Chimera Ants

"What an incredibly powerful Nen! It's still growing stronger! Even at the peak of my youth, I'm afraid I might not have been able to defeat it." Netero easily suppressed Youpi, yet his eyes drifted toward where the Queen was. Although Youpi possessed a terrifying body and tremendous strength, if Netero and Youpi had been evenly matched in every other regard, the odds would probably have been only four to six. Even if Netero wanted to defeat Youpi, it would not have been easy, much less result in the complete suppression he was displaying now. Youpi possessed nothing but brute force and terrifying Nen, yet he had no idea how to use it, relying only on his natural instincts to fight Netero.

In other words, Netero was practically playing with him.

"All right. Looks like I'll have to get serious." Netero's gaze sharpened. He was no longer smiling amiably as before, but had instead become stern and fierce.

The muscles throughout Netero's body swelled once more, and powerful Nen erupted from him again. This time, it easily overwhelmed Youpi's Nen. The entire Ant Nest was shaken by that terrifying aura. Even Morel and Knuckle, who were far away, sensed how frightening their Chairman's Nen was. Knuckle even began to tremble slightly. Although he knew Chairman Netero was not his enemy, he was still deeply terrified by the strength of that Nen. Earlier, Netero had merely wanted to conserve his Nen so he could face the soon-to-be-born Ant King. He had never expected a single ant to block his path. This one was completely different from the ants he had killed before. If there were several more like it, then even if he managed to fight his way to the Ant Queen, he would probably have little stamina left. Thus, Netero decided to end the battle quickly.

"Hm? What is this feeling? So powerful? But I'm stronger than him!" Waves of movement came from within the enormous egg, but it never broke free.

"Hm? What is this feeling? Another life? Sharing my power? I am the King! No species needs two kings! So I won't allow it. For the sake of the species, and for my own sake, I want you to disappear!" Under the impact of Chairman Netero's immense Nen, another life force stirred within the enormous egg. It was another Chimera Ant discovered in the Ant Queen's womb after the Ant King had been born—Kite. Kite had survived because of Crazy Slots's incredible tenacity.

However, "incredibly tenacious" only meant being hard to kill, not being immortal. Besides, nothing in this world was absolute. Just as a Conjurer Nen User could not conjure a sword that was absolutely hard and sharp, all things described as absolute were merely relative. They simply had not reached that level.

"Return my power to me." A terrifying suction force pulled away all the life force that had originally been transmitted to the other side, along with the power of that small life.

"This world only needs one king." After he could no longer sense any sign of life from the other party, the immense life within the womb grew stronger once again, and its Nen became even more terrifying. The aura leaking faintly from the egg had already surpassed that of most of the powerful beings within the Ant Nest.

Yet no one noticed that directly beneath the enormous egg above the Ant Queen's abdomen, a tiny wound had appeared. It was so small that even the Ant Queen could not feel it. A creature no bigger than a mosquito jumped out through it and ran into the distance. This was the life the Ant King had sensed inside the egg earlier. It all happened in the instant Chairman Netero's Nen erupted at full force.

"This is bad! Youpi probably can't beat that guy, meow!" The first to recover from the overwhelming Nen released by Netero were the other two of the Ant King's three Royal Guards: Neferpitou and Pouf.

"100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, First Form!" The enormous golden Guanyin behind Chairman Netero struck Youpi with a massive palm blade, smashing him into the ground before he could react.

"Pfft!" Large amounts of the purple blood unique to Chimera Ants seeped from Youpi's mouth and even from throughout his body. In truth, the logic of the Ant King's Royal Guards was not wrong. With Chairman Netero possessing less than fifty percent of his peak strength, he could not possibly crush or completely defeat any one of the three Royal Guards. But their mistake was that the three Royal Guards had been far too arrogant. Aside from Neferpitou, the other two had never systematically studied Nen. Neferpitou had learned only a little basic Nen knowledge because of Pokkle, and even her Nen ability was not suited for direct combat. Once Chairman Netero became serious and used the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, a technique he had cultivated for nearly his entire life, the three Royal Guards—who had never systematically trained their Nen or developed their own unique "Hatsu"—found it extremely difficult to stop him. They might not be killed, but the three of them could not prevent Chairman Netero from advancing.

"100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, Second Form!" Netero swept away the approaching Neferpitou and Pouf with a single palm. However, unlike Youpi, they had not taken the attack head-on, so neither had suffered any substantial injury.

That was enough. Netero was not trying to kill the two Royal Guards. His target was the Queen.

"Damn it, meow! His target is the King!" "Stop that guy! We can't let him reach the King!" Neferpitou and Pouf understood Netero's intentions the instant he moved.

"100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, Third Form!" Just as the three Royal Guards gathered together, Chairman Netero suddenly turned and used the Third Form against them. The enormous palms slammed together with lightning speed, like a person clapping a mosquito, intending to squash the three Royal Guards into little pancakes.

Netero poured all his strength into every move of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva. After completing this attack, he immediately turned toward where the Queen was. Youpi had taken the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva head-on twice, but as the strongest of the three Royal Guards physically, he showed no signs of losing his combat ability. He had only suffered minor injuries and looked somewhat miserable. Neferpitou was outstanding in every aspect, so she likewise had not suffered any wounds that affected her combat ability, though minor injuries were inevitable. Pouf was in the worst condition. Both his Nen destructive power and physical body were the weakest among the three. He was better suited for mental warfare and surveillance, making him a support type. Thus, Pouf had suffered the heaviest injuries. They were not enough to impede his movements, but his combat ability had plummeted. Fortunately, Netero's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva had been borne by all three of them together. Otherwise, that last attack would have seriously injured Pouf.

"Enemy attack! Protect the King!" Pouf no longer cared about maintaining his image. He directly issued the order in the minds of all the Chimera Ants. At that moment, he could only hope that the Squad Leaders and Squad Captains he had once looked down on could buy the three Royal Guards some time.

Meanwhile, the Squad Leaders reacted in all sorts of ways the moment they received the message. Unlike Soldier Ants, these Squad Leaders and Squad Captains did not simply obey orders. They each had ambitions of their own. Although some remained loyal to the Queen, one only had to recall the orders the Queen had given earlier to understand the situation. At that time, many Squad Leaders and Squad Captains had even ignored the Queen's commands. In a crisis like this, some Squad Leaders even hoped that Chairman Netero would kill the Ant King and the Ant Queen, allowing them to become independent.

"You've got to be kidding me. You expect us to go against a monster like that?" the wolf-type Squad Leader Welfin thought to himself. It was obvious that he would never take action that required him to sacrifice his life to protect the Ant King.

There were quite a few Squad Leaders and Squad Captains who shared Welfin's attitude and treated the Royal Guards' commands as meaningless. Lion Haja, the crocodile-type Squad Leader, Bloster, the lobster-type Squad Leader, and that drinking koala were all examples.

Still, quite a few Squad Leaders and Squad Captains rushed toward Netero.

For example—

"I won't let you pass through here so easily." A massive bull-type Squad Leader blocked Netero's path. He was Bihorn, known as the strongest Squad Leader in terms of physical strength. A mantis-type Squad Leader stood beside him as well.

"100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva." Netero was focused on hurrying forward and did not even give them time to speak before sweeping out a palm. The two unfortunate Squad Leaders were smashed into the nearby wall. However, Netero had only one goal now: killing the Ant King in the Ant Queen's womb. Thus, the two Squad Leaders beneath the rubble still showed faint signs of life.

"Ahaha, you look pretty powerful. How about we see who's faster?" A cheetah-type Squad Leader approached Netero's side at high speed, acting playfully.

"100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva." Another unfortunate Squad Leader was embedded in the wall.

"100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva." "100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva." "100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva." "100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva." "100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva." Accompanied by a series of smacking sounds, every Squad Leader and Squad Captain who came to block Netero's path was beaten into the ground or walls without exception. Even those lucky enough to survive had completely lost their ability to fight.

"Damn it, I won't let you take another step forward." The last one standing before Netero was Kolt, styled after Lei Zhenzi. Beside him were an octopus, a panda, a turtle, and a penguin. Aside from Lei Zhenzi, the others did not appear to possess much combat ability. Their faintly trembling bodies made it clear that they were terrified in the face of Netero. Yet they could not leave, because the room behind them was where the Ant Queen was.

"Not bad, Squad Leader." Just as Netero was about to attack and finish them off, the Ant King's Royal Guards finally caught up.

"Tsk." Chairman Netero glanced at the three Royal Guards. "This situation is very unfavorable for me. The Nen of that thing inside is growing stronger and stronger. It shouldn't be long before it's born, right? No, I can't let something that dangerous come out. Although I'd love to fight someone that powerful, I can't take the risk."

"Then..." Netero turned to face the three Royal Guards and took a deep breath. It seemed he was going to stake everything on this. How many years had it been since he had felt this way?

"100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, Ninety-Ninth Form." The golden Guanyin behind Netero unleashed an assault too fast for the naked eye to follow, striking at the Ant King's Royal Guards.

"Th-This is an incredibly terrifying technique!" Faced with streaks of golden light and overwhelming Nen, Kolt, the Lei Zhenzi-like Ant, was left with nothing but deep terror in his heart. The gap between them was simply too great. If he faced this man alone, he would probably be killed in less than three seconds.

"Arghhh! For the King!!!" Youpi's Nen erupted once more, and his body began to undergo a tremendous transformation. Yet before the Chairman's Ninety-Ninth Form of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, he was suppressed once again.

"Pfft." Compared to Youpi, Pouf was in an even more miserable state. His scales had no chance to spread, and his other ability, Beelzebub, was shattered by the overwhelming palms the moment he used it. What he feared most was this kind of large-scale attack with immense destructive power. Combined with his physical defense being inferior to Neferpitou's and Youpi's, he was now seriously injured.

Compared to the other two, Pitou was in far better shape. However, she was still unable to break through Chairman Netero's stormlike assault.

"Ahhh!" Netero's attacks caused the entire Ant Nest to shake violently. Even the Ant Queen inside the room was affected and cried out in pain.

"Queen!" Hearing the Ant Queen's anguished cry, the turtle, penguin, and octopus immediately wanted to enter and check on her. However, before they could act, Netero freed one leg and kicked all three of them away.

"Disappear." Netero once again tensed every muscle in his body, gathering his Nen.

"100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, Ninety-Ninth Form!" Golden light burst from Netero's entire body. Its tremendous destructive power appeared once more, and with a deafening roar, the entire Ant Nest collapsed.

"No!" "King!!" Amid Neferpitou and the others' cries of anguish, a huge pit appeared where the Ant Nest had stood.

Afterward, everything fell silent. Neferpitou, Pouf, and Youpi supported their injured bodies and barely managed to stand, glaring at Netero with eyes filled with murderous intent. The remaining Squad Leaders had no idea where they had been blown or swept away by the explosion.

"Whew, it's finally over." Ignoring the three injured Royal Guards, Netero felt unusually relaxed. His tightly wound nerves finally loosened. At last, he could no longer sense that oppressive and ominous Nen. The remaining Royal Guards would be difficult to deal with, but he was not entirely without confidence.

"Over what?" A soft sigh sounded beside Netero's ear.

"Snap." Netero suddenly felt something like a breeze pass by his right side.

"Are you talking about me? Good morning, Chairman." At some point, a young man had appeared less than five meters in front of Chairman Netero, smiling at him. Aside from his dark-green skin, he looked exactly like a human. Netero could not sense even the slightest trace of Nen from him. He seemed exactly like an ordinary person—except for what he was holding in his hand.

Netero stared toward his right hand in shock. At some point, it had become completely empty.

The Ant King had appeared—the perfect form born from the Ant Queen, and the strongest Chimera Ant form. Unlike the incomplete premature birth in the original story, this Ant King was in the most perfect condition of the entire Chimera Ant species. He was also the strongest Chimera Ant. Even the reborn Ant King from the original story might not have been able to match his strength.