Two minutes earlier, Throne Room.
The King watched quietly as Komugi, enveloped in light, calmly placed a piece on the board with her hand.
Silent.
Although he had been losing continuously and clearly knew Komugi's Gungi skill was far superior to his own, with each game played, he could distinctly feel the gap slowly narrowing.
But he was wrong.
From the moment Komugi awakened, the King realized Komugi was only now beginning to grow stronger.
'Just how much stronger could she become...?'
He wanted to know, he truly wanted to know!
The King did not suppress this desire arising from his heart. He genuinely wanted to know the extent to which Komugi's Gungi skill could grow.
Therefore, he too had to make his Gungi skill as strong as Komugi's, and then defeat her.
The game was at mid-stage, and who would win or lose remained unclear.
But the King understood clearly: even if the situation wasn't yet clear, he knew he had no chance of winning.
"I'm stepping out for a moment. Wait for my return."
The King abruptly stood up, looking at the two uninvited guests.
He had previously said to wait until the game finished, but now he changed his mind.
Hearing this, Komugi was momentarily stunned, then obediently nodded. "Yes, Supreme Commander."
Netero narrowed his eyes, gathering momentum without releasing it.
Zeno silently heightened his alertness, guarding against the enemy's potential attack at any moment.
"Let's go. A change of location."
The King strode confidently towards Netero and Zeno, or more precisely, towards the open doors.
For some reason, the words spoken by the King, as an enemy, carried a sense of credibility.
'It wasn't a joke… he genuinely wanted to change locations. Was he considering that girl?'
Netero and Zeno's gazes were like nails, fixed on the King, moving as he moved.
Then, the King simply passed through Netero and Zeno without any defense, walking towards the doors.
In reality, when the King approached, Netero almost couldn't suppress his desire to attack.
However, he ultimately did not strike. Because he knew if he attacked at that moment, even if he could kill the King, he would have lost this contest.
Watching the King, whose foot had already stepped beyond the door, Netero and Zeno silently followed.
At this moment, the King was ultimately the host here, and they were uninvited guests.
They had intended to seize the initiative from the host, but in the end, they couldn't do it.
Although somewhat displeasing, the King's proactive proposal to change locations was also the result Netero was willing to see.
One ant and two humans arrived at the third-floor balcony. The distance between their positions was only a few meters.
This place wasn't high, and the field of view was quite limited. But based on Aura Fluctuations, the King quickly grasped the current situation.
The three Royal Guards were being restrained, indicating the opposing force mobilized was not weak.
Moreover, Pouf's Aura had disappeared, so it was highly likely he was already dead.
With this speculation, the King believed moving the battlefield location was the correct choice.
Even if all three Royal Guards were defeated, the remaining enemies would come for him.
"Let's go there."
The King casually pointed in a direction… towards the distant wasteland.
He could tell these two humans were not weak. So he couldn't fight near the throne room, as that might affect Komugi.
Just as the King indicated the direction for the battleground, Zeno, without a word, clenched his hands into claws, one above the other, and released a meticulous, powerful Nen between his palms without any warning.
[Dragon Head!]
At such close range, the moment Zeno activated his technique, the King immediately understood that the powerful Aura mass Zeno released contained not a hint of intent to harm him.
Therefore, the King remained unmoved. While presenting his back to Zeno and Netero, he didn't make any turning motion.
Zeno noticed this, and Netero naturally did too.
'A terrifying fellow...'
Both men almost simultaneously formed this evaluation.
Zeno abruptly raised his hand towards the sky, releasing a Nen Dragon flying into the sky, heading precisely towards the south the King had pointed to.
Without needing special instruction from Zeno, the King leaped lightly, swung his tail, and hooked onto the Nen Dragon's claws, hanging in the air, calmly looking into the distance.
Netero then also jumped onto the Nen Dragon, while Zeno remained in place.
Thus, Zeno watched as the Nen Dragon, carrying the King and Netero, slowly flew away from the palace.
"Just you alone?"
The King looked straight ahead. There was no contempt in his words, but it was easy to hear the underlying meaning.
'Just you alone, did you come simply to throw your life away?'
Perhaps this sentence could be understood this way, or it might not.
Netero, however, only smiled silently, replying in a deep tone, "That's right."
Since Netero was in front, the King didn't see Netero's slightly ferocious grin.
The Nen Dragon flew through the air, taking Netero and the King away.
This scene was noticed by everyone within the combat circles.
'The King... how could...'
Pitou, who had just lost a left arm, was inwardly shocked. The next moment, she didn't even have time to see the Nen Dragon's specific situation before being forced to fix her gaze on Law.
She couldn't easily shift her gaze anymore. Even 0.1 seconds could mean death by Law's attack.
The blurred mass of black and red swirling above Pitou's body rapidly transformed into a distinct object… a brand-new puppet, different from Doctor Blythe and the Puppeteer.
The puppet was entirely black and red. Its eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips were all as sharp as long blades, including its hairstyle and ears… all pointed, long, and sharp.
Furthermore, the puppet's fingers were quite long, ends sharply pointed, distinct like segments of steel.
[Terpsichora]
Pitou had comprehended a new technique in battle.
This move, Terpsichora, was originally comprehended by Pitou during her battle with Kite in the original work, primarily embodying one word: speed.
From activating the ability to attacking required only 0.1 seconds.
Unlike the Puppeteering that manipulates others, the Terpsichora could only manipulate Pitou's own body, thereby allowing Pitou to exert power and speed beyond her limits.
However, Pitou had comprehended it during the battle with Law and developed it on the spot, causing Terpsichora's appearance to become different.
Moreover, judging from the suffering inflicted by Law, this Terpsichora ability might be influenced by the White General.
So much time had passed, so Law could only remember few details. Although he remembered Pitou had this move, he wasn't clear on the reason for its birth.
At this moment, he only thought Pitou, having lost an arm, was using her final trump card.
'It should be in time.'
Unlike Pitou, who dared not shift her gaze, Law calmly glanced at the receding Nen Dragon.
No matter what other trump cards Pitou had, Law never believed he would lose.
The difference lay in how much time he would use to resolve this Chimera Ant, which is stronger than the Dark Continent's magical beast races.
Simultaneously, within the giant flower bed Nen Space.
A ladybug with red spots, ten times larger than Ging and Pouf, transformed into points of light, subsequently imprinting the Arabic numerals [001] on Ging's chest.
Pouf, who earlier showed an expression of madness, had bizarrely calmed down, changing as swiftly as Sichuan opera face-changing.
'So that's it. In this duel, intelligence accounts for a heavier proportion?'
"Haha."
A laugh, from low to bright, emerged from Pouf's mouth. His gaze was cold. "Your ability is indeed peculiar, but you picked the wrong opponent!"
"Is that so."
Ging's expression remained calm.