A Gu Poison vessel: all poisonous insects placed together in one jar, where ultimately only one can survive.
The struggle for national succession to the throne follows the same principle.
Of the fourteen princes, only the final survivor could inherit the throne.
Benjamin survived until the end, so he should be the victor.
However, in this special succession war, the so-called rule of 'victor takes all' did not apply to the fourteen half-siblings.
Because, while Benjamin survived until the end, he was not yet the victor.
"Father, among these unsightly things, is one prepared for me?"
Benjamin's icy gaze swept over the coffins in the room containing the bodies of the other princes.
Fourteen coffins in total, corresponding to the fourteen princes, including himself.
Moreover, he knew the other princes' bodies now lay inside those coffins, making them extremely offensive objects.
"Hui."
Nasubi merely smiled, wordlessly gazing at Benjamin, who was enveloped in Aura.
His gaze wasn't solely on Benjamin… it focused more on the giant Nen Beast behind Benjamin.
The alien-like head had no eyes or nose, only an upper and lower row of grinning, fanged mouths. Its humanoid body was bone-white, with a full-length cloak draped behind its shoulders.
The chest, limbs, hip bones... these areas had bulging muscles, much like its master.
The Nen Beast was named [Dead Lips].
This Nen Beast, after a total of two months, using the blood and bones of siblings as nourishment, transformed from an egg in a pot to a newborn infant, then from an infant to a mature form, and finally from a mature form to a complete form.
With a cloak, it bore the bearing of a ruler. And the Nen Beast manifested based on the host's essence.
Thus, from [Dead Lips], one could see Benjamin's inherent will to be king.
After all, Benjamin had always harbored a grand ambition: to lead Kakin in unifying the world.
"I asked you a question."
Seeing Nasubi remain silent, Benjamin took a step forward, his muscles swelling to the point where his shirt nearly tore.
Nasubi calmly watched the imposing Benjamin and said flatly, "Did victory in the Succession War give you this lofty arrogance? Or does the complete form behind you give you confidence?"
Before his words faded, an extremely powerful Aura also emanated from Nasubi.
When he released his Aura, the Nen Beast behind him seemed to perk up. An intensely pungent, bloody smell wafted out in waves around them.
It wasn't a physical odor, but a spiritual one, immediately making one sense that this Nen Beast had emerged from a sea of blood and a mountain of corpses.
"Victory?"
Benjamin's eyes were filled with coldness. He slowly raised his right hand, palm facing himself.
Below each knuckle was a small star pattern, each emitting Nen.
One star represented one Nen Ability.
[Benjamin Baton]
This was Benjamin's Nen Ability. If a Nen User who swore loyalty to him died, he would inherit the deceased Nen User's ability.
Now, he had a total of eight stars on his hands, representing that he had inherited the abilities of eight subordinates, and also that he had lost the lives of eight loyal subordinates.
"You have tainted this hard-won victory, and you have tainted my subordinates' sacrifices."
Benjamin raised his gaze to look at the composed Nasubi.
In this Succession War, he lost more than eight subordinates.
Of his entire private guard, only three survived.
That alone was one thing, but he and his subordinates had given so much, only to receive a false victory.
He, along with everyone else, had been kept in the dark by their beloved father.
Faint threads of killing intent emanated from Benjamin.
Almost simultaneously, the Nen Beasts behind Nasubi and Benjamin immediately shifted into offensive stances.
"For the bright future of the Kakin Empire, all sacrifices are worthwhile," Nasubi said, looking at Benjamin, his face still as calm as water.
"Is that so? Then I sincerely ask you to die for the bright future of the Kakin Empire."
Anger flashed in Benjamin's eyes. His Nen shattered his clothes, revealing rock-like muscles.
The faint threads of killing intent instantly transformed into surging murderous intent.
[Air Blow]
Benjamin clenched his right fist, gathering substantial Nen in a brief instant.
Then, he threw a punch through the air towards Nasubi.
The force containing Aura that he unleashed seemed to pass through the void, arriving before Nasubi's face without leaving any trace.
Facing Benjamin's sudden attack, Nasubi remained unmoving, while his Nen Beast swung one of its jointed limbs, accurately slapping the fist force that traversed the void.
Boom!
Two forces collided.
It was seen that Nasubi's Nen Beast, using just one hand, firmly blocked the Air Blow, remaining completely unharmed.
[Spider Mother]
This was the name of Nasubi's Nen Beast.
Characterized by two aspects: five pairs of spider-like jointed legs, and twelve pairs of female breasts on its body.
That one Air Blow was blocked so easily, yet Benjamin's expression remained unchanged.
The first attack was merely a probe… achieving nothing was within expectations.
"That technique belonged to one of your guards' Nen, inherited by you after their death?" Nasubi looked slightly surprised at the expressionless Benjamin, praising, "It seems your Nen matches your status."
Benjamin said coldly, "The status you speak of, does it refer to Prince or King?"
Nasubi said flatly, "That depends on you."
Benjamin remained silent for a moment, then said gravely, "Therefore, I most sincerely ask you to die. But you can rest assured in the underworld… the great undertaking of Kakin unifying the world will be accomplished by my own hands."
"Come, let me see."
Nasubi's posture straightened slightly, as if beginning a preparatory movement for seriousness.
The Nen Beasts named [Dead Lips] and [Spider Mother] behind them emanated quite terrifying Auras.
There were many types among Nen Beasts.
Pure support type, condition-triggered type, passive counter-attack type, free-will type...
Judging from the Auras emitted by [Dead Lips] and [Spider Mother], they leaned towards the active offensive type and possessed a sense entirely different from Kuro.
To elaborate on the difference: the Nen Beasts born from the Seed Urn gave a strong sense of belonging to the environment of the Dark Continent, whereas Nen Beasts like Kuro and Cookie originated from the Six Continents.
Shlick!
Suddenly, the seam on Spider Mother's back and abdomen opened sideways like a mouth.
Thick fluid stretched into strands of thread between them. Dozens of Spider Mothers, reduced to one-tenth their size, leaped out from the split back and abdomen, moving towards Benjamin across the walls, floor, and even ceiling.
Watching the dozens of small Spider Mothers of unknown ability charging towards him, Benjamin showed no fear.
"Devour them."
This wasn't a command, but rather a phenomenon Benjamin wished to see, because Guardian Spirit Beasts do not obey their masters' orders. However, all actions of a Nen Beast are based on their master's perspective.
Thus, the exposed, fanged mouth in the center of Dead Lips's face suddenly stretched wide. Its well-defined chest muscles swelled like bellows.
Open mouth. Inhale.
A vortex of air currents formed, sucking all the charging small Spider Mothers into its mouth.
'Is he fearless due to courage…?'
Nasubi watched as Benjamin's Nen Beast, without understanding Spider Mother's details, swallowed all the small spider offspring into its mouth.
This action was rather foolish.
But Benjamin did not give the impression of foolishness to outsiders.