Soon, the Fells family's airship entered the Mitnie Federation airspace and headed toward the NGL border entrance.
Because they were from the Fells family's mafia background rather than government officials, and they arrived under the pretext of funding Zailo to open a factory, they crossed the border smoothly. Still, they underwent a thorough inspection, and the regulations outsiders had to follow were more numerous and stricter than those in East Gorteau.
All high-tech equipment was forbidden. Entering NGL meant temporarily cutting off all connection with the outside world.
"This place is even more backward than East Gorteau," Menchi muttered, adjusting the package on her back.
The only advantage was that after crossing the NGL border, there weren't soldiers standing guard like in East Gorteau, allowing them to move relatively freely. They still needed to report to NGL authorities periodically, though.
The six of them walked for a while until they reached a country road. Menchi glanced at people farming in nearby fields and spoke softly, "It feels like we've stepped back in time."
Along their journey, they saw only primitive natural scenery. There were no towns to be seen, only villages scattered throughout the landscape. No conspicuous buildings stood out even East Gorteau had urbanized territories far more developed than anything in NGL.
"It seems to me the soldiers here are more like privatized armed forces," Fant observed, rolling a smoke ring as he spoke.
All foreign objects had been confiscated at the border, including his cigarettes and lighter. Fortunately, being a heavy smoker, he'd prepared special tobacco in advance that he could wrap in paper and smoke.
NGL soldiers wore white combat uniforms and masks. Their weapons weren't sophisticated not even as good as those used by gangs outside the country. Due to the lack of proper facilities, they'd built factories directly into caves, forming natural shelters.
It was a completely different world from the outside.
The distant villagers working in the fields noticed them, casting curious glances their way.
"Let's move," Oboro urged softly.
Menchi and the others had been to NGL before, but last time they'd used their Fells family connections to sneak in undetected. Besides investigating the Chimera Ant reproduction, they'd wanted to scout the route.
Having several people who knew the way meant they could reach the ant nest as quickly as possible.
Several nights later, the six of them stepped into a mountainous area.
This was currently NGL's most dangerous region the hunting grounds of the Chimera Ants.
Before venturing here, NGL soldiers had warned them to stay clear of this area, stating they wouldn't be responsible for anything that happened to them.
Oboro and his team had used the excuse of inspecting factories throughout the country.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Under the cover of night, flashes of gunfire erupted from ahead. Oboro raised a finger, and all six of them melted into shadows, vanishing instantly.
Moments later, several blood-covered soldiers in white uniforms ran past, screaming and occasionally turning to fire behind them. A whistling sound cut through the air as something attacked at astonishing speed, decapitating the fleeing soldiers in an instant.
It was a Chimera Ant one head taller than an ordinary human and walking upright.
The soldier ant examined the corpses at its feet, stretched out its long legs, grabbed the human remains with hooked fingers, and slowly turned to walk deeper into the forest.
"Damn it's definitely different," Oboro whispered as the group emerged from the tree shadows and landed on the ground. "It seemed to be thinking about how to transport all that food. I saw human-like intelligence in its eyes."
Anthony looked surprised. "Their physical strength is much greater than when we first came here. With that kind of speed, they can even react to bullets"
"I've realized these humanoid ants are a problem," Menchi said thoughtfully. "But given NGL's position on the mainland and the international situation, he can't ask for outside help, and no one would help him anyway. If news gets out, it would expose his weaknesses and give others opportunities to exploit them."
Oboro nodded gravely. "From the perspective of NGL citizens' lives, although this country is like a cancer on the continent, Zailuo seems to be quite good to his people quite kind, actually. If we ignore that everything they export is contraband he's a pretty decent king."
"Are we almost there?" Oboro asked suddenly.
"Not far now. Another hour or two" Menchi confirmed with a nod.
"Good. Let's start planning," Oboro said, his voice turning serious.
Their current location was still quite far from the ant nest, but they were already in the ants' hunting territory. Oboro didn't intend to hunt down Chimera Ant colonies one by one that would be too inefficient.
He needed a prominent position not hiding, but staying in plain sight within enemy territory. This way, ants would stream toward him endlessly. Menchi and the other four would act as bait, with Oboro at the center, attracting ant colonies from all directions.
It was like a video game strategy luring monsters together so a mage could unleash an area-of-effect killing skill. Scan and clear a large area at once. Perfect.
After a while, Menchi, who knew the area well, led Oboro to the foot of a mountain. This peak stood prominently in the forest like a hundred-meter spire rising from the emerald canopy. The mountain was steep and bare, devoid of vegetation less like a normal mountain and more like a natural tower.
Oboro smiled with satisfaction. With a quick movement, he rushed to the summit.
At the peak, cold wind bit at his skin. Standing with his hands in his pockets beneath the full moon, he could see for dozens of kilometers in every direction.
Oboro sat down cross-legged and called down: "Let's begin!"
Menchi and her companions first hid their packs and belongings, then began warming up, stretching their limbs. Gabwich used his telepathic ability to connect everyone mentally, allowing instant communication.
Once prepared, they exchanged glances, then dispersed, running in different directions into the forest.
"What a beautiful view" On the mountaintop, Oboro sat cross-legged, removed his sunglasses, rested his chin on one hand, and smiled.
It wasn't long before Rita was the first to discover Chimera Ant traces.
Her telepathic ability made finding targets extremely convenient.
She arrived just as a dozen soldier ants were gathering human corpses, piling them into a small hill. A nearby village must have been destroyed.
The Chimera Ants required vast amounts of food, forcing them to constantly expand their territory. In a fixed area, they would quickly deplete not just humans but even wild animals.
Rita walked boldly from the forest, waving at the ants guarding their food cache.
"Hello! My name is Rita! I'm a human female!" she shouted with exaggerated enthusiasm. "My captain wants to see you!"
Her voice carried so loudly that not only could the ants directly in front of her hear, but even tiny creatures a hundred meters away probably caught every word.
Several Chimera Ants rushed at her without hesitation.
During hunts, ordinary soldier ants would temporarily store food in one place, then carry it back to the nest after clearing an area another sign of their intelligent thinking, setting them apart from ordinary ants.
Rita dodged their attacks, engaging but not overwhelming them. Soon, the lead ant realized it couldn't handle this human alone. It squeaked, signaling to its companions no longer just using antennae but vocalizing.
Another ant escaped to find nearby reinforcements while Rita found herself surrounded by a dozen ants.
But she handled them with ease.
Oboro had instructed them not to kill the ants immediately but to create trouble first, drawing in more Chimera Ants.
Rita executed his plan perfectly.
Within ten minutes, rustling sounds emerged from the nearby woods. Twenty or thirty more Chimera Ants appeared, forming a large circle around her, gradually tightening their formation.
Seeing this, Rita knew it was time to retreat.
She bent her knees and leaped, climbing several meters up a tree trunk. Then she jumped from branch to branch, deliberately slowing her pace so the ants could follow without losing sight of her.
"Captain, I'm three kilometers from your position. I'll be there in a few minutes. Thirty ants coming from the southeast!" Rita's voice echoed in Oboro's mind.
"Captain, I've got twenty-four total, slightly further back!" came another report.
"Captain! I've attracted nearly forty!"
"Captain I I"
Half an hour later, all his teammates' voices rang through Oboro's mind one after another.
The first batch had arrived.
"Don't bring them all the way to the mountain base. Just within a kilometer or so," Oboro replied.
"Yes!" The five responded in unison.
Oboro rotated his neck and said with a smirk, "Time to start working."
He stood up, glancing across the forest, pinpointing each teammate's position.
In the next second, his eyes darkened as endless Nen power burst forth.
Under the full moon, the figure standing atop the mountain suddenly summoned thick fog, like storm clouds gathering over the forest. The vast sea of mist rolled outward in all directions, submerging everything within a kilometer.
Oboro held the Riggle Lamp in his hand and extracted Jed's imprisoned, transformed soul. He raised it in his palm
A dense swarm of ghosts flew toward it like cats smelling blood, biting and swallowing Jed's black soul.
These once-invisible apparitions changed as if painted with ink, emanating an ominous aura reminiscent of vengeful spirits.
The ghosts screamed and howled excitedly, their cries resounding through the night sky.
"Go," Oboro commanded softly.
Ghost shadows filled the sky, swooping down from the peak along with the thick mist.
One kilometer southeast, Anthony could already see the mist rippling between earth and sky from the distant mountain.
He laughed, suddenly stopping his retreat. He turned to face the pursuing ants, spread his hands and said, "Still want to gang up on me? Sorry, my friends are here" With that, he fell backward.
Thick green fog surged from the forest like a tide, instantly engulfing him. Like a soft cloud, it supported and concealed his falling body.
The ant group squeaked, looking at each other in confusion. Before they could react, the thick fog rushed past them, brushing across their bodies and enveloping everything.
Suddenly, visibility dropped to near zero. Nothing could be seen through the dense mist.
Then, black shadows screamed as they rushed from the fog, pouncing on the ants.
The Chimera Ants attacked instinctively but found their limbs passing through the black ghosts as if these entities didn't physically exist.
But when the dark spirits entered their bodies
Each ant froze in place, beginning to tremble and cry out in pain.
After several seconds, a ghost would emerge again, something clutched in its grasp a soul! The Chimera Ant's soul.
It seemed Oboro's Halo ability no longer required killing the target and waiting for the soul to drop it could now directly extract souls! His Nen technique had become more direct and powerful.
All of this thanks to the cursed power transformed from Jade's soul.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh
Dark shadows shuttled through the fog-shrouded area where the Chimera Ants stood. Escape was impossible their positions had been locked by the spirits, and they couldn't determine direction. Their attacks proved ineffective.
After just two minutes, the mist rolled back and disappeared from the forest.
Anthony finally saw the aftermath clearly. Dozens of Chimera Ants lay on the ground, bodies unmarked but utterly lifeless empty shells.
"Captain, am I seeing things? Have your ghosts changed color? They feel different to me What happened?" Anthony exclaimed.
"Secret," Oboro replied simply.
"No way, Captain! You're holding out on your own people!" Anthony protested.
"It's not about holding out This involves Nen ability development, including some rules about ability reversal and energy utilization. It's complicated and technical. Even if I explained, you probably wouldn't understand. So don't waste your breath."
"Well" Anthony trailed off, then continued, "That's amazing! It seems you didn't take our training very seriously before, but you put us through hell"
"Enough talking," Menchi's cold voice interrupted. "Find the second wave of targets quickly!"
"How is this just chattering?" Anthony thought to himself while continuing to move. "Aren't you surprised at all, woman? The captain's use and development of Nen is beyond our understanding. How did he achieve such large-scale lethality? Before, these ghosts could only affect our minds This shows how Nen abilities can evolve. The development potential of each ability multiplies exponentially It can't be this easy, can it?
"Besides, the captain's been with us the whole time, and I haven't seen him training or"
"Shut up! You're really annoying," Menchi said coldly.
"Wow so harsh"
"Anthony Big Brother The Captain's strength Haven't we known about it all along? Haven't you accepted this fact yet?" Gabwich stammered.
"You're enjoying my misfortune, aren't you? Can't you comfort me a little?"
"Menchi often scolds you we are all used to it"
Everyone knew Menchi had a bad temper, and only Oboro could control her. If anyone else provoked her, she'd likely pull a knife without hesitation or remorse.