The Remaining Squad Leaders

Unlike the ants led by Meruem, who diligently trained after occupying East Gorteau Republic, the five Division Leaders who had left split into countless pairs of Squad Captains, radiating outward from the NGL autonomous region to prey on humans. The ants had no concept of right or wrong; to them, humans were merely food. Coupled with their naturally superior physiques and formidable Nen talents, the departing ants could do almost as they pleased. The Loka Loka Republic, closest to the NGL autonomous region, was the country most frequently attacked by the ants—or rather, the epicenter of the ant disaster.

Unfortunately for the ants, they were not as invincible as they believed. It was true that even Squad Captains and Soldier Ants were born stronger than humans. However, once humans learned Nen and wielded its myriad bizarre abilities, killing ants became a simple task.

Notably, Soldier Ants that had not yet learned Nen could be easily eliminated by ordinary humans using firearms like pistols. Squad Captains, however, were not so easy; their vitality far exceeded humans', and their terrifying talent allowed them to grasp Nen almost instantly. The damage they inflicted on ordinary people was horrific. Yet the ants were not unbeatable. Powerful Nen users among humans could easily slaughter these newborn ants, just as ants slaughtered ordinary people. In hindsight, this was understandable. The human population was millions or even tens of millions times larger than the ants'. Even if only one in ten thousand possessed Nen, and one in a hundred thousand had Nen talent surpassing the ants', that was enough to deal with them.

The first disadvantage for the ants was the sheer disparity in population. The second was that, while ants could innately learn Nen, their understanding—or rather, their foundation—of Nen was far too poor. Against average Nen users, they could rely on racial advantages to win, but once they encountered experts, it became a massacre. Every powerful Nen user had their own unique tricks.

The ants' reckless behavior had already alerted humanity. In recent days, television stations had been reporting on strange monsters attacking people. Even more egregiously, the Lion Division Leader Haga appeared on TV, gave an interview, and then ate the female reporter on air.

It was almost as if they were announcing to the world: "We are monsters, we eat people, hurry up and gather heroes to destroy us."

Faced with such blatant provocation from an alien race, the Hunter Association took the lead, and Nen users from various regions spontaneously organized to eliminate the ants roaming everywhere. This idiotic move by their comrades left Meruem, who happened to catch the news, with a severe headache. Haga's actions were essentially sabotaging the ants that had left. Many humans had been skeptical about the existence of Chimera Ants, but Haga's stunt turned their attitude from doubt to united hostility. Meruem had originally intended for these ants to distract humanity, buying him more time. Now, instead, they had focused humanity's attention on exterminating them. Once the ants outside were wiped out, the nest led by Meruem in East Gorteau Republic would likely be exposed soon. The ants in the original story hadn't even lasted a month.

"This won't do. At the very least, I need to hold out until the decisive battle with that old man Netero three months from now," Meruem murmured, standing at the highest point of the palace, gazing into the distance. "My beloved subordinates are still slowly growing stronger. Now is not the time for war. Hmm, it seems I'll have to give those who left a little boost."

With that, he took a step forward and, due to gravity, fell vertically. Throughout the process, Meruem maintained his usual indifferent expression. To this, I can only say: I give that pose a ten out of ten.

"Oh~~~~~~ It's been a long time since I've been back. Nothing's changed at all," said a blond youth with a baby face that looked easy to bully, wearing a vest. He stood atop a garbage heap as tall as a small hill, one hand shielding his eyes as he looked into the distance, sighing with emotion. Beside him were a strange man wrapped in bandages with boxing gloves on his hands, a cute girl with glasses, a little Loli in a black kimono, a short boy almost entirely hidden under a black cloak, and a tall man in bizarre pharaoh-like attire. This oddly dressed group of six was the infamous A-class wanted theft gang—the Phantom Troupe.

Around them were countless garbage heaps made of trash. Beneath the heaps were many trucks, and around the trucks, a group of people in white protective suits were scavenging for useful items among the refuse.

After passing through a strange, foul-smelling mist, three figures in gas masks and hazmat suits appeared.

"What's the situation?" asked the blond baby face, Shalnark of the Troupe. It seemed the six Troupe members and these three newcomers knew each other.

"Victims and casualties exceed three hundred. Even bombs were useless. We're racking our brains for a solution," the gas-masked man said, his tone laced with helplessness and bitterness. "And even the definition of 'dead' has caused a split in the council."

"What do you mean?" the six Troupe members asked, puzzled.

"Please, follow me," the gas-masked man said calmly, leading them to a corpse covered with a white sheet. "Take a look." He yanked the sheet off, revealing the body beneath. What an ugly corpse it was—more like a monster than a dead body. A pig's head, buck teeth, strange horns, one human arm, one pig's trotter, and a body covered in bizarre fatty tissue, as if cobbled together from random organs.

"A few days ago, he was human," the gas-masked man said, his tone unreadable—whether fear or anger.

"He's no different from the dead now," Phinks said.

"But some argue that these monsters should be allowed to live. However, the majority of the council believes that, regardless of whether they can be restored, once they've become monsters, they should be classified as dead," the gas-masked man explained.

"Really hasn't changed at all. Even when seeking revenge, you argue over whether your comrades were killed or transformed? I just don't get your way of thinking," Phinks said calmly, but a keen observer would notice his Nen gradually emanating, like a drawn sword. "Leave it to us. We'll eliminate that self-proclaimed queen bug by the end of today." Was this anger over former comrades being killed? Or anger over his former home being destroyed? Perhaps neither.

"Ooh~ Phinks is fired up!" the blond baby face Shalnark clapped, commenting heartlessly.

"He's like a hot-blooded idiot!" Shizuku chimed in from the side.

"Shut up."

Meteor City Council Building

"I am the Queen!! I repeat, surrender now. Those who defy me will be executed; those who obey will settle in paradise." An arrogant voice echoed from within the Council Building, now covered in a disgusting, spiderweb-like slime.

"Mother's greatest failure was having to rely on the ancient, inefficient method of laying eggs to increase her forces," said the Scorpion Girl Zazan, seated on a throne inside the building. Around her were many beautiful women whose bodies clearly didn't belong to humans. These were Soldier Ants, but different from those born from the Queen.

"Her only success was giving birth to me." Just then, two Soldier Ants escorted a young human man inside.

"Kill me! Come on, kill me! You bastard!" the young man shouted, though his voice betrayed fear—fear of Zazan.

"Hehehe, promising. You can live," Zazan chuckled, standing up. Her scorpion tail stinger instantly pierced the young man's body.

"Aaaaaah!" The young man's body swelled instantly, his face elongated, and sharp teeth grew from his mouth. In just a quarter of an hour, a human youth had transformed into a monster resembling an ant.

"Welcome, chosen one, to paradise. Swear allegiance to the Queen," said a female ant standing beside Zazan. The transformed young man seemed to have had his mind altered as well, bending down to kiss the ground at Zazan's feet, completely unlike his earlier mortal-enemy demeanor.

"I am the new Queen! This is my ability—Aesthetic Transformation Injection."

At that moment, the six Phantom Troupe members arrived in front of the Council Building.

"Let's break through from the front," Phinks said.

The battle was about to begin: Phantom Troupe vs. Chimera Ant Division Leader Zazan.

"Ahh w(ﾟДﾟ)w, looks like I came too early. The big boss always shows up last. Should I go play somewhere else?" A yellow figure, like a flash of lightning, arrived on the other side of the Council Building at the same time. "Nah, if the King finds out I didn't do my job, I'll probably get killed." The yellow figure seemed to recall something, shivered, and instantly dismissed the previous idea.

"Yosh, then I'll just watch the show from the sidelines," the yellow figure said, clapping his hands together, making another decision. "Let me see how much you've improved, my former comrade. (￣▽￣) Ahaha, anyway, the King said as long as you're not dead, bringing you back is fine." The latter half of his words, delivered in a goofy style, completely ruined the cool atmosphere he'd built up.

PS: Please support me! Please recommend! And once again, thanks to reader sar0825 for the tip! I hope everyone enjoys this book! (￣▽￣) Though I usually update in the morning or afternoon—due to work, only occasionally do I update this late!