemed to be effective!
However, there was a time limit for storing life force; it would decay over time.
Because the principle of development was simple… to store life force, one could only rely on the body; flesh and blood were the only containers.
But the problem was, Oboro's original flesh and blood were already in a state of full health and vitality, with no extra 'space' to store external life force.
He was essentially at full health.
He could only compress some flesh and blood space to temporarily accommodate the absorbed life force, but it wouldn't last long.
Every second, excess life force was disappearing…
In less than half an hour, he would be unable to hold on, and the external health bar would collapse.
Therefore, Oboro had been calculating all along.
He was calculating the cat-woman's appearance time… calculating the timing of creating opportunities, and he was controlling this battle invisibly.
His attacks, dodges, Nen abilities… everything was part of a well-planned scheme.
"Human hearts… are very dirty. We have survived until now through thousands of years of battles and struggles… The situations we have experienced are incredibly complex, and we have rich combat experience." In a short while, Oboro's fatal wound had almost healed, though not completely. The wound on his arm was still there… indicating that the life force he stored was insufficient to heal the damage caused by the cat-woman. But Oboro didn't mind; his objective had been achieved. "Compared to us… you ants are like a blank canvas. No matter how strong you are, you can only rely on instinct to fight… This is the difference between humans and beasts."
"Chimera Ants are not perfect… Every creature in nature has weaknesses, and so does your body. No matter how hard the exterior is, areas like the eyeballs are still fragile… Moreover, you were too careless."
"No matter how amazing your comprehension is, you've only been exposed to Nen for a few days, while Nen has been passed down among humans for a long time…"
Swish!
Black Daze was activated again.
Oboro had already released the ghost fog in advance.
Although the ability seemed ineffective, he used it again.
As expected, his concealment was useless, and the cat-woman instantly appeared before him.
But this time, even though the attack seemed identical to the previous one… Oboro noticed that her speed had slowed down…
Boom!
Oboro's body was sent flying, stirring up a large cloud of mist, like a cannonball smashing a great distance.
The impact of his fall sent pain through his entire body, as if his bones were about to fall apart.
But… he had defended.
"Hehehehe…"
"Losing an eye must have had an effect…"
Oboro let out a hoarse laugh.
He looked at the cat-woman hovering above him, about to follow up with an attack, and instantly twisted his body, changing his position.
This caused Neferpitou's sharp claws to cut into the ground.
The attack missed…
"Your Nen ability, Black Daze, is to push your body beyond its limits… In other words, you can't use it indefinitely; it puts a certain strain on your body." Oboro dodged, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, and said coldly. "Although the physical structures of ants and humans are different, all techniques still rely on aura and blood circulation, including Nen… I don't know your body structure, nor do I know if you have acupoints, but during this time, I've studied many ant corpses… The parts of your body I've struck have all been acupoint-mapped. Even if the effect is minimal each time, repeated application makes the effect more penetrating… Judging by your slightly slower movements now compared to before, I must have hit some acupoints by chance!"
"Little ant… you simply don't understand humans."
"Humans are far more terrifying than you think…"
Oboro said, his eyes turning cold.
He extended a finger and pointed to his own temple.
Indicating his brain.
He wouldn't use an ineffective ability a second time!
Releasing the ghost fog again, Oboro was merely gathering necessary intelligence and information.
Currently, he was certain… the ghost had not been completely ineffective against Neferpitou; it had had a slight effect.
It was just too weak, making the opponent seem unaffected by the curse and soul.
Once this intelligence was confirmed, the basic elements surfaced in Oboro's mind.
From now on, the roles would be reversed!
He was going to… start hunting!
____________________
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