The following article contains spoilers for the Solo Leveling manhwa and anime.
Summary
Solo Leveling’s Jeju Island arc featured what was arguably the best storyline of the series so far. It captivated countless fans withits breathtaking fight sequencesand emotionally-charged moments, but the core reason the arc was so memorable was because of the main antagonist, the Ant King.
The hidden S-rank dungeon boss was born evil, and his overwhelming power left a lasting impression on the viewers. Since he could easily kill most S-rankers he encountered, some fans are likely wondering how many characters from the series could potentially defeat him. Although they are just a few, some of them have already made their debut, and others are expected to make their first appearance in Season 3.
6Sung Il-Hwan
Sung Jinwoo’s Father
Sung Il-Hwandefeated S-ranker Hwang Dongsoo, a rare talent, within a few moments. The battle was so one-sided that Il-Hwan did not even get a scratch while Dongsoo ended up in the hospital. While he might not be as powerful as Jinwoo, he still possesses overwhelming strength that is good enough to take downsomeone like the Ant King.
Perhaps the only weakness he has is his lack of control over his own powers. Provided he can keep his calm and retain composure, the Ant King is unlikely to land a fatal blow, giving Sung Il-Hwan the chance to deliver several life-threatening attacks using powers like Stealth and Ruler’s Authority.
5Thomas Andre
America’s Greatest Hunter
Thomas Andreis a battle-hardened warrior who has fought countless magic beasts in his career. If he were to fight the Ant King, the battle would have been intense and could potentially have even been really close. While Thomas Andre’s Reinforcement ability, along with Collapse, could have given him the perfect balance between ruthless attack and strategic defense, he would have to keep a close eye on the Ant King’s Paralysis Poison. That said, it’s highly unlikely that someone as experienced as Andre could let his guard down to such a degree that the Ant King could poison him.
Everything that makes your heart beat faster is beautiful.
Other than that, the Ant King’s overwhelming strength or other skills might injure the National Level Hunter, but none of the impacts would have been destructive enough to bring Andre down. Thomas would likely win in the end, although not as comfortably as some otherSolo Levelingcharacters.
4Rulers
Angelic Warriors Created From Light
Eons ago, when there was only light and darkness, the Absolute Being created theRulersout of the light. These warriors were gifted with overwhelming power that could rival any other entity in existence. Since they fought a battle with their arch-enemies that lasted for ages, it could be argued that they wereas strong as the Monarchs, if not more so.
The Ant King was barely a few days old when hefought Sung Jinwoo on Jeju Island. While he possesses incredible power for his age, in a battle with the Rulers, he would have struggled to land a fatal blow. In fact, the angelic warriors would have incapacitated him moments after the battle started. Skills like the Ruler’s Authority that are telekinetic in nature would have allowed the Rulers to toss the Ant King around without ever getting tired or coming in close proximity to him. That’s why the Jeju Island S-rank dungeon boss would have stood no chance in the battle.
3Monarchs
Ancient Monsters Created From Darkness
Monarchs are frightening ancient monsters who ruthlessly slaughter anyone in their path. While each one of them has unique powers, their shared abilities, like Gate Creation and Spiritual Body Manifestation, are so otherworldly thatmost hunters can only dream of achieving them, except a few blessed ones.
In a fight with the Ant King, almost every Monarch would have treated the dungeon boss with disdain. The power difference would have been so overwhelming that it would have seemed like a one-sided beatdown. Most Ant King attacks likely wouldn’t have seriously hurt any one of the Monarchs, and they would have had a comfortable victory.
2Absolute Being
The Creator Of Monarchs And Rulers
The Absolute Being was arguably one of the most powerful beings in existence. He split the light and darkness at the dawn of time to create the Rulers and the Monarchs, respectively. His incredible abilities also allowed him to create powerful weapons or artifacts that could turn the tide of any battle.
Despite being so overwhelmingly powerful, the Absolute Being was not so skilled when it came to combat. However, he was still strong enough to trounce someone like the Ant King with ease.S-rank dungeon bosses are generally quite overpowering, as they are gifted with powers that are unique to them. While these abilities often work well against most hunters, they seem not to be so effective against beings that surpass all conceivable power levels of a hunter. So, if the Absolute Being was to fight the Ant King, the latter would not stand a chance, despite the former’s lack of combat experience.
1Sung Jinwoo
Korea’s 10th S-Rank Hunter
Ever since Sung Jinwoo went through a reawakening, he has evolved into a better combatant with each fight. His pace of improvement is frightening and perplexes even the top hunters in Korea. While he alone is unstoppable, Jinwoo almost seems like an overpowered god because ofhis Shadow Extraction ability.
During the Jeju Island arc, Sung confronted the Ant King when the battle was slipping away from the hands of the raid party. He overwhelmed the hidden dungeon boss with his unique skills like Mutilation and Stealth. Although the Ant King did make a desperate attempt to end the battle by poisoning Jinwoo, it failed miserably. Sung made the S-rank magic beast feel desperate even without using his shadow army.
