Germain had no intention of stopping to talk with Knov.
He nodded to Knov and then sprinted out of the palace.
His goal here had already been achieved.
Of the "Three Royal Guards," two were confirmed dead, which meant the "Ant King" could no longer evolve into a more terrifying monster.
The hidden threat had been eliminated ahead of time. What remained now were the immediate challenges.
At this moment, there was only one thing he needed to stop.
If possible, he must prevent Netero from activating the "Poor Man's Rose."
He didn't want the Chairman of the Hunter Association—an expert of martial arts—to choose to die together with the "Ant King."
Germain vaulted over the tall walls, keeping his presence concealed using "In."
He ran toward the abandoned weapon testing ground while waiting for the runic network on his chest to take effect.
The "Hunter Rune" glowed brightly, quickly restoring his stamina and aura.
The "Night Owl Trait" also activated, increasing his speed as he moved under the cover of darkness.
Soon, rows of formations appeared in front of him.
Germain focused and saw that the formations were made up of humans with blank, lifeless eyes.
They had been standing there for a long time without showing any signs of fatigue.
These people were citizens of the Republic of East Gorteau.
They had followed the orders of Ming Jol-ik's Double, who had been turned into a puppet by Neferpitou, and gathered here in waves before being hypnotized by Shaiapouf's pollen.
Now, with Neferpitou dead, Ming Jol-ik's Double and the other puppets had lost control and collapsed into actual corpses.
However, Shaiapouf was still alive, so the citizens remained under hypnosis.
There was even an extreme possibility: even if Shaiapouf were to die, the hypnosis might not break. Instead, it could grow stronger due to his Post-mortem Nen.
In such a dire scenario, these citizens would remain hypnotized forever unless another solution could be found.
Of course, this was the worst-case scenario and was relatively unlikely to happen.
Germain didn't bother with the citizens or make any move to return and eliminate Shaiapouf.
His tactical objective had been achieved, and he had already spent too much time here.
Germain needed to head to the abandoned weapons testing site immediately, or he worried he wouldn't make it in time.
There was a chance Netero wouldn't wait for him, or perhaps didn't plan to wait at all, activating "Poor Man's Rose" directly.
To be honest, the lives of people in the Republic of East Gorteau and surrounding nations weren't within his scope of concern.
He hadn't come primarily to eliminate the Chimera Ants; that goal was secondary to him.
Only Netero's death would signify the failure of Germain's mission tonight, rendering everything he had done meaningless.
This was the same attitude he had toward Kurapika.
He didn't want to teach Nen to someone destined to die, nor help a doomed person fulfill their final wishes.
As for the last Royal Guard, Shaiapouf, Germain left that to the Chimera Ant Extermination Team.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, he broke out of the phalanx's encirclement and reached a wide-open desert area.
At that moment, he sensed something and looked up.
Under the bright night sky, a massive shadow pierced through the clouds, circling a few times before flying toward Germain.
In Germain's vision, it grew larger and revealed its unique form.
It looked like a dragon and a bird, though it wasn't a traditional Eastern dragon—it resembled a bizarre hybrid creature, much like a Chimera Ant.
This was a strange bird raised by the Zoldyck family.
Standing on the bird's long, narrow back were Zeno and Silva, who looked at him with interest.
The banner in front of Zeno that read "Still Active in My Career" fluttered wildly in the wind.
Zeno raised a hand, stroking the long mustache beneath his nose.
"It seems you've also completed the task Netero entrusted to you. An impressive battle... Hop on. We'll give you a lift, and you'll reach that battlefield in no time."
With both hands clasped behind his back, Zeno chuckled softly a few times.
"The real highlight of tonight is about to begin. Isn't that right, Germain?"
Germain had been gone from the palace for less than a minute when Knov began to regret it.
His once-thick white hair started to fall to the ground in clumps.
Knov bit his nails and trembled uncontrollably, a clear sign of the immense mental pressure he was under.
What was I thinking?
Why did I say something like that to Germain?
Why am I acting tough?
I've already done enough. I saved that girl. I saved Knuckle and Shoot. I've done things no one could criticize!
No one can say I didn't put in effort tonight. If they were in my shoes, they might not even have achieved what I did. At least... at least...
I've done really well… Even Chairman Netero wouldn't blame me…
Knov trembled as he tried to psych himself up.
He wanted to convince himself to hurry up and escape this cursed place through the "4th Dimensional Mansion"—to leave forever.
Yet, for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Knuckle had already exited the "4th Dimensional Mansion."
He thanked Knov, but Knov was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear a word.
Left with no choice, Knuckle turned to Meleoron, who seemed a little too excited.
"Is the fight over? Youpi is really dead, right?"
"That's right. With that guy earlier working with me, we completely killed Youpi!"
Meleoron's pride wasn't unfounded.
He had indeed played a key role—like me teaming up with Knuckle to score 81 points together.
Of course, he didn't forget to check on his comrades.
"Knuckle, how's Shoot doing?"
"Don't worry. I handed him over to the doctor. He's undergoing emergency surgery, and I think he'll pull through. By the way, where's Germain?"
"Germain? Oh, you mean the guy who helped me take down Youpi? He headed in that direction."
Meleoron pointed toward the palace's outskirts.
Knuckle glanced over, raised his eyebrows slightly, and immediately understood.
Germain must have gone to assist Chairman Netero.
Classic him.
He… really has changed a lot...
Even when Shoot, Meleoron, and I joined forces, we could barely hold our ground against Youpi.
Not only did Germain kill Youpi and Neferpitou, but he still had the energy to back up Chairman Netero…
At this point, no one would dare doubt his earlier claims about taking down Neferpitou.
Was this really the same Germain from six months ago?
When did the gap between him and me grow so massive?
What more do I need to do to possibly catch up to him?
********
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