Based on Ponzu's account of the two Chimera Ant attacks she had survived, Division Commanders' squads followed two approaches when hunting humans.
One was to torture and kill humans at will; the other was to deliberately subdue them with some kind of neurotoxin.
This showed that the Chimera Ants whose human genes had awakened their humanity enjoyed killing and tormenting their prey, but also remained faithful to their duties, bringing fresh food back to the Ant Nest.
Netero's extermination plan rested on Knov "teleporting" the Chimera Ants into Hide and Seek one by one.
Leaving extermination efficiency aside, their current fighting strength made it absolutely impossible to cut off every Chimera Ant Division Commander squad's hunting routes.
But if they kept reducing the number of those squads, they would eventually leave the Chimera Ants short-handed.
At that point, a complete blockade of the Ant Nest would become possible.
For the Chimera Ant Queen, who needed vast quantities of food every day, freshness and nutrition were crucial. Humans affected by the neurotoxin could generally only be kept for about a week.
Beyond that, they could no longer meet her dietary needs.
In other words—
One week after achieving a "complete blockade" would mark the critical point of the entire extermination plan.
Netero's confidence in this plan came from the experts' assessment that Meruem would not be born for another two months.
He believed they had ample time to proceed gradually with this safest of methods.
However—
"Time is precisely the problem..."
Holding the Black Blade with his eyes closed, Moyu stood alone in a forest steeped in pitch-black night.
The night was still, yet murderous intent seemed to flow silently through the darkness so dense he could not see his own hand.
A soft halo centered on Moyu enveloped everything within