His simple mind gave him the simplest instructions.
Menthuthuyoupi's body once again began to swell and contort wildly, transforming completely into a monstrous being.
Besides the six arms sprouting from his frame, his head rapidly expanded, now covered in clusters of six eyes. He was practically reaching the level of a true three-headed, six-armed demon.
Not only his head but even his arms and torso were riddled with eyes.
The aura he released was terrifyingly deep, at a rough estimate, at least five times... No, ten times greater than Morel's.
No one felt this more intensely than Knuckle.
"This much aura... How long would it even take to deplete it all..."
Knuckle gritted his teeth while condensing his aura into his fists.
While looking at the perfect moment to attack, he was also calculating in silence how long it might take for his efforts to make a difference.
As the Chimera Ant Extermination Team coordinated with Chairman Netero and Lan outside to align their attack timings…
Up in the sky, Neferpitou, who had been blasted far away by Chairman Netero, exudes her fearsome aura midair once more. Her full-powered En spread out again, enveloping the entire palace.
This included the entire invading enemy who had snuck in for the assault.
"King!!"
Shaiapouf screamed in desperation, darting toward the palace through a storm of falling stone debris.
With a furious burst of speed, he entered the central hall in an instant.
But what met his eyes were only the shattered chessboard, broken windows, and cracked floors…
"Where is the king?!"
His face contorted in panic and despair, Shaiapouf frantically searched for any trace or presence of his king.
In his blind desperation, he failed to notice a disheveled, scruffy man with a roguish air slowly approaching from behind.
Outside, in the skies above, Neferpitou's perception took in everything.
As she dropped from the sky like a beast, her body curled into a ball.
The muscles in her thighs expanded dramatically, compressing her into a cannonball to accelerate her descent.
Boom!!
She slammed into the ground and immediately shot forward like a bullet.
Without wings and incapable of flight, this was the fastest way she could reach the king.
As for the enemies that Menthuthuyoupi and Shaiapouf would have to deal with... She had no spare concern for them.
She had only one thought: "I must reach the king immediately!!"
Neferpitou's En clearly sensed the king's current location, the second-floor reception hall.
Inside, her king, Meruem, sat on the floor, holding Komugi in his arms.
And it wasn't just her.
As she drew near the palace, she also sensed the presence of that old white-haired human, the one who had struck her from the sky and the one who launched the rain of stone.
Two of them, one from the left and one from the right, had already entered the very room where the king was.
"King!!!"
When Neferpitou sensed this, her hair stood on end. This was simply an unforgivable sin!!
But before she could even give rise to hatred.
Suddenly, her En detected a negative aura that was so gloomy that she regretted jumping out instantly.
"This aura... It's from his majesty?!!"
Neferpitou was stunned, then immediately realized something had gone wrong. Horribly wrong.
And judging by the king's aura... things were only getting worse.
The devastating force of Shinra Tensei could annihilate almost anything.
But the falling stone storm was mere child's play to the king's three royal guards.
Even if struck by the rubble, it would only slow them down slightly; it wouldn't truly injure them.
However, within the palace…
There was one ordinary, fragile human who couldn't sense danger or dodge.
Even though Meruem had rushed as quickly as he could...
He was still too late.
The rain of stones had struck the defenseless, fragile Komugi, who could not dodge nor protect herself.
When Lan and Chairman Netero arrived at the second-floor reception hall…
The first thing they saw was the Ant King kneeling on the floor, head lowered, silently hugging the dying girl in his arms.
He said nothing, but around him, there was a heavy and depressing atmosphere.
Boom!
The staircase behind them trembled violently.
Menthuthuyoupi had fused several arms together into a massive hammer fist, launching an all-out attack to obliterate the intruders.
Everything was in chaos.
The palace, already damaged by the earlier rain of stone, now began collapsing under Menthuthuyoupi's rampage.
But inside this reception hall, it was a sharp contrast.
Even Chairman Netero and the fast-approaching Neferpitou were stunned by the sight before them.
Only Lan remained calm, having already anticipated the possibility of this outcome.
He simply watched in silence.
At the center of the room, it seemed the Ant King had finally noticed their presence.
Slowly, he turned his gaze toward them, his entire body exuding an indescribable aura.
At that moment, it was as if time, which had frozen, finally resumed.
Or, more accurately, time continued only for the Ant King and Lan.
For everyone else, it still felt suspended.
For the experienced and seasoned Chairman Netero, the reason he stood frozen wasn't out of guilt or remorse for possibly hurting an innocent.
It was because the actions of this inhuman creature were so far from what he had expected.
At this moment, from the Ant King, Netero could feel something…
An endless, overwhelming gentleness and compassion.