A few days later, in the nest of the Chimera Ants.
Korudo entered the home of Peggy the Penguin. Though called a penguin only because of her appearance and obvious penguin genes, Peggy was much more than that.
"Well, a lot of people have died," Peggy muttered, flipping through a book in her hands. "According to the information sent from below, there are only a few enemies, but they're completely different from the humans we've encountered before. It seems that they can wipe out all of our people in a short period of time. That's not even the most critical thing. The worst part is the zero survival rate."
Peggy tossed the book aside and immediately picked up another, continuing her search. "The strange thing is, I've searched all the human books and found no relevant records. The other party is undoubtedly human, but the danger is far beyond our expectations."
"A special species?" Korudo echoed.
Peggy was the most knowledgeable of all the division commanders and was also responsible for hunting food for the queen. At least in terms of strategy, Korudo recognized her expertise. In the beginning, the Chimera Ants had clashed with the human army, but they had suffered heavy casualties because the humans had weapons called guns. The soldier ants that were born earlier didn't have good genes at that time, and the queen's food intake hadn't been satisfied, so the physical fitness of ordinary soldier ants wasn't strong.
However, under Peggy's command and training, the soldier ants quickly learned how to use firearms and confiscated many items and weapons from humans, which greatly helped the queen's production. This made the soldier ants born later even more outstanding.
Ordinary bullets were no longer a threat to them. The ant colony's army had also become more organized and disciplined, all thanks to Peggy. Besides, they had basically understood the human world.
"Well," Peggy sighed, throwing down another book in disappointment and covering her forehead. "The enemy didn't seem to take us seriously at all. When our comrades were killed, the soldier ants in charge of reconnaissance saw the strange scene with their own eyes. They said that a thick fog suddenly appeared, and then the signal between them was lost. I think the enemy might have noticed the existence of the scouting ant, but didn't take it seriously, and deliberately let it come back alive to pass on information".
"What are you going to do?" Korudo flapped his wings and frowned.
"The enemy is at the edge of our territory and they don't seem to have any plans to move deeper. They're not much of a threat right now," Peggy replied. "But this also shows that we know too little about the humans. As far as I know, there are even more powerful countries besides the human country we're in." She turned to look at her companions.
"Hey, hey, you two, you're wasting your time!"
Just as Korudo was talking to Peggy, a figure suddenly appeared at the dim cave entrance. This ant had wing-shaped arms and long green hair, but its face looked like a weasel, and its ears and lower limbs were shaped like rabbits. Judging by its body shape, it had obviously integrated several genes.
Had Oboro been present, he would have realized that this was Ramudo, the captain of the soldiers under the birdman Korudo. A corps captain who dared to speak like that to a division commander showed that within the Chimera Ants, class and order weren't so binding, at least among the high-ranking ant groups.
"If they don't dare to go deeper, it means they're afraid of us!" Ramudo sneered. "Do you know? Humans know very well that once they enter our hunting territory, they won't come out alive. That's why they only dare to steal and make noise on the periphery!"
This guy was the first Chimera Ant to awaken his Nen after the fight with Gon and Killua.
"What are you still talking about? What is there to discuss?"
Korudo's expression darkened. Obviously, he was not very happy with this subordinate. However, the higher class Chimera Ants had different temperaments and were born that way.
"It's not like that, Ramudo," Peggy looked at him. "The enemy this time is obviously not on the same level as the previous humans. We've lost almost 10,000 people."
"Stop talking nonsense. I'll go and bring back the bodies of those humans." Ramudo was too lazy to listen. He waved his hand and left without waiting for Korudo's instructions.
"That," the gentle Peggy looked at Korudo.
"I'll go over and have a look." Korudo flapped his wings and followed. He wasn't at all confident in letting Ramudo go alone; the ant was too impulsive and reckless.
Besides, Korudo had caught Ramudo more than once secretly eating food that had originally belonged to the queen. According to Ramudo, humans couldn't all be killed, and the endless food was enough for the queen to feed on. What was the problem if he ate one or two? But what Korudo disliked most was that kind of subordinate who didn't follow orders.
Therefore, there was always a conflict between the two of them.
"Huh, Captain, I looked, but there's not a single one in sight," Menchi analyzed.
"Within a radius of thirty kilometers, all the ants were wiped out, and they haven't come to help or rushed here since. Did the superior ants notice something? Did they give an order?"
Several people looked tired. They were almost sleepless as they searched for the Chimera Ants, trying their best to bring them within range of the Captain's Nen ability. Though exhausted, they still worked in shifts, taking short breaks every few hours.
"Chimera ants are warlike by nature. They don't back down easily.
"A storm is coming. Most likely, a powerful character will appear soon. Hehe, you should take a good rest. Don't worry about what happens next." Oboro sat on the mountaintop and telepathically relayed the message.
At the foot of the mountain, Anthony and his companions collapsed to the ground with expressions of relief.
"Worn out"
"Aren't you going to set some traps around here?"
"With the captain here, what are you afraid of?"
"Go to bed quickly."
Time passed slowly and Menchi and the others fell asleep. They trusted Oboro completely. With the captain around, no danger could approach them. If there really was a murderous intent approaching, it would mean that the situation was so difficult that even the captain couldn't handle it and the outcome was already determined.
"We have to move," Oboro thought vaguely.
"Very carefully," he laughed. This was probably the first time the Chimera Ants were faced with such a situation. It was unknown territory for them, the first time they'd encountered a Nen user.
Oboro's plan was to hunt around the ant territory instead of entering the core circle. His temporary target was only the lower-level Chimera Ants; he wanted to gain numbers. If he killed the army captains and division commanders, the difficulty of the Hunter Association's advance would be reduced.
Actually, as long as the three royal guards were present, the difficulty wouldn't be much lower, but Oboro feared variables. The first battle of the Chimera Ants took place in NGL. The queen ant died, Korudo asked the humans for help, the division leaders fell apart, and ambitious characters left to form their own forces. Oboro didn't want to let them go, because once they ran, they would be separated and he wouldn't be able to collect their souls.
The real battle was in East Gorteau.
"If I break into the ant nest now, the three royal guards haven't woken up yet, maybe I can kill them directly." He smiled. But if the fetus died in the womb, the weight of the lost soul would inevitably become weaker, which wasn't in his interest.
"Oh? You're here so soon"
After a long time, it was afternoon and the sun was shining brightly. The eyes behind his dark sunglasses suddenly focused on a narrow path in the forest a thousand meters away. A figure emerged from it.
The other party discovered him at the same time. After all, Oboro's position was too high and conspicuous, the top of the only mountain in the entire forest. His eyesight was excellent thanks to his physical fitness, and the other party's ability to spot him at such a distance showed how exceptional their eyesight was as well.
"It's him" The ant who was knocked away by Gon's punch and awoke his Nen was the army captain, Ramudo.
What a coincidence!
With a vague glance, Oboro saw a huge black spot flying towards the horizon. They were all ants. And behind Ramudo, thousands of Chimera ants followed.
"There are more than a thousand in the air and more than a thousand on the ground."
Once Oboro was sure that there were no hidden auras in other directions, he judged that Menchi and the others resting at the foot of the mountain were safe. He jumped off the mountaintop and rushed out hundreds of feet away. His foot kicked up the mountaintop and lifted a large piece of debris.
It was like a sharp arrow shooting into the sky, then falling free and hitting the ground like a cannonball. He brushed the dirt and grass clippings off his pant legs, stepped out of the pit, and faced the army of ants alone.
Overhead, the buzzing sound of flying Chimera ants approached, but they didn't attack immediately. Oboro caught a glimpse of a human-like creature among the ant colony in the sky.
Let the ants on the ground attack me first, and then use this opportunity to observe from the sky.
Oboro understood Korudo's intention.
After a moment, he stopped because he had already met Ramudo.
"That's you, cunning human!" Ramudo looked at Oboro, his tongue sticking out, his excited eyes radiating brutal, murderous intent.
"Just you? What about the others?" Oboro took off his sunglasses and looked indifferent, treating Ramudo like air.
But the way Oboro stared at the Chimera Ant made Ramudo angry. He was all too familiar with that look - it was the same expression they had when staring at their prey. This human was treating them all like food! It was exactly the same expression they had when they slaughtered humans: indifferent and superior.
Whoosh!
Ramudo was enraged and immediately jumped over. With his hot temper, he didn't even wait for the ants to form a formation or attack first. The human's eyes had provoked him!
Bang!
Just as he was about to leap in front of the human, before the human could react, with his limbs still in the air, he was suddenly hit hard on the back of the head. The human had strangely approached him first, then swung to the side and nonchalantly struck him on the back of the head.
"Wow!"
At that moment, Ramudo vomited blood, and his entire upper body was pushed into the mud by the enormous force, leaving only his lower body exposed. It was like a scallion being stuck in the ground.
"You're really slow, haven't you noticed?" Oboro sighed.
Perhaps I hid my aura too well.
After just one encounter, Oboro basically understood the physical strength and abilities of the Captain-level Chimera Ant.
Crash
Seeing this, the surrounding soldier ants moved quickly. But it was too late.
Mighty clouds swept out like waves, instantly submerging the entire forest. The terrifying evil spirit howled and roared, scattering in all directions like countless black streaks of light that suddenly appeared in the mist. It spread not only on the surface, but also into the sky in an instant.
Korudo was shocked. Seeing Ramudo knocked to the ground with a single blow, he was about to lead the ant colony down, but before he could say anything, the dark mist had already covered his body.
He looked around, his vision blurred. He couldn't see anything, he could only hear the sound of his kind falling from the sky and landing on the ground. Like raindrops.
"What's going on? What happened?" Korudo's expression changed drastically.
At that moment, he seemed to sense something and suddenly flapped his wings to dodge in the air. When he turned his head, he saw a mass of "empty thing" flying towards him. Korudo didn't know what that thing was, but his intuition told him that if it hit him, something bad would happen.
He dodged several times, but could only delay for a few seconds before the 'invisible thing' attacked him. He felt his body suddenly turn cold, his limbs stiff as if frozen by ice, and his head split open as if something had bored into his brain and was gnawing at a part of him.
Snap!
Korudo fell like a stone, crashing through the treetops and hitting the ground. He could barely stay conscious, his eyes were black. The intense pain almost made him faint, but he couldn't make a sound.
"My Spirit Mist is a materialized entity, and because of the strength of its essence, the energy concentration is extremely prominent, and even ordinary people can detect and feel it, but these pets of mine aren't like that. With your innate perception, you can actually sense their existence. You are much stronger than that guy who was stuck in the ground."
After a burst of words, the mysterious human walked over to Korudo. He crouched down and looked at Korudo with a smile.
Creatures without awakened thoughts cannot sense or see the existence of thoughts. Although this is not always the case, it is mostly true. There are some people who are in a semi-awakened state without knowing it. In addition, some gifted people, even if they cannot sense thoughts, will instinctively feel that something is there.
The Chimera ants were a special case. Due to their extraordinary body structure and organization, their senses were extremely developed. In Korudo's eyes, he couldn't see any ghosts, but he could sense that there was some kind of energy running around.
After saying this, Oboro took back the entire Sea of Mist.
The scene he saw made Korudo's heart tremble. All the soldier ants that had been in the sky, waiting for his orders, had fallen down, not a single one spared, covering the entire grassland in the forest. They were motionless and lifeless.
The same was true for the ant colony led by Ramudo. However, he could feel that Ramudo's breath was still there; he wasn't dead yet, but he was badly injured by the attack. Most were in a coma.
"It hurts, doesn't it? This is my Nen. Do you know what Nen is?" Oboro said deliberately. He revealed information to Korudo.
"Forget it, you're going to die soon anyway," Oboro smiled.
In a moment of inexplicable horror, Korudo suddenly realized that the pain in his brain had eased and his body's perception had also recovered a little. Instinctively, he seized the opportunity.
There was no time to think. Just as the human reached out to touch his head, Korudo suddenly jumped up and used his wings to whip a piece of earth at the human. Oboro seemed to block it with his arm, and when he stood up, Korudo had already flown into the sky, turning into a black dot that disappeared in the distance.
"Hehe." Oboro smiled slightly.
He turned and walked over to Ramudo, pulling the ant out of the ground with one hand, then grabbing one of its feet and slowly dragging it back to the base of the mountain.