Boarding Nears × Confirmed Slots

July 5, 2001.

Nosra Manor is making final preparations.

In less than a month, it will be time to embark on the ship, where they will all board the giant ocean Mail Steamer built by the Kakin Empire.

B·W.

A floating city capable of supporting 300,000 people—an absurdity taken to the extreme.

Every time Kevin saw the structure and detailed data of this thing, he felt it was outrageous.

This is something that only a major power that was once less powerful than V5 could build, and it is planned to build ten of them.

One of them was completed last month and has passed all safety tests.

Three hundred thousand.

It can support 300,000 people for months at sea, providing food, water, and shelter, and is also capable of long-distance ocean transport.

This demonstrates just how advanced the manufacturing technologies of the world's major powers have become.

"Strange, there's less than a month left before we leave the ship, why are they only announcing the recruitment of security personnel now?"

Looking at the announcement on the official website of the Kakin Empire on his computer, Kurapika said with some confusion.

Pairo, who knew about the Kakin Empire, leaned closer to look at the announcement on the screen.

After reading it carefully, he frowned slightly.

"No, the recruits are all for the lower-ranking Prince; the upper-ranking Prince don't need them at all."

"These Prince who need to recruit people are all too young; none of them are adults, and some are even babies."

"It seems these Prince are only now realizing the Succession War is about to begin, while their brothers and sisters have been preparing for it for a long time."

As he spoke, Pairo shook his head regretfully.

This is on a completely different level; it's a pure case of dimensional reduction.

Kevin was watching from the side at this moment, with Biscuit beside him.

"Shouldn't the Kakin Empire's Succession War be a Succession Ceremony?"

Kevin suddenly looked at Biscuit next to him and asked.

Biscuit nodded.

"I don't know much about this, but according to some of my friends, every major country has similar Succession Ceremony."

"This ancient Succession Ceremony of the Kakin Empire has continued for a very long time, and according to historical estimates, it can be traced back to the time of the first King."

"A bloody Succession War."

With the country's development and modernization, many meaningless, inefficient, and excessively influential Succession Ceremony have long been abolished.

For example, Succession Ceremony rely solely on human sacrifice to achieve a certain effect through sheer quantity.

Meaningless, subject to heavy public scrutiny, troublesome to follow up on, and unsuitable for long-term sacrifice, this type of Succession Ceremony is the quickest to be abolished.

"Was it effective? The Kakin Empire has grown to its current size; this Succession Ceremony must have played a significant role, right?"

Kevin asked curiously.

After all, it has a history of several hundred years, so it is quite troublesome to fully understand the history of the Kakin Empire.

Biscuit Kurapika chimed in from the side.

It is said that there are very few mediocre kings among the King; the worst are those who maintain the status quo, while more than half are those who expand the territory.

"The periods in history when the rulers were at a disadvantage were mainly due to excessive external pressures, rather than the Monarch being unwise."

Upon hearing this, Kevin raised an eyebrow.

That means the Succession Ceremony was very effective.

But thinking about it, it does require brothers and sisters to fight each other bloodily until the last one is left.

That's pretty scary.

Pairo suddenly frowned. "Although we knew beforehand that the Succession War might be about to begin, now that I think about it, why does it have to be on this ship?"

"Don't you find it strange? Letting these Prince fight each other at sea, on a huge ocean Mail Steamer carrying 300,000 people?"

This question made the group ponder, Kurapika, after thinking for a moment, couldn't help but speak.

"Perhaps it's because they're far from the country and the continent? To avoid causing serious domestic turmoil? After all, so many Prince represent many factions within the Kakin Empire. If they were to fight each other within the country, it could seriously deplete the nation's strength."

"Give them advance notice and let them compete within a limited scope to minimize their impact on the country?"

Kurapika came up with a reason, and it sounded very reasonable.

Pairo nodded in agreement.

This is highly likely, because it makes perfect sense.

"Alright, let's not think about that for now. No matter what, we have to get on this ship."

"Let's see what happens when we're closer. Right now, shouldn't we start considering our final choice?"

These words immediately made Kevin's expression turn sullen, and he plopped down on the sofa next to him.

He looked up at the ceiling.

"You haven't thought it through yet, have you?"

Biscuit crossed her arms and asked with a frown.

With less than a month until the final departure, it would be too much of a delay if the final selections weren't finalized.

"We are somewhat interested, but with so many candidates, it's really difficult to choose the right one."

He then counted on his fingers.

"In the end, the old man secured four spots for me, which means I have to choose four people from the remaining group to join our team."

"The first batch of advance Exploration Team will number as many as fourteen people, which is already quite a lot, to be honest. But when facing the Dark Continent, no matter how many people you have, it won't be too many."

Biscuit nodded, sat down opposite Kevin, and took a sip of her tea.

Her favorite thing at the Nosra Manor was a sip of black tea, paired with lovely and pretty pastries—it was simply perfect.

"First, I have to rule out Gowen."

"Why?"

Now, not Biscuit, but also Kurapika and Pairo, who were watching the computer and talking to each other, couldn't help but turn around.

Because Gowen's martial prowess is beyond question.

This person, who is almost the same age as Kevin, possesses Knight spirit due to family reasons, which is combined with his Nen ability.

Depending on the current situation, it can unleash extremely powerful combat capabilities.

Moreover, the opponent's combat abilities are versatile.

The equipment and weapons shown according to the Vow are all very powerful.

Not to mention that he had followed Kevin for a long time and made Vow, and he was indeed absolutely loyal.

It can be said that they received the most resources from Kevin.

It's almost equivalent to Melusina.

It's fair to say that if the current environment and conditions allow Gowen to reach his maximum output, he could even instantly kill Melusina.

Under normal circumstances, he is the third person after Melusina and Kevin.

He possesses versatile Nen ability, is incredibly powerful, fiercely loyal, and has a calm and composed personality.

It can be said to be the best choice for exploring the Dark Continent.

"It's precisely because he's so trustworthy that we can't let him go to the Dark Continent. We're not like Jin, we don't have any worries about the future."

Kevin rolled his eyes at the three of them.

As a well-educated person with a happy family, Kevin couldn't possibly abandon all responsibility for the sake of some so-called dream.

"What will happen to the Nosra Manor if all of our high-end combat forces leave? Although the Chairman will help look after it, he certainly won't be able to provide the most urgent support in the first instance."

"And we also have to consider one thing: what if we can never come back?"

"That's the Dark Continent, not some playground. Even I can't say for sure that we can return safely."

"So Gowen is the biggest trump card left behind at the Manor. With him here, I can explore the Dark Continent with you all without any worries."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Because that is indeed the case.

Gowen had no desire for the Dark Continent; he was simply obeying Kevin's orders.

His rigid Knight code and Vow made him loyal to Kevin.

Furthermore, if you think about it carefully, how many of his Knight Vow would actually be able to be fulfilled if he really went to the Dark Continent?

At the very least, it's impossible to fully utilize its potential.

You can only utilize three or four of them at most, that's the limit.

If he were to stay at the Manor as ordered by Kevin, under extreme circumstances, he would absolutely be able to unleash all his Vow and unleash his full power.

Calm and composed, though rigid, he is unwaveringly Loyalty and possesses formidable strength.

Moreover, they were among the earliest people to the Nosra Manor.

Whether it was Light, Nion, or Rosana, they were already familiar with each other and used to Gowen always patrolling the Manor and protecting them when they went out in groups.

"Let's talk about the others. Basho and Goreinu weren't very interested in the Dark Continent to begin with. While they wouldn't say they were giving up, they certainly didn't have much ambition."

"Nen ability aren't essential for the Dark Continent, although they're quite useful."

This eliminated several more.

While Pakunoda and the other person are suitable, their talents are not quite there yet. Although they have made some progress this year, they have not yet met the requirements.

"Then there were the ones Melusina brought back, those from Meteor City. Sigh, they were actually the best choice, but time is tight right now, and they've only had a little over a year to train and study."

Kevin sighed.

With Jie Mei's Satin- Nen ability, if given another year or two and properly trained, she could be considered the best controller for hunting.

She can act as a controller and support in battle, and because she is naturally prone to emotional fluctuations, she remains very calm and has extremely sharp insight during combat.

Needless to say, Quan Delai is an ultimate Enhancement Type; he can improve rapidly by eating and training simultaneously.

This is the real truth: give him time to eat, drink, and train, and he can maintain his immense strength.

He's perfectly capable of serving as an assault soldier and melee fighter in combat.

But here's the problem: it takes time.

These people have only been learning Nen ability for less than two years. Although they have experience in Meteor City as a foundation, they are still somewhat lacking in exploring the Dark Continent and becoming key members in combat.

"While Jie Mei and Quan Delai's Nen ability are not comprehensive enough, they would be suitable as members of the Hunting team, but they need time to grow."

"If these two don't work, the other two should be fine, right?"

Biscuit roughly understood Kevin's needs and thought for a moment before speaking.

Kevin nodded.

"So I think these two are more suitable."

Benorite, this kid has passion and Courage; to be honest, he doesn't seem like someone from Meteor City.

Its Nen ability, particularly its control and assembly of machinery, were extremely useful for Kevin and his team in building their temporary base.

The same applies to strategies.

A calm and strategic young man whose Nen ability allows him to completely and deeply control himself, even his subconscious.

It can transform one's brain into something like a computer, quickly collecting information, calculating results, and detecting loopholes in problems.

It is very suitable as the team's information analysis center.

Even Ce himself knew the role his abilities could play in the team, so in the past year, in addition to honing his Nen ability, he spent most of his time storing books and various materials.

The manipulation of one's subconscious mind to achieve photographic memory, akin to machine scanning, is an extreme exaggeration.

Coupled with an industrial computer storing a large amount of information, it can be said that it is perfectly capable of serving as the core of a temporary base.

"So if there are two spots left, you'd like to choose one from among those Chimeric Ant?"

Biscuit confirmed Kevin's idea.

First of all, it's impossible not to have Chimeric Ant. So, who has experienced the most dramatic growth in the past year?

Without a doubt, the first and second place go to Qi and Gon.

Next are these four Chimeric Ant.

"So there are four of them, who do you want to choose?"

Kevin had indeed thought about these two options long ago and spoke without hesitation.

"Rukira and the Koala."

The reason for not choosing Meruem is simple: Meruem's abilities are so overpowered that his combat ability is extremely weak.

Even after a year of training, he was still quite incompetent, and even his ability to protect himself was very weak.

Unfortunately, the Dark Continent is full of colossal beasts, and when they fight, it's all area-of-effect damage.

If it were to accidentally affect someone, it could very well disable Meruem's Nen ability, or even kill them.

Although Nen ability are very useful, they are truly ineffective in the Dark Continent.

That place was too eerie and too dangerous; for Meruem, whose defensive capabilities and physical strength were not particularly strong, it was far too deadly.

It would be better for them to stay on the Manor and make a difference.

His adoptive father, Peggy, was the same.

However, the main reason is that Peggy's Nen ability and strategy overlapped.

Peggy's Nen ability are more based on current circumstances and various data to make inferences and deductions.

This is entirely because Peggy used to gather information and intelligence, and then track down drug dealers.

Therefore, his Nen ability is naturally suited to modern cities.

Even Peggy herself didn't have any ambition to go to the Dark Continent.

His main focus is now on the company.

That's right, he has become the head of information and intelligence at Red Stone Pharmaceuticals.

Light is now very dependent on him.

Red Stone Pharmaceuticals agreed to conduct research on the possibility of alleviating addiction and treating addictive diseases.

Red Stone Pharmaceuticals is both our headquarters and our rear base; it's very important here.

So let's stay in human society.

But Koala and Rukira are different.

When these two failed before, they hadn't yet fully developed their Nen ability.

Now, under the guidance of such experts, the two, who were already Chimeric Ant with a solid foundation, have developed Nen ability that are exactly what they wanted.