Jumping down from the tree, Knov executed a precise strike to cut off half of Pike's head. He chose the head deliberately to make sure the creature would be killed in a single blow.
Chimera ants were notoriously tough; reports said that as long as the head remained intact, they could survive even if their bodies were severed. Knov landed gracefully, dusted off his clothes, and pushed his glasses down. Behind him, Pike's massive body thudded heavily onto the ground.
A heavy object crashed from above, sending dust flying everywhere. Morel approached Knov, clapping him on the shoulder with his huge hand, his voice full of pride.
"Not bad at all. You still think I'm capable, but honestly, your skills are way better than mine." President Netero also praised Knov, impressed after carefully watching his moves.
Just moments ago, while the four of them dodged the net attack, Knov had quickly crouched down and activated his Fourth Dimension Apartment, slipping inside it. The next instant, he appeared atop a tree, and as he jumped down, he precisely sliced off half of their opponent's head.
Knov waved his hand modestly and said, "It's just a trick. I'm lucky, it just so happened that this chimera ant ended up on the tree where I had placed a mark."
After seeing the talents of Gon and the others, Knov's arrogance had faded somewhat. Maybe because of his personality, he had a "cowardly" habit in battle, he'd place several Fourth Dimension Apartment marks around the area.
This tactic proved invaluable during critical moments since he could disappear into the four-dimensional space and reappear somewhere else instantly. It was fortunate that one of his marks was on the big tree where Pike had been staying.
"Looks like we've got another uninvited guest," President Netero said just as a figure emerged from the forest, it was Zazan, her delicate face was twisted with anger.
"How dare you! How dare you kill my men!" she shouted.
Zazan didn't care much about ordinary soldier ants, but she valued powerful subordinates like Pike deeply. As a rare female chimera ant, she had grand ambitions, to become a queen-like figure.
She placed great importance on her strength and had developed a unique mental ability called aesthetic reincarnation injection. Using her scorpion tail, she could inject a special liquid formed by her aura into others. The results were brutal: either the victim couldn't handle it and died instantly, or they survived but mutated into a more powerful monster, fiercely loyal to Zazan.
This is the power she relies on to become a queen-like figure. With her unique ability, she can easily create more and more subordinates.
"Since Pike is dead... then you'll take his place!" Zazan suddenly glared and swiftly struck at Knov with the scorpion tail behind her. She assumed that the "weak" Knov would be the easiest target. But Knov was quick to notice the tail's movement and stayed alert.
When Zazan attacked, Knov calmly opened his hands, ready to catch the tail. As expected, when the unstoppable tail stabbed between his hands, the front half vanished into thin air.
Sensing something was wrong, Zazan quickly pulled back the tail, but it was too late. With a simple thought, Knov closed the aura channel, causing the front half of Zazan's tail to fall directly into his four-dimensional pocket.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot from the tail and spread throughout Zazan's body. She hurried to retrieve it, but in the end, only managed to bring back half of the tail.
"Arggh!!" Zazan's face twisted with agony as her scream echoed through the area.
For her, the emotional pain was even worse than the physical injury. She valued her appearance greatly and would lose control even with minor damage, losing half her tail was unbearable.
Furious and desperate, Zazan decided to use her ability to hide her vulnerability. She broke off the remaining half of her scorpion tail, and her body began to expand rapidly.
Crack, crack...
Larry quietly watched as Zazan's form and features changed drastically, a hint of regret in his eyes. Among the Chimera Ants, Zazan was the most exceptional.
Larry even believed she outshone Neferpitou. Her beauty and figure were among the finest female characters to appear in Hunter x Hunter.
Unfortunately, no matter how refined, she was still a beast at heart. After the transformation, her appearance became far more terrifying.
The dark purple skin turned a bleak green, and her graceful figure grew muscular. The change was like a stark contrast between "Beauty and the Beast."
Zazan's hidden ability was a recent development, born out of her love for beauty, a fact that made her believe she would never actually need to use it. But fate had other plans. Not long after mastering this new power, just as she was about to find someone to test her mind abilities on, she found herself facing a dangerous situation.
Standing against the beast-like Zazan, Larry stepped forward confidently and told the other three to leave the fight to him. As a division commander, Zazan was certainly worthy of his attention and experience. Suddenly, a flash of white light burst forth, followed by a dazzling array of colorful beams.
Meanwhile, Knov and Morel were still stunned by the dramatic transformation Zazan had undergone. Their surprise soon turned to seriousness, if she had been tough to handle before, now she was far more dangerous.
The talent of the Chimera Ants was truly remarkable. Even ordinary soldier ants could overpower many humans, let alone a division commander whose abilities ranked just below the King and his Royal Guards. The Chimera Ants grew rapidly.
In the original story, not much time passed from their first contact with Nen to when they began showcasing formidable abilities. The power gap among division commanders was huge, and Zazan, the scorpion girl, was considered one of the strongest.
Though she hadn't reached A-level strength in her normal form yet, after transforming, she definitely did. Perhaps during the Meteor Street arc, she'd achieve A-level strength even without transforming.
Seeing this, Knov's face darkened with worry. He was completely shocked by the Chimera Ant's terrifying talent, Zazan's power was no less impressive than that of the two children they'd seen before.
The Chimera Ants' abilities seemed almost unfair. Thanks to their fused creature traits, they possessed incredibly strong bodies and extremely high potential, easily surpassing limits that humans found difficult to cross.
Most impressively, they grew at an astonishing speed. Just imagine if they eat hunter at level of netero or Larry when creating their king, just how strong the antking will be?
President Netero relaxed his hands and looked thoughtfully at Zazan, who radiated a fierce, tyrannical aura. He considered the nature of the Chimera Ants, since they carry genes from various creatures, it made sense that they could undergo drastic transformations.
It was likely that different Chimera Ants could have multiple forms, each with unique biological traits. Netero's intuition proved right when the third member of the Guard Team appeared later, Menthuthuyoupi.