Stunned, Cheetu instinctively took a half step back, confusion written all over his face. He had never encountered anything like this before and his instincts urged him to retreat.
Despite not being human, these two figures were clearly not Chimera Ants either. He stared at them with a mix of fear and awe, especially the elegant Gardevoir, whose presence radiated an intimidating aura, almost as strong as that of Neferpitou.
At that moment, Cheetu felt lucky to be the fastest among the division commanders. If someone else had been in his position, escape would have been impossible.
Without hesitation, he stomped the ground, vanished in a flash, leaving only a deep footprint behind. He needed to get back to the ant nest as quickly as possible to save his life.
In no time, Cheetu had put a considerable distance between himself and his pursuers. Glancing back nervously, he saw nothing but the empty forest, trees, and white smoke, no sign of anyone chasing him.
"Hahaha, my speed really is the fastest!" Cheetu chuckled to himself, finally easing the tension in his chest, believing he had escaped. But just as those words left his mouth, a pink light suddenly appeared beside him and struck directly.
"What's happening?!" Cheetu thought, before he could even react.
The two familiar figures were right there again. He hurriedly checked his body and was surprised to find no injuries at all. "Why isn't there any damage? And why do I feel so slow?" he wondered, noticing that his speed had drastically dropped. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach his normal pace.
Looking at Gardevoir and the other figure, Cheetu realized something was off. It was a Psychic move, Trick Room.
In this battle, time itself seemed to twist: the faster opponent moved slower, while the slower one moved first, as if their speeds had been reversed. Gardevoir smiled softly, then unleashed a storm of dazzling light and psychic force.
"Psychic Terrain!" she called out, amplifying all Psychic-type moves.
At that moment, Chandan's smile looked surprisingly sweet, but to Cheetu, it was the grin of a devil. Suddenly, she followed up with Moonblast, the sparkling beam of Fairy energy blasting into Cheetu's chest with crushing force.
Thanks to Trick Room, Cheetu's speed was turned against him. He couldn't react in time. His swift movements became sluggish, and his one advantage vanished entirely.
Cheetu probably never imagined that his greatest strength, his speed, would be the very thing that led to his downfall. It was ironic that the very trait he prided himself on became his killer.
Yet even without Trick Room, Cheetu couldn't escape the Pokémon's grasp through brute force alone. After securing the base, Gardevoir used Teleport, vanishing to hunt for the next target.
Cheetu's death was just the beginning. Countless Chimera Ants would suffer the same fate in the days to come.
Nearly a month later, in a hidden cave not far from the ant nest, Morel sat cross-legged, gazing out calmly. "I didn't expect them to be nearly wiped out in such a short time," he said with a relaxed tone, feeling this mission had been surprisingly easy.
During this period, Larry's nen beasts had almost completely eradicated the chimera ant division leaders. Except for a few who rarely ventured out and whose personalities weren't too hostile, Larry had spared them.
Originally, there were thirty division leaders, but after Zazan's death in the forest early on, only twenty-nine remained. Pokémon kept appearing sporadically in the forest, and any division leader-level presence inevitably met their end.
In just a blink, more than half the division leaders were gone, leaving mostly those ill-suited for combat. As for the ordinary soldier captains and soldier ants, the Pokémon also took down a large number of them with ease.
The chimera ants had a clear hierarchy: each division leader commanded three to five corps captains, and each captain led about ten soldier ants. The amount lost during that time was enormous, so much so that most of it simply vanished.
"Hoo ho ho, young people these days are just so capable that an old man like me doesn't stand a chance to stretch his muscles," President Netero said with a nostalgic chuckle as he placed a chess piece down.
Larry smiled and responded, "Old man, how can these Chimera Ants let you show off your strength? You'd need at least a few bodyguards, right?" He put down the final piece, effectively blocking Netero's path.
Netero, realizing he had lost, pouted like a mischievous old boy and declared, "Ugh, this is boring. I'm done playing."
Nearby, Knov muttered, "Those three really aren't anything to worry about."
But even from a distance, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear. Maybe it was because of Larry's strength displayed earlier; Knov felt those Royal Guards were strong, but that was about it.
After witnessing Larry's abilities up close, however, Knov truly grasped why Larry was called The World's Strongest. It wasn't an empty title, Larry was genuinely the strongest. Any nen beast he summoned could easily match or even surpass those Royal Guards.
"President, the minions are almost wiped out. Isn't it time to take action against them?" Knov suggested. "Experts estimate the Ant King will be born in about a month," he added, warning that waiting until then could be problematic.
Even with Larry as a trump card, why make things harder than they have to be?
Netero's voice carried a deep, meaningful tone as he replied, "Hoo ho ho, another month, you say?"
Only Larry seemed to understand the old man's thoughts. Knov and Morel thought they misheard him, sensing a strange eagerness in Netero's voice, as if he was looking forward to a challenge.
Suddenly, a violent, blood-chilling aura surged into the sky. It was terrifying, so overwhelming that any creature caught in its presence would instinctively feel like surrendering. This aura belonged to a born king, one whose natural pressure forced all living beings to bow deeply in respect.
The aura, chilling like stepping into an ice cellar, radiates from the ant nest and stretches across countless miles. Naturally, the cave where Larry and the others are hiding is not spared from this overwhelming cold presence.
Morel and Knov exchanged glances, both seeing the panic reflected in each other's eyes, The Ant King has arrived! Inside the ant nest, the few surviving division commanders, all Chimera Ants, gathered together.
Meleoron, wearing a light-colored hooded tracksuit, looked incredulous, his eyes wide open as he voiced his frustration toward Neferpitou and the escort team. Meleoron was a peculiar chimera ant, resembling a Chameleon with large eyes and a tail curled like a mosquito coil.
"Seriously, are they really just going to sit around and do nothing after everything that's happened?" he asked, disbelief clear in his tone.
Bihorn, a heavily muscled chimera ant with horns and bovine traits, responded in a deep voice, "I don't know what they're thinking, but it seems like they have no plans to act at all."
Despite his strength, Bihorn was less ruthless than other division commanders like Zazan or Wilfen, showing loyalty to the queen and usually staying inside the nest to care for her.
Brovada, who normally maintained a calm demeanor but resembled an honest human, was visibly angry. "Are you kidding me? There were thirty division commanders just a month ago, and now only eight of us remain!" he exclaimed.