Deep within the heart of the NGL Autonomous Region.
Inside the massive Chimera Ant nest.
Neferpitou, one of the Royal Guards, was currently dragging the half-dead Kite through the dim tunnels, eventually arriving at a spacious limestone cavern.
The moment she stepped inside, Shaiapouf, who had been waiting there, asked with a smile, "Have you caught another interesting toy?"
"Yes! This one is completely different from the trash before; he's quite strong. Even I had to expend some effort to defeat him." Pitou lifted the dying Kite, her eyes glittering with excitement.
"Oh? And how do you intend to handle him? Offer him to Her Majesty the Queen as food? Or control him like the others to serve as a teacher for training and developing Nen abilities?"
As he spoke, Pouf cast his gaze toward the humans in the cavern who were doing their best to initiate soldier ants and Officers into Nen, teaching them the fundamentals of its use and development. Pokkle was among them.
Not only that, the ants had learned to initiate captured humans into Nen first before processing them into more delicious and nutritious meatballs for the Queen to consume.
This was the exact reason why the subsequently born soldier ants, Officers, Squadron Leaders, and the Royal Guards possessed significantly greater strength than their counterparts in the original timeline. Those hatched recently from eggs were born with staggering amounts of Nen.
Evidently, this species from the Dark Continent had fully realized how to consume humans to maximize nutritional gain and ensure the entire colony grew increasingly powerful.
Pitou rubbed her chin for a moment and quickly replied with a laugh, "I think it's better to turn him into a puppet for combat training. Don't forget that group that kept attacking our patrols around the nest; numbers alone won't be enough to catch them. We need sufficient combat experience."
"That sounds like a fine idea. Furthermore, do not disturb the Queen for the time being. The gestation of the King has reached its most critical stage. Any threat must be resolutely eradicated!" Pouf's voice carried a heavy, unquestionable killing intent.
As a Royal Guard, protecting the King from harm was an instinct carved into his genes, it was his entire reason for existing.
"Understood! If those humans dare to approach again, Youpi and I will handle it personally. I guarantee they won't return alive."
As a fellow Royal Guard, Pitou clearly understood Pouf's concerns and nodded without hesitation.
Hearing the conversation between these two powerful Chimera Ants, Kite's pale face turned exceptionally grim. He realized that these ants, now integrated with human genes, were far more terrifying than he had imagined. His mind raced with a single thought: how to get this critical intelligence out.
While he was racking his brain for a solution, Pouf suddenly fluttered his butterfly-like wings, producing a vast amount of scale-powder formed from Nen.
In just two or three seconds, Kite showed signs of clouded consciousness. Combined with his massive blood loss and mental exhaustion, he quickly fell into a drowsy, hypnotic state.
Seeing this, Pitou immediately activated her ability, turning Kite into a puppet completely under her control. Once finished, she beckoned a Chimera Ant Officer with healing abilities to treat her new toy's wounds.
Before long, the nearly dead Kite had recovered most of his health under the healing Nen and began practice matches against the ants who had newly acquired Nen.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side, Chairman Netero and his two assistants had quickly ascended to a mountain peak, looking down upon the movements of the Chimera Ant army.
The moment he saw the Ten surrounding the ants below, Knov couldn't help but gasp, "Unbelievable! They... they've actually mastered Nen on a massive scale! With these numbers, I'm afraid the three of us alone will find it difficult to exterminate them all."
"This is the worst-case scenario. Chairman, are you sure we don't need to recruit more hands?" Morel also began to question the feasibility of the mission.
"It's too late. Just as Allen said, prepare yourselves for a bitter struggle, or even death." Chairman Netero sighed helplessly.
In truth, if he could have brought more people, he wouldn't have joined this war with only two supports. The problem was Pariston; that fellow had long ago deployed all the Association's high-end combatants to remote, hard-to-reach areas for missions. If Allen hadn't cleared Neldrant Island so quickly, he might not have even been able to mobilize these few.
Knov noticed the Chairman's reaction, pushed up his glasses, and said, "In that case, let's start by thinning their numbers. Morel, I'll leave the task of distracting the enemy to you. Any problems?"
"Yeah. No problem. But you'd better be careful; getting surrounded by these Nen-using Chimera Ants is no joke."
With that, Morel took a deep drag from his massive pipe and began creating his Deep Purple smoke soldiers. In the blink of an eye, dozens of smoke puppets set with complex automatic operations appeared out of thin air, closing in on the Chimera Ant nest from all directions.
Under their persistent harassment, the dense reconnaissance network the ants had established nearby quickly developed gaps. Knov seized the opportunity to activate his ability, Scream within his Hide and Seek, to snatch isolated soldier ants and Officers one by one, bringing them in for Chairman Netero to execute.
Through their seamless cooperation, they managed to kill nearly two hundred soldier ants and over a dozen Officers in just a day or two.
However, this efficient slaughter also alerted the Squadron Leaders and Royal Guards. By the third day, Pitou and Youpi left the nest to begin patrolling the surrounding forest.
Sensing their terrifying, malicious Aura from a distance, Morel and Knov finally believed that Allen's previous words were no exaggeration. They also felt a wave of shame for having previously dismissed Killua's report. In the face of such enemies, let alone rookie Hunters like Killua and Gon, even veterans like themselves felt an involuntary sense of dread and despair.
Although Chairman Netero wanted to personally gauge the strength of the Royal Guards, he considered that the two were moving together and could not be separated. Furthermore, given Knov's level of strength, he would be discovered the moment he drew near; he might be killed instantly before even getting a chance to activate his ability.
Ultimately, Netero ordered a halt to all operations. They retreated twenty kilometers to a relatively safe cave, monitoring the movements of the main ant force from afar.
"It seems we won't be able to finish off the Queen before the King is born," Morel said, sitting at the cave entrance, eyes fixed on the horizon.
"Finish the Queen? We can't even get close to the nest right now. Those two Royal Guards are too terrifying!" Knov replied, his face grim.
It was obvious both were in low spirits, especially the latter, who had begun to lose his fighting will.
"Don't worry, be patient. Once Allen and his team return, we can launch our first probing attack on the nest. Until then, we just need to ensure these ants don't spread elsewhere," Chairman Netero comforted them in a calm tone.
In truth, now that the Guards' strength was confirmed, he realized this place was the burial ground prepared for him. Adding the ambiguous attitude of the bureaucrats and Pariston's recent maneuvers, everything suggested that too many people were tired of him sitting in the Chairman's seat.
Thinking of this, a defiant will flashed in Netero's eyes. He subconsciously touched the small box he carried, a faint, barely perceptible smile appearing on his aged face.
You want my life? Then come and get it! No matter how strong the King they give birth to is, I'll drag it to hell with me!