True Freedom

"Captain, should we go find them?"

Arriving in a modern city completely different from the NGL environment, Anthony looked at the crowds and street scenes and asked a question.

This place is very close to NGL, but it doesn't seem to have been affected by the swarming ants, and human life is still peaceful.

On one hand, there is the protection of human armies, and on the other hand, there is some assistance provided by the Hunter Association.

"No."

Long shook his head.

"What if we run into them..." Anthony coughed.

There was no awkwardness in bumping into them, because although they didn't have any missions, they were using the guise of researching the creatures of the Dark Continent to gain a deeper understanding of that continent from the Chimera Ant. This also aligned with Oboro's long-held desire to go to the Dark Continent.

Moreover, even if they met, Netero wouldn't force Oboro to join the operation... It concerned V5, and the old man didn't want to drag Oboro into it. Besides, he also wanted to prove himself to Oboro.

Although he is over a hundred years old, as long as he is around... Oboro and his group of juniors, they can forget about overstepping their bounds.

The three then checked into a hotel.

The Chimera Ant King now controls East Gorteau, and the subsequent expeditionary force will inevitably move there; they won't stay here for long.

Host: Oboro.

Age: 27.

Specialty: Three-star Ancient Literature Hunter x Hunter.

Combat Rank: Martial Arts Master, World-Class Hunter x Hunter (Ranked 3rd).

Overall attribute evaluation: Third-order superhuman (in progress).

Nen: Chronobreak, Thresh's passive skill Damnation, Senna's passive skill Absolution.

Absolution effect: (Attack range +215 meters, critical strike chance 100%, Life Steal 100%). Damnation effect, armor and spell power have both climbed to over 100,000.

The next day, Long found a juice shop, sat outside casually, and opened his attribute panel to take a look.

The plan has progressed smoothly so far.

Aside from the incident where he killed Neferpitou, it had some impact on the plot.

But it's not a big deal, because his precognitive abilities regarding the Hunter World will likely end around this time... and there's still a small remnant from the Kakin Empire, namely the Black Whale. He's already secured all the benefits he wanted, and the effects of his Absolution are at their maximum, except for the attack range.

Critical strike chance and Life Steal are both 100%, there's no room for them to increase.

As for his astonishing armor and spell power stats, during his trip to NGL, he and his team collected at least 100,000 ant souls... including those of the Squadron Leader and a group of squad leaders, besides Neferpitou. Most of these souls only provided a minor boost to his base stats; the truly significant ones were Neferpitou's.

With the same 2 points of armor and ability power, he had a chance for a 'qualitative change'.

The attribute evaluation related to physical strength suddenly changed a few days ago. The label 'in progress' was added after the third-tier superhuman. This made Long know that his previous judgment was not wrong, because the armor had increased to a terrifying level. The single defensive attribute also caused his body to undergo some kind of 'change'.

Perhaps they are moving towards becoming a fourth-order superhuman...

A fourth-tier superhuman is a realm that breaks through the dimension of Oboro's own life. It is a change brought about by his passive attribute. Otherwise, no matter how hard he tries, he could not have reached this level on his own. Furthermore, without the opportunity of the Chimera Ant, he would not have been able to achieve this.

This event was a stroke of luck for him, and he seized it! "A fourth-tier... peak Netero, or perhaps a corrupted Gon..." Oboro sipped his juice and smiled slightly.

Although it's just three simple words, "Evolving".

However, he is certain that his defensive attributes make his current physical strength likely the strongest in the human world.

He surpassed Beyond.

Next, there's Faqiang.

The combat power tier rose one place from 4th to 3rd.

"Don Freecss..."

Oboro already guessed who was ranked number one, because the scope of the system was entirely based on his memories from his previous life and the information he had come into contact with. So... looking at the entire history of human Nen user, the one at the top, without a doubt, was the mysterious Don Freecss.

There may be many species in this world, on the Dark Continent, that are more terrifying or powerful than Don Freecss, including demi-humans, but because Oboro was unaware of this, the system did not include 'them'.

From a limited perspective, Don Freecss is undoubtedly number one.

The system, being an intelligent AI, ranked Don Freecss first, indicating that after calculation and research, it also believes that this legendary human is still alive...

The increase in magical power caused some changes in Oboro's Nen once again.

Its power was even more astonishing than when it first absorbed the Neferpitou's soul.

Those Squadron Leader and corps captains are still valuable sources of inspiration.

"The body is the first... the ability of thought is the third..."

He murmured something in a daze.

Chimera Ant King Meruem and Neferpitou, among other ants, were destined to die, so... the system did not include these species.

"With my current strength, excluding Don Freecss, I should be able to secure the number one spot among humans..." Long thought to himself.

He is not arrogant.

He also had an understanding of Netero's abilities.

Regarding the ranking of Nen, although he is ranked 3rd, the strength of his Nen at this time is definitely higher than that of the old man. However, this ranking is based on all aspects of Nen, not just strength... so he is still a little behind. Oboro guesses that the 2nd place is Netero.

He was one place behind, which could be said to be... a loss due to time constraints.

That is, age.

Even if he cheated, the old man was still almost a hundred years older than him.

Long finished the juice.

From the time he transmigrated to the present day, it has taken him a little over ten years, and every step he has taken has been for tomorrow...

Take Thresh's Nen, for example. Aside from its soul-based nature, his initial motivation for developing it stemmed not only from his awareness that his power would soon plateau, but also from his connection to the current Chimera Ant incident. With any other Nen, even with overwhelming strength, he couldn't possibly kill so many ants.

Because ants have a very large territory and tend to spread, no matter how hard he tries to catch them, it will be extremely inefficient for him to do it alone.

He needs area-of-effect, highly lethal, and efficient capabilities.

This, combined with Thresh's inherent skill advantages, led to his current methods.

Everything that Oboro prepared was for a reason.

It's not that he benefited from having Nen... Just based on this Chimera Ant incident alone, even if he had grown, he wouldn't have progressed this quickly.

"But... even with such physical conditions and the foundation of Nen, it's still very difficult to defeat it."

The image of a black dot that he had seen that day flashed through Oboro's mind: Meruem, the Chimera Ant King who had left the anthill.

Just then, his phone rang, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hello?"

Long answered the call.

"Master, our people have entered NGL."

The voice on the other end of the phone was David's.

"Very good."

Long nodded slightly. "NGL has now become a no-man's land. V5 is keeping a close eye on it. Once the matter is resolved and the ants in the NGL area are wiped out, they will definitely take over without hesitation... There are still some civilians surviving in the country. Find them, organize them, and elect a leader to take the stage. And get all countries to express their support, in the spirit of humanitarianism, to help them rebuild their homes."

By starting with international humanitarianism, they can gain the upper hand and make it absolutely difficult for V5 to intervene.

Most importantly, this was originally the home of those survivors.

They were the original owners.

"Yes."

David responded.

After giving a few more instructions, Long hung up the phone.

Meruem, Netero, Shaiapouf, Youpi... these four characters are the main course, as for Knov's disciple, Palm.

As for the few scattered ants, Oboro no longer cared.

Once I absorb the souls of this person and the three ants... I will be done.

With the Fills Family, the Hunter Association, NGL, and the potential for further involvement with East Gorteau, Oboro no longer needs to fear anything.

Although he disliked power, he had no choice... If he wanted to move freely in this world, power was an unavoidable element.

With his absolute and overwhelming power, he will finally obtain... the 'freedom' he has always truly desired!