While hiding, they had used Zetsu to conceal their presence, simultaneously losing their 'eyes', which was why they'd been completely surrounded.
Now, soldier ants swarmed forward, while the four Squadron Leaders retreated to the rear, clearly harboring plans of their own.
'No room to hold back...'
Dafifi suddenly adopted a mantis blade-wrist starting stance, one of the moves from the Biological Combat Style.
He was well aware that the four Nen-using Squadron Leaders intended to use their subordinates to wear down his stamina while observing his strength.
Under normal circumstances, he would absolutely hold back deliberately, hiding at least thirty percent of his power as a final trump card.
However, currently, he also had to ensure Ponzu's safety, so how can he have the energy to hold back?
The only good news was that the enemy wanted them alive, so the pressure of protection would be somewhat reduced.
Although he couldn't verify its truthfulness, he had no choice but to believe it.
His palms transformed into blades, the flowing aura faintly radiating an undeniable sharpness. With swift, barehanded slashes, he cut the three soldier ants closest to him into two pieces.
Yet, the bisected upper bodies of the soldier ants still lunged toward Dafifi.
'Such tenacious vitality.'
Dafifi's gaze sharpened. Instantly, he clenched his fists, throwing six punches around his body.
Thump, thump...!
A series of dull air-rending sounds rang out as six bursts of aura shockwaves exploded.
Including the first bisected Chimera Ants, a total of six had their heads smashed flat and were sent flying, dead beyond doubt.
This momentary clash sent a tremor through Dafifi's heart.
The mantis-style palm blades focused on sharpness, and slicing soldier ants was effortless. However, a bare-fisted punch to the head only managed to flatten them.
With an upper and lower limit for comparison, it was clear these soldier ants possessed formidable defense.
It should be noted, with that level of punching power, Dafifi was confident he could shatter the head of an ordinary Nen User protected by Ken. Yet, he hadn't shattered these soldier ants' heads.
Still, while failing to shatter them, the blows were fatal.
At first contact, six soldier ants fell. The ones behind charged forward, unafraid of death.
Dafifi stood his ground like an immovable mountain, sending the successive waves of soldier ants flying.
No superfluous movements, not a single wasted strike.
Each attack directly resulted in a soldier ant's death.
Soldier ants fell or flew back one after another. In less than a moment, over twenty had perished.
On the outskirts of the encirclement, Nique whistled.
Avoiding harm and seeking advantage was ingrained in his very soul. Seeing Dafifi's formidable display, he decided he'd just go through the motions later. Capturing prisoners or such tasks could be left to the other Squadron Leaders.
In contrast, the other three Squadron Leaders fixed their eyes intently on Dafifi's movements.
As the saying goes, experts watch for technique, amateurs watch for spectacle.
While the three Squadron Leaders weren't exactly amateurs, neither were they true experts. But at the very least, they could discern the principles behind Dafifi's attacks.
'It's just manipulating life energy...'
In their eyes, life energy flowed like a stream, following every move and stance Dafifi made.
"Is that all?"
The bird-man Piper's eyes flashed with a cold edge.
Manipulating life energy to flow throughout the body was as simple as eating or drinking for them.
If this seemingly powerful human before them relied solely on such tricks, then he wasn't a threat at all.
To some extent, the Enhancement-type was indeed overly straightforward.
While killing soldier ants, Dafifi didn't relax his vigilance toward the Squadron Leaders.
Based on the intelligence Ponzu had provided, those four Nen-using Chimera Ants possessed terrifying speed and strength. A single moment of carelessness could lead to a sneak attack.
Bang, bang...!
Another circle of attacks dispatched the surrounding Chimera Ants.
After several successive waves of assaults, the soldier ants hadn't managed to injure Dafifi or Ponzu, instead losing sixty to seventy of their own.
Initially filled with terror, Ponzu felt her frantically beating heart steady slightly upon seeing Dafifi's flawless defense.
For the current situation, Dafifi wasn't at a disadvantage.
However, Dafifi hadn't noticed that the Chimera Ants charging at him were all low-tier soldier ants. The Officer-level Chimera Ants seemed to be scheming something.
He lacked sufficient understanding of this enemy, didn't know the hierarchy of Chimera Ants, and couldn't distinguish between soldier ants and Officer Chimera Ants.
Dafifi's only thought was to kill the enemy with minimal expenditure, to hold out until the end.
His focus was too scattered...
On one hand, fighting, on another, protecting Ponzu, on yet another, staying vigilant against the Squadron Leaders on the periphery. There were bound to be lapses in defense.
At that moment, a tall Chimera Ant charged forward with immense force.
Dafifi shifted his fist into a blade, slicing through the upper part of the Chimera Ant's head, then backhanded another soldier ant approaching from behind.
Simultaneously, the abdomen of the Chimera Ant with the split head suddenly swelled.
"Huh?"
Noticing this, Dafifi's eyelids twitched.
Boom!
The Chimera Ant's abdomen exploded, countless black needles shooting straight toward Dafifi's face.
Caught off guard, Dafifi only had time to cross his arms before his face. At such close range, over a hundred long, sharp black spines embedded themselves in his body.
"Haha, witness my greatness!"
A small, hedgehog-like Chimera Ant, now devoid of its spines, crawled out from the abdomen, intending to deliver the final blow. But then, a gaze filled with killing intent fell upon it.
Its laughter abruptly ceased. Immediately after, a black shadow filled its vision.
Squelch!
Enduring his injuries, Dafifi smashed the hedgehog's head with a punch.
However, just as he threw that punch, a black shadow swept past like a gust of wind, severing Dafifi's extended right arm.
The attacker was Piper, who had seized this opportunity with ruthless precision.
It wasn't that he had a particular fondness for right arms, but he saw clearly that the only opening available was the right arm.
Because, at that moment, Dafifi had just thrown a punch. Most of the Aura on his entire arm was concentrated in his fist, leaving the rest of the arm poorly defended.
'Speed... truly fast.'
Blood spurted from the stump of Dafifi's severed arm. His body was riddled with at least a hundred spikes, each wound seeping blood.
But he didn't fall. He remained standing like a mountain, emanating an awe-inspiring aura.
Ponzu, hiding behind Dafifi, was unharmed, but her face was now filled with despair.
She knew very well that if Dafifi fell, she would follow him to the grave.
"Keep going. He's at the end of his rope," Piper screeched.
The moment the words left his mouth, the soldier ants and Officers remained motionless.
It wasn't that they didn't want to move, but a terrifying Aura suddenly emanating from the forest forcibly captured their attention.
Impossible to ignore, it was like a powerful beam of light in the darkness, intensely glaring.
The four Squadron Leaders also sensed this Aura, their expressions changing.
It felt as if they were being watched by a venomous snake or a fierce beast, and they were the prey.
"This presence!"
Nique's lazy eyelids shot wide open to their limit, his face betraying a desire to retreat.
If someone called him a coward afraid of death, he'd probably consider it a compliment.
In that instant, without even seeing the figure emerging from the forest clearly, Nique silently retreated from the ranks, slowly backing away in another direction.
All the Chimera Ants were focused on the figure emerging from the woods, completely failing to notice Nique's desertion.
Rustle, rustle...
Accompanied by the rustling of leaves, the Chimera Ants saw the newcomer clearly… another human.
But, even stronger!