The change in Shaiapouf was an unexpected development for Morrow.
The disadvantage on Morel's side, however, was within Morrow's expectations.
He just hadn't anticipated the disadvantage would be this significant.
Could it be that Neferpitou, after her intense battle with Netero earlier, had also experienced rapid growth in certain aspects like Shaiapouf?
There was no way to know for sure.
What was certain was that when facing a monster like Neferpitou, it seemed combinations of Nen abilities couldn't achieve a synergistic effect greater than the sum of their parts.
To counter Neferpitou's offensive, the first step was to find a way to limit her speed.
Morrow needed to deal with Shaiapouf on his end first and didn't have the capacity to split his attention to monitor Morel's battle situation.
He could only hope in his heart that Hisoka would bring some tactical value to the fight, even if he could just suppress one part of Neferpitou's offense, it could influence the overall direction of the battle.
I have to speed up, but this way I can't control the consumption rate of my potential aura...
Morrow calculated the likely progression of the upcoming battle in his mind.
He had originally joined this team battle at about 50% of his full capacity.
Although he was still confident he could keep Shaiapouf firmly in his grasp, his teammates' situations forced him to make some tactical adjustments.
First, he needed to increase the efficiency of harvesting the sacrificial pawns, but he had to do so without alerting Shaiapouf to anything unusual...
As thoughts raced through Morrow's mind, he abruptly changed his approach.
He abandoned the kiting tactical advantages of Emission and instead adopted close-quarters combat.
Relying on his level advantage in aura output, even in close combat he could ensure killing one sacrificial pawn with a single strike.
So as long as his attack speed was fast enough, he could increase harvesting efficiency in the chaotic fight, and the consumption could be kept lower than using Deceptive Shooting Star · Star Rain.
After all, the area was filled with sacrificial pawns controlled by Shaiapouf; he didn't need to worry about accuracy at all.
The only risk was...
Close combat made it easier to be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and easier to get injured.
If he encountered such a situation during Astral Step's cooldown period, Morrow could potentially be defeated.
But this was an unavoidable necessity.
Splat!
Amid the chaotic battle, Morrow gathered his Nen and smashed the head of a nearby sacrificial pawn with one palm.
But almost at the exact moment that pawn fell, another one immediately took its place.
It was literally like an ant colony.
Morrow could only function like an unfeeling meat grinder, continuously shredding the endless stream of sacrificial pawns rushing at him.
After reducing positioning maneuvers and the return process of Deceptive Shooting Star, his efficiency in harvesting sacrificial pawns did see a significant improvement.
However, he also quickly accumulated new wounds.
Shaiapouf remained hovering high in the air.
Seeing Morrow abandon his safer long-range attack methods, he naturally concluded... This guy was at the end of his rope.
Otherwise, he wouldn't resort to close combat against his human-wave tactics.
It should be over now.
Shaiapouf rested one hand on his elbow and pressed the other against his chin.
Realizing that Morrow was at his limit, he finally had the leisure to turn his gaze toward the palace direction.
Neferpitou over there... should be wrapping things up soon.
Shaiapouf knew Neferpitou's capabilities all too well.
Though he was reluctant to admit it, among the Royal Guards, Neferpitou was indeed the most well-rounded.
Whether it was strength, speed, or even intelligence...
Neferpitou lacked in nothing.
In comparison, Youpi only excelled in strength, while he, Shaiapouf...
Only had intelligence as an advantage over Neferpitou.
With such understanding, he naturally didn't believe there existed any human capable of threatening Neferpitou.
If there were any, aside from the old man who left with the King, it would be Morrow, who was now about to be defeated by him.
This was a judgment he could confirm after their confrontation.
No matter how strong Morrow might be, he would ultimately remain Shaiapouf's defeated opponent.
Should I send a clone to check on Neferpitou's situation...
A flicker of contemplation passed through Shaiapouf's eyes.
Forget it.
Compared to confirming Neferpitou's status, Shaiapouf believed concentrating all his power to deal with Morrow was more important, ensuring absolute success.
Yes...
Even with absolute confidence in victory, Shaiapouf wouldn't let his guard down.
He could afford to look down on Morrow in terms of intelligence and tactics, but he would never leave any opening for his opponent.
This level of caution indirectly demonstrated how deeply he remembered the losses Morrow had inflicted upon him.
Therefore, to maintain tactical intensity at all times, he even restrained the impulse to use "Spiritual Message" for greater pleasure.
In comparison, confirming Neferpitou's battle situation was even less worthy of his attention.
Below.
It resembled hell on earth.
Various dismembered limbs and severed body parts littered the ground, while copious amounts of dark red blood stained every visible surface like splattered ink.
Yet the sacrificial pawns' fearless assaults continued unabated.
Unaffected by human nature, they could better unleash the explosive power hidden within human bodies.
Morrow needed to constantly allocate part of his aura to offense, making it difficult to maintain his Nen defense at all times.
Thus, injuries were inevitable when surrounded.
But he didn't care at all.
Squelch!
Red and white brain matter blossomed like fireworks, lingering briefly in the air.
Following closely was a headless corpse knocked down and trampled underfoot.
Number 673.
Covered in sticky blood, calm as a visitor from hell, Morrow silently counted the number of puppets he had killed since leveling up.
Lv.91→Lv.92.
He had leveled up again, right after killing the 673rd sacrificial pawn.
His nearly depleted potential aura received a boost of recovery upon leveling up.
This slightly lifted his spirits.
Time for the third round...
Completely indifferent to his numerous wounds, after recovering some condition from leveling up, Morrow casually condensed a Shooting Star · Essence Siphon in his palm.
Smack.
He pressed the Shooting Star · Essence Siphon against one sacrificial pawn's face with apparent nonchalance.
As emerald green energy erupted and released, the sacrificial pawn's face suddenly caved in, their life force dissipating from their body and transferring to Morrow through the air.
Healing energy seeped into Morrow's body, and the wounds accumulated during the chaotic battle healed completely within seconds.
"Hmm!?"
Witnessing this scene, Shaiapouf's expression shifted slightly.
For a moment, he could hardly believe his eyes.
Impossible, absolutely impossible...
The cracks began to show in Shaiapouf's usual composure.
How could he still have this much energy left?!
This situation defying all logic shook Shaiapouf's conviction in certain victory.
He had been certain Morrow wouldn't last this long, let alone suddenly use an ability to heal his injuries.
Running on empty, on the verge of collapsing any second, that was Morrow's current state and predicament.
From Shaiapouf's perspective, this wasn't mere speculation or judgment but an indisputable fact.
Yet the most improbable thing had just unfolded before his eyes.
Shaiapouf couldn't help but show an expression of disbelief.
Below.
Morrow looked up and caught Shaiapouf's reaction.
He should have realized the problem by now...
A war of attrition based on overwhelming numbers was ineffective against Morrow.
On the contrary, it continuously weakened Shaiapouf's aura intensity.
This had become apparent after Morrow reached Lv.92.
In fact, if not for considering Morel's disadvantageous position, Morrow might have considered putting on another act to prolong Shaiapouf's reaction time.
But now... Initiating a third round of grinding for levels was no longer realistic.
Unless Shaiapouf refused to accept the reality.
But Morrow knew Shaiapouf wouldn't engage in such foolish behavior.
Then it's time to "test" the limits and possibilities of Stellar Collapse.
The thought flashed through Morrow's mind, and without hesitation, he activated Astral Step, once again breaking free from the ant-like encirclement formed by the sacrificial pawns.
Sacrifice.
Retreating to a safe spot, Morrow looked up at Shaiapouf in the air and directly triggered the activation condition for Stellar Collapse, sacrificing the Star Mark.
The next moment.
A cluster of ghostly blue flames suddenly erupted from Shaiapouf's right arm.
"Hmm?!"
The sudden change snapped Shaiapouf out of his shock.
Morrow glanced at the first Accretion Charge appearing on Shaiapouf and said calmly, "Ever since experiencing your 'changes,' I've been contemplating the Limitation conditions of your altered abilities."
"!!!"
Hearing Morrow's words, Shaiapouf quickly shifted his gaze from the flames to Morrow's face, exclaiming in astonishment, "Contemplating? You still had the energy to think? Were all your earlier reactions just an act?!"
"Even if I said yes, would you believe me?"
While keeping an eye on the movements of the sacrificial pawns, Morrow probed Shaiapouf with his words, speaking indifferently: "Why not use that scale powder ability of yours to carefully verify once more? See if there's any difference in me when I'm at an advantage, stalemate, or disadvantage."
"..."
Shaiapouf's pupils contracted sharply.
Morrow casually extended his right hand forward, his tone still as placid as water: "What's wrong? I deliberately chose this perfect spot for you to scatter your powder downwind."
As he spoke, Morrow crooked his index finger and said, "Come on."
"..."
The only response Morrow received was Shaiapouf's dead silence and a face so gloomy it seemed about to drip water.
He was struggling to endure the explosive emotions raging within his chest.
He wanted to roar, to vent his fury violently.
But he couldn't do that.
Doing so would only make him lose more thoroughly in the field where he held himself in such high regard.
This confrontation wasn't over yet!
As if sensing Shaiapouf's suppressed emotions, Morrow slowly lowered his hand and spoke calmly: "Don't want to do it... With your controlling personality, how could you possibly pass up such a convenient opportunity to confirm the situation once things spiral out of control? Yet your response is silence."
At this point, Morrow responded with a contemptuous smile toward Shaiapouf.
"It's not that you don't want to; you simply can't do it."
"..."
Shaiapouf's gaze grew increasingly sinister as he subtly glanced at the numerous sacrificial pawns below.
Indeed, he couldn't do it right now.
Because he had already parasitized the maximum number of Beelzebub clones onto the sacrificial pawns.
Unless Morrow eliminated a batch of sacrificial pawns and he didn't immediately replenish them with new scale powder parasites, he wouldn't have the capacity to use other abilities.
He never anticipated the situation would escalate to this point.
To maintain the siege intensity of the sacrificial pawns throughout the confrontation, he would immediately replenish their numbers without reservation whenever Morrow cleared some out.
At most, he kept only one clone slot reserved for dealing with Star Mark.
This led to... At this moment when Morrow suddenly stopped attacking the sacrificial pawns, his Beelzebub clones were operating at maximum capacity.
Due to the Limitation that parasitized clones couldn't be recalled, he could only deploy new scale powder clones after the sacrificial pawns achieved true "sacrifice."
Though he could forcibly drain their life force to make the sacrificial pawns collapse quickly and regain more scale powder clones...
He could tell Morrow was probing for information with his words.
Why would he disrupt his own plans because of Morrow's casual remarks?
So he could only suppress his emotions, maintaining silence while allowing the sacrificial pawns to continue surrounding Morrow according to their original commands.
However, he secretly decided that after the current batch of sacrificial pawns burned through their lives, he wouldn't immediately parasitize replacements, thus freeing up some scale powder clone capacity.
Shaiapouf's silence didn't affect Morrow's judgment.
Although personality theories about Nen users aren't absolute...
Morrow could rely on original source information to understand or confirm others' fundamental character traits.
After several rounds of verbal probing, he could confirm his deduction: That Shaiapouf couldn't flexibly recall his scale powder clones after parasitizing puppets.
Having confirmed this, Morrow could safely test the limits of Stellar Collapse.
Though he had already verified some aspects with Youpi, Shaiapouf's ability of "shared interests between main body and clones" could be considered new experimental material.
Thinking this, Morrow looked at the sacrificial pawns charging forward at the forefront, already burning through their lives, and immediately condensed a mass of fluorescent green Nen in his palm.
This time, it was still Shooting Star's split attack.
But no longer deliberately reducing split numbers to ensure lethal power.
Instead, it completely disregarded power to purely pursue division quantity.
Nen abilities, huh... It can be tailored to change its application method according to the shifting circumstances.
This is a force of freedom.
Deceptive Shooting Star · Star Rain.
Morrow threw the condensed fluorescent green shooting star into the air.
Seeing the intensity of the life energy contained within that shooting star, Shaiapouf's face involuntarily twisted slightly.
Why, why... Why can he still unleash an attack of this intensity!!!
Shaiapouf kept screaming the question in his heart.
He couldn't comprehend it.
And at this moment, he let go of that deeply ingrained, meaningless pride in the future of the ant colony from the depths of his humanity.
If he truly had no way to deal with this human, then... He would join forces with Neferpitou.
Just as Shaiapouf thought this, the shooting star that had risen into the air split into countless dense points of light under his gaze.
This instantly reminded him of the star rain that had initially attacked the palace.
No. These points of light were only the size of marbles, smaller than those dragon lances, and weaker in power.
So what was he trying to do?
Shaiapouf suddenly felt puzzled.
With such a dispersed attack of this magnitude, it couldn't possibly cause any harm to the sacrificial pawns that had already bloomed with life.
His confusion was soon answered.
Countless marble-sized Nen bullets rained down like a torrential downpour upon the densely packed sacrificial pawns.
And indeed, like raindrops, they shattered in a seemingly meaningless manner, not even affecting the charge of the sacrificial pawns.
But, a second, third, fourth, fifth cluster of accretion charges inexplicably ignited on Shaiapouf's body...
"What!?" The sudden turn of events shocked Shaiapouf, leaving him completely unaware of what had happened and lacking any direct understanding of these azure flames.
And at this very moment, Morrow, witnessing this scene, had an inexplicable glimmer in his eyes.
Nen abilities, truly fascinating.
--------------------
Bonus chapter @1000powerstones