Jumping off the airship from high above and then using Shadow Shift to fly at high speed through the air…
This was the unimaginable method Moses had used to rush to the NGL border at the last moment.
Fortunately, he made it in time. Otherwise, Moses knew that Netero definitely wouldn't have waited for him.
But Moses could understand this approach.
"Killua, long time no see."
Moses looked at Killua, who was standing frozen in place, and greeted him with a smile.
Killua looked up at Moses's smiling face, and the slight shadow in his eyes replaced by surprise.
"Moses, you... how did you get here?!"
Killua couldn't hide his excitement. He wanted to step forward toward Moses, but as soon as he lifted his right foot, he hesitated and put it back down.
Moses noticed Killua's small movement and wondered to himself, 'Was it because they hadn't seen each other for so long that Killua felt awkward?'
'How is that possible?'
Shaking his head inwardly with a laugh, Moses walked up to Killua and said with a smile: "The Chairman is getting old. He probably feels a bit overwhelmed, so he urgently asked me to come and help."
"Huh?"
Killua was slightly startled, then he couldn't help but recall the horror of that monster and nodded solemnly.
"That monster we encountered... it's really terrifying. But now that you're here, Moses, I'm sure you can handle it!"
Killua had blind trust in Moses's abilities.
He believed that Netero, Knov, and Morel couldn't defeat Pitou, but if it were Moses, he could definitely overcome the odds.
When Morel and Knov next to them heard what Killua said, their cheeks twitched twice, but they did not lose their temper on the spot.
Although Netero's expression remained unchanged, he shook his head helplessly.
The reason for this reaction was not because of Killua's words, but because Moses had volunteered himself, yet now he pretended that Netero had invited him.
Having said that, Netero didn't bother to expose Moses.
When Killua mentioned Pitou, perhaps recalling the scene at the time, he lowered his head slightly again.
Moses observed Killua's reaction and then glanced at Gon, who is lying under the tree, and immediately understood what had happened.
'So...'
'While I was rushing here, Kite had still taken Gon and Killua deep into NGL to investigate.'
'And since NGL didn't allow communication devices, the Hunter Association couldn't contact Kite immediately.
'Because of that-'
'The current development of events should still be the same as in the original work.'
'First, Pitou, one of the three Royal Guards, was born, and then she killed Kite before he could even approach the nest.'
As for Kite's fate, Moses didn't have much to say.
When a Pro Hunter is carrying out a commission, it is extremely important to judge the current situation.
Kite made an error in his judgement, so he died.
This kind of thing is actually very common among Hunters.
Especially for Blacklist Hunters, who have the highest mortality rate, they often die on the path of chasing criminals due to misjudging the difference in strength.
Moses briefly recalled the progression of events in the original story.
In fact, from the 'God's perspective', there is nothing wrong with Kite's decision.
Because the Chimera Ants Kite encountered during his investigation, whether they were Officers or Squadron Leaders, were essentially just a group of monsters with innate advantages.
This kind of gap between species is like the difference between an ordinary person and a grizzly bear.
But ordinary people can use weapons like guns and rocket launchers (Nen) to easily take down a grizzly bear (Chimera Ants).
Kite used his Silent Waltz to sweep through the group of Chimera Ants that came to hunt him, and this became a fatal foreshadowing.
So when Pitou, a grizzly bear capable of using guns, appeared before Kite, the outcome was already decided.
If Pitou had not been the first of the three Royal Guards born, then even if Killua had made the right choice at the first moment, he probably would have found it difficult to escape from that situation.
"Killua, you don't need to be so negative."
As his thoughts churned, Moses raised his right hand and gently ruffled Killua's hair, speaking in a tone that brooked no argument:
"Listen to me. Your judgment at that time was excellent, so you don't need to blame yourself. If you had chosen to stay, you'd be no different from an idiot in my eyes."
"Moses..."
When Killua heard this, his eyes trembled slightly. He clenched his fists, wanting to say something, but in the end, he didn't have the courage to speak.
'At that time...'
'Was it really because of correct judgment, and not because I was scared and wanted to run away?'
'If Gon had been in Kite's position, would I...'
'Have chosen to run away so decisively?'
Killua slowly lowered his head, biting his lip in silence.
Moses noticed Killua's internal struggle but didn't say anything more. He simply stopped ruffling his hair and instead gave Killua's head a light pat.
Next to him, Morel looked at Moses with a complicated expression. He always felt that Moses's words just now were indirectly criticizing him.
Because if it were him, he would never choose to abandon a comrade and run away.
But on the other hand, if he were the one in danger, he would also hope his comrades would escape first.
Human beings are complicated creatures sometimes.
Compared to Morel, who was pondering Moses's words, Knov noticed something else.
"Wait, you know what happened to them?"
Knov habitually pushed his glasses up and stared at Moses intently.
"Huh?"
Moses turned around to meet Knov's inquiring gaze and asked doubtfully, "Are you asking me?"
"…"
The corner of Knov's mouth twitched and he nodded, "Yes."
"Didn't Killua just say it? They encountered a very terrifying monster. If you're just treating this information as 'a child's exaggeration', then I suggest you change your perspective a bit. At least that way, you'll suffer fewer losses."
Moses spoke calmly, not caring about Knuckle's slightly ugly expression. Then, he turned to Netero and asked:
"Old man, what's your plan?"
"Hoho…"
Netero stroked his beard and said, "Take them out one by one, then go straight for the queen."
"…"
Moses fell silent for a moment after hearing this, and couldn't help but think of the opinions of the experts that Beans had mentioned before he left.
Those experts believe that it will take about two months for the Chimera Ant King to be born.
Therefore, for the extermination team, there is still plenty of time.
It was also because of these expert opinions that Netero had formulated the plan of 'taking them out one by one', and selected Morel and Knov as his teammates based on this plan.
From a global perspective, the essence of this plan was indeed the simplest and carried the lowest risk.
After all, before they could strike directly at the heart of the Chimera Ant nest, they would first have to face at least thirty Squadron Leaders and the Chimera Ant's teams under their command. This wasn't a problem that could be solved with mere words.
Moses vaguely remembered that in the original work, Netero had spent nearly a month eliminating more than half of the Squadron Leaders and their subordinates.
Based on that hunting efficiency, it is indeed possible to eliminate the soldiers under the Chimera Ant Queen within two months while also cutting off the Queen's food supply...
By tackling both issues simultaneously, they could gradually push the Chimera Ants into a corner.
But the problem with this plan was that it didn't account for the possibility of the King being born prematurely.
As a transmigrator, Moses knew this information, but the question was: how could he convince Netero to accept this viewpoint?
"Old man, can you mobilize more combat forces to help?"
Instead of raising objections to the plan, Moses asked about manpower.
Netero shook his head upon hearing this.
Because they have to deal with multiple calamities that come through the Ancient Pipelines, the Hunter Association currently had very limited high-level combatants available for deployment.
Besides, Netero believed that their current team was sufficient to handle the Chimera Ant situation.
"Is that so…"
Seeing Netero shaking his head, Moses frowned slightly.
'Forget it, let's take it one step at a time.'
'First, let's go to the nest and assess the situation.'
With this in mind, Moses suppressed some of his objections.
Netero glanced at Moses.
As someone as shrewd as Netero, he could tell that Moses had reservations about his plan but chose not to voice them.
Most likely, Moses felt it was pointless to bring them up.
Netero chuckled inwardly, then stopped delaying and began mobilizing the team to enter NGL.