Chapter 41: Ants
The Ant King flicked its tail, sending the blood on it flying, which left it puzzled—why hadn’t that woman died?
“Fifty strikes.”
The chairman formed a heart shape with his hands in front of his chest, then suddenly thrust them forward.
Boom!
A beam of Nen blasted from the palm of the hundred-type statue, shooting straight toward the Ant King.
The Ant King sidestepped with a slight misstep, easily dodging the Nen blast.
“This strange feeling… so this is what makes battle interesting.”
A smile spread across the Ant King’s face—a simple smile, simply cruel. Indeed, Chimera Ants were born as brutally savage creatures. Regardless of an individual’s thoughts, they would ultimately develop in one of two directions: territorial conquest or mass reproduction.
On the very day of its birth, the Ant King had wiped out the royal family of East Gorteau and seized the palace—a clear display of territorial instinct.
To the Ant King, fighting humans was nothing more than one-sided slaughter. It had hunted twice before. The first time, it had shattered a child’s skull with a flick of its tail. To the Ant King, that child’s flesh was passable, barely edible.
The second hunt had targeted a Nen user. That deliciously special human left an unforgettable impression on the Ant King.
The Ant King dodged Netero’s attack. Netero’s expression darkened—the Ant King’s learning ability was far more terrifying than anticipated.
“You…”
The Ant King scanned the crowd.
“Are the strongest humans in this world, aren’t you? If there are humans stronger than you, I’ll have to reconsider shrinking my territory.”
From start to finish, the Ant King never believed Su Xiao and the others could do anything to it. Its passivity was merely a tactic to study Netero’s and the others’ fighting styles.
“Mere ants.”
Veins bulged on Netero’s face. He was growing angry—furious that this ant was so arrogant, daring to plan humanity’s future after only a few days of existence.
“Ant King, you are strong—that’s beyond doubt.”
Mizusaki emerged from the smoke formation, walking slowly toward the Ant King.
“Unfortunately, you’re just a frog at the bottom of a well right now. We’re the strongest humans? This ‘world’ is far vaster than you imagine. At least where I come from, I never dare call myself strong. And you… you’re just an ant among them.”
Mizusaki stomped the ground and charged straight at the Ant King, moving so fast the Ant King couldn’t react.
“Saki!”
Mizusaki roared. The wound on the Ant King’s shoulder, which had already healed, suddenly burst open, sending blue blood splattering high.
“Chi!”
With a crack, the wound on the Ant King’s shoulder widened. Mizusaki’s hand pressed toward the Ant King’s chest.
“Wang!”
Her hand made contact with the Ant King’s chest.
“Liang…”
A blur flashed past. With a crack, Mizusaki’s left arm and part of her torso were shattered. A cyan hand clawed at her face.
“Shit!”
Hearing her final growl, Old Smoke in the distance froze. Mizusaki’s last word should have been “E” instead—what the hell was “shit”?
What Old Smoke didn’t know was that Mizusaki’s technique had been interrupted. To complete that move, she had endured the pain of death twice.
This time, Mizusaki was struck, and Old Smoke couldn’t save her—she had already charged out of the smoke formation. But his support came quickly.
“E!”
Mizusaki, flung into the air, shouted the last word. A swirl of smoke rolled in, and the Ant King’s hand grabbed nothing but a wisp of it.
“The Ant King’s abnormal resistance is too high—three seconds at most.”
Mizusaki’s voice came through the wireless earpiece. She had taken the risk of getting close to the Ant King out of necessity. Everyone present had contributed something. If she didn’t do her part, she might be sold out in the later stages of the fight.
Just as the Ant King’s hand grabbed empty air, transparent liquid seeped from its body. It clearly felt its mouth going dry.
The transparent liquid seeping from the Ant King’s body was actually the moisture within it. As soon as it appeared, it formed a water serpent that coiled around the Ant King.
Three hundred meters from the Ant King, Dust’s body trembled slightly. He held a lightning spear in his hand. He had been holding back all this time to accumulate this attack, which had consumed a third of his mana.
Dust spread his legs, aimed at the Ant King, and lightly tossed the lightning spear.
Buzz!!
A piercing hum rang out. The lightning spear accelerated abruptly, turning into a blue-white blur shooting toward the Ant King.
At the same time, on the watchtower 800 meters away, Su Xiao aligned the crosshairs with the Ant King’s head and pulled the trigger.
Thud!
The entire watchtower shuddered. Fine cracks spread across the concrete layer. A few more shots, and the recoil of the Duke of Annihilation would shatter the tower.
Just as Dust threw the lightning spear and Su Xiao pulled the trigger, the water serpent around the Ant King tightened its grip.
The Ant King flexed its muscles, snapping the water serpent apart piece by piece. Though brief, the serpent had hindered its movement.
No sooner had it broken free than the Ant King’s pupils contracted sharply. A blinding beam of light hurtled toward it.
With a crackling sound, the lightning spear pierced the Ant King’s chest, enveloping it in electricity.
Bang!
The Ant King felt something strike its skull. Its ears rang, and its body uncontrollably tilted to one side.
The bullet from the Duke of Annihilation hit the carapace on the Ant King’s head. Its head pitched toward the ground, both feet pointing skyward.
With a thunderous crash, lightning and dust engulfed the Ant King. But in the next instant, a surge of black-purple Nen erupted from within the dust, dispersing it completely.
A pair of blood-red eyes appeared. Looking at the Ant King now, it had lost its earlier composure. A finger-sized hole had been punched through its chest, the edges charred black.
Its head was in even worse shape. The dome-shaped carapace was half-lifted, a third of it blown away, with the rest covered in cracks.
“Huff… huff…”
The Ant King’s breathing grew noticeably heavier. Blue blood trickled down its cheek.
Before taking those two hits, the Ant King had thought the humans around it were unimpressive. Some attacks couldn’t even harm it. Only the old man had been troublesome—his attacks were too fast. As for Mizusaki and Old Smoke, they were just trash in the Ant King’s eyes.
Now, the Ant King realized its earlier judgment was wrong. These few people were only there to hold it back. The real threat came from afar.
“Tough bastard.”
Mizusaki stared coldly at the battered Ant King. Though the left side of her body had been mostly shattered, the wound was frozen solid. A faint white glow flickered over her from time to time—the healer hiding in the shadows was working on her.
Not only that, but Mizusaki and Old Smoke, who were closer to the Ant King, were enjoying several buffs from the healer girls.
After a moment’s hesitation, Mizusaki decided not to pull out her trump card. The fight with the Ant King was only the first phase. After that came the heart and treasure chest snatch.
As for the chest dropped by the Ant King, Mizusaki wasn’t that eager for it. Chairman Netero’s involvement was unavoidable. Compared to the Ant King’s chest, that heart was far more valuable.
Smoke curled from the muzzle of the Duke of Annihilation. Su Xiao pulled the bolt, ejecting a spent casing as a new armor-piercing round chambered.
“Old Smoke, your turn.”
Mizusaki’s shout made Old Smoke’s cheek twitch.
“Dragging me down even when you’re about to die. Bai Ye, Dust, based on the Ant King’s resistance, I can probably restrain it for about five seconds. Let’s try to beat it half to death this round.”
Old Smoke tugged at his collar and charged toward the Ant King at a measured pace. Despite how hard Mizusaki and Old Smoke were fighting, they were both holding back.