Outside the palace.
The extermination team made no effort to conceal their approach.
Or rather, there is no need for it.
In front of the particles all around, any attempt to sneak in would be like plugging one's ears while stealing a bell.
The group passed through the palace gate without hindrance and came to a vast, open front yard.
"The defenses are even weaker than expected."
Knov habitually raised his finger to adjust his glasses and looked towards the empty palace building.
There was no obstruction when entering, and no Chimera Ants could be seen in the front yard with such a wide view.
There was only a group of humans standing in an open space.
They had dull expressions and did not move at all, looking as if they were hypnotized or possessed by some kind of Manipulation-type Ability.
If his guess is correct, this group of humans should be the food stored by the Royal Guards for the King.
"When you think about it..."
Morel took over what Knov had said, casually placed the giant pipe across his body, and said, "No matter how many human genes the Chimera Ants have absorbed, they are still ants in the end."
"…"
Knov glanced at Morel and didn't respond.
Indeed…
The Chimera Ants, relying on their racial talent for feeding and mating, have absorbed human genes into their racial system.
In this way, not only will they possess human-like intellect and emotions, but they can also awaken Nen Abilities far more easily.
Logically speaking, there would be nothing strange about the King and his Royal Guards, who have distinct human personalities, directly inheriting the Squadron Leaders' squads left behind by the Queen.
This would've aligned perfectly with human behavioral patterns.
However, the King and his Royal Guards did not do so.
Instead, they followed the hierarchical instincts of the Chimera Ant and directly separated themselves from the Queen's hierarchical system, and then allowed those Chimera Ant Squadron Leaders to scatter.
So, in a sense, what Morel said is correct.
No matter how many human genes these Chimera Ants absorbed or how much humanity they awakened, they are still ants in the end.
Otherwise, if the King recruits those Squadron Leaders under his command, the difficulty of this attack will inevitably increase sharply.
…
At this moment, a majestic and powerful Aura emanated from the palace.
Everyone immediately looked towards the source of the Aura, only to see that the Aura first came out from the crack in the door, waving its claws and fangs like tentacles.
Immediately afterwards, the palace's gate was pushed to both sides by an airflow, making a dull sound.
Under everyone's gaze, Youpi, with a powerful Aura all over his body, walked out of the palace step by step, with boiling killing intent drenching his red face.
Since it has been confirmed that all the enemies are in the front yard of the palace, Youpi, under Pouf's direction, went directly to the front yard from the first floor's central hall where the King was, ready to kill all humans by himself.
Although this was not the first time they had come into close contact with Youpi's Aura, Bushidora, Knov and the others still couldn't suppress their unease.
In contrast, Zeno and Silva, who experienced the strength of Youpi's Aura for the first time, seemed particularly calm and composed.
"No wonder."
Zeno looked at the violent amount of Aura emanating from Youpi and understood why Netero was willing to empty his savings to hire them.
He realized that since even a Royal Guard have such strength, then the Chimera Ant King, who is superior, is most likely a monster among monsters.
That's why Netero needs sufficient combat power to separate the King and his Royal Guards to create a one-on-one situation.
"It looks like an Enhancer. Hmm... But for this amount of Manifested Aura, it doesn't really matter what category it has."
Zeno brought his hands forward, his expression quite serious.
The difference of several times in the Manifested Aura is enough to make up for the attack and defense conversion rate between the Nen Categories.
Therefore, even if this red monster is a Manipulator or Conjurer, the huge amount of Manifested Aura would let him rival, or even surpass Enhancers in raw power.
Silva tilted his head to look at his father and said calmly: "We'll use long-range suppression then."
"That is the only way. After all, the commission we accepted was to contain the Royal Guards, not kill them."
Zeno nodded slightly, a ball of condensed Aura appeared on his hands, and he said as if talking to himself: "Besides... a monster like this is not so easy to kill."
After hearing this, Silva was silent for a while, but he also condensed his Aura in his hands, ready to attack and defend at any time.
Morel and the others couldn't help but glance at the Aura emitted by Zeno and Silva.
'So strong… As expected of the members of the Zoldyck Family.'
Just by feeling the intensity of the Aura emitted by Zeno and Silva, Morel and the others had a basic understanding of their strength.
Among the entire team, only Moses and Netero did not pay attention to the endless fluctuations of Aura in the field.
Netero's focus was locked onto the palace's central chambers, while Moses's attention was on the sky.
There, a dragonfly Chimera Ant was hovering in the air, watching the situation in the front yard.
'Those particles are too widespread to handle…'
Moses raised his hand and a shadow sword appeared out of thin air. He then gripped it in his palm.
'But you...'
His eyes were directed at the dragonfly Chimera Ant high in the sky. A ray of crimson light flashed in Moses's eyes, and the shadow sword in his hand was raised towards the sky.
[Super Speed: Gun]
As Aura surged through the blade, the shadow sword in Moses's hand suddenly shot straight towards the dragonfly Chimera Ant high in the sky like an arrow.
"Huh!?"
Flutter looked at the black light that was coming like lightning, and was startled. He adjusted his flying posture in panic and made a sideways movement at the critical moment.
A stream of black light coming from below suddenly passed in front of him.
'I've already kept such a distance from him, but he still... No, this is too dangerous!'
A thought flashed through his mind, and Flutter did not feel the slightest sense of relief for surviving the disaster, and immediately decided to retreat.
Flutter's on-the-spot judgment was undoubtedly correct.
However-
He did not completely avoid the falling scythe of the Grim Reaper.
[Shadow Shift]
Moses exchanged positions with the shadow sword, and instantly reached high altitude, then raised his hand to materialize the real black sword.
He was now diagonally above Flutter, and the distance between them was only a little more than ten meters.
But this does not affect his attack.
[Nyoi Bo: Sky Cleaver]
Moses swung his sword and slashed at Flutter who was diagonally below.
The black sword that cut through the air flow suddenly grew larger and longer, and the sharp and heavy blade slashed on Flutter's head with a tremendous force.
Squelch!
Before Flutter could react, his entire body was split in half by this slash and fell from a high altitude to the ground.
After killing Flutter with one slash, Moses did not return to his original place, but fell towards the hall in the courtyard of the palace.
His actions undoubtedly irritated Youpi and Pouf in an instant.
As the Royal Guards, they don't care about Flutter's life or death, but they must not neglect their duties.
Then-
Moses's action detonated the battlefield.
Both Pouf and Youpi reacted instantly.
Pouf quickly gathered his scattered cells, condensed it into a clone with more than half his original strength, and prepared to intercept Moses mid-air.
Youpi subconsciously turned around and retreated to the courtyard...
Morel and the others had no time to be surprised by Moses's sudden attack and killing of a Chimera Ant, and they all threw themselves into this situation that was like a boiling oil pan.
To their eyes, the first to expose an opening was...
Youpi!