He quickly glanced at the severed tail, which was still bleeding profusely.
Did Germain react in an instant and counterattack?
No, that's not right—it was a trap.
A prearranged trap. That opening had been deliberate, a carefully constructed ruse.
On top of that, the unexpected silvery-white light wasn't something Meruem had accounted for.
It seemed to have allowed Germain to deal damage beyond his usual capabilities in that brief moment.
However, no matter the cause, five seconds had passed. As the "King," Meruem had failed to declare his victory.
Instead, he had lost part of his tail.
This failure was undoubtedly a humiliation for him.
Meruem raised his head and looked at Germain once more.
At that moment, Germain tossed the torn-off tail aside and stood there silently, as if he had merged with the darkness.
Meruem realized something.
He lowered his center of gravity even further, like a loaded bullet ready to fire.
Netero watched the astonishing scene unfold before his eyes.
Even though he had anticipated it, seeing it happen still surprised him.
Meruem was injured.
Germain, a human, had managed to wound the Chimera Ant King and made him lose his tail.
"Heh heh..."
Netero stroked his short graying beard, his long earlobes drooping down, his face breaking into a smile like that of an evil saint.
He already knew what had just happened.
Everything began with Germain himself; he had a bad habit.
Zeno and Silva had mentioned it, and Netero had personally experienced it as well. Anyone who had faced Germain as an opponent had probably encountered something similar.
He always judged his enemies based on impressions, holding back power and then launching an attack.
Germain's judgments were usually spot on, almost as if with the first strike, he could eliminate his enemy with very little cost.
However, there were always exceptions.
At those times, Germain would quietly increase his strength, like adding more weight to a scale, until he found a level of power that could match his opponent. Then, he would stop.
He would wait for his opponent to adapt for a while and then, at some moment, break the balance, often dealing a heavy blow to the enemy, or even killing them unexpectedly.
Germain had fought like this against Silva, against Zeno, and against Netero.
It was a bad habit.
It was a strategy that balanced both risk and opportunity.
If Germain lost control of the balance and couldn't manage the rhythm, there might be no chance to unleash his full strength.
Especially when his opponent's strength was far beyond his own, this strategy became meaningless. It would expose huge openings, placing him in a dangerous situation.
Netero had once asked Germain why he had such a habit.
Germain told him that it was because he often had to face attacks from different times, places, and people. These attacks were always unexpected and relentless.
He always held back his strength, saving some for the next fight, believing that even if this battle was over, a second one would start immediately.
Germain's desire to defeat his enemies with minimal cost stemmed from constantly viewing his situation as dire, keeping his mind tightly focused and always ready to continue the fight.
The events of the past year had proven that he was indeed attacked continuously.
Over time, Germain had developed this bad habit.
However, it was precisely this bad habit that led Meruem to make a misjudgment. He walked straight into the trap Germain had set and lost one of his tails because of it.
Meruem's predictions were always precise, taking into account all factors, much like playing a game of chess where countless moves are considered.
Once a judgment was made, it was always with confidence, expecting victory.
For such a judgment to go wrong, some of the factors considered in the initial assessment must have been incorrect.
Only based on wrong premises can a wrong judgment be made.
The more confident someone is in their own judgment, the more susceptible they are to tricks like the ones Germain uses.
Netero found it amusing.
Meruem, if you keep exposing your back to Germain, don't blame him if he suddenly pounces on you and bites you...
Germain moved with cold, calculating steps.
Suddenly, his skin tightened, and the armor on his body sank in, connecting with his body like tree roots, sending a sharp pain through him again.
Yes, "again"—the pain was returning.
This armor on Germain reminded him of another game he had played before—"Contempt."
It was like Germain's "second personality," but without the awareness of such a personality.
This armor, while boosting Germain's combat power like an enhancer, was also continuously tormenting both his body and mind.
The manifestation of this was pain.
To alleviate this pain, Germain needed to fight, fight, and keep fighting.
Once he stopped, the pain would return.
It was similar to the frequency of switching between the silver-white halo and the dark crown above his head.
Because of this, Germain referred to this armor, which increasingly merged with his Nen Beast Chaos Roar, as the "Contempt Armor."
The torment of both body and mind did not force Germain to act immediately.
On the contrary, he grew increasingly patient, even beginning to adapt to the pain, accepting it as part of basic instincts like hunger and exhaustion.
Was this numbness to pain, or a distortion in his understanding of "pain" itself?
Germain didn't know.
Yet Meruem, during this brief moment of rest, had figured out a few things.
He sighed softly.
Because after the blow from earlier, he finally understood—Germain was someone he could not persuade to surrender.
Germain's strength had reached a level that threatened him, the "King."
Meruem had tried to persuade Netero to surrender because there was a clear gap in their power. He believed he could subdue Netero, make him loyal.
This was the pride born from the "Three Royal Guards" bowing before him, from having no rivals since his birth.
But Germain had torn off his tail, stripping away that pride, exposing Meruem's true self sitting on the throne.
If Meruem were the "King" of Chimera Ants, then Germain would have to be the "King" of humans.
If Germain were the ruler of the six continents, Meruem wouldn't have so many questions about human society.
In Meruem's view, a "King" could never bow to another "King."
The only possible end was death—or hiding in the shadows.
A "King" who would surrender to another's rule could not truly be a "King"; that was just a monkey wearing a crown.
Then, like Netero had done before, Meruem forcefully stopped the bleeding from his tail, as if tightening a water pipe.
And his eyes remained fixed on Germain.
After adjusting his understanding of Germain, Meruem's attitude toward him shifted.
Anyone who could truly threaten him had to be eliminated.
Netero, astonished, sensed that Meruem's aura had changed…
It was something he hadn't released even during their battle…
Malicious intent.
His feelings were complex. On one hand, he hated Meruem's contempt toward him, but on the other hand, he was nervous about the murderous intent Meruem had toward Germain.
Meruem's next attack would be aimed at killing Germain, and its intensity would be much higher than before.
Netero's intuition was not wrong.
Meruem's crimson Malicious intent filled the entire abandoned underground testing ground, almost tangible, causing even Netero to furrow his brow.
When Meruem launched himself toward Germain again, Netero could no longer see him clearly.
However, what surprised Netero was that Germain responded with equal force.
Netero couldn't clearly see the details of their intense battle, but he could feel the collision of two massive Nen forces, shaking the ground and sending dust flying.
The explosive sounds continued in succession, like a series of explosions happening at the same time.
But Netero knew the explosions had a sequence, the intervals so short they sounded simultaneous.
This was the kind of world that only someone like Netero in his prime, over fifty years old, could perceive.
Now, he could only stand on the outside, watching.
Flesh and blood flew, the floor cracked, and stone pillars trembled. The fight for life and death seemed to stop time itself.
In this world, only Germain could see that Meruem was wearing a greedy smile at this very moment.
This was Meruem's true nature.
********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 15 early chapters.
https://www.patreon.com/Unique_Writer