Resentment and God Cult

PS: First, let me clarify that I did update in the early hours of the 31st.

Second, I said I'd add an extra chapter if the day's recommendations exceeded 100, but it seemed that had never happened on any day. It's not that I didn't want to post more—I had around ten chapters saved up. It just depended on whether you could push me into releasing them. I worked overtime yesterday and didn't even get to rest today; I posted this chapter as soon as I got home. I'll take a nap in a bit, then check today's recommendations. The data says this month's recommendations are 2, which means there were only two recommendations on September 1. Whether I add another chapter depends on whether you can push that number to 100.

Lastly, thanks to Cjso, Ji Ming, Renpin Aaa, and Second-Hand House Among Insects for their donations, and thanks again to reader sar0825 for the donation. That's all.

"Very good. You handled this well. Once those three Squad Leaders have digested that thing, bring them here. I have other orders for them." Meruem's voice was light and airy, yet every ant present heard him clearly. Neferpitou, the cat girl and one of the three Royal Guards he trusted most, stood beside his throne.

Knowing the plot, Meruem was well aware that among the Royal Guards, only the cat girl could carry out his orders most faithfully. All three were extremely loyal and would not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for him. However, Pouf, that butterfly man, loved to twist Meruem's orders and add his own interpretations, pulling little tricks. Though his intentions were all for Meruem's sake, that was precisely what made him such a headache. There were matters where Meruem could neither punish nor praise him. As for Youpi, his mind was simple. If Meruem wanted him to fight or destroy something, he would probably be more than qualified. But if Meruem wanted him to handle anything complicated... well, hehe. Of the three, Pitou was the subordinate Meruem found most satisfactory to use. Of course, that absolutely had nothing to do with Meruem finding cat girls adorable. Ahem. Take that hand off someone else's tail first.

Naturally, aside from the Royal Guards, there were also the Squad Leaders. Though some of them had little schemes of their own, they were harmless enough. But when it came to trust, Meruem still preferred the cat girl Pitou, whether for her abilities or her appearance.

"By the way, how is that matter progressing?" Meruem asked toward a patch of shadow.

"King, there is no problem. The church has been fully established. In the East Gorteau Republic alone, we have already developed one hundred thousand believers. Of those, one thousand have become Core Believers and are willing to undergo Chimera Ant transformation." A low voice answered.

"Only one hundred thousand? That isn't enough! Continue spreading our doctrine and expanding the range. Soon, someone will draw those humans' attention away. That will be the best time for you to preach." Sitting upon his throne with his head propped on his left hand, Meruem toyed with the cat girl's tail in his right and spoke with an amused expression.

"Yes." The reply was decisive, but the shadow hesitated afterward, as though it wanted to say something but could not bring itself to.

"Say what you wish to say. I pardon you."

"King, why do you place such importance on this so-called church? If we are transforming them anyway, there is no need to care about those humans' wishes, is there? If it is merely to transform Ant soldiers and increase our combat strength, we can simply summon more humans, then have Lord Pouf—"

"Hypnotize them, then have Pitou transform them on a massive scale, correct?" Before the person in the shadows could finish, Meruem cut him off. That person's idea coincided exactly with the Chimera Ant Remade plan from the original work. Such an approach was fast, but it had many fatal flaws. The Ant King and Royal Guards in the original work had been far too arrogant, believing themselves to be the strongest beings in the world and that no one could stop them, which was why they proceeded so openly. But after making such a huge commotion, it was impossible for humanity not to respond accordingly, which was what led to the Rose Bomb. Don't treat everyone else like idiots.

"That is only one of its flaws. I have said before that we Chimera Ants are not the strongest existence in this world. There are probably quite a few Chimera Ants who think as you do, and you represent them, don't you?" As he spoke, Meruem rubbed Pitou's tail against his face, then brought it to his nose and took a deep sniff. Mm, this scent was wonderful. Pitou stood beside the throne with a blank expression and a straight posture, but a faint flush still surfaced on her cheeks.

"Your servant is terrified. King, we did not mean to question your methods. We merely had some doubts." The person in the shadows had no time to care about Meruem teasing Pitou. A single sentence had frightened him badly, and he hurriedly explained himself. Meruem greatly disliked Squad Leaders gathering together to scheme about such matters.

"There is no need to be so nervous. I am not a tyrant. I will not vent my anger on you over such trifles." The feeling was so good. Meruem continued stroking Pitou's smooth tail as he spoke.

"It is perfectly normal for you to have doubts. What I said earlier was only one flaw in the proposal you raised. The second flaw is this: after transforming humans against their will, have you considered how those transformed will react after they awaken?"

"React? Shouldn't they fight for our race and become our race's strength?" The shadow spoke as though that were only natural.

"How could that be? Put yourself in their place. If you were suddenly transformed into the creature humans call a pig, could you still peacefully eat and wait for humans to slaughter and eat you?" Meruem's tone was somewhat helpless. These ants still did not understand that the most unfathomable thing in this world was the human heart. After being turned into monsters, how could humans possibly serve those who had transformed them wholeheartedly?

"I would do everything I could to kill that human."

"There, isn't that the answer? You think that way, so humans will too. If we transform them into our race, the most likely outcome is that they will become our enemies."

"But we can still—"

"You mean we can hypnotize and control them?"

"Your Majesty is wise."

"How naive. Leaving aside whether we Chimera Ants possess a method capable of perfectly controlling our opponents without damaging their combat strength, if we truly had such a method, wouldn't it be better to directly control the upper ranks of humanity and make them fight among themselves? Besides, hypnosis has its limits. Once they awaken, our race will face even fiercer retaliation." Just like Welfin and Gyro in the original work, who immediately betrayed the Chimera Ants after awakening their human memories. The human heart, something possessed only by intelligent creatures, could never be perfectly controlled.

"But there is something in this world that can make humans give willingly, even kill their own descendants with their own hands, or sacrifice their very lives." That thing was religious faith. The brainwashing of religious faith was far more terrifying than any pyramid scheme. In his previous life, Meruem had known of many who killed their sons or wives in pursuit of enlightenment. That was right—developing believers and establishing a church was one of Meruem's plans. Faith could drive people mad, especially the existence of fanatics. Those believers were people no normal human could communicate with. In other words, once Meruem's plan succeeded, he would gain a group of utterly loyal fanatics, humans who willingly accepted transformation. Their loyalty would be far more reliable than that of many Squad Leaders. Most importantly, Meruem had discovered that there were virtually no major religions on the Hunter World continent. Only a few ethnic minorities and primitive natives possessed simple beliefs, while most humans in Hunter World had no faith at all. This was an opportunity. Meruem intended to give them faith, and the god of that faith would be Meruem himself. The Hunter World differed from other peaceful worlds. It held too much sorrow and injustice. Meteor City, for example.

Where there were people, there was oppression. Where there was oppression, there was injustice. Where there was injustice, there was resentment. Do you want power? Then join our Divine Cult! Our church exists to create a fair and just world without oppression or hunger, where everyone can be happy. Do you want revenge? Then join our Divine Cult! Our omnipotent Ant God will grant you power. That face unlike a human's? It is the appearance of an Ant God Envoy. You should feel honored. After death, you will return to the Ant God's embrace and gain eternal life in the divine kingdom.

In his previous life, such propaganda would have been utterly commonplace, and practically no one would have believed it. But this world was different. Though religions existed, they were all small and obscure. Many humans were as blank and clean as sheets of paper, making this the best opportunity and nourishment for spreading a church. A church might struggle to develop in the Hunter World's most prosperous cities and nations, but an underdeveloped border country like the East Gorteau Republic was ideal soil for it to grow. With a little hypnotic suggestion to assist from the sidelines, once Meruem established and developed a church in Hunter World, the results would be devastating. By then, the leaders of every nation would not dare move against the Chimera Ants lightly—at least not openly.

Though Meruem thought this way, the other ants did not really understand why their King was putting so much effort into something they considered so "simple."

"Forget it. You probably still do not understand. You only need to follow the method I gave you and do it properly." Meruem's tone carried the frustration of someone disappointed by incompetence. The entire Chimera Ant race lacked even a single wise person. It was not that there were no intelligent individuals, but that there was no one with the strategic vision for sustainable development. Open schemes were the true path of kings!

"Yes, Your Majesty." Even after listening for so long, the shadow still looked as though he did not understand but felt it was impressive. Incidentally, the person in the shadows was named Snake. He was Already Snake, one of the Anbu Twelve Stars, and he and four other Stars were specifically responsible for handling church affairs.

"Then, according to the plan, all that remains is news of that person. Hehe, the task of finding him has been given to six members of the Anbu Twelve Stars. Each of those six is an expert capable of going toe-to-toe with the Phantom Troupe. They may not necessarily win, but they are countless times stronger than the Shadow Beasts Squad. I believe there will be news before long." Meruem muttered to himself. The person he mentioned was also quite an extraordinary figure. He had appeared in Hunter x Hunter, though only in a Movie Version. In terms of sheer presence and strength, he was, in some sense, even stronger than Netero—at least, that was the impression the movie gave.

Do you know Resentment? That's right. This person was the major boss from Hunter x Hunter Movie Version: The Last Mission, a powerful boss who easily toyed with Heaven's Arena and sealed Netero's Nen. The user of Resentment—Jed.

At the same time, three enormous bursts of Nen erupted from the royal palace's council hall.