Bang, bang, bang—
Leorio could clearly feel his heart pounding wildly.
His body temperature was rising fast.
Sweat poured down like rain, soaking his clothes and plastering them to his skin.
It had only been five minutes since the Ant King appeared.
But in those short five minutes, the Ant King had already pushed their entire squad to the brink of annihilation.
This boss — modeled after Meruem — came in with no warning and immediately struck with a triple whip combo from his tail.
Pokkle couldn't even react before his health bar was wiped out completely.
He had no choice but to use a teleport from Elena's Palace to the nearest point on the battlefield.
Then, he used a "Spell Card: Magnetic Force" to rush back to the fight.
That process alone had taken nearly five minutes.
Before Pokkle could return, the Ant King had already eliminated Gon, who had been tanking at the front.
Their squad had lost another member.
But despite the ongoing casualties, this situation still fell within the parameters of Milluki's carefully constructed strategy.
Realistically, none of them could possibly defeat the Ant King in a head-on battle.
But the mechanics of Greed Island Z had given them a chance.
They had collected dozens of special cards — attack cards, status effect cards — each one capable of weakening the boss little by little.
Even with that long and thick health bar, they could shave it down.
As long as they had cards like "Magnetic Force", which allowed instant teleportation to this battlefield, they could keep launching wave after wave of attacks.
It was a war of attrition.
A relentless cycle of death and return.
A wheel of sacrifice.
And when the Ant King's health bar finally hit zero — if even one team member remained alive at that moment — they would be victorious.
But if the entire team was wiped out before that happened, the challenge would be considered a failure.
The Ant King's status would reset.
And when they tried again, they'd be facing a fully restored version of him.
That meant the more members they had, the greater their chances of victory against a single-target boss like the Ant King.
But the reward would then have to be split thinner among them all.
The maximum number of members allowed in the dungeon party this time was eight.
Who to include—or exclude—was a matter left to each team's judgment.
Aside from that, due to Alluka's unique nature as a holographic projection, she wasn't counted as a surviving team member on the field.
She couldn't attack enemies, nor could they attack her.
On Greed Island, she had no concept of life or death.
In other words, if only Alluka and the Chimera Ant King remained on the battlefield, the victory would go to the King.
Killua, Gon, Milluki, and the others had never expected Alluka to take part in the actual fighting.
Instead, they relied on her unique presence for reconnaissance, support, and morale-boosting on the field—giving her at least some sense of participation.
And for the always-lonely Alluka, that was more than enough.
Right now, Leorio genuinely wished he could become a projection like Alluka.
That way, he wouldn't have to endure the oppressive pressure radiating from the Ant King.
He knew full well this was just a monster made of data.
He knew he wouldn't actually die.
But when the King launched his onslaught, fear still gripped his heart.
Just like Milluki, who was shouting at the top of his lungs—
"What the hell?! That damage is way too high!"
"Why does he have such a thick shield?! Hanzo, don't waste all your cards just trying to break that thing!"
"His attack drive is insane! One combo and you're dead?! I'm seriously done with this!"
But Milluki's frantic shouting and commands came to an abrupt end.
The Ant King had suddenly blinked right in front of him—and in an instant, struck him down.
Leorio couldn't help but swallow hard.
Then, gritting his teeth, he continued using his Emission-type Nen ability, launching long-range punches to harass the Ant King.
His Nen-formed fists shot across the ground, aiming at the King's abdomen and chin.
But the Ant King didn't even glance his way.
With a casual sidestep, it easily dodged the attack.
Leorio's blow didn't even scratch the King's HP bar— but the distraction had already served its purpose.
However, in the next moment, the Ant King turned its head and locked eyes on him.
Then, it charged.
Leorio trembled all over, but he lowered his center of gravity and stood firm.
He kept firing Nen punches at the oncoming King, refusing to stop.
Whether it worked or not didn't matter—he had to keep going.
Killua, Hanzo, and Pokkle—who had just returned after being revived—all joined in, using their abilities to try and halt the Ant King's advance.
But once the King locked onto Leorio as a target, it wouldn't stop until he was dead.
Whoosh—!
The tail cracked through the air like thunder.
Leorio's head exploded in a burst of blood.
His entire body quickly scattered into glowing particles, vanishing from the battlefield.
He was sent to Elena's palace.
At that very moment, Gon arrived.
"Let's use that card," he suggested to Killua.
"That SS-Rank card—Hero's Arrival!"
The Greed Island Z card system had expanded, but even then, there were only ten SS-rank cards, up from the original five.
"Hero's Arrival" was one of them.
Only teams that had cleared the main story could obtain one, and it disappeared after a single use.
Hero's Arrival — When inside Greed Island, you may sacrifice half of your HP to summon the strongest NPC you've ever encountered to fight alongside you. The summoned hero lasts for three minutes before vanishing.
And this card... was inside Killua's Book.
Killua looked up at the battlefield.
Even after all their fierce attacks, the Ant King's HP bar still showed about five-sixths remaining.
Trying to wear it down themselves...
Was still far too difficult.
Now was truly the best time to use "Hero's Arrival."
Killua knew very well that the "strongest NPC he had ever encountered" that the ability would summon had to be Razor.
With Razor's help for three minutes, even if Killua was held back, they could still shave off a significant chunk of the Ant King's health bar.
That would greatly ease the burden on everyone.
So, Killua first activated his Nen ability—Godspeed: Whirlwind Blitz—to dodge the Ant King's usual triple strike combo.
Then, he immediately used "Hero's Arrival" from the spellbook.
In the blink of an eye, his health bar dropped to half.
At the same time, a blinding summoning light shimmered in midair before crashing down onto the battlefield with a thunderous boom.
Before the dust even cleared, Killua pointed straight at the Ant King and shouted, "Razor, hold off the Ant King's attacks! We can—"
But his words froze in his throat.
Not only Killua, but Gon, Hanzo, Pokkle, Alluka, and even Milluki—who had just rushed back after being revived—all stood stunned.
Because the summoned NPC was not Razor.
It was someone else they were all familiar with.
Someone they had definitely met before.
And someone who completely met all the conditions for "Hero's Arrival."
But didn't Dwun, the guardian of Limeiro Castle, say that he wasn't even on Greed Island?
The man—Germain—pressed down the brim of his pointed triangle hat.
He first gave Killua and the others a glance, then turned his eyes to the Ant King—whose form was modeled after Meruem.
Suddenly, the Ant King's body jolted violently.
It froze in place.
After what must have been a rapid internal calculation, it immediately activated Phase Two without hesitation.
Dark aura surged violently.
The Ant King's power, speed, and defense all rose sharply.
And there it stood, unmoving.
Eyes locked on Germain with unmistakable wariness.
*******
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