In the Chimera Ant nest.
Colt entered Peggy the Penguin's residence.
Calling it a penguin was just a resemblance; it had obvious penguin genes.
"Hmm… so many dead. From the messages below, the enemy is only a few… completely different from the humans we encountered before. The opponent seems to be able to instantly wipe out our people in a short time… possessing absolute suppression abilities and large-area lethality. This isn't the most critical part, the most troublesome thing is… zero survival rate," Peggy muttered, flipping through a book.
"Strangely, I've searched through all human books and found no relevant records… The opponent is undoubtedly human, but their danger level far exceeds our predictions."
Saying this, Peggy threw away the book in her hand and picked up another one to read.
"Special species?"
Colt added.
Peggy was the most knowledgeable among the division chiefs, and he was also responsible for hunting food for the Queen. At least in terms of strategy, Colt had great respect for him. One should know that at the beginning, when their Chimera Ants clashed with the human army, they suffered heavy casualties because humans possessed firearms, known as thermal weapons… At that time, the soldier ants, having been born earlier, lacked superior genes, and the Queen's nutritional intake had not been satisfied, resulting in ordinary soldier ants not having strong physical fitness.
They still suffered significant attacks from human weaponry… However, under Peggy's command and training, the soldier ants quickly learned how to use firearms and confiscated a large number of items and weapons from humans, greatly aiding the Queen's reproduction.
This is why the subsequent soldier ants born became more excellent.
To this day, ordinary bullets pose little threat to them.
The ant army also became more organized and disciplined… all of which were Peggy's achievements.
Moreover, they had basically gained a comprehensive understanding of the human world.
"Sigh…"
Peggy sighed deeply, disappointedly throwing away the book again and covering her forehead. "The opponent seems to not take us seriously at all. When our companions were killed, a reconnaissance soldier ant witnessed a strange scene, saying that a dense fog suddenly appeared, and then their signals were lost. I suspect the enemy might have sensed the reconnaissance ant's presence but didn't take it seriously, deliberately letting it return alive to transmit information…"
"What are you going to do?"
Peggy flapped his wings, frowning.
"The enemy's area is at the edge of our territory… and they don't seem to intend to penetrate deep into our territory. For now, they don't pose a major threat."
"But… this also indicates that our understanding of humans is too limited… As far as I know, besides this human country where we are, there are even more powerful lands."
Peggy turned around and looked at his companion.
"Heh heh… You two guys, blabbering… you're so slow!"
Just as Colt and Peggy were talking, a figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the dimly lit cave.
This ant had wing-like arms, green long hair, but a face like a weasel. Its ears and lower limbs resembled a rabbit's. Judging by its physique, it had clearly integrated multiple genes.
If Oboro were present, he would definitely recognize this guy as Rammot, a squad leader under the bird-like Colt.
A squad leader daring to speak to a division chief like this showed… that within the Chimera Ants, the hierarchy and order were not that restrictive, at least among the higher-ranking ants.
"If you don't dare to go deep, it means the opponent is afraid… afraid of us! Do you know? Because humans know that once they enter our hunting grounds, they won't be able to get out alive, so they only dare to cause trouble on the periphery…"
Rammot sneered.
This guy was also the first Chimera Ant to awaken Nen after fighting Gon and Killua.
"What are you still discussing? What's there to discuss?!"
Colt's expression darkened. He was clearly not satisfied with this subordinate.
However, high-ranking Chimera Ants had different temperaments; they were born this way.
"It's not like that, Rammot…"
Peggy looked at the former. "The enemy this time is clearly not on the same level as the previous humans. We lost nearly ten thousand…"
"Stop the nonsense, I'll go bring back the corpses of those humans."
Rammot didn't bother to listen, waved his hand, and left, not even waiting for Colt's orders.
"This…"
Peggy, with his gentle nature, looked at Colt.
"I'll go take a look."
Colt flapped his wings and left, following closely behind.
He simply didn't trust Rammot to go alone. The latter was too impulsive and reckless.
Also… Colt had caught Rammot secretly eating food meant for the Queen more than once.
In his opinion, since humans were inexhaustible, there was always enough food for the Queen, so what was the harm in him eating one or two?
Yet, what Colt disliked the most was this kind of disobedient fellow.
Therefore, there had always been conflict between them.
...
"Phew… Captain, I've searched, but there's not a single one in sight."
"Within a radius of thirty kilometers… the ants have been cleared out, and they haven't come to support or arrive here since. Could it be that the higher-ranking ants sensed something? And issued an order?" Menchi analyzed.
The group looked exhausted.
They had been searching for traces of Chimera Ants almost non-stop, trying their best to lure them within the range of the captain's Nen ability.
Even when tired, they took turns, resting for a few hours briefly.
"Chimera Ants are inherently warlike, they wouldn't retreat so easily…"
"The storm is coming. It's likely that some powerful figures are about to appear… Heh heh, you guys should rest well. From now on… you don't need to worry about it." Oboro said through telepathy, sitting on the mountaintop.
At the foot of the mountain, Anthony and the others collapsed on the ground, looking relieved.
"I'm exhausted…"
"Don't you need to set up some traps around here?"
"With the Captain here, what are you afraid of?"
"Hurry up and sleep…"
Time passed, and Menchi and the others fell asleep.
They had absolute trust in Oboro. With the captain around, no danger could possibly approach them.
If a killing intent truly approached, it would mean… the situation was so dire that even the captain couldn't handle it, and the outcome was already decided.
"We need to move our position…"
Oboro thought.
"He's quite cautious…" he chuckled.
It was probably the first time the Chimera Ants had encountered such a situation.
For the ants, it was unknown.
This was the first time they had encountered Nen users.
Oboro's plan was… to hunt around the ant territory, not to enter the core area. Because his temporary goal was only these low-level Chimera Ants, seeking quantity… If he were to kill squad leaders and division chiefs as well, it would reduce the difficulty for the Hunter Association's subsequent advance.
In fact, as long as Neferpitou and the other two Royal Guards were present, the difficulty wouldn't be significantly reduced. But Oboro feared variables.
The first battle with the Chimera Ants was in NGL. The Queen died, Colt requested aid from humans, and the division chiefs scattered, with ambitious figures leaving to establish their own forces. Oboro didn't intend to let them escape… because once they fled to the outside world, scattered everywhere, he wouldn't be able to collect their souls.
The real war was in Donggoutuo.
"If I were to break into the ant nest now, the three Royal Guard members wouldn't have awakened yet… I might be able to kill them directly."
Oboro smiled.
Stillborn, the dropped souls would inevitably be weaker, which was not in his interest.
"Oh? They're here already…"
After a long time, it was afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly.
Oboro's eyes under his sunglasses suddenly focused on a winding path in the forest a kilometer away.
A figure emerged from there.
The other party also noticed him.
After all, his position was too high and conspicuous, the summit of the only mountain in the entire forest.
His eyesight was excellent, thanks to his outstanding physical fitness. And the other party could actually spot him from such a distance… indicating how excellent their vision was.
"It's him…"
That ant, the squad leader, who was punched flying by Gon and awakened Nen because of it, what was his name again… Rammot.
What a coincidence!
Oboro glanced sideways and saw a swarm of black dots flying from the end of the sky.
All ants.
And behind Rammot, there were more than a thousand Chimera Ants following.
"More than a thousand in the air, and more than a thousand on the ground…"
After confirming that there were no hidden presences in other directions, Oboro judged that Menchi and the others resting at the foot of the mountain were safe. He then leaped from the mountaintop, soaring hundreds of feet into the air, kicking up a large amount of gravel from the peak.
Like an arrow shot into the sky, he then fell freely, crashing into the ground like a cannonball.
He patted the dirt and grass off his pant legs, walked out of the crater, and strode towards the ant army alone.
Above, the buzzing of the flying Chimera Ants in the sky was also approaching, but they did not attack immediately.
Oboro caught sight of a human-like figure among the ant swarm in the sky.
Colt.
"Let the ground ants attack me first, then use that to observe from the sky…"
Oboro saw through Colt's intentions.
A moment later, he stopped in his tracks.
Because… he had already encountered Rammot.
"So it's you… cunning human!"
Rammot looked at Oboro, stuck out his tongue, his eyes gleaming with excitement, and exuded a brutal killing intent.
"Just you?"
"Where are the others…"
Oboro took off his sunglasses, his expression indifferent.
Treating Rammot as if he were air.
However, Oboro's gaze at the Chimera Ants instantly enraged Rammot.
Because he was too familiar with that kind of gaze… it was the look of prey.
This human… saw them all as food!
Just like their expression when they slaughtered humans, indifferent… and condescending.
Whoosh!
Enraged, Rammot leaped forward instantly. With his impetuous nature, he didn't wait for the ant swarm to form ranks or attack first.
The human's gaze provoked him!
Bang!
The moment he lunged in front of the man, before he could even react, his limbs still extended in mid-air, his back of the head was suddenly struck with great force.
The human had strangely appeared beside him first, then casually swung a punch to the back of his head.
"Whoa!"
In that instant, Rammot immediately spewed blood, his upper body slammed into the ground with immense force, leaving only the lower half of his body exposed above ground.
Like a large green onion stuck in the ground.
"You're really slow… Didn't you notice?"
Oboro sighed.
Perhaps… it was because he had hidden his aura too well…
In just one encounter, Oboro had basically understood the physical strength and abilities of a squad-leader level Chimera Ant.
Rustle, rustle…
The soldier ants around, seeing this, quickly moved.
But… it was too late.
Waves of majestic mist surged out, instantly engulfing the entire forest.
Terrifying specters let out roars and screams, like countless black streaks of light appearing in the mist, scattering in all directions.
Not only spreading on the ground, but also instantly filling the sky.
Colt was greatly alarmed. Seeing Rammot knocked to the ground in one hit, he was about to lead the ant swarm to dive down. But before he could even speak, the sinister mist had already brushed past his body.
He looked around; his vision was completely blurred.
He couldn't see anything… only hear from the sky, the continuous sound of his companions falling, hitting the ground.
Like raindrops.
"What's happening?"
"What happened!"
Colt's expression changed drastically.
At this moment, he suddenly felt something, flapped his wings and glided through the air to dodge, then turned his head and saw a 'void-like object' flying towards him.
Colt didn't know what that thing was, but his intuition told him that if he were hit, something terrible would happen.
He dodged several times, but it only delayed him by less than a few seconds before being attacked by the 'invisible object.'
He felt his body turn ice cold in an instant, his limbs stiffening, as if frozen by ice… and his head throbbed as if something was drilling into his brain, gnawing away at a part of it.
Plop!
Colt fell straight through the treetops like a stone, crashing to the ground.
His consciousness struggled to remain clear… his vision darkened.
The intense pain almost made him faint… but he couldn't make a sound.
"My ghost fog is a materialized entity… Due to the intensity of Nen, the energy condensation is extremely prominent, to the point where even ordinary people can perceive and feel it… But my pets are different. With your innate senses, you can actually perceive their existence. You are much stronger than that guy who was stuck in the ground."
As he spoke, the mysterious human… walked up to him.
He crouched down and smiled at him.
Creatures without awakened Nen cannot perceive Nen, nor can they see it.
Although not absolute, it is generally the case.
There are some people in a semi-awakened state without realizing it, and then there are those with innate talent. Even if they cannot feel Nen… they will instinctively feel that something is there.
Chimera Ants are an exception. Due to their transcendent physical structure and organization, their senses are extremely developed… Colt couldn't see the ghosts, but he could sense that some kind of energy was operating.
After speaking, Oboro retracted all the mist.
The scene that met his eyes made Colt's heart tremble.
The soldier ants that were in the sky just moments ago, waiting for his command, had all fallen, without exception… covering the entire forest floor.
And motionless, lifeless.
Including the ant swarm led by Rammot.
However, he could feel Rammot's aura was still present… he seemed not to be dead, just heavily injured from the attack.
Likely in a coma…
"It must be painful… This is my Nen, do you know… what Nen is?"
Oboro said deliberately.
He was conveying information to Colt.
"Forget it… you're going to die soon anyway…"
Oboro chuckled.
Amidst his shock, Colt suddenly felt the pain in his head subside, and a small part of his physical senses returned.
At this moment, he instinctively seized the opportunity.
Without time to think, as the human reached out towards his head, Colt suddenly sprang up and simultaneously flapped his wings, striking a patch of mud towards the human.
Oboro seemed to block it with his arm. After Colt stood up, he had already flown into the sky, becoming a distant black dot.
"Heh heh."
Oboro smiled slightly.
He turned and walked towards Rammot, then pulled the ant, buried deep in the ground, out with one hand, and then, dragging the leg, slowly dragged it back to the foot of the mountain.
____________________
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