The birth of the King and the death of the Queen were monumental events for the entire Chimera Ant legion.
The Queen's death signaled the fracturing of the colony. According to the Chimera Ants' biological cycle of reproduction and expansion, once a King is born, he immediately takes his three Royal Guards to a new territory to mate with other species and produce a new Queen. Consequently, the King does not possess the same absolute, overarching control over the original colony that the Queen once held.
Similarly, the King and his Royal Guards do not view the Squadron Leaders, Officers, or soldier ants of the original nest as "their own." At best, they are seen as expendable tools and cannon fodder.
From this moment on, the Chimera Ants were no longer a monolith; deep-seated internal conflicts began to surface. This was especially true for those ants who, freed from the Queen's biological restraint, began to recover human memories and deserted in large numbers. While the ruthless Royal Guards executed several defectors without mercy, the colony's presence was now undeniably exposed.
Neferpitou advised the King several times not to underestimate humanity. However, as the supreme biological manifestation of the entire species, the King lacked any concept of fear in his genetic makeup.
Ultimately, Pitou funneled all her energy into accelerating the production of more eggs. Simultaneously, she leveraged East Gorteau's entire national industrial complex to frantically manufacture high-powered firearms, artillery, and bombs. In the shadows, she even initiated research into horrific biological weapons, intending to arm the soldiers transformed from humans.
By the time Allen had finished dealing with the rampaging Squadron Leaders and Officers elsewhere and arrived in East Gorteau, the ants had already assembled a modernized army of about five hundred. Though small in number, they no longer relied solely on primitive claws and teeth to engage their enemies.
"So, what have those little ants been up to lately?"
Having just regrouped with his team, Allen wasted no time in inquiring about the local situation.
Illumi produced a thick stack of photographs taken from hidden vantage points and spoke tonelessly: "See for yourself. These creatures are learning how to manufacture and operate human firearms. We also discovered that several abandoned biological weapon laboratories belonging to the East Gorteau government have been reactivated."
"Oh? Have they finally realized the importance of science and technology? A pity it's already too late." Allen glanced at the photos, a look of dismissive contempt flickering across his face.
Technological development is not something that yields results in a few months or even years. On the contrary, it requires massive capital investment and incredibly long R&D cycles. Furthermore, East Gorteau was never a technological powerhouse; most of its weaponry was two or three generations behind the world's leading nations. Even if thousands of ants were equipped with rifles and artillery, they would still be crushed by a human coalition led by the V5 without the slightest hope of resistance.
Moreover, if the Chimera Ants turned to firearms, they would effectively be abandoning their greatest natural advantage, physical capabilities far superior to humans, to compete in a war of attrition, resources, and manufacturing capacity. It was essentially a form of self-destruction.
"When do you plan to make your move?" Hisoka asked, licking his lips.
Allen stroked his chin, pondering for a moment before replying, "In about half a month. But before that, I intend to break their control over this country's government and see if the King has truly been born."
"Heh heh heh... if you don't mind, could you give that opportunity to me? I've been dying of boredom while you were away." Hisoka's lips curled into a grin of pure, manic excitement.
"Are you sure? You'll die," Allen said, raising an eyebrow at the resident psychopath.
Hisoka simply spread his hands with nonchalance. "It doesn't matter. As long as the thrill is enough to satisfy my parched desires, I'm content."
"Fine. Since you're so insistent, the task of probing the palace is yours. However, I seriously doubt you'll even make it past the Royal Guards. To ensure the success rate, I'll be outside as backup. Remember, this is a reconnaissance mission. Retreat the moment you see the King."
Allen quickly adjusted his original plan. Probing the palace was no easy feat; a single misstep could lead to a pincer attack by the three Royal Guards and the Ant King. Even Allen himself only dared a direct infiltration after acquiring the ability God's Accomplice. Since someone was willing to volunteer for the risk, he was happy to let them.
"OK! Leave it to me!" Hisoka nodded instantly.
"What about me?" Bodoro pointed to his own nose.
"You and Kalluto will go and destroy all the labs and factories developing biological weapons. I won't allow the ants to get their hands on those. Baise and Illumi, you're in charge of dealing with the country's upper echelons, specifically the generals holding military power. We can't let them continue the reckless transformation of humans..."
In just a few minutes, Allen had assigned tasks to everyone. He wanted to finish the groundwork before Chairman Netero arrived, doing his best to minimize civilian casualties.
"Shouldn't we have those high-ranking officials order the military to launch a proactive strike against the ants? We could frame it as a military coup to catch the ants off guard, then strike during the chaos," Illumi suggested, stroking his chin. As an assassin, he didn't care about collateral damage; he only wanted the most efficient path to his target.
Allen shook his head. "Forget it. An army of ordinary humans is no match for Chimera Ants. Furthermore, we don't know if there are still living prisoners inside the palace, so we can't launch a saturation bombardment."
"I see. Then we'll have the East Gorteau military cordoning off the areas around the battlefield to prevent civilians from wandering in."
As she spoke, Baise pulled a thick stack of small slips of paper from her pocket, covered in names and addresses. These were secrets she had gathered during banquets and balls, and they were finally going to be put to use.
For a Manipulator, nothing was more exhilarating than controlling an entire nation by holding its high-ranking officials hostage. Moreover, this operation was backed by the V5's authorization, so she didn't have to worry about future retaliation. The thought of those arrogant "big shots" soon kneeling on the ground like dogs to lick her boots filled her with a strange sense of anticipation.
Allen noticed this and couldn't help but warn her, "Don't take the games too far. Remember to record a few videos as evidence. If any of them refuse to be cooperative, threaten to use the media and public opinion to ruin them."
"Don't worry, I have more experience in this area than you. I've even prepared some... props. I guarantee those officials will be addicted after just one session."
With that, Baise flipped open a black suitcase.
Instantly, a collection of leather outfits, ropes, whips, shackles, collars, candles, lubricants, and various other eye-searing items came into view.
The scene was so intense that even the twisted Hisoka looked stunned. As for Kalluto, he had already snapped his paper fan open to cover his face, leaving only his eyes to stare blankly at his elder brother, Illumi, as if asking: Are these for interrogation?
Fortunately, Illumi was a master of the deadpan expression and didn't let any emotion show.
"Dammit! Close that case! There are minors here!" Allen held his forehead, his lip twitching uncontrollably.
"Ha! Sorry, sorry, I forgot." Baise snapped the case shut with an awkward laugh.
For a moment, the way everyone in the room looked at her changed completely...