"King!!" *3 The three Royal Guards cried out in delight as they came to their senses.
The transmigrator—or rather, the newborn Ant King—raised a hand to the three Guards, signaling them not to interject.
"Good afternoon, esteemed Chairman Netero of the Hunter Association." The Ant King addressed Netero, who stood opposite him, with great courtesy. Of course, if he weren't holding half of the other man's right hand, the scene would have been more harmonious. "First, allow me to introduce myself. I am the King of the Chimera Ants from the Dark Continent. My name is Meruem*Li." The newborn Ant King was entirely different from the one in the original work—not just in appearance, but in soul and mindset as well. After all, he was a transmigrator.
As a transmigrator, Meruem*Li was deeply dissatisfied with the previous life's Ant King design: that slick green mushroom cap, those Buddha-like huge earlobes, and that syringe-like, inexplicable tail. Not to mention the grasshopper-like weird markings—and most importantly, the lack of lower body. As a man who loves life and has ideals, he could never accept such a look. So upon rebirth, he changed his appearance. A humanlike exterior—after all, not all products of the Chimera Ant species are monstrous; many squad leaders and squadron leaders have human appearances. For example, the squad leader Fina at the lion squadron leader Hagya's side looks entirely human. Originally, Meruem planned to change his skin color as well, but that he couldn't do. So the current Meruem is essentially the original's Meruem minus the mushroom cap and syringe tail, with the body overall optimized toward a human form. Most crucially, unlike the premature, imperfect body and the haughty mindset of the original Ant King, the current King has fully completed the species' ultimate evolution.
His strength may surpass even the reborn Ant King after the Rose nuke in his previous life. And because he's a transmigrator, he carries a preformed system of values and ways of thinking—basically ruling out the possibility of becoming the philosophical King from the original. Most importantly, he knows that in the Hunter world he is not the strongest yet. At the very least, even in his now fully evolved, most perfect state, whether he could withstand the radiation of a Rose nuke is still unknown. And Chimera Ants are rated only B-class in the Hunter world. Leaving aside the many terrifying things on the Dark Continent, even among the Nen users of the Hunter world, he's not unchallenged. Remember, someone from the Freecss family has traveled the Dark Continent; humans in the Hunter world are not as simple as one might think. While he could decisively beat an aged Netero with only fifty percent of his former power, against the top three strongest Nen users in the world, it's hard to say. The Hunter world far exceeds the average person's imagination—consider the faintly touched-on "Demon King's melody" in the Phantom Troupe arc; that hint alone suggests the possible existence of a Demon King, not to mention the even more terrifying Dark Continent.
Netero watched him quietly, waiting for Meruem's next words—to live or die, to perish together or escape by a stroke of luck.
"First, I have no intention of making enemies of humans." As expected, his next sentence surprised Netero a little. Facing such a powerful opponent, Netero had no confidence at all. If they fought, he might have to detonate the nuke inside his body.
"I am the King of the Chimera Ants. First, I must seek a sliver of living space for my species. Don't laugh—we Chimera Ants are a weak race that escaped from the Dark Continent. I hope humans can acknowledge us and allow the Chimera Ants to survive on this continent. I hope you can convey my goodwill to other humans. In return, I can provide you humans with some intel on the Dark Continent. If there's anything you need help with, you can come to us as well. All we need is a tiny bit of territory to ensure the continuation of our species." As a transmigrator, Meruem knew Netero had a nuke that could cost him his life inside his body. He didn't want to get taken out soon after birth. He made this speech up on the spot. Whether Netero believed it or not wasn't his concern. He just wanted Netero gone quickly so he could plan his next steps. Of course, he made no mention of the humans the Queen had the ants hatch and then eat and kill.
Nice plan—but he wasn't the only ant here. "Oh, King, this guy just now almost killed—no, offended you. He can't be forgiven so easily. Humans are such a weak species, we can—" Before he could finish, the somewhat neurotic Pouf had started getting carried away. Among the three Guards, while all were deeply loyal to the King, Pouf was loyal to the title of King. In other words, no matter who became King, Pouf would be loyal to him. Everything he did was for the one who bore the title of King—even to the point of doing things he personally believed were good for the King. Of the three, Meruem appreciated Pitou more—not just because the cat-girl is cute, but because Pitou is loyal to Meruem the person. She can carry out any task the King assigns to the utmost. In the original, even in death, Pitou sought to fulfill the King's order to heal Komugi. But none of that is the point. The point is, at present, Meruem wasn't confident about facing the Rose nuke's poison or rather radiation. He didn't know whether Netero currently had the Rose planted in his body; logically speaking, probably not. But Meruem wouldn't risk it. What if Netero got a wild hair and planted a bomb in his body for fun?
"Shut up." A surge of power struck Pouf in an instant, cutting off his unfinished words.
"Who is the King—me, or you?" In a heartbeat, an aura so powerful it suffocated erupted from Meruem and locked onto the plan-spoiling Pouf. His expression no longer pleasant, cold sweat streamed down Pouf's forehead.
"You are." He forced out the two words.
"King, please calm down. Pouf only—" The burly one and the cat-girl hurried to explain for Pouf. They might not agree with him, but the three of them were all Royal Guards.
"No need to explain. There won't be a next time." Meruem said coldly. But in an instant, when facing Netero, his tone reverted to the earlier mildness. "Apologies—my subordinate was out of line. I've made you laugh."
"Ohohoho, it's fine. But let me ask: what if we don't agree to your request?" Netero had seen much. He didn't know why, in an absolute advantage, the Ant King would be so courteous—using a soft tone to negotiate. In his impression, Chimera Ants should all be bloodthirsty and cruel. Unless he knows about the nuke in my body? The thought flashed through Netero's mind, but he quickly found it absurd. The King had only just been born; how could he know? And even if he did, with preparation and the strength Meruem had just shown, the bomb might not even touch him.
"Don't agree? Then we go to war." Meruem knew Netero would ask. While humanity's hidden strength is great, that doesn't mean endless forbearance. Endless forbearance only makes the other side think you're easy to bully. If the Chimera Ants truly went on a rampage in bustling cities, humans would pay dearly too. "Mr. Chairman, with my strength, plus my unruly subordinates, even if humans want to eliminate us, you'll have to pay a price." The implied threat was unmistakable.
"Three months, Mr. Chairman. I hope in three months you can bring me good news—so my species and humanity can live together on this land." As he spoke, Meruem's tone grew gentler.
"Ohohohoho, all right. I'll convey your meaning. But personally, I absolutely won't agree—you damn man-eating creatures." Netero deliberately goaded him. His gut said the higher-ups might actually agree to the ants' demands. First, humanity's upper echelons had long coveted the Dark Continent, and these ants themselves had considerable value. It was even possible some big shot would turn the ants into his private army. They might not take the danger seriously at all. After all, in the ants' emergence so far, only some ordinary civilians died. The deaths of commoners had nothing to do with them—or they simply didn't care—whereas a biting yet loyal dog meant more to them. The beast clans also eat humans, and there are intelligent species among them. Yet certain big shots still keep dangerous beasts. He had no good counter to that. The King could easily bypass him to reach an understanding with certain human elites. In the end, he was only the Hunter Association chairman, not the president of the World Federation.
"Hmph, old man, you don't need to provoke me." Meruem looked at Netero. "That matter's done. Now let's discuss your problem."
"Old fool, three months from now I will kill you—to avenge the Queen." At this point, Meruem's eyes flashed with murderous light.
Yes, in this life, the Queen died as well—though unlike the original, her death had no direct relation to the King's birth. It was, however, inseparable from Netero's surprise attack.
In both the original and this life, the King and Netero are irreconcilable. In the original, Netero insisted on sacrificing himself to kill the King. In this life, whether Netero insists or not no longer matters—what matters is the Queen's existence. Unlike the callous King of the original, Meruem felt strongly for the Queen who bore him. At the very least, before he was born, he felt that deep maternal love.
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