"Maybe this is the best result for them."
Oboro thought about it for a while and finally gave up the plan.
The reason he gave up was not because saving Komugi would conflict with the soul of the Ant King.
There were two points to consider. First, Komugi's personality Assuming that her soul would awaken after rebirth, she would still retain some of her human characteristics. This meant that it would take a long time to reshape her personality and cultivate her understanding of the world and people's hearts. It couldn't be done overnight.
The second thing was that he wanted to accept Komugi as his disciple, but she might not be willing.
Oboro didn't like to force people.
After leaving for the Dark Continent, he definitely wouldn't be able to return quickly, and forcing someone like Komugi into a complicated world without proper guidance would actually harm her.
Relatively speaking, people who were smart and thoughtful were more suitable to be his apprentices.
After all, Oboro only needed to teach them Nen techniques and martial arts without having to shape their character.
"Just get some sleep, it will all be over soon."
Oboro slowly closed his eyes and said, "What a pity.
If it weren't for this situation, if he didn't have to deal with the succession of the chairman of the Hunters' Association later on, and if there wasn't a V5 contract restricting his ability to go to the Dark Continent...
Komugi's rebirth would be easy to explain.
But the Ant King Meruem was different. His soul was too heavy. Even if a female Chimera Ant was found, it might not work. First, there was the matter of nutrition, and second, whether the embryo could withstand it.
Perhaps the mother's body would be sucked dry before the fetus was born.
This would show how powerful the queen ant had been.
Of course, Oboro could find or create a second Queen Ant, but it would be too late.
It had been too long since Beyond had brought the Chimera Ants to the human world.
Time passed slowly.
Oboro and the other two kept their auras hidden and stayed where they were.
They often saw people hypnotized by the scale powder, staggering around like zombies, running towards the royal city in pairs, in large numbers, and at very high frequencies.
This was, of course, Shaiapouf's ability; Oboro had seen him fly over the skyline more than once, controlling giant human puppets.
It was also Shaiapouf's preparation for selecting soldier ants.
"If it were Neferpitou"
What was interesting was that under the protection of his Nen ability, not only was Shaiapouf unable to detect him, but even Anthony and Fant didn't notice him.
The hazy ghost mist had the effect of shielding perception and lingered around his two teammates. The butterfly in the sky flew back and forth several times without noticing anything unusual.
If it had been Neferpitou, Oboro was sure that Fant and Anthony would have been exposed.
Neferpitou's senses were amazing.
"So strong"
When Anthony saw Shaiapouf flying toward the royal city again one night, he sighed with lingering fear.
For Oboro, it was nothing.
But for Anthony and Fant, the Nen that Shaiapouf displayed was terrifying; to be able to control so many people required an extraordinary amount of aura.
Anthony didn't even dare to think that if Shaiapouf was so powerful, how terrifying was Neferpitou, who had been killed by the captain?
"The three royal guards have different characteristics. Genes determine everything. Shaiapouf is more of an intelligent general type, and his Nen ability is more of an aid. Youpi has excellent physical abilities, but is not experienced enough, and his ability is relatively mediocre. They are one level lower than Neferpitou," Oboro commented.
"What?"
Anthony was stunned.
"Not only in terms of fighting power, but overall, Neferpitou is first, Shaiapouf is second, and Youpi is third."
"Captain, how long would it take you to deal with this ant?"
Anthony couldn't help but ask.
He meant Shaiapouf.
"Now?"
Oboro turned and raised his eyebrows.
"His ability to divide would cause some trouble and slow me down a bit, but it shouldn't take more than a minute, maybe half a minute?" Oboro pinched his chin with one hand, thought for a while and gave an answer.
Conclusion was conclusion.
When it came to fighting, you never knew the truth until you actually fought.
"Half a minute?" Anthony stammered, a little stunned.
This was too much.
"Since I know his abilities very well, but he doesn't know mine plus the characteristics of my soul-related abilities, I might be able to kill him instantly."
Oboro added another sentence.
Anthony's eyes widened. "What about the Ant King?"
"In terms of pure strength, he's at level 28 before he kills the Chairman," Oboro said truthfully.
"Level 28 the Chairman"
"The Chairman, he has no chance to win."
Oboro put his hands into his pockets. "That's why I said he must die."
"My 20% chance of winning is also due to the advantage brought by my soul abilities, not my physical strength or Nen. The gap between ordinary people and the king is an insurmountable chasm."
"Then the chairman."
Upon hearing this, Fant also joined the conversation.
What he wanted to ask was how Netero would kill the Ant King.
"Humans created the world in the center of the lake, the civilization and order they established, and the wisdom they condensed is not just about Nen."
A few days later, Oboro sent a message to Menchi and the other two, asking them to return from outside the sea.
He had fooled Pariston long enough. There was no more need to pretend. The time had come.
At night, it was a day with a bright moon and sparse stars.
A full moon hung high in the sky, but it was difficult to see the moonlight clearly from the corner of the royal city because patches of clouds hovered above, blocking the sky.
Oboro wore sunglasses and lay on the grass in the breeze. Anthony and Fant napped and snored beside him.
"Here they come."
Suddenly Oboro, who seemed to be asleep, spoke.
As soon as these words left his mouth, Fant and Anthony were immediately startled awake.
"Where?"
They looked around but saw nothing.
Oboro lifted his arm and pointed to the sky. "Up there."
Up there?
The two of them stared into the night sky. There was nothing but dark clouds.
However, their expressions soon changed. Although they couldn't see anything in the sky, they could sense an aura appearing near the royal city not far from them.
This aura was fleeting.
It was Knov's Nen ability.
He would lead the expedition into the royal city and sneak into the palace.
Now that it had appeared slightly, they needed to determine the coordinates and position.
"What is that?" At that moment Anthony was speechless with horror. He finally saw clearly what the captain was talking about: it was a dragon.
A golden dragon!
Passing through the sea of clouds, the scene was extremely spectacular and eye-catching.
"It's a Nen construct, some kind of ability!" Fant stood up immediately.
Of course, such creatures couldn't exist in the human world.
"I'm leaving."
Oboro turned around, patted his trousers and walked away quickly.
Into the city!
The three of them watched as the golden dragon flew over the royal city and then exploded like a giant firework. Countless meteor-like aura balls scattered in all directions, creating a brilliant display.
They accelerated and moved towards the majestic city like lightning.
"It looks like it's not just the chairman."
As they approached, Fant finally sensed another extremely powerful aura on the dragon's back.
"Reinforcements of the Zoldyck family."
Oboro said casually.
"You two stay in the outermost part of the royal city. Don't go too deep. Just watch, I'll go alone," Oboro ordered.
"Yes."
The two replied.
Although Neferpitou was gone, the Ant King and the two remaining royal guards still posed a deadly threat to Fant and Anthony.
Besides, the pressure Meruem exerted wasn't something ordinary people could handle, even though Anthony and Fant had been trained by Oboro and had grown considerably.
But no one could guarantee that they wouldn't end up like Knov, scared to the point of losing their minds and hair.
Especially because of Meruem's overwhelming aura.
As soon as he finished speaking, Oboro disappeared from Fant and Anthony's sight.
In less than two minutes, Oboro transformed into a black shadow and landed on the top of a tower in the palace.
He saw that the top floor of the main hall had been isolated and shrouded in a cloud of smoke, which was obviously Morel's ability.
As in the original plan, the method used to separate the Ant King from Shaiapouf and Youpi had worked.
In other areas, members of the expedition team had successfully followed the plan and engaged the two royal guards.
Netero and Zeno Zoldyck walked behind, the Ant King in front, and the three figures left the top floor of the building.
There was no immediate battle.
It was obvious that Netero had already negotiated with the Ant King and was preparing to find an uninhabited place to fight.
The reason for this peaceful departure was that Meruem had changed his view of humans.
Otherwise it wouldn't be so 'harmonious'.
In Meruem's eyes, human resistance and struggle were meaningless.
"Well, he's here."
Zeno leaned down slightly and looked at Oboro out of the corner of his eye when he appeared.
Oboro did not hide his aura.
"Wow, that was fast."
Netero chuckled, not surprised at all.
He also waved to Oboro.
"I'm afraid this boy has no good intentions."
Zeno looked at the chairman's expression and warned him.
"You want to replace me and take over the Hunters' Association?"
Netero teased.
"It's so late and you can still laugh".
Zeno shook his head.
Then, without further ado, he released another massive amount of Nen, and the dragon's head condensed into a golden dragon that carried Netero and the Ant King out of the palace.
He searched for the battlefield where the two would fight.
In addition to noticing the two old men, the Ant King's red pupils also focused on Oboro, narrowing slightly.
Oboro put his hands in his pockets and jumped down from the dozens of meters high roof.
He watched as the dragon's shadow flew into the night sky.
In this palace, there were not only the Ant King's troops, but also many squadron leaders who had escaped from the nest and survived, as well as some elite soldier ants.
The number was considerable.
With his speed, he would be able to catch up before Netero and the Ant King decided on a winner.
He had marked the place beforehand and knew where the battlefield was.
It was the place where the Republic of East Gorteau tested weapons of war.
"You're quite sharp, I was almost recognized"
After Oboro landed, he left a deep pit in the stone floor and smiled slightly.
As he spoke, he reached out and pulled a ball of black soul that looked like mucus from his body.
Zeno and Netero could recognize it, but the Ant King had never seen it before.
If he maintained his original aura, no matter how covertly he did it or how the aura changed, there was a risk of being discovered.
He was the one who killed Neferpitou!
The Ant King's perception surpassed even Neferpitou's.
In that case, Meruem would never leave with Netero without concern, because Oboro's appearance would lead to the death of Shaiapouf and Youpi.
Since he could kill Neferpitou, he naturally had the ability to kill the other two royal guards.
The Ant King was willing to leave now because he thought it would be easy to kill Netero and return without wasting much time. Another factor was that the human aura that appeared in the palace didn't seem to be a real threat. The Ant King believed that Shaiapouf and Youpi could handle it.
So Oboro had to make preparations.
Otherwise, if he were discovered, it would not be Netero who would face the Ant King directly, but himself.
Fortunately, Meruem didn't seem to pay much attention to others due to the sudden attack by Komugi and the humans.
The temperature of the air dropped sharply.
Thick fog, like a rolling black tide, erupted from Oboro's body. What was different from before was that his once illusory Nen now seemed to have condensed into a solid entity. It not only had a complete human skeleton and torso, but also facial features and appearance, with two balls of pale green flames glowing in its eye sockets.
What was even more terrifying was that not only human ghosts, but also ferocious, roaring beasts, including the shadows of chimera ants, emerged from the mist.
Of course, the essence remained intangible.
This was a manifestation of Oboro's increased Nen power.
"Go ahead."
Oboro, standing in the center, spoke softly like the Lord of the Undead.
The words fell.
Then ghostly shadows filled the sky like black smoke, rising from that spot, whistling outward and shooting in all directions throughout the palace.
Soon, they were in the center of the palace.
Both the members of the Hunters' Association expedition team and the ants noticed that the light above them had dimmed.
It was getting darker.
Everyone seemed to be instantly covered by a black curtain and could see nothing.
This loss of vision was not like before where there was still some visibility, but it was really pitch black, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face!