There was no suspense…
Not even a struggle.
In the blink of an eye, as Oboro's figure landed on the ground after soaring past Colt.
Behind him, the winged ant fell from the sky, its body accompanied by splashing blood.
The fallen soul and black mist disappeared into the air.
Oboro looked at the ant nests rising from the gaps in the distant tree canopy, a smile on his face.
He slowly walked towards them.
Meanwhile, inside the ant nest.
The division chiefs who held opposing views to Colt, preparing to leave the territory and forge their own paths in the human world, had already gathered, discussing their plans. They were selecting territories in the human world, such as the entire Mitene Republic, deciding who would go to which country, and who intended to establish their own dynasty, to avoid conflicts in crowded areas. Some division chiefs wanted to form factions; for example, Hagya the Lion invited Kid the Leopard to help him establish his power… however, he was refused.
Kid didn't have such grand ambitions; he preferred freedom and independence over being grouped together…
Hagya didn't care about this.
In fact, it was already difficult for these division chiefs to cooperate. At present, they were only serving the Queen Ant together.
Now that the Queen was dead, the constraints naturally disappeared.
So far, their understanding of the human world was limited to NGL and the Mitene Republic, thanks to Penguin Peggy constantly searching for books and information from the human side.
"Since that's the case… I'll be leaving first…"
"I hope to see you all alive next time we meet… Humans are weak, but there are some special Nen users, so be careful… don't get caught!" Hagya the Lion, with his two squad leaders, left first, smiling confidently at the other ants.
He firmly believed in his own success.
"Heh heh…"
Zazan the Scorpion let out a cold laugh. "You should worry about yourself first…"
Saying this, she put her hands on her hips and, with seductive steps, headed straight for another passage leading out of the ant nest.
The other division chiefs saw this and also prepared to leave.
Aside from troublemakers like Hagya and Zazan, the remaining division chiefs were relatively less rebellious in nature… They simply realized that staying there was meaningless. Additionally, they wanted to follow the awakened human memories and search for traces of their past lives.
For example, Chameleon Meleoron.
The ants scattered like startled birds.
Suddenly, in the next second, all the division chiefs' expressions changed dramatically, and they simultaneously looked in one direction.
They stopped in their tracks.
And in another cave, the few division chiefs tending to the Queen Ant also trembled and looked back in shock…
Because an indescribable aura drifted into the cave from outside the ant nest.
An enemy has arrived!
The thought flashed through all the division chiefs' minds.
Unparalleled power!
It's… a human!
"This aura… it's him!"
Little panda, standing next to Peggy, exclaimed in horror.
"The man who killed Neferpitou!"
...
Outside the ant nest, Oboro unleashed his ghost fog, and countless souls scattered, devouring the souls of all the ants attacking him.
His ability was too convenient!
If not for the obscuring fog, one could clearly see that at this moment, from the exposed caves of the ant nest, teams of ants were continuously flying out, covering the sky… all searching for the sudden intruder. However, because the fog was too thick and vast… it left the ants disoriented, unable to find Oboro's location.
Moreover, anyone attacked by the ghosts would die instantly.
This made Oboro's entry into the ant nest effortless.
No ant could approach him…
Oboro used the Nen technique, En.
And his 'En,' accompanied by the gentle mist, swept through every cave and underground space within the nest, truly penetrating everywhere.
Even with the ant nest's complex structure, under his control, the mist and souls extended like tentacles… causing Oboro's mind to illuminate the map, leaving no ant able to hide.
"Hm? Trying to run?"
Shortly after entering the ant nest, Oboro stopped and looked up at the stone wall above.
Then, his figure turned into a lightning bolt, and he swiftly pursued them along the messy, labyrinth-like passages.
In that direction, Hagya the Lion was fleeing for his life with two squad leaders in the cave.
"Him? How is he here? Didn't this human get severely injured by Neferpitou and leave long ago?"
The scenery whizzed by behind the three ants as they ran at high speed. Hagya asked in extreme shock.
Even the cat-woman could be killed, let alone them, mere underlings!
"Who knows…" Flathead the Dragonfly also looked confused.
At this moment, all the ants in the cave had received the Queen Ant's transmission.
Instructing all ants to gather, including the division chiefs.
To jointly resist the invading enemy.
However, at this critical juncture, who was willing to obey the Queen Ant's orders?
Hagya and the others could already hear the Queen's dying voice…
The only way to survive was to escape!
Anyway, there were so many ants; that man might not be able to kill them all… As long as they evaded him for a while, they could escape death.
Perhaps, the three of them were favored by luck…
While Hagya was harboring such a wishful thinking, suddenly, its thick fur stood on end, a characteristic stress response of felines. Maintaining its incredible speed, its lower body sank, its feet digging into the soil, sliding a long distance. Its hands also dug into the wall, barely stopping its body.
It was trembling…
Its facial features and expression contorted… filled with extreme terror.
Because footsteps were approaching from the front.
Followed by black mist…
The passage was eerily silent, yet the sound of the approaching footsteps struck the hearts of the three ants like hammer blows with each step.
After a moment, they saw a figure emerging, one hand resting on the wall, as it walked, rubbing the sand and gravel on the wall.
Hagya wanted to turn back… but it didn't dare.
"In such a hurry, where are you going?"
Oboro emerged from the darkness, looked at the three ants, and smiled faintly.
"How did he find this place?!"
Hagya was stunned.
The alarm had only just sounded!
The ant nest's passages were intricate, and the internal space was vast… Why?
Why so fast?
Were there no ants that could stop him or impede him?
"I know where the Queen Ant is; I can take you there!" Hagya suddenly had an idea and spoke.
It… had betrayed them!
"Mhm… no need."
But the man shook his head.
Suddenly, Hagya's two large hands grabbed, lifting its subordinates, the two squad leaders who hadn't reacted, and throwing them forcefully towards Oboro like sandbags!
Flathead and Shalin hadn't expected that at the critical moment of life and death, Hagya would choose to sacrifice them.
After throwing the squad leaders, Hagya turned and ran back the way it came without even looking!
However, it had only dashed about ten meters when the man who should have been behind it appeared like a ghost in front of it, as if 'walking' past it leisurely… Even more incredibly, as it fled, it hadn't noticed that its body had already been cut in half, severed at the waist.
This caused Hagya's upper and lower body to be misaligned… Only its lower half remained suspended, maintaining its sprinting posture.
"Too fast… How can humans be this… powerful…"
Hagya only smelled the scent of blood floating in the air a second later, realizing… the blood wasn't just from Flathead and Shalin, but also its own.
It was already dead…
Realization dawned too late.
The golden pupils of the lion trembled.
Then, the remains fell to the ground, watching Oboro walk away.
...
In less than half a minute, Oboro found several more division chiefs. These ants were his primary targets.
Not a single one would escape.
The cat-woman had brought him not only armor and magic power, but those two points of armor seemed to have caused some changes in his body… making his stagnant flesh and blood vitality show a crack in its bottleneck. The only thing Oboro could think of was that armor was related to physical defense, and defense attributes were indeed related to flesh and blood. As the body became sturdier, the body would naturally undergo some transformation.
Although not very significant… perhaps he could use this to break through his comprehensive attribute rating from Tier 3 Superhuman to Tier 4.
Of course, this was just his speculation.
The system had not yet provided an answer.
Furthermore… the cat-woman not only dropped a soul but also black mist.
Oboro's current area-of-effect attacks now exceeded a hundred meters… but the effect of the black mist wasn't as visually intuitive as the armor.
After all, he had been developing Thresh's Nen abilities.
With limited energy, Senna's passive skill had been put aside and not researched.
Naturally, the effect was somewhat lacking.
"Ahhh ahhh!"
In a cave, the beautiful division chief Zazan the Scorpion retreated continuously, cornered by Oboro.
This cave had no connection to other passages, only this one.
The former had found its own burial place in its desperation.
However, given the Chimera Ants' innate ferocity, even knowing it would die, it wouldn't resign itself to fate.
Zazan looked at the smiling man, let out a roar, and directly severed its own tail, causing its body to transform, its voice changing from feminine to a deep, powerful beastly sound. Its body swelled and contorted, appearing filled with ferocity and menace.
The Nen aura it unleashed was even more astonishing.
"Not bad…"
Oboro commented with a smile.
Among the division chiefs, Zazan's level was considered upper-tier.
Mainly because of its strong physical constitution. In the original work, even Feitan found it difficult to inflict damage on it… and had to resort to his ultimate Nen ability.
Bang!
Just as he finished praising, Oboro pulled one arm out of his pocket and flicked it through the air.
Then, Zazan's left side was instantly crushed as if run over by an armored vehicle. Its skeleton and flesh exploded into a bloody mess, its massive body slamming into the cave wall with a bang, causing the cave to collapse and dust to fall.
Oboro slowly turned and left…
...
A short while later, at the Queen's residence.
The Royal Chamber of the Queen Ant.
Several division chiefs, led by Peggy the Penguin, were filled with dread, their eyes fixed on the cave entrance.
The dying Queen Ant had already sensed the successive disappearance of the division chiefs' 'signals.'
Entering the ant nest alone and killing countless ants, including the ordinary soldier ants whose life force was absorbed by the ghosts… Oboro's attire remained clean, with barely any dust clinging to it.
He strode into the ant nest, the innermost core area.
And saw the Queen Ant, 'gutted,' lying on the ground, along with the remaining division chiefs…
Werewolf Welfin, Shrimp Bloster, Penguin Peggy, Chameleon Meleoron, and others. Besides the division chiefs, there were also some squad leaders, such as the Ouroboros siblings, that pair of ants who liked throwing darts and were eventually killed by Killua, and Owl Horo, etc.
Some of these ants were preparing to flee… but upon receiving the Queen Ant's command, they returned.
Others realized escape was futile, and the best course of action was to band together… so they returned.
In short, all the usable combat power in the ant colony was present.
About twenty of them.
The eerie and oppressive black mist accentuated Oboro's figure as he appeared in the ants' vision.
The ants' gazes were filled with fear, reverence, and blankness…
When the enemy truly appeared before them, the direct impact was even more despair-inducing.
Because… just the Nen aura emanating from the human had already shattered their will, making it difficult to muster the desire to fight.
This pressure was very similar to the Ant King, who had left not long ago.
"Everyone's… waiting for me?"
Oboro raised an eyebrow, joking.
"…"
The cave fell into dead silence.
"My Lord…"
At this moment, Penguin Peggy swallowed, and with a clumsy gait, forced himself forward, kneeling directly before Oboro. It didn't know how to address this human, so it could only use a respectful title.
"We surrender. We deserve punishment for our crimes against humanity. We are willing to accept any judgment and consequences. We hope you… hope you will spare our lives."
"Humans are benevolent beings who dislike war, unlike us… We can serve humans and provide all sorts of help."
"Our King has just been born, and it will surely bring about…"
Peggy lowered his head and said sincerely, with a tone of pleading.
Oboro listened quietly. After Peggy finished, he replied, "You bow to humans not out of guilt or repentance… but simply because we are stronger than you. What makes you bow is not human kindness, but the 'weapons' in our hands."
Upon hearing this, Peggy broke out in a cold sweat.
Choking on his words.
"Also… humans like you are not entirely without fault, but I am not included in that."
Negotiation failed!
With that said, the black mist swirling behind Oboro exploded like a tide, surging outwards.
Instantly, the entire cave space was plunged into darkness.
Vengeful spirits darted back and forth, roaring and howling with abandon…
It was as if the place had been transformed into a hell.
Ant bodies fell one after another, including the division chiefs.
Chameleon Meleoron still wanted to use its Nen ability to leave silently, but Oboro knew its abilities all too well; his ghost fog permeated every space.
The ability of 'God's Absence' could not bypass Oboro.
Among the ants that died, some had helped during the battle between the Association and the Ant King. But Oboro had no intention of letting them go. With the Ant King losing Neferpitou and the Association losing some support, it was a good way to increase the difficulty.
However, Oboro didn't see the octopus Ikalgo, who had formed a friendship with Killua.
Perhaps it wasn't in the nest at the time…
"Humans… your doomsday has arrived. My child… will become the ruler of your world, it…"
In the mist, Oboro walked to the Queen Ant's side.
The Queen Ant couldn't speak, but Oboro sensed her mental fluctuations.
A signal transmitted before her death.
Her mission was complete!
"Don't mock me with your ignorance."
Oboro said expressionlessly.
Then, he stomped his foot, crushing the Queen Ant's head.
____________________
For more advance chapters visit my patreon
patreon.com/kane45
Tier: 10$ Casual Reader - +20 Advance Chapter
20$ Intermediate Reader - +40 Advance Chapter
40$ Expert Reader - +80 Advance Chapter
Update: "Monday to Friday - Update 3 Chapters a Day"
"Saturday and Sunday - Off"