Shh—
Like a bolt of lightning, Germain's figure flashed through the battlefield.
Black mist from the Dark Ring clouded vision.
Electric light from the Ring of Thunder struck from the side as a distraction.
From the Black Snake's mist, countless masked faces full of hatred emerged, shrieking as they tried to chase Germain.
But his speed was too much. The masks stumbled and even crashed into each other in confusion.
And Germain? He was charging straight at the Black Snake's underbelly — almost deliberately.
Both hands gripped his Sacred Moonlight Sword.
With one mighty swing, he unleashed a huge green-blue crescent slash!
BOOM—
The wide moon slash struck at the snake's belly!
The Black Snake's vertical pupils had been locked on Germain the whole time.
Once it saw his real attack, it naturally responded.
Despite its massive body, it moved with terrifying agility — twisting in a way no normal creature could.
The moon slash scraped across its scales, spraying sparks as it narrowly missed.
A missed blow!
At the same time, the snake's mouth bulged again.
One of its black cysts emptied — and with the force of a cannon, a wave of killing intent shot straight toward Germain in midair!
But… it hit nothing.
The killing intent fell like a waterfall — into empty space.
Because this — this was the exact situation Germain had been aiming for.
From the very beginning, he had suspected that the Black Snake of Defamation would launch a strong offensive against him, so he feigned left and right maneuvers, getting close to land a powerful strike to its underbelly.
Everything was to provoke the Black Snake of Defamation into launching a killing intent attack in his direction!
The moment Germain swung his blue crescent slash, he didn't hesitate or stop, instantly dodging to the side.
Thus, he narrowly avoided the killing intent attack.
He didn't land but instead walked on air, with his Nen creating invisible steps beneath his feet.
A glance to the side revealed the Black Snake's head sweeping toward him.
His dark eyes met the pair of enraged vertical pupils, showing no signs of retreat.
Six left, just six cysts remaining...
This could turn into a prolonged war of attrition, but Germain had plenty of patience.
Just like what Bissji and many others initially judged, he was a man with the potential of a Hunter.
Whoosh—
A sharp whistle of wind, the Black Snake's tail came crashing down like a colossal pillar, its speed and force like a thunderclap.
Germain, seeing the massive shadow descending upon him, remained calm. With one hand, he gathered his Nen and shot it out in a booming blast!
Puff, puff, puff—
Like nitrogen speeding up, Germain made an exaggerated drift through the air, dodging the massive snake tail's lash in an instant!
Not only that, but Germain also used the momentum to leap onto the snake's tail, climbing it like an extreme mountaineer scaling the body of the snake!
Whoosh—
Germain exhaled slowly, his body's joints working at their peak.
He moved steadily along the winding tail, as if wearing shoes with suction cups.
The Black Snake of Defamation sensed his presence, desperately thrashing its body, trying to shake him off.
However, Germain wasn't thrown off. Even amidst the turbulence, he kept his balance.
Soon, Germain arrived at one of the nine cysts, the one at the very end, closest to the tail, and also one of the three that was transparent.
What would happen if I do this?
The Sacred Moonlight Sword almost instantly executed his will, the green light striking directly at the transparent cyst from close range!
Boom—
As expected, the image appeared before Germain's eyes. The seemingly indestructible cyst shattered, spreading like lichen multiplying and sending slime flying everywhere!
This is it!
The pleasure also arose from this foresight of the future.
He inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly, maintaining the rhythm as his thoughts moved ahead of his actions.
He seemed to see it — he saw himself crushing the next black cyst of the Black Snake of Defamation.
And indeed, Germain did it. The second black cyst shattered under his Sacred Moonlight Sword!
His sword tip's aura had already shot toward the third cyst.
But the malice had built up for a long time. The once transparent cyst was once again filled with blackness.
The aura shot forward, but just before it could get close, it was emptied once more.
The Black Snake of Defamation would never allow Germain to do as he pleased with it.
But the difference in size between Germain and the snake had indeed caused some trouble.
This was its countermeasure.
Buzz—
The darkness twisted.
The cyan aura sword light passed through, but it missed.
Germain was even more shocked to discover that the entire Black Snake of Defamation had disappeared from his sight, without a trace.
The next moment, malice surged behind him.
It was a chilling aura that made his hair stand on end!
He didn't even need to turn around, or twist his head. He already knew what had happened.
In the blink of an eye, it had appeared behind him.
The Black Snake of Defamation must have consumed one of its cysts, releasing black murderous intent, achieving an unbelievable dark space leap of its massive body!
In an instant, it appeared right behind him!
The Black Snake of Defamation consumed yet another cyst's black energy, letting out a shrill scream.
That familiar murderous intent, capable of destroying all reason, surged once more!
Boom—
Despite Germain's quick reaction and rapid evasive maneuver, he was still struck from behind by a powerful shockwave.
The range of the murderous intent was just too wide!
However, Germain had a trump card.
Instinctively, knowing he couldn't avoid the blow, Germain didn't hesitate to activate the Greedy Antler Helmet's ability.
He permanently consumed the Tachi Thousand Shadows, enveloping himself in nen as a protective shield.
With the additional effects of the Contempt Armor, Silver Halo, Rune Network, Positive Traits, and Champion Physique, he managed to withstand the blow.
Both his mind and body were protected to the maximum extent, blocking the lethal, crippling impact as much as possible.
Yet, he was still hammered into the ground.
The force was just too great.
Boom—
This was the second time he plummeted straight into the swamp.
Once again, he fell into the bottomless muck, surrounded by thick mud and darkness.
The air was thin, and his movements were sluggish, but Germain grew even calmer.
That sense of enlightenment, the feeling of connecting with Meruem during their battle, slowly, faintly, and intermittently returned to him.
Germain was in a temporary slump, but it didn't bring him fear, disappointment, or dejection.
On the contrary, he found a sweet taste in his fight against the Black Snake of Defamation.
That feeling deep inside the Black Snake of Defamation — high and mighty, yet trampled and ignored, claiming kingship yet constantly challenged...
In the Black Snake's infinite rage, Germain precisely caught it, that subtle trace it tried to hide...
Fear!!!
It was as if Germain was born for this.
He was chasing this sensation, like a mad dog chasing after the taillights of a car speeding down the street!
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