The King's Birth

"Where am I?" Li Yang felt as if he were in a strange place. He was surrounded by water, yet he could breathe freely. It was just a bit cramped, and he couldn't move his limbs at all. Before long, a wave of weakness and exhaustion washed over him, and Li Yang drifted back into a deep sleep.

"I need more, more nutrition." A creature resembling a giant ant swallowed a ball of meat in its hand. The meat was covered in strange substances and looked exceptionally disgusting. "Oh, I can feel him moving. My King, hurry and prepare more of that nutritious stuff for me."

"Yes, my Queen." A group of equally strange monsters answered her.

"Power, I feel filled with power." When Li Yang woke up again, he felt in excellent condition. Unlike last time, he felt he could easily break free from the constraints of this place.

"No, my King, not yet. Now is not the time." Li Yang felt a gentle voice speaking to him. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable agitation upon hearing it. However, he could tell that this voice meant him well, so he suppressed his inner restlessness and continued to sleep. An unknown liquid flowed into Li Yang's body through a tube connected to him. His body began to change once again.

"This aura is...? Why is it still getting stronger?" Miles away, beyond several mountains, an old man with a long white beard and hair widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the peculiar structure that looked like a termite mound. To be precise, he was staring intently at the direction of Li Yang. "It's getting more and more intense."

"This won't do. It cannot go on like this." The long-bearded old man seemed to have made up his mind. "Morel, Knuckle, you two stay here. I will go alone."

"Chairman Netero..." "Chairman..."

"No need to say more. I can handle this by myself. That is an order." The old man, known as Chairman Netero, was the leader of the strongest organization in the world, the Hunter Association. In his youth, he was known as the strongest Nen User. Although he was old now and possessed only 50% of his former strength, he was still ranked among the top Nen Users in the world. However, even such a powerful figure did not feel optimistic about this mission. He suspected that this time, the odds were slim. Thinking of this, Netero touched his chest; if he failed, this would be his final chance.

"Yes." Seeing that the Chairman had spoken, the two men said nothing more. Although they did not know how strong the most powerful ants were, the ones they had dealt with so far, while having some strength, were not worth mentioning. Moreover, they trusted their Chairman's strength; he was undoubtedly a top-tier powerhouse.

Netero's muscles bulged, his legs bent, and he kicked off toward the ant nest, flying forward as rapidly as a sharp arrow.

"Hmm?" At that same moment, the three individuals near the Queen sensed something and turned in unison toward the direction from which Chairman Netero was flying.

"I sensed this guy a while ago, but because the King's birth was imminent, I didn't want to cause trouble and ignored him. I didn't expect him to deliver himself to his death." The speaker was a handsome man, though his skin was somewhat purple, and he had a pair of large butterfly wings on his back.

"Pouf, our duty is to protect the King. Leave the rest to the Squad Leaders," said a burly man with deep red skin. "Neferpitou, what do you think?"

"Meow, I wonder how long this toy can play," said a white-haired girl with cat ears and, of course, a long cat tail.

These three were the Chimera Ant Royal Guards, the trio loyal only to the Ant King, and the strongest Chimera Ants aside from the King himself. As for the Queen, in their eyes, she would be of no use once the King was born.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" When Chairman Netero reached the ant nest, the other ants finally discovered his presence, but it was already a bit too late, and they were thrown into a state of panic. The ordinary Soldier Ants and Squad Captains could not cause the Chairman any harm; they couldn't even cause him any trouble, nor could they delay Netero's advance. In other words, they weren't even qualified to be cannon fodder.

One rank above the Squad Captains were the Squad Leaders. Ants at the Squad Leader level were on a completely different tier than the Squad Captains, and even among human Nen Users, they were considered strong, but they still could not stop Netero's progress. Netero was simply too powerful; this was the difference between a top-tier expert and an average one.

"Damn it, if this continues, this damned human will get close to the Queen. I can't let him go on," said an ant that looked like Lei Zhenzi with hatred. He felt a deep sense of powerlessness. Why was there such a powerful existence among the creatures they had previously considered food? "It seems only those few can handle this." Lei Zhenzi knew his own strength; he was about the same as the previous Squad Leaders, and going there would be suicide. The ones he referred to were the three members of the Royal Guard he had spoken to earlier. Those three were incredibly strong and might be able to stop this intruder.

"Your name is Kolt, right? What brings you here?" Compared to the other two, Neferpitou, while temperamental and extremely playful, was much easier to talk to.

"Oh, I see. I didn't expect those Squad Leaders to be so useless that they couldn't even stop a single enemy." Youpi was the most physically powerful of the three, but because his body was composed entirely of magical beasts, his intelligence was somewhat lacking. However, in terms of strength, he was top-tier.

"Don't be careless, Youpi. The opponent is very powerful. The Squad Leaders and Squad Captains who disappeared earlier were likely all taken out by this guy," warned the butterfly man, Pouf. Despite saying this, he was very confident in Youpi's strength. He did not believe that among the humans they had previously called food, there could be anyone more powerful than them.

"Don't worry, Pouf. Watch me take care of this guy." Youpi cracked his wrists and stood up, his powerful muscles displaying immense explosive force.

"Ho ho ho~ It seems these are about to reach the Queen." After effortlessly crushing a struggling Squad Leader in his hand, Chairman Netero continued to march forward. "Looks like a rather troublesome guy has arrived."

"Ah, human, were you the one causing trouble earlier? You just look like an old man," Youpi said, emerging from the other side of the cave and looking Netero up and down.

"Ho ho ho, come on then." Facing a member of the Royal Guard, Chairman Netero finally got serious. Although he did not know Youpi's identity, he could sense the massive energy within him. While there was still a gap compared to himself, it was still shockingly strong.

"Oh~ Heh heh~" Chairman Netero's aura shifted, and a massive amount of Nen erupted from his aged body.

"What is that?" Behind Chairman Netero, a statue resembling both a Guanyin and a Great Buddha appeared. This was the manifestation of his Enhancement Nen ability pushed to its absolute limit. This old man in front of him was truly a terrifying fellow.

"Bam!" Before Youpi could react, he was slammed into the ground by a palm. This was followed by countless palm strikes, relentlessly pummeling the deeply embedded Youpi. Youpi, one of the powerful Royal Guards, had no way to fight back against Netero.

"Ahhh, damn it! Who do you think you are? I am the King's Royal Guard!!!!" An even more powerful Nen erupted from Youpi's body, creating a massive explosion that forcibly repelled Netero's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva.

"What a monster," Netero said, having dodged the center of the explosion.

The intense battle between the two caused the entire ant nest to tremble. The remaining Squad Leaders finally realized the power of the Royal Guards; it was a despair-inducing strength, with a gap in levels that was far too vast.

"Damn it, what is Youpi doing? Doesn't he know this will disturb the King's birth?" The butterfly man, Pouf, looked into the distance with annoyance.

"The human fighting him is not simple. He's very strong. I can't believe there's an expert of this caliber among humans," Neferpitou evaluated.

"Oh~ My King, no, not yet, just a little bit more. Please endure, please endure~" said a giant ant with a massive abdomen. She gently stroked the egg in her abdomen, speaking with exceptional tenderness. Yes, it was an egg, and she was using her life to incubate it. Even if the original owner of the egg would leave the moment he was born, and even if the original owner didn't care about her life or death at all, she still loved him. Perhaps this was maternal love, regardless of species.

"Endure? Who are you? You are so gentle and warm. Who am I? Oh, I am Li Yang, but I am also the King!" The creature inside the giant egg seemed to be contemplating and arguing with itself. "King? Yes, I am both Li Yang and the King." As time passed, the soul that originally belonged to Li Yang was gradually infused and merged with the consciousness of the species. There was no devouring or extinction, only rebirth. This was a new hope, a new future belonging to the Chimera Ants.