Massive gravels collided and crushed against each other, producing a thunderous, deafening explosion.
The rising dust obscured the sky, enveloping the royal palace in utter chaos.
"Your majesty!!"
Shaiapouf let out a furious scream and dove toward the palace without any care.
Neferpitou could only watch the scene unfold with wide eyes.
She knew she had made a grave mistake!
She had relied on her vision to identify the enemy and deactivated her En to enter full combat readiness.
But the opponent had used a massive area-of-effect attack.
"Enemy..."
Facing the imminent threat to the Ant King, Neferpitou instantly pushed her sixth sense to its absolute limit.
Veins bulge from her legs, swelling to an unnatural size.
Swoosh!!
She launched himself forward with explosive force, heading straight toward the intruder with ease.
Shuttling through the repulsive force and gravel in the sky, she accurately locked the hidden figure inside.
But little did she know, they had already been waiting there for quite some time.
"Terpsichora!"
Without a second thought, Neferpitou activated her most powerful ability upon finding the intruder.
It took less than 0.1 seconds from activation to attack.
Behind her emerged a giant black-and-red apparition.
This was her conjured ability, puppet master, summoned through Terpsichora.
The puppet soldiers within the kingdom and those selected for use were all controlled by Neferpitou through this ability.
Now, using puppet master's threads to control her own body, Neferpitou could unleash power and speed beyond her natural limits.
Although not the strongest overall, Neferpitou's individual combat power was undoubtedly among the top-tier on the six continents, practically the ceiling of individual combat strength.
At this moment, she held nothing back and revealed her trump card.
Seeing this, Chairman Netero, already in position amidst the rain of stone, couldn't help but smile.
"I had anticipated a few attack strategies from the enemy, but this one... This is undoubtedly a bad move, oh foolish ant."
Chairman Netero's smile was reflected in Neferpitou's eyes.
Just as Shaiapouf had described, when Neferpitou encountered something that sparked curiosity or excitement, she would recklessly charge ahead.
That assessment had been absolutely correct, and because of it, the situation began to take a turn in a completely different direction.
Time, at that moment, seemed to freeze.
It is said that a phenomenon called Spirit Echoes exists in martial arts.
In battle, time often appears to slow down; life flashes before one's eyes like a revolving lantern, and one can instantly grasp the enemy's thoughts.
Even gain insight into things no one but the opponent could know.
"Chairman Netero's Nen is terrifyingly silent. No one can deduce his next move by observing the flow of his thoughts."
"He didn't survive this long by chance. Spiritually, he's practically at the level of a plant."
That was Ging Freecss's view on Chairman Netero.
And Netero indeed lived up to that evaluation.
At that moment, reflected in Neferpitou's pupils, Chairman Netero slowly raised both arms.
To Neferpitou, the approaching figure, the strongest human in the world, was performing a chain of actions both elegant and fluid.
Although it looked slow, it was, in fact, completed in the instant Neferpitou initiated her own attack.
She had to compress her perception of time to its limit.
In simple terms, it was as if her time had come to a standstill.
Only in that state could she visually follow Netero's movements.
And Netero's movement was simply…
Whoosh!
One palm remained upright while the other gently swiped to the side.
Boom!!!
A boundless golden light burst through the night sky.
Next to Neferpitou, a massive golden hand struck without warning.
She had no time to react and no strength to resist.
It hit her directly, swatting her away like a mosquito, making her body flung into the distance with immense force!
"From the front of the falling direction?!"
As this thought formed in Neferpitou's mind, her body had already been blown away.
"This kind of unpredictable directional strike... What in the world is it...?"
Her thoughts and body soared further into the night sky.
"If only you just kept flying away like that..."
Netero clasped his hands together and said calmly, watching the rapidly shrinking silhouette in the distance.
But clearly, Neferpitou had no intention of exiting so easily.
As a royal guard, the resolve to protect the Ant King ran through Neferpitou's very bones.
Even if it meant exhausting all her strength, Neferpitou would return to the battlefield!
"At this rate, I'll be blasted too far away... Shaiapouf!!"
Neferpitou gritted her teeth and shouted at Shaiapouf, who was getting farther and farther away.
But it was obvious that the latter, who was heartbroken, did not hear or care about her shouting at all.
At this time, the latter's mind was filled with the safety of the Ant King. In this case, she can only rely on herself!!
"Doctor Blythe!!"
Neferpitou decisively summoned her other Nen ability.
Originally developed to repair the corpse of supreme leader Ming Jol-ik, this supportive Nen ability took the form of a giant humanoid puppet.
It could repair damaged organs and tissue, prevent corpse decomposition, and modify organ functions and appearances.
Normally, aside from healing, it had no combat use.
When activated, Neferpitou couldn't use En or other abilities and was rendered completely immobile after summoning.
Her movement range was restricted to a 20-meter radius.
However, since Neferpitou's tail was connected to Doctor Blythe, she cleverly used this trait to anchor herself and stop her body from being thrown any farther.
"Zzzzz!!"
Her tail and body were stretched to their limits,
Even the sky itself seemed to carry the scent of scorched flesh.