"Oh? Interesting! You guys are Nen users too!"
A look of surprise flashed across the face of the Chimera Ant, who possessed the head of a bull.
It was clear that the punch he had just thrown was intended to kill; he hadn't held back in the slightest.
"Who are you? Why did you attack us?" Gon asked, cutting straight to the point.
"My name is Bihorn! I am a Squadron Leader under the Queen! By the order of Pitou-sama, we are launching an assault on the surrounding human cities and villages. Now, are you ready to die, brats?"
This tall, muscular ant made no effort to hide anything, openly revealing his name, status, and objective all at once.
Strictly speaking, there was no need for concealment.
Neferpitou's instructions to him were to cause a scene—the bigger, the better—to draw as much human attention as possible before the King's birth.
He wasn't the only one; several other Squadron Leaders had received similar assignments.
"Pitou?!"
Upon hearing that name, Gon's pupils dilated instantly. His entire demeanor shifted into a state of extreme agitation. "Where is she? What did you do to Kite?!"
"Hmph! If you can defeat me, I'll tell you," Bihorn grinned, revealing a cruel, predatory smile.
"Fine! Then I'll just knock you down!"
Those of the Enhancement category are naturally straightforward.
Having established the stakes, Gon immediately crouched low and began to focus his aura into his fist. He intended to end this in a single strike, just as he had done during his encounters with Knuckle.
Unfortunately, a human like Knuckle could never compare to a Chimera Ant Squadron Leader in terms of raw aura capacity.
In truth, after Allen's hellish crash-course training, even Killua and Gon had surpassed Knuckle by a full magnitude in terms of aura volume.
It was precisely because of this gap that Knuckle, even after activating his ability, had his defenses instantly shattered by Jajanken. He hadn't been able to rely on his usual tactic of stalling for time to accumulate interest until his opponent went bankrupt and was forced into a state of Zetsu.
Gon, however, failed to realize the difference here and chose to meet his opponent head-on in a clash of brute force.
The moment the two fists, one small, one massive, collided…
BOOM!
The resulting shockwave and terrifying air currents sent the surrounding flora flying in every direction.
The outcome was predictable.
As the party with an absolute disadvantage in both aura capacity and physical constitution, Gon was sent flying horizontally. He smashed through the trunks of two or three large trees before finally managing to stabilize himself and come to a halt.
The shock visible in his eyes made it clear: he had not expected this result.
"Hahahaha! Surprised, aren't you?" Bihorn raised a fist the size of a sandbag and laughed wantonly. "The reason is simple! My aura and strength are several times greater than yours. As a human, you're excellent, but you're still far from my level."
"Gon! Watch out! This guy's aura is at least two to three times ours! Don't try to overpower him!" Killua shouted a warning from the side.
"Yeah! I know!"
Gon wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and quickly scrambled back to his feet.
"It's useless! No matter how you struggle, you will eventually die by my hand."
Bihorn bellowed, once again concentrating his aura into his fist, and charged forward with the force of a thunderbolt.
…
While the two protagonists were encountering the Chimera Ant Squadron Leader, the densely populated towns and villages surrounding the entire Balsa Islands were simultaneously hit by a Chimera Ant invasion.
Reports of massive casualties and stomach-churning acts of cannibalism spread rapidly across the news and the internet in less than half an hour.
In an instant, fear of this unknown species gripped the public's nerves.
Some nations even deployed their entire military and police forces in an attempt to kill these man-eating beasts.
What they didn't know was that a Chimera Ant that had learned Nen could almost entirely ignore small arms fire.
Consequently, within a mere ten minutes, the military and police units, armed primarily with pistols and rifles, suffered heavy casualties, and the survivors fled in a rout.
Looking at the various reports, photos, and video footage playing on the airship's electronic displays, a cold sneer appeared on Allen's face. "Interesting. These ants are actually trying to divide our attention."
"Mm. While the tactic isn't exactly sophisticated, it is effective. At the very least, the Hunter Association must prioritize public safety when faced with this situation," Baise nodded in agreement.
"So what do we do now? Continue to East Gorteau as planned, or hunt down these ants invading the human world first?" Bodoro asked in an uncertain tone.
"Simple. We split up. You all head to East Gorteau to investigate. I'll go alone to clean up these overbold ants. Remember, if you find anything truly wrong, don't act rashly. Call me immediately."
With those words, Allen pushed open the airship's hatch and leapt out. In mid-air, he materialized his Red Dragon (Vaelstrasz), which carried him toward the nearest invaded city.
Watching the massive red beast shrink into a small dot in the distance, Hisoka wore a playful expression and said with a smile, "Oh my, the Boss left us behind to go have all the fun himself. I truly hope we find traces of those ants in East Gorteau; otherwise, this trip will be far too boring."
"Hey! I'm warning you, you'd better not be planning anything," Baise threatened, narrowing her eyes.
Perhaps due to a woman's sharp intuition, she felt that this pervert was plotting something.
"Heh, don't worry. I won't do anything to jeopardize the team. I just want to go out and find some excitement on my own," Hisoka explained nonchalantly.
He clearly didn't take Baise's warning to heart.
To be precise, other than Allen and Illumi, he didn't believe anyone else in the group posed a threat to him, not even Bodoro with his near-perfect defense.
"Dammit! I knew this bastard was unreliable," Baise leaned her head on her hand and complained in a low voice.
"Just leave Hisoka be. If he really causes trouble, we can just kick him out of the group," Illumi shrugged with an air of indifference.
"True enough! Hisoka has always been a man who does as he pleases. Unless you can prove you're stronger than him, he won't take orders from someone weaker," Bodoro added.
Ultimately, the team passed the decision to leave Hisoka to his own devices by a vote of two to one.
As for the poor cross-dressing Kalluto, he was deprived of even the chance to speak by his elder brother. He remained quietly in the corner, acting as a "tool," attempting to use his paper-cutting ability to discover exactly where the two Guards had hidden the Queen.
However, under the interference of some unknown Nen ability, all he could hear was a cacophony of white noise.
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