The Curtain Rises, the Main Event!

The name Meruem.

Now... only Oboro knows.

He continued his finishing work in the anthill.

With the queen dead, the ants seemed to lose control and signals, and ceased to be orderly.

Instead, it became extremely chaotic.

It also lacks instructions from higher-ranking ants.

However, for Oboro, such a large number of ants was still a sumptuous feast.

He couldn't kill every single ant.

There are too many...

Therefore, some will always be scattered to the outside world, including some characters that were not originally in the ant nest, and a few soldier captains.

All I can say is that they were quite lucky.

Because of his intervention, the subsequent impact on the human world will not be as significant.

Furthermore, there's Gyro...

The king of ngl.

While Oboro and his group were in NGL, NGL's system and army were rapidly collapsing... Although Oboro kept killing, he never cut off the ants' hunting routes. Moreover, because of the Association and the Neferpitou, Oboro stopped for a while, so Gyro also became one of the queen ant's food.

The method of judgment is very simple: NGL never sent out any more troops or soldiers afterward... and even within the entire country, there were no more manpower available.

Oboro couldn't be sure when Gyro be resurrected, and it wouldn't be convenient for it to affect his own plans, so Gyro should have escaped to the outside world as well! If he were there, Oboro would be able to tell at a glance.

From the moment this creature was born, it was able to disobey the queen ant's commands and possessed memories of its previous life as a human... and simply leave.

But finding him... isn't difficult.

Because Oboro knew that Gyro would miss out on Gon and Killua.

If we stake out the area now, we might be able to find it.

However... Oboro doesn't have the mind to care about that right now. The soul is the most important thing. He wants to wipe out as many ants as possible, within his power.

The more souls you collect, the better.

Meanwhile, Netero's squad, located on the edge of the territory, remained completely unaware of the changes in the ant colony.

The old man is still training to find his rhythm.

However, a few days later... they still discovered something was amiss.

One reason is that the number of ants has decreased, forcing them to venture deeper into the territory from the edge to find more 'sparring partners' for Netero.

Secondly, Knov and Morel discovered that even when some ants appeared, they were quite scattered and completely disorganized. Through external contacts and signals, they learned that traces of Chimera Ant had appeared in several countries within the Mitene Union.

This indicates that the ants have dispersed...

Something's definitely wrong with the ant nest.

If the queen ant is still alive, the ant colony cannot leave the nest; they must serve the queen.

The nest is in NGL, so... before this, no matter how wide the ant colony's reach was, it was impossible for it to extend beyond this small country.

It doesn't seem like the queen ant gave the order to attack humans... because these ants seem more like they wandered aimlessly into the outside world.

So... Netero and his two companions set off and arrived at the Chimera Ant's nest.

What they saw along the way greatly shocked Knov and Morel.

The dead ants covered the ground, starting from the anthill and stretching over a vast area... and they all died in the same way.

No external injuries!

Upon entering the ant nest, they found it to be an empty shell, with only a few finger-sized ants moving about, nibbling on large amounts of rotting flesh.

The cave reeked of a foul stench that made one want to vomit.

"They've been dead for a while..." The three of them wandered around the cave for a long time, stopping and starting, before finally arriving at the place where the queen had died.

Knov observed for a while, then said in a deep voice.

He looked at the chairman.

None of the three said a word.

"Good heavens... who did this? Was it one of our men?" Morel gasped.

He was probably the only one at the scene who was still confused.

Morel didn't understand Oboro's Nen...

But Knov and Netero already knew the answer in their hearts.

"This little guy..." Netero chuckled.

He realized... that Oboro's scheme was for the sake of the soul.

"So that means... I'm on his list too."

Netero found it amusing, thinking to himself.

Soul-based Nen ... For souls, what value or use do these souls have for him? The old man only had a general understanding of Oboro's Nen, not knowing the details. However, before coming here, Jin had mentioned to him that Oboro could collect souls to enhance his strength, but Jin was not sure about the specific effects. He only said that in the game Hero Island, souls provide attribute boosts to a certain hero character.

However, this is just speculation and cannot be taken literally from the game, because Oboro's mastery of Nen is extraordinary. How to develop Nen depends on his own ideas and designs.

"This means... I'm going to lose."

Netero squinted.

He didn't mind Oboro coveting his soul, provided... he was the loser.

"Chairman... judging from the looks of it, the Chimera Ant King has already been born. Combined with the information we've received, East Gorteau, I'm afraid..." Knov said.

If the Chimera Ant King were here, Oboro definitely wouldn't dare to do this.

Knov glanced at Morel again, feeling conflicted about whether to tell him the truth.

But remembering the president's advice, I decided against it.

"Hmm... they should have gone to East Gorteau."

The old man scratched his head, then suddenly changed the subject, asking Knov and Morel, "Do you think I'm quite weak at my age? Although I was glorious in my youth, I'm old after all... hahaha..."

The two were taken aback, not understanding why the chairman would suddenly ask such a question.

"No way... If even you, Chairman, are weak, then we... are just ordinary people," Knov replied.

"I've never lost..."

"You restless little fellow... I'll show you."

After speaking, Netero, stroking his beard and smiling, turned and left in a language that Knov and Morel couldn't understand.

Knov vaguely understood something...

Whatever Oboro's conspiracy is, as long as the chairman is there, it's not a problem.

Morel and Knov followed closely behind.

Before leaving, Knov glanced back at the ants' skeletons, his heart tightening.

Not many people within the Association know much about Oboro's strength... she's quite a mystery.

This was the first time he had a direct experience of Oboro's strength...

To achieve this level of success single-handedly...

That's terrifying.

Meanwhile, Oboro had already led Fante and Anthony to hunt down the spreading ant swarm... Even a small mosquito is still meat. Creatures strong enough to cause soul loss are either Chimera Ant or Magical Beasts... but Magical Beasts are rare species with a wide distribution, and there's no large enough population to sustain them. To wait for the next large-scale harvest of 'leeks', they'll probably have to go to the Dark Continent.

Alternatively, having hidden Nen user trained by various countries instigate wars... that is indeed feasible, but too difficult and pointless.

Because their numbers are also incomparable to those of Chimera Ant.

The main problem is that it's too much trouble... it's not as easy as killing ants.

Half a month later, the Association learned that the Chimera Ant King had moved into the capital of East Gorteau, and some Chimera Ant had followed him... hoping to benefit from the Chimera Ant King's influence.

After all, within the Chimera Ant King's territory, they don't need to worry about their lives.

However, if they go outside, they will be attacked by humans.

Having finished the 'clean-up' work, Oboro led Fante and Anthony to the city where the Chimera Ant extermination team had settled.

Next... is the real highlight!