ragginovel Chapter 403 - 403
Chapter 403 - 403
Listening to the Ant King's angry rebuke, Morin smiled slightly. Destiny is a strange thing; sometimes, you can't avoid it even if you want to. Who would have thought, like a horseshoe changing the tide of war, that such small changes could alter the course of events?
The horseshoe that led the Ant King and the world down a completely different path turned out to be none other than a mere falcon?
"Still retains some humanity, huh?"
Ging was somewhat surprised, yet it felt reasonable to him.
"After all, it's spliced with human genes, possessing the emotions of a human with an IQ of 143."
Even the three royal guards, known for being the coldest, had traces of human emotions.
Neferpitou, with intense curiosity and a playful spirit,
Shaiapouf, with his pathological and frenzied behavior,
And Menthuthuyoupi, who was straightforward and simple-minded.
"If that's the case, then there are more strategic options available."
Ging rubbed his chin, a glint flashing quickly in his eyes. In no time, he had thought of numerous strategies.
"However, with the Ant King's emotions changing, we should inform Morel and the others, right?" Ging looked at Morin, who shook his phone at him.
"I've already sent it."
Morin smiled and added, "Along with a message to Chairman Netero."
"Is he still in seclusion?"
Ging asked, "Did the Chairman receive the message? What did he reply?"
"He received it and only replied with one sentence."
"What was it?"
"The Ant King is mine."
The dust-laden wind blew, stirring the pulse of this era.
Inside Knov's dimensional apartment.
"I see, no wonder when I saw Neferpitou retracting her En earlier, it must be because the Ant King didn't want to be disturbed... uh, playing chess?" Morel, puffing on his pipe, couldn't help but find the image incongruous and bizarre.
A human playing chess with... an ant?!
No matter how you think about it, you wouldn't associate ants with playing chess, right?!!
"It seems the Ant King still retains some humanity, so maybe..."
Knuckle, Morel's apprentice and an animal hunter, was meticulous in his thoughts, considering another perspective. Just then, Shoot patted Knuckle on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, you know me, I won't let kindness overflow."
Knuckle exhaled lightly, his eyes resolute.
To become a Hunter, he wasn't someone indecisive!
In all uncertain situations, naturally, the primary objective was to eliminate the Ant King!
"Morin has already communicated with the Chairman, so the tone for this operation is set."
Morel tapped the ground with his pipe, his expression serious:
"The Chairman will handle the Ant King, and we'll take on the three royal guards."
"As for the specific personnel assignments..."
At this point, Morel paused:
"Morin will take on Menthuthuyoupi, Ging will face Shaiapouf, and we..."
Morel raised his head, his throat moved, reluctant to voice the arrangement, but
"We'll take on Neferpitou as a group."
---
When was the last time so many excellent Hunters gathered to attack a single target?
Morel couldn't recall, but now it was about to happen again.
Morel hadn't expected that, in the end, it would come down to this arrangement.
Morin and Ging both took on one guard each.
While they had to group up against one.
Although ostensibly tasked with eliminating other Chimera Ant soldiers, the main focus was Neferpitou.
To Morel, mobilizing so many people just to deal with one subordinate target was one of those things he'd rather not mention in his Hunter career.
But?
Morel had to admit, Chimera Ants were truly monsters.
Even with their current strength, it wasn't certain they could take down Neferpitou.
This was what Morel found most difficult to admit.
It was indeed, quite embarrassing.
So, after announcing the arrangements, he sat there smoking, motionless.
"Neferpitou, huh?!"
Unlike Morel's complex emotions, Gon and Killua were quite excited.
They exchanged glances, seeing the fervor and anticipation in each other's eyes, eager for the upcoming challenge.
---
Where you fall, you must rise again!
Neferpitou, they must be defeated!
And then...?
"We must find out about Kite!!"
Regarding Kite, Gon certainly hadn't forgotten. In the absence of seeing Ging, this was the only way he could learn about Kite.
However...?
"Ging facing a royal guard on par with Neferpitou all by himself?!"
Gon's eyes sparkled, "As expected of Ging!!"
"Too bad I haven't been able to meet him yet."
Thinking of this, his eyes gradually dimmed.
"It's okay."
Killua patted his shoulder in comfort, "When the real battle begins, we'll storm the palace together, and we'll meet him."
"That's true!!"
Gon gave Killua a strong smile, his expression once again filled with anticipation.
With the division of labor clear, specific actions still needed to be discussed.
After more than half an hour of deliberation, nearing the end, Killua posed the final question:
"So, when do we start taking action?"
He asked.
"If the old man doesn't act simultaneously with us, then we'll be facing more than just the royal guards."
"And even if the old man acts with us, how can he ensure that the Ant King will definitely fight him, separate from the guards, and not eliminate us first?"
Killua's question was one that Knuckle and the others wanted to ask as well.
"All these issues, Chairman Netero has thought through."
Morel browsed the information, smoking his pipe as he spoke.
"The Chairman has already found help, and when the action starts, someone will assist in separating the Ant King from the royal guards, creating a scenario where the Chairman fights the Ant King alone."
"The fact that the Chairman can send messages indicates that his preparation is nearing completion, and the action will soon begin. The official signal to start will be when fireworks bloom over the palace!"
Hearing this, Morel adjusted his small round black glasses.
"At that time, Chairman Netero, the help he found, Morin, and Ging will all appear."
Although the others were still somewhat in the dark, since Netero had said so, the group refrained from further questioning and began to quietly await the arrival of the fireworks Netero mentioned.
At this moment, there were only two days left until the Ant King's selection date.
-----
Two days later
"How did these people get in?!" Youpi thought.
So, when Morin faced Youpi, he instantly transformed into a monstrous form with four eyes and eight hands!
"Youpi?!"
Morel and the others were quite surprised to see Youpi.
In their plan, they hadn't expected to face a royal guard directly after leaving the apartment.
En!
After a moment of shock, they immediately released their En.
Since they had been discovered, there was no point in hiding.
En is an advanced scouting and defensive technique used by Nen users. Depending on the user's abilities and their specialty type, the radius of En varies.
Zeno Zoldyck's En can reach up to 300 meters, while Nobunaga from the Phantom Troupe has an En radius of only 4 meters.
Neferpitou's En differs from the conventional one; due to the genes of the (Amihae protozoa idk what's that), its shape can change freely, not limited to a circle, and can sense up to 2,000 meters!
Though Morel and the others had a smaller En range, it was enough to sense Youpi's situation within the palace.
"Are we going in?!"
Morel felt a heaviness in his heart, tightly gripping his pipe, ready for a tough battle.
However?
"Gon? Killua?! What are you doing?!"
To Morel's surprise, Gon and Killua were running towards the stairs where Youpi was, disregarding everything else.
This scene shocked Morel, prompting him to shout urgently.
"Morin said before that he'd handle the biggest royal guard, so he's not our opponent to worry about!!
Gon's voice was filled with determination, "He's Morin's opponent, we don't need to intervene!!"
This also showed their immense confidence in Morin.
"But Morin hasn't appeared yet, what if he's late?"
Morel was even more anxious, "For Hunters, any unexpected situation can happen!"
However, Gon and Killua continued to move forward, undeterred.
Just as Morel felt like an ant on a hot pan, Youpi grinned menacingly, and his red-purple arms transformed into a pair of sturdy giant axes.