The assault on the Chimera Ant Nest and Youpi's death quietly brought about some changes.
Neferpitou and Shaiapouf both clearly recognized the threat posed by humans, while also realizing the potential disruptions that could arise from a shortage of personnel.
The pressure stemming from these intertwined realizations drove them to invest more urgently in troop cultivation.
Thus, the first batch of Nen-using soldiers truly belonging to the King was born.
Using the capital's military and residents as raw material, after forced Nen awakening, Neferpitou performed surgery to embed genes from other creatures into their bodies.
Finally, through the egg incubation process, these Nen-using soldiers took form.
Their overall appearance resembled humans but retained some characteristics of other creatures.
Most of these traits came from predatory animal genes, primarily manifesting as sharp claws and fangs to enhance offensive power, along with scales or shells to strengthen defense.
However, although these soldiers acquired physiques more suited for combat, the highest aura output they displayed after Nen awakening only reached Officer level.
This left Neferpitou and Shaiapouf somewhat dissatisfied.
But they also understood that choosing 'modification' over 'reproduction' significantly improved 'propagation' efficiency, yet came at the cost of lower individual quality ceilings.
"Neferpitou, while maintaining your En, what's the maximum number of soldiers you can control simultaneously?"
Shaiapouf gazed at the five hundred Chimera Soldiers standing motionless like statues in the courtyard and suddenly asked.
Neferpitou pressed a finger to her chin, thought seriously for a moment, then replied:
"If it's just simple commands like 'eliminate nearby enemies,' I can control five hundred at once without issue. But if the commands need to be more complex, the controllable number would sharply decrease by at least half."
"Is that so..."
Shaiapouf frowned slightly and said calmly, "We can't rely solely on your control ability. These soldiers must possess autonomous combat awareness."
"Of course, but the first batch was essentially a rushed trial product anyway. Once the second and third batches of more mature soldiers hatch, the first batch's only purpose will be to become the King's food, meow."
Neferpitou stated this matter-of-factly, her tone light.
Shaiapouf glanced at her and sighed softly, "It's still too slow."
"Even if you say that, the progress won't speed up, meow."
Neferpitou faintly sensed Shaiapouf's anxiety, tilting her head to look at him as she curiously asked, "You seem particularly impatient... Is it because of Youpi's death?"
Since the Chimera Ant Nest was attacked by humans, there had been no news of Youpi.
The King paid it no mind, while Neferpitou and Shaiapouf had long since accepted Youpi's death as fact.
It was this incident that elevated their vigilance toward humans to a new level.
In Neferpitou's view, Shaiapouf was clearly brooding over Youpi's death, causing his sense of crisis to become excessively inflated, which explained his urgent restlessness.
"I am somewhat concerned about it, indeed."
Shaiapouf raised his gaze toward the distant outline of the capital Peijin, then inexplicably recalled the girl playing chess with the King in the hall.
A mix of complex emotions washed over him, making his expression grow increasingly somber.
Humans, these creatures... they are truly the most troublesome of all.
He silently thought to himself, then lifted his head to gaze at the sky.
Layers of dark clouds churned and surged, spreading like ink in the fierce wind, a clear sign of an impending storm.
Right now, the most urgent task is to quickly assemble a reliable defense force. I can't let other matters distract me any longer.
Shaiapouf closed his eyes, trying to dispel the chaotic thoughts swirling in his chest.
But after several attempts, he still couldn't achieve a state of tranquility.
It seemed that having a higher proportion of human genes fused into his body was the cause...
Shaiapouf's heart was filled with mixed emotions.
He opened his eyes, propped his chin with the back of his hand, shook his head, and let out a long sigh.
'???'
Beside him, Neferpitou watched Shaiapouf's series of strange, mime-like actions with confusion.
However, she didn't dwell on it and instead shifted her focus to more practical tasks.
She controlled a newly hatched squad of Chimera Soldiers, sending them toward the distant Peijin City.
Since the Selection ceremony began, they had been continuously disrupted by the human side.
Both she and Shaiapouf had to remain stationed at the palace, unable to take the initiative to attack. They could only rely on Diego's double to repeatedly reassure the people through speeches.
After that, they waited quietly for more human specimens to come to Peijin of their own accord, all while keeping information as tightly controlled as possible.
By now, there was already a team of human soldiers under her control maintaining superficial order within Peijin City. Under the pretext of martial law, they strictly ordered the citizens arriving in the capital to stay indoors and remain silent.
The newly dispatched Chimera Soldiers would now be responsible for countering any attempts by the humans to interfere with the Selection.
After all, the enemy's 'manpower' was limited.
Even if they kept interfering covertly with the Selection, it would only result in the loss of some human specimens.
As long as the overall numbers remained sufficient, they could still create a sizable army of Nen users.
Then, they could steadily expand their territory outward.
Neferpitou was also highly intelligent, and her strength lay in not overcomplicating things with sentimentality like Shaiapouf often did.
—--
Peijin City.
A damp, cold wind blew in from afar, and dark clouds churned in the sky.
The members of the Extermination Team were scattered around the outskirts of the city.
With Knov's Hide and Seek ability, they could vanish into thin air at any moment, so there was no need for excessive caution.
After all, no matter which direction they approached the palace from, Neferpitou would inevitably detect them.
Moreover, since the interference operations began, they had essentially revealed their identities; there was no point in hiding any longer.
It's so quiet...
Ponzu stood atop a building, her face slightly tense as she gazed at the dead, silent city shrouded in gloom.
The bees in her hat seemed to sense her unease, emerging one after another to hover and fly low around her.
Ponzu took a deep breath, extended her index finger, and gently twirled it twice, signaling the bees to return to her hat.
The bees obediently flew back inside.
Just then, Morrow moved, appearing silently beside Ponzu.
Almost in the same instant, Kalluto, dressed in a deep purple kimono, landed gracefully nearby.
Seeing Morrow, Ponzu's previously tense emotions involuntarily eased.
Some people, simply by their presence, could bring an indescribable sense of security.
In Ponzu's eyes, Morrow was exactly that kind of person.
Her expression softened slightly as she was about to speak, when a chilling coldness abruptly swept down her spine.
If Morrow's aura felt like a comforting winter sun, then the source of this cold felt like the most piercing wind on a deep winter night.
Ponzu instinctively turned her gaze toward the direction behind Morrow.
About ten meters away on another rooftop, Hisoka was casually toying with a playing card, his slightly scrutinizing gaze resting openly on her.
Nearby, Kalluto also keenly sensed Hisoka's mischievous stare.
Though it wasn't directed at him, he still shot a cold glare back.
Hisoka merely waved his hand casually, as relaxed as if greeting someone.
Kalluto's slender eyebrows, hidden beneath his bangs, furrowed slightly, feeling this pervert had no business being here.
"Don't mind him."
Morrow's gentle voice pulled Ponzu's attention back.
Hearing this, Ponzu withdrew her gaze and gave a slight nod to Morrow.
Morrow then asked, "Regarding the possibility of sharing the visual ability of 'Infinite Hive Window' with others that we discussed earlier, can it be done now?"
"Yes, it's possible."
At the mention of ability refinement, Ponzu's eyes grew serious as she replied softly, "But currently, it can only be shared with one person at most."
"Just one..."
Morrow's mind flashed to Palm's figure as he nodded, "That's enough. When we gather later–"
Mid-sentence, Morrow suddenly sensed something and sharply turned his gaze toward the palace.
Streams of flame-like aura were pouring into the city one after another; at a rough glance, there were no fewer than a hundred.
Other team members scattered nearby had also noticed these uninvited guests.
Unlike the mechanical patrols of armed soldiers in the city, these suddenly appearing Nen-using soldiers carried a much stronger presence.
"Chimera Ant soldiers?!"
"How are there so many? Could it be..."
Watching this sudden army of Nen users, Morel and the others felt their hearts sink simultaneously.
The worst-case scenario had occurred.
The Royal Guard's efficiency in creating 'Nen-using armies' was far faster than they had anticipated.
Soon after, Knov brought everyone back into Hide and Seek.
With less than half a day remaining until the operation began, the appearance of this Nen army hung over them like a dark cloud, weighing heavily on everyone's minds.
"They've only just undergone Nen awakening, yet their aura intensity has already reached this level!"
Knuckle punched the ground, his expression unusually grave.
They had considered this possibility, but conventional reasoning suggested that humans forcibly awakened to Nen would at most reach beginner level.
But the Nen-using soldiers they had just seen clearly possessed aura output approaching Officer-level strength.
This was worlds apart from their initial assumptions.
"Though we don't know what methods the Royal Guard used, achieving this level must be related to Nen abilities."
Morel remained calm, habitually resting his large smoking pipe on his shoulder as he said, "Now that we've confirmed this intelligence, we can no longer remain idle. We must use what time we have to reduce the numbers of these puppet soldiers."
No one objected to Morel's proposal.
If they were to execute Chairman Netero's operation plan precisely at midnight... the period leading up to midnight was a critical window to weaken the Chimera Ants' combat strength.
From this perspective, the enemy's sudden deployment of this Nen-using army actually presented them with an opportunity.
It also allowed them to mentally prepare in advance.
"In other words... we may have to keep fighting until the operation begins," Shoot cautiously spoke up.
To reduce the enemy's numbers, they would have to engage in continuous combat from this moment onward.
This meant they would lose precious rest time and would have to sustain the fighting until the midnight operation officially commenced.
By then, they would have to face the monstrous Royal Guards and an unknown number of other Nen-using soldiers while exhausted.
Just imagining such a scenario was enough to recognize it as a disaster-level difficulty.
Everyone clearly understood the importance of 'resting to conserve energy.'
At that moment, Menchi was the first to speak: "I'll prepare special medicinal cuisine for everyone in advance. While it won't be as effective as prolonged Zetsu for recovery, it should help in this situation."
As soon as she finished speaking, Gel, who was leaning against the wall of the dimensional room, lifted her eyelids and coldly added:
"One of my professions is pharmacist. I'm also licensed to produce 'stimulants' that are banned in multiple countries. If you don't mind side effects like full-body weakness afterward, I can provide medications that will at least prevent you from worrying about energy depletion during combat."
Medicinal cuisine combined with stimulants.
Together, these two were sufficient to address the physical and mental fatigue issues caused by continuous combat.
With these concerns alleviated, the Extermination Team members quickly reviewed the midnight operation plan before promptly leaving Hide and Seek and returning to Peijin City.
Ponzu and Palm didn't directly participate in combat, instead remaining in the dimensional room.
Ponzu's Infinite Hive Window ability had been confirmed to remotely control her bee swarm from within the dimensional space.
Her newly developed branch ability, Shared Window, could be applied to Palm.
Once Palm personally observed the Royal Guards or even the King through the bees' vision, she would immediately meet the activation conditions for Wink Blue.
At that point, she could use the conjured Merman Clairvoyance crystal ball to monitor the Royal Guards and the King's every move in real-time.
Therefore, Ponzu and Palm's other task was to utilize this ability combination to conduct reconnaissance at the palace while their teammates began attacking the Nen-using puppets.
While they couldn't guarantee recording Shaiapouf or the King, Neferpitou, who was constantly performing external guard duty, would inevitably be exposed to their surveillance.
They could also attempt to use the giant hornets to scout information such as the number of Nen-using soldiers.
In this extermination operation against the Chimera Ants, every Extermination Team member's ability was being leveraged to its fullest potential.
In Peijin City, Morrow stood atop the city's tallest building, observing all the Nen-using puppets scattered throughout the city.
It appears Neferpitou used her surgical ability to modify these puppets after their Nen awakening. To boost their aura amount to such levels in such a short time while crudely grafting genes from other species... she must have achieved this by draining their life force, Morrow silently contemplated.
For the Chimera Ants, humans were nothing more than a resource to be used and discarded at will.
It was hardly surprising that they would approach the modification of humans with such a mindset.
Morrow's gaze sharpened abruptly, as a surge of intense aura output erupted around him.
"Hmm?!"
Hisoka, who was not far away, along with the other members of the Extermination Team, couldn't help but stare in astonishment at Morrow standing atop the building.
The intensity of this aura... it was far stronger than before.
Especially for Hisoka, who hadn't seen Morrow in a long time, the leisurely expression on his face vanished completely.
In such a short time, he's become even more dazzling...
The shock in Hisoka's eyes faded, replaced by a rare hint of complexity.
Just as everyone's attention was unconsciously drawn to Morrow's powerful aura, they saw him leap into the air, kicking off against nothing.
A sonic boom echoed through the air.
Morrow's figure twisted abruptly at a high altitude, transforming into a sharp afterimage that shot directly toward the city below.
By the time everyone focused their gaze, two Nen user puppets had already been decapitated.
Without pausing, Morrow swiftly targeted the next Nen user puppet.
He's so fast...!
Everyone's hearts trembled, realizing that the strength Morrow was displaying now was significantly different from their previous understanding.
He had clearly grown stronger.
It seemed as though his battle with Netero had honed a sharp edge within him.
—--
At the palace, on the dome of the building, Neferpitou's expression suddenly shifted.
The number of puppets was rapidly decreasing.
"Meow, someone is attacking the puppets, and they're incredibly fast with devastatingly sharp techniques."
"Have those humans started to move?"
"Is it that old man, or..."
Neferpitou looked in the direction of Peijin City.