Although the entire colony exploded into an uproar because of Meruem's words, in the end not a single ant took a step to leave. Not because they didn't want to, but because they didn't dare. Are you kidding? Who knew if the King meant it? What if leaving got you killed by him? Come on—this wasn't the original's brutal King who started out slaughtering his subordinates at random. Forced to leave for survival, indifferent to the Queen's death, indifferent to the deaths of his subordinates—that was what chilled the loyalists' hearts. Right now, Meruem had done nothing wrong, and when he mentioned the Queen's death, the faint sadness on his face also kept the ants who had been loyal to the Queen from leaving. Remember, the Queen's order had been that they obey King Meruem in the future. Besides, Meruem said he'd avenge her in three months, and ultimately he hadn't gone on a senseless killing spree. In other words, Meruem hadn't self-sabotaged and driven the ants apart. At the moment, none of them dared challenge his authority. No ant was stupid enough to make that kind of fatal move.
"Hm? What are you worried about? Whether you go or stay is your choice. Even if you choose to leave, I won't strike at you. But if you choose to stay, from now on even if I order you to commit suicide, you must carry it out. Though I won't send any subordinate loyal to me to die." Meruem's even tone blew the colony up again. Those harboring ulterior motives were already getting restless. Even so, not one ant dared be the first.
But as time ticked by, one ant finally took the first step. Meruem glanced at him coolly—a koala-like ant, a wine gourd in his hand. If Meruem recalled correctly, he was a division captain; in his previous-life memory, this guy seemed highly disapproving of what the other ants did, even somewhat death-seeking and nihilistic. Someone going first didn't surprise Meruem; it was within expectations. Where there's a first, there's a second. Soon the crowd of dozens—over a hundred—was down to just over half. As for the squadron leaders, the lion Hagya, the wolf Welfin, the scorpion Zazan, the so-called big-eater crocodile, and the panda left with their men. All expected by Meruem. Those who left were the ambitious ones. The only thing that surprised him was that the cheetah Cheetu and the mantis actually stayed, while the panda, who had defected to humans in the original, chose to leave. Figures—don't assume pandas are harmless, bamboo-munching pushovers. When pandas rage, even brown bears need to think twice; they eat meat too. The mantis didn't have much depiction originally, so let's set that aside. Of the others, aside from Peggy, the turtle, the chameleon, and the lobster, the ones who remained were clearly the Queen's faction—loyal to the King, unsurprising. In the original, Peggy and the turtle weren't especially ambitious either; Peggy staying and the chameleon staying made sense—adoptive father–son and all. The lobster lacked presence. But Cheetu staying was unexpected. He wasn't particularly ambitious, but judging by the original, he was unusually hyperactive—hard to imagine him enduring the boredom of staying. Then again, who knows?
Among the squadron leaders who stayed, aside from the Leizhenzi-like one, the cheetah, the mantis, the bull, and the lobster, the others were clearly not combat types. Those who left were the more powerful ones. Meruem didn't mind. Who says support types can't kill? Though more squadron leaders stayed, half the division captains left. Clearly not every squadron leader could restrain his subordinates—especially when faced with the choice of freedom. In the original, the chameleon squadron leader couldn't restrain his crew either.
"All right, time's up." Seeing that no more ants were leaving, Meruem felt a bit gratified. Those who remained were loyal to him—his initial core. They might not be ready to die for him yet, but they were enough.
"I'm very pleased you chose to stay. From this day on, you are my subordinates." The corner of Meruem's mouth rose slightly. Compared to top Nen users like Netero or Maha, these ants were fodder. But even so, by general Nen standards they counted as experts. With such a unit, plus data he knew from his previous life, Meruem believed he could survive.
Seeing Meruem's attitude, many ants finally relaxed, whispering in small clusters. Understandable—facing King Meruem was stressful. On the one hand, he was their King; on the other, his power was suffocating. Humans might not feel it, but as ants, they vaguely could.
"Quiet. What I'm about to say—remember it clearly." Meruem spoke again, this time with a more serious tone. The faint chatter ceased at once; some division captains were so frightened they barely dared breathe.
"First, the full name of our race is Chimera Ant—KimerAnt. We come from a place called the Dark Continent. That place is nothing like where we are now. There, every creature possesses vast, terrifying power. You know the life force you speak of? It's called Nen. On the Dark Continent, ninety percent of lifeforms possess it." Meruem calmly recounted facts about the Chimera Ants and the Dark Continent.
"So that means there are lots of tasty things there?" The speaker was the dopey cheetah. By "tasty," he of course meant human Nen users. Only a goofball like him would interject; the other squadron leaders, even if curious, wouldn't interrupt Meruem.
"How dare you. Do you presume to cut off the King?" Butterfly-man Pouf couldn't stand this kind of thing. To him, it was a gross disrespect to the King.
"Nah, I was just curious ╮(╯▽╰)╭." Cheetu laced his hands behind his head, nonchalant. For felines, sometimes curiosity outranks life itself. After all, curiosity can kill a cat; a cheetah's a feline too. In truth, Pitou was just as curious, but she wouldn't interrupt the King. Seeing the cheetah voice her own question, she silently gave him a thumbs-up. Nicely done.
"You—" In an instant, Pouf's Nen gathered; he clearly meant to teach the little cheetah a lesson. Cheetu sensed danger at once—his fur puffed up. A feline's classic danger response.
"Pouf, it's fine." With a light wave, Meruem suppressed Pouf's Nen—revealing the gap between them.
"If I remember right, your name is Cheetu? Much as I'd love to make those Dark Continent creatures into delicacies, I can't. There are many lifeforms there stronger than I am."
"What?" "How is that possible?" "You must be joking?" Every Chimera Ant present had the same first reaction—even the three Guards. In their eyes, Meruem was the strongest being in this world. If someone claimed there were lifeforms stronger than the King, they'd assume the speaker's brain had gone soft.
"I wish I were joking—but it's the truth. Our Chimera Ant—KimerAnt—race came to this continent for one reason: to flee." Another bombshell from Meruem.
"You think you're strong? What I want to say is—we are weak. The Dark Continent's lifeforms can be graded S, A, B, C, D. Our Chimera Ant—KimerAnt—race ranks only B."
"Eh—┑(￣Д￣)┍ What, I'm only B? Then King, what grade are you—A?" No doubt about it, Cheetu was a premium-grade goof. He stretched his face in regret as he spoke.
"What are you babbling about, you fool? The King is obviously S! S!" Pouf went high again. S? Why not say M, heh. In their view, maybe the ants came fleeing as Meruem said—but their King's strength was surely among the very strongest.
"Cheetu, Pouf—you've misunderstood. It's not that you personally are B. It's that our entire Chimera Ant—KimerAnt—race, as a whole, is graded B. That includes me." Shock. Absolute shock. You're kidding, right? The King—so overwhelmingly strong—only a mere B? Then what are we—E? F? Even G? For a moment, nearly every ant's mind reeled. If anyone but Meruem had said it, they might have cracked open his skull to check for damage.
"All right, I'll briefly introduce a few Dark Continent lifeforms. First, the mist-being—Ai: a gaseous lifeform formed from a 'gas life'—in other words, an extremely dense gas. Its ability is so-called Desire Dependence. Ai can massively inflame people's desires, making them lose reason and slaughter each other; the less affected or more willful go mad. Next is the Gold-Silver Brood—ball-like botanical weapons that can utterly crush opponents—like man-eating plants of extreme danger. Then Hell's Bell—spreads killing intent, causing people to slaughter one another through its propagation. Next, Zobae Disease—a bacterial lifeform that infects people with an illness making life worse than death, yet they can't die. It's a kind of pseudo-immortality, except you'll long for death. It lets the infected neither eat nor drink and never age—because they will consume themselves. Finally, the Nurture Beast Pap—an extremely dangerous monster that trades an equal value of joy for life. It drains the victim's life while feeding joy back, eventually leaving a dried corpse." In an utterly calm voice, Meruem described five hair-raising lifeforms. Hearing this, not just the division captains and squadron leaders—even the supremely arrogant Royal Guard felt that if they themselves faced those five, their chance of survival would be slim.
"So, on that Dark Continent, we're that small." Cheetu sighed. He wasn't alone—almost every ant present had the same thought. Yes—no matter how powerful the Chimera Ants seemed, before the extremity of the Dark Continent, they were tiny. To date, even humanity had only the existence of the Freecss family, who had traveled merely part of the Dark Continent.
"If you'd like to see this story continue, don't forget to leave a review, drop some Power Stones, or both!"