"What overwhelmingly powerful Nen—he's still getting stronger! Even at my peak in youth, I probably couldn't beat him." Netero easily suppressed Youpi as his gaze drifted toward where the Queen was. Though Youpi's body was terrifying and his strength immense, if he and Netero fought with all other conditions equal, the odds would only be 4:6. Even if Netero wanted to defeat Youpi, it wouldn't be easy—let alone crush him as he was now. But Youpi, for all his brute force and fearsome aura, had no idea how to use it—he was fighting Netero purely by instinct.
In other words, Netero was toying with him.
"All right, looks like I need to get serious." Netero's eyes sharpened—gone was the smiling elder, replaced by severity and menace.
His muscles swelled once more, and a surge of powerful Nen erupted from his body. This time, it easily drowned out Youpi's aura. The entire Chimera Ant nest reeled under the terror of it. Even far away, Old Mo and Nobu felt their chairman's fearsome Nen—Nobu even trembled a little. He knew Netero wasn't his enemy, but the sheer might of that aura struck deep fear. Netero had planned to conserve Nen to face the soon-to-be-born King, but hadn't expected a single ant to block his path. This was nothing like the ants he'd slain before. If more like this showed up, even if he fought his way to the Queen, he'd have little stamina left. So Netero decided to end it quickly.
"Hm? What is this feeling, so strong? But I'm stronger than him!" Waves pulsed from within the massive egg, but it still did not break.
"Hm? What is this feeling? Another life? Sharing my power? I am the King! No species needs two Kings! So I won't allow it. For the sake of the species—and myself—I want you gone!" Under the shock of Netero's vast aura, another wave of life stirred within the giant egg. It was the other Chimera Ant discovered in the Queen's belly after the King's conception—Kite—alive thanks to Crazy Clown No. 1's absolute death resistance.
But so-called absolute death resistance is only resistance to death, not true immortality—and nothing in this world is absolute. Just as a Conjuration-type Nen user cannot create an absolutely unbreakable, perfectly sharp sword. Anything "absolute" is only relative; the threshold hasn't been crossed.
"Return my power to me." A terrifying suction drew over everything called life that had been transmitted elsewhere, stealing even the tiny life's strength.
"This world needs only one King." When he could no longer sense the other's life, the immense life in the belly grew stronger again; its Nen became monstrous. Even the faint leakage of aura from the egg now exceeded that of the vast majority of strong beings in the nest.
No one noticed that directly beneath the giant egg above the Queen's abdomen, a tiny wound appeared—so small even the Queen didn't feel it. A creature no bigger than a mosquito hopped out and darted into the distance. That life was the one the King had sensed in the egg. This all occurred in the instant Netero's Nen fully erupted.
"This is bad! Youpi might not beat that guy, meow!" First to recover from Netero's all-enveloping outburst of Nen were the other two of the King's Royal Guard, the cat-girl Pitou and Pouf.
"Hundred-Type Guanyin, First Form!" The golden, colossal Guanyin behind Chairman Netero chopped Youpi into the ground with a massive hand-blade before he could react.
"Puh!" Chimera Ant–distinct purple blood poured from Youpi's mouth and seeped from his whole body. In truth, the Royal Guard's logic wasn't wrong—Netero, at less than fifty percent of his prime, couldn't completely stomp or decisively defeat any one of the three if they were at full capability. But their mistake was arrogance. Of the three, aside from the cat-girl Neferpitou, the other two had never systematically learned Nen. Pitou had only picked up some basics because of Pokkle, and the Nen ability formed wasn't a mainline combat type. Once Netero got serious and used Hundred-Type Guanyin—a move he'd honed nearly a lifetime—then for Royal Guards who hadn't trained Nen properly or formed their own unique Hatsu, it was extremely difficult. They wouldn't be killed, perhaps, but they couldn't stop Netero's advance.
"Hundred-Type Guanyin, Second Form!" He swept Pitou and Pouf, who had rushed him, flying with a single palm. They hadn't taken it head-on like Youpi, so they weren't substantially hurt.
But that was enough. Netero didn't want to kill the two guards; his target was—the Queen.
"Damn it, meow, his target is the King!" "Stop that guy! Don't let him reach the King!" In the instant Netero moved, Pitou and Pouf understood his intent.
"Hundred-Type Guanyin, Third Form!" As the three Guards regrouped, Netero suddenly turned and unleashed the third move at them. The giant twin palms clapped together like lightning, as if swatting mosquitoes, intent on flattening the three into pancakes.
For every move of the Hundred-Type Guanyin, Netero poured in his full strength. After doing this, he immediately turned toward the Queen's location. Youpi, clashing head-on with Netero's Guanyin, was injured twice, but with the strongest physique among the three, he showed no loss of fighting capacity—only minor wounds and a sorry look. Pitou, outstanding in all respects among the three, likewise suffered no combat-impairing injuries, though minor wounds were inevitable. The worst off was Pouf. In destructive Nen and physical durability, he was the weakest of the three. He suited strategy and surveillance—more of a support type. So his injuries were the most severe. While not enough to hinder movement, his combat power plummeted. Luckily, the three took Netero's Guanyin together; otherwise, that one hit would have heavily injured Pouf.
"Enemy attack! Protect the King!" Pouf could no longer care about appearances; he broadcast a command into every Chimera Ant's mind. In that moment, he could only hope the squadron leaders and division captains he'd once scorned would buy the three Guards some time.
Meanwhile, the squadron leaders reacted in all kinds of ways the moment they received the message. Unlike soldier ants, they didn't obey blindly. Squadron leaders and division captains had their own ambitions. Some still remained loyal to the Queen, but given her previous orders, many had already ignored her commands. All the more so in a crisis like this—some even wished Netero would kill the King and Queen so they could become independent.
"You've got to be kidding—sending us against that monster." The wolf-type squadron leader Welfin muttered in his heart. Clearly he wouldn't make a move to guard the King at the cost of his life.
There were many with Welfin's mindset who disregarded the Guards' orders, like the lion Hagya, the crocodile-type squadron leader, the lobster-type Bloputa, the booze-drinking koala, and so on.
Even so, quite a few squadron leaders and division captains headed Netero's way.
For example,
"I won't let you through so easily." A massive bull-type squadron leader blocked Netero's path—Bihorn, reputedly the strongest in raw power. Beside him stood a mantis-type squadron leader.
"Hundred-Type Guanyin." Focused on making time, Netero didn't even give them a chance to speak and swept them aside with a single palm. The two pitiful squadron leaders were embedded into a nearby wall. Netero's only goal now was to kill the King in the Queen's belly, so beneath the rubble the two still clung to faint life.
"Ah-ha, you look pretty tough. Let's see who's faster." A cheetah-type squadron leader playfully darted up to Netero.
"Hundred-Type Guanyin." Another pitiful squadron leader got plastered into the wall.
"Hundred-Type Guanyin." "Hundred-Type Guanyin." "Hundred-Type Guanyin." "Hundred-Type Guanyin." "Hundred-Type Guanyin." With each resounding smack, every squadron leader and division captain who tried to block Netero's steps was without exception slapped into the floor or walls. Even if they survived by luck, they completely lost the ability to fight.
"Damn it, I won't let you take another step." The last to stand before Netero was the Leizhenzi-styled Colt. Beside him were an octopus, a panda, a turtle, and a penguin. Judging by the look of it, aside from the Leizhenzi-like one, the others weren't very strong. Their slight trembling made it clear that in the face of Netero, they were terribly afraid. But they couldn't retreat, because the room behind them was where the Queen was.
"Well done, squadron leader." Just as Netero prepared to strike them down, the King's Royal Guard finally caught up.
"Tch." Netero shot a glance at the three Guards. "This is bad for me. The aura inside is getting stronger. Birth can't be far off. I can't let something that dangerous come into the world—though I'd love to trade blows with someone that strong. But I can't take that risk."
"Then—" Netero turned to face the three Guards and drew a deep breath. Looked like it was time to go all out. How many years had it been since he felt like this?
"Hundred-Type Guanyin, Ninety-Ninth Form." The golden Guanyin behind him launched an assault so fast it was invisible to the naked eye, crashing down on the Royal Guard.
"W-What a terrifying technique…" Before the sluicing golden light and crushing Nen, Colt's heart filled only with dread. The gap in level was too vast. If he had to face this man himself, he might not last three seconds before being obliterated.
"Aaaaaah! For the King!!!" Youpi's Nen exploded again, his body mutating further. But before Netero's Ninety-Ninth Form, he was suppressed once more.
"Puh." Compared to Youpi, Pouf was in utter tatters. His scale-dust had no chance to be deployed; his other ability, Fly King, was smashed to pieces in its early stage by the deluge of giant palms. His worst matchup was this kind of massively destructive area attack, and with much poorer physical defense than Pitou or Youpi, he was now grievously injured.
Of the three, Pitou looked the best—but even she couldn't break through Netero's stormlike offense.
"Aaah!" Netero's assault made the entire nest quake, and even the Queen inside the chamber was affected, crying out in pain.
"Your Majesty!" Hearing the Queen's anguished cry, the turtle, penguin, and octopus instinctively moved to check on her—but before they could act, Netero spared a leg and kicked them flying.
"Disappear." Netero summoned his muscles once more, his Nen gathering again.
"Hundred-Type Guanyin, Ninety-Ninth Form!" Golden light burst from his whole body. Devastating power manifested again, and with a colossal roar, the entire nest collapsed.
"No!" "The King!!" With the Guards' anguished cries, a great crater spread where the nest had been.
Afterward, all returned to silence. Pitou, Pouf, and Youpi staggered to their feet, clutching wounds, and glared murderously at Netero. As for the other squadron leaders, who knew where the blast had flung them or what it had crushed them beneath.
"Phew, finally settled." Ignoring the injured Guards, Netero relaxed. The taut nerves loosened. He could no longer feel that crushing, ominous aura. The remaining Guards would be troublesome, but not beyond his grasp.
"Settled what?" A quiet sigh sounded in Netero's ear.
"Snap." Netero suddenly felt a breeze pass his right side.
"Were you talking about me? Good morning, Chairman." At some point, a young man had appeared less than five meters before Netero, smiling at him. Aside from his ink-green skin, he looked exactly like a human youth. There wasn't a trace of Nen on him—utterly like an ordinary person. Except for what he held in his hand.
Netero glanced in shock to his right—at some point, the space where his right hand should be was empty.
The Ant King appeared—in the most perfect form birthed by the Queen, the strongest Chimera Ant form. Unlike the incomplete premature birth of the original story, this King was the most perfect state in the entire Chimera Ant species—and the strongest. Even the reborn King from the original might not compare.
"If you'd like to see this story continue, don't forget to leave a review, drop some Power Stones, or both!"