The underground test area was in chaos, with shattered walls and debris blocking paths. The space was constantly being compressed.
The battlefield between Germain and Meruem was limited, but their fight was becoming more violent.
The two of them crashed through the underground, and just the exchange of their Nen was enough to destroy everything around them.
Meruem felt that he had the advantage, that victory was within his grasp in the larger picture.
However, he needed to push Germain into a real dead end, a situation with no way out.
Chomp—
In the darkness, Meruem suddenly bit into Germain's shoulder, quickly tearing off a piece of flesh and swallowing it whole.
Germain didn't care. He swiftly stopped the bleeding and returned to the fight.
Whenever he had the chance, Meruem would bite another piece of flesh from Germain.
Germain's flesh nourished Meruem, replenishing his consumed Nen.
With this exchange, the balance was lost, and the scales tipped completely in Meruem's favor...
This was how it should have been.
Yet, in this extreme environment, amid the physical collisions and the stimulation of blood and pain, Germain's spirit held on astonishingly well, still not breaking.
It was unbelievable.
Despite Meruem having the upper hand, he couldn't break Germain. He hadn't landed the final blow.
Not only that, but through their back-and-forth attacks, Germain's true thoughts were continuously transmitted to Meruem's mind.
It was said that when a swordsman sparred, they could feel the opponent's will through the blade.
This is a similar situation.
The "King" wants to overpower Germain, wants to completely crush him.
But Meruem continuously feels the unyielding determination coming from Germain, as if he truly intends to fight until the ends of the earth.
For the first time, Meruem has a strange thought.
Maybe he is not the ultimate life form that will stand at the peak of the world, born from the constant evolution of all Chimera Ants.
Perhaps he still understands too little about this world.
If he truly is a born "King" at the top of the food chain, why is he being trapped by this man in a place like the Republic of East Gorteau?
Meruem should have been unstoppable.
In truth, Germain can feel the intense pain from his wounds, but he can no longer interpret this pain.
The pain of wounds is usually a punishment for the weaker side in a battle.
However, this punishment means nothing to Germain right now.
What he wants is to continue fighting and win.
An elite is, without a doubt, someone who has fought countless battles and survived many life-or-death situations.
A master is, without a doubt, someone who has their own way, and no longer needs others to guide them.
A champion is, without a doubt, someone who, like a king, declares "who else but me?"
Germain is immersed in this, unaware of the outside world or the passage of time.
He quietly probed Meruem's heart, feeling the changes in both Meruem's body and soul.
The connection between them caused the battle to take a strange turn at this moment.
They started missing each other's attacks.
This was because they both sensed each other's will and predicted the next move, only to have their strikes miss.
The frequency of these misses continued to increase.
Right now, they looked like two clumsy boxers who didn't even know how to land a punch on each other's heads.
However, even a missed attack could send waves of Nen strong enough to shatter the ground, like explosions of cannonfire, making the scene chilling.
Because of their telepathic link, Meruem couldn't help but notice the changes in Germain's body.
Before, in such a heavily injured state, Germain had managed to rally and become even stronger.
Meruem had accepted this.
But at this very moment, Germain had become even stronger again, as if he had thrown off a massive boulder he'd been carrying on his shoulders.
He was climbing toward the mountaintop.
A vortex of Nen unknowingly formed, engulfing both Germain and Meruem.
They had both fought until their bodies were mangled, indistinguishable from one another.
The pain from Meruem's attacks on Germain was also fed back through their link, making it feel like he was hurting himself.
Their spirits were tightly bound, stretched like an elastic band, continually elongating.
It stretched to its limit.
Finally, snap, it broke.
Meruem's eyes widened.
Germain was bathed in a silver-white light, each strike landing with brutal force, continuously releasing dazzling silver light, followed by explosive bangs.
Critical Hit—
Continuous Critical Hits—
When unlikely events chain together in an unreasonable way and become the norm, it will cause the situation to collapse completely.
Boom boom boom—
Countless offensive moves, woven into a tight net, finally closed in at this moment.
Fists, Cleaver, Firearm, flamethrowers, spiral-handled canes, and katana blades struck continuously, shattering Meruem's entire outer defense!
Even more terrifying, with each "critical hit," visible wounds on Germain's body rapidly healed!
Meruem, now a bloodied mess, spat out blood and then tried to bite at Germain's right hand with eyes glowing crimson.
However, Germain's headbutt was also a critical hit, smashing Meruem's face, forcing his eyeballs to bulge to the sides.
His right hand tightened into a fist and swung, hitting Meruem's temple with full force!
Thud—
That was the sound of something shattering.
Germain could still feel the ferocity in Meruem's heart.
Meruem would never surrender!
So Germain continued to relentlessly attack, shattering Meruem's limbs, breaking his torso!
With the final blow, Germain personally grabbed the Cleaver in mid-air and slammed it down onto Meruem's face, completely splitting his head in two!
Thud—
Meruem, barely recognizable, finally collapsed onto the cracked and uneven ground.
Germain gasped for breath, his own body now resembling a bloody mess, with blood pouring out uncontrollably.
However, his injuries had already healed thanks to the "chain of critical hits."
He looked down at the fallen Meruem from above and felt no more Nen or breath from him.
At this moment, Germain's feelings were those that humans had experienced since ancient times.
They used sharpened spears and burning flames to take down the beasts that once cornered them, and finally stood over them, making them part of their diet.
To go all out, to completely eradicate, this is the greatest respect I can give you.
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