"Are you insane?" Jed shouted.
"No, he's not insane. I'm afraid he received a commission from those leaders." At this time Netero also gradually regained his clarity. He only needed to think a little to understand. His old friend Jed was probably being used by the Ant King, or rather even he himself was part of being used. He first used Jed's eagerness for revenge to cause a huge disturbance, then he himself was defeated and captured. Jed threatened the entire world that if they didn't publish the Dark Ledger, he would execute him. Of course those leaders wouldn't agree to the exchange, but because of Jed's strength, they also had no way to eliminate him - after all, even he, the Hunter Association Chairman, had been captured. When those leaders were in chaos, appearing at the right moment - as long as he could eliminate Jed and resolve this crisis, those leaders would definitely trust him. No, it probably wasn't as simple as just eliminating Jed. He was on his kill list too. Externally, he only needed to say he arrived too late and that Jed didn't keep his word and had already tried to kill him. After that, he only needed to appear weak while proposing to those leaders that the Chimera Ants needed some living space, and offer Dark Continent information in exchange. Then those greedy leaders would very likely agree to this guy's demands - those guys had been coveting the Dark Continent for a long time. Then the Hunter Association would have no excuse to openly attack them. Moreover, after his own death, probably only Morel would understand how terrifying these monsters were. His previous proposal to eliminate the Chimera Ants would probably be rejected. This guy really had terrifying scheming. The only thing he didn't understand was why he was so certain that he would be defeated and captured by Jed.
If Meruem knew what Netero was thinking, he would definitely tell him that he had watched the anime and knew what Jed's trump card was, which is why he designed it this way.
But unfortunately, even the most powerful scheming was just that of an insect. It seemed that no matter what, he would die here tonight. He just felt sorry for the ordinary citizens of this city. Ant King Meruem, tonight let you know the malice of humanity. That's not something you ants can bear.
"You damn bastard, how dare you use me." Jed wasn't stupid. He quickly understood Meruem's plan. He had actually been used by this damn monster. Jed angrily roared at Meruem.
"There's no such thing as using or not using. Even if I didn't find you, you were originally planning to do this anyway, weren't you? Might makes right - it's just such a simple principle. Your purpose is to kill Netero, and so is mine. How about it? Submit to me, and you can still kill Netero personally." Jed's strength was decent. If possible, Meruem really wanted to recruit him into his own team. After all, the Chimera Ants still had too few high-end combat members. Counting them up, there were only himself, Pitou, Pouf, and the cute bunny Youpi. Those Squadron Leaders and the Shadow Guard Twelve's strength could only be considered decent - they couldn't serve as high-end combat power.
"Dream on, you damn monster!" Jed decisively refused, and at this time he hated Meruem to the bone. Meruem's idea was quite good. If Jed would give up the idea of publishing the Dark Ledger and give up revenge - although these were all temporary, since Meruem wouldn't obediently become those leaders' lap dog. It was just a pity that Jed had his own pride, the pride of a warrior. He couldn't possibly submit to others, especially when this person had fooled him and used him. He wasn't some coward who feared death.
"Ah oh, negotiations have broken down. Then I can only kill you all." Meruem had an expression like "just as expected," then said easily. That confident tone was like doing some insignificant small matter. But the reality was about the same - dealing with two injured people, if Meruem still couldn't kill them, that would be truly bizarre. Never mind that they were injured - even if they weren't injured, Meruem could kill them both together. Of course, the prerequisite was that there was no nuclear bomb.
"What a joke. I won't let you have your way. Shura, connect me to the network! I want the whole world to see the current broadcast!" Jed looked at Meruem through gritted teeth and issued the command. Was this mutual destruction? Since you destroyed my plan, then I'll destroy your plan too.
It was just a pity that Jed didn't receive Shura's reply.
"Shura! Did you hear my command? Shura! Damn it!" Jed said angrily.
However, at this time in Heaven's Arena's monitoring room, Shura, one of Jed's Shadow Three Giants, lay in a pool of blood nearby, while standing beside him was a man with wings on his back. One of the Ant King's Royal Guards, Pouf.
"Sorry about that. To avoid certain people interfering, my loyal subordinate has already helped me take care of some things. Sorry, Jed-san, your hopes have been dashed. I told you, today you all must die." Meruem showed his white teeth and smiled at the two.
"Purgatory, quickly release Netero! Damn it! I never thought I'd choose to ally with you! But if you and I join forces, there's still a slim chance of victory. Purgatory, I command you! Release Netero!" Seeing Meruem's actions, Jed had already lost his composure. Having fought with Meruem, he deeply understood just how terrifying the opponent's strength was. Never mind his uninjured self - even in his prime, he probably wouldn't have much chance of victory. The only hope was to join forces with Netero. Otherwise, there really wasn't a shred of hope, because he understood that Meruem absolutely had the strength to kill them.
What was strange was that Purgatory, one of the Shadow Three Giants, didn't release those black chains after hearing Jed's command, still staring at the ground with lifeless eyes.
"Purgatory! I command you to release Netero!" Thinking Purgatory hadn't heard his command, Jed emphasized again.
Netero looked at Purgatory, then at Meruem standing not far away with an expression like he was watching a good show, and understood something.
"Jed, no need to shout. I'm afraid... your subordinate has already..."
"Purgatory has already betrayed you! Hahahaha." Before Netero could finish speaking, Meruem interrupted his unspoken sentence.
"How is that possible? Why?" Jed's mental state was already showing signs of collapse.
"Because you don't understand what your subordinates really want! Do you think everyone only thinks about revenge? What can you give them? Did you really bring them hope? No! You only brought them destruction. The Shadow clan has only a few hundred people left. Not only did you not think about finding them a stable life to let them continue, you led them toward the abyss instead. Do you really think everyone will follow you toward destruction? Jed, don't treat everyone like fools! Maybe they also want revenge! Maybe they also want to personally kill those enemies who destroyed their homes, but that's not their entirety! More people just want to find a stable place to live peaceful lives! They know they don't have the ability for revenge. They know that only racial continuity is the most important thing! Because I will bring them a world without troubles, without sadness, without harm, where everyone is happy, everyone is peaceful, everyone is equal!" Meruem's words stabbed into Jed's heart like sharp swords.
"Does such a world really exist?" Netero murmured.
"You bastards all deserve to die! Don't forget, you can only follow me because I hold your lives and deaths in my hands! You signed contracts with grudges. I'll make all you traitors die!" In his fury, Jed grabbed blue flames containing life from his hand and ruthlessly crushed them. Those were all Shadow clan members who had signed contracts with Jed. In other words, Jed actually controlled their life and death.
However, after crushing the flames, the shackles on Netero's body still weren't released. And although Purgatory's life decreased greatly the instant the flames were crushed, he didn't die.
"How is that possible? Why didn't you die!"
"Very regrettably, Jed! First, I must thank you! Those Shadow members who didn't betray you were all killed by you just now." Meruem spoke as if talking about something very happy, and indeed it did make him very happy. "Those Shadow members who betrayed you - oh no, who are loyal to me - nothing happened to them. Originally it would have been very troublesome for me to break their contracts with you, but now, you've broken them all. Although this injured them all a bit, it saved me quite a lot of time."
"Grudge! I'm not the only one who knows it! I learned this level of technique just by watching it once. And look clearly - although it's very similar, that's not the grudge you bestowed!"
Jed looked in the direction Meruem pointed. On Purgatory's body, there was somehow a chubby, fleshy little bug radiating golden light, lying on top of Purgatory's head. The grudge aura on Purgatory had long disappeared. What Purgatory was emitting was her own Nen. It was just that when concentrated at the top of her head, it was covered by that fleshy bug, hiding its original appearance.
"No! Damn it! I'm going to kill you, bastard! Hundred Demons Curse Grudge - Rakshasa!" Jed's eyes could no longer see pupils. There was only pitch blackness in his eyes. The current Jed had already been overwhelmed by anger. He had completely lost his reason. There was only one thought in his heart - kill Meruem.
"Don't, Jed! You're no match for him!" Netero roared. He clearly understood that Jed was no match for Meruem. If Jed could kill Purgatory now and save him, perhaps the two of them working together would still have a slim hope. But Jed was now choosing the most foolish approach - fighting Meruem alone.
"Already blinded by rage? Hmph, then you should die. Finally, let me show you the power of my modified version of your Hundred Demons Curse Grudge technique."
"Night Parade of a Hundred Demons - Lord of Demons and Spirits!"
(End of Chapter)
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