On the corridor, there was a young woman kneeling. She has a slender figure and is wearing a kimono.
She moved with gentle precision as she raised a white long-necked sake flask and poured clear liquid into the cup beside the cushion.
Just as Beyond strode over and sat cross-legged on the cushion, the young woman had just finished pouring the sake.
"That guy is really weak, probably just around the level of an Officer."
Beyond picked up the sake and drank it in one gulp, casting a sidelong glance at the headless corpse lying in the courtyard.
The young woman didn't respond, but just smiled and refilled his cup.
Plap, plap…
From one corner of the courtyard, a strange sound of footsteps was heard.
A short man was walking toward Ishak's headless body. He wore a bizarre hat and had large, round black eyes.
Every step he took produced that distinct 'plap plap' noise.
"If you'd just asked clearly from the start, we could have determined his rank among the Chimera Ants with certainty, rather than using uncertain words like 'probably'."
The man in the hat stopped beside the corpse and looked up toward Beyond, who was seated calmly on the cushion under the corridor.
Beyond glanced at the short man and said unhappily, "Cut the chatter. Clean up that trash already."
"You really know how to boss people around, Beyond-sama."
The man in the hat shook his head and began fumbling around on top of his hat.
His hat was black and shaped like a beret, but with variously sized spheres stuck all over the top.
These spheres were tied to his Nen Ability...
After a few seconds of searching, he plucked off a quail egg-sized sphere and tossed it onto Ishak's headless body.
Plap!
The ball hit the corpse's back, making a familiar sound.
Then the sphere cracked open vertically, emitting a ray of light that shot across the corpse.
The light didn't cause any harm. Instead, it spread over Ishak's body and the blood and gore surrounding him.
In less than a second, everything connected to Ishak was completely converted into light, which was then sucked back into the small sphere.
With everything absorbed, the sphere sealed itself shut and gently fell to the ground.
Plap, plap-
The man walked over, picked up the sphere, and stuck it back onto his hat.
"Seriously, my 'Wonder Orbs' isn't meant for corpse disposal…"
He turned his back to Beyond and the young woman, and muttered in an inaudible voice.
On the corridor, Beyond raised his eyebrows and said, "Hey, I heard that."
"…"
The man in the hat looked back at Beyond, then casually changed the subject:
"This Chimera Ant's 'strength' is decent, but his 'combat effectiveness' is not that good. Assuming he is at the level of an Officer, then the Squadron Leader and the Royal Guards above him should not be much stronger either."
"His ability is passable, but he's a little stupid."
Beyond set his cup down with a neutral expression.
He understood why the man in the hat used the word 'strength' to refer to the Chimera Ant's Manifested Aura and physical attributes.
"But the Royal Guards and the King are definitely very capable..."
Beyond waved his hand to stop the woman from pouring more sake, then leaned back to look up at the azure sky with intrigue:
"The old man is getting on in years, but his 'strength' didn't just vanish. Since those ants were able to put him in that state, it means that their 'combat power' is very strong. Besides... no matter what, they came from 'that place'."
"That makes sense."
The hat-wearing man nodded.
After all, they managed to beat the legendary Netero like that, and they are also a species from the Dark Continent...
Therefore, there is no need to doubt the combat effectiveness of the Chimera Ant Royal Guards and the Chimera Ant King.
"So… how much longer are we waiting?"
The hat-wearing man suddenly changed the subject and asked.
As long as Netero was still alive, Beyond will not be able to go to the Dark Continent.
That was the condition of the restriction Netero had placed on Beyond.
The purpose is to prevent Beyond from going to the Dark Continent again.
As for why Netero added the clause that it could only be lifted upon his death...
Beyond knew the reason clearly.
But even though he has always acted unconventionally, he would not do something as extraordinary as 'killing his own father' for the sake of his 'dream'.
Otherwise, he was absolutely confident he could beat Netero.
"It doesn't matter even if we wait until the end of time."
Beyond threw his head back and laughed.
He can wait, and he is willing to wait.
More importantly, the trip to the Dark Continent was worth waiting for.
The hat-wearing man looked up at Beyond, who was still laughing heartily, and chose not to press the topic.
Since Beyond is willing to wait, then naturally, as the members of his team, they can only wait with him.
…
Hunter Association.
The explosive news of Moses being awarded the Triple-Star title quickly spread, courtesy of the Hunter Association.
The Hunters Association also attaches great importance to it and is willing to invest a lot of money in publicity.
And because the Heavens Arena followed suit, the topic of Moses's promotion to a Triple-Star Pro Hunter became a hot topic not only in reality.
Even various well-known blogs and websites on the Internet have placed the Moses incident in the most prominent position.
The buzz focused on one thing: Moses's age.
In the entire history of the Hunter Association, Moses's achievements at such a young age were unprecedented.
Relying on this high popularity, Moses has gained a lot of fame in a short period of time.
And after a long period of silence, the bronze sockets on the Path to Legend's stone tablet in his consciousness space were finally filled with the purple beads.
With a new bronze socket now available, the next step would be to gather five orange beads to create the third Counterpoint Cornerstone.
Needless to say, it will only become more and more difficult.
But that is a matter for the future.
What Moses is more concerned about right now is how to use this second Counterpoint Cornerstone.
…
Kakin Empire.
Atop the grand staircase leading to the throne…
The rotund Kakin King rested his chin in one hand and muttered to himself: "Is he still alive, Isaac Netero..."