"Um, Mr. Human, please..." The groundhog stammered as Ronnel raised his eyelids, glancing at him.
"Korudol surrendered to us, so I came here to take care of the aftermath," Ronnel said, cutting straight to the point before the groundhog could even ask his question.
"As for your queen, Korudol's condition for surrender was to have her treated. We've already contacted an emergency rescue team. They should be arriving soon."
"Really? That's a relief."
The loyal groundhog let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Ronnel's words. His loyalty was to the Queen above all else—her safety mattered more than anything.
As for Korudol's surrender, he had no objections. Even if he had been in the same position, he would have made the same choice.
However, the yak standing beside him remained silent. Unlike the groundhog and Korudol, this yak was far more stubborn. He had no particular fondness for humans, and though Ronnel was different from most, the idea of surrender still didn't sit well with him.
To him, surrender meant submission.
"That said," Ronnel continued, "whether your queen can hold out until the rescue team arrives is another matter. If her injuries are too severe, there may be nothing we can do."
"Your Majesty..." The prairie dog turned toward the Queen Ant, his expression filled with worry as he glanced between her weakened form and the old squid-like chimera ant desperately tending to her.
Ronnel, however, didn't dwell on the prairie dog's concerns.
The Queen Ant was resilient. In the original events, she had held on long enough for the rescue team to arrive. Despite being gravely injured by the V5, she had managed to survive the journey across the six continents. At that time, she had lost a leg, and Kite had discovered her before bringing Gon along.
Even under such dire circumstances, she had managed to recover by consuming sea fish. While replenishing her strength, she had continued producing soldier ants to hunt for food with higher nutritional value.
Eventually, it was discovered that human food contained even greater nutrition, leading her to shift her focus toward consuming humans entirely.
Right now, her limbs were intact, and her natural vitality would allow her to regenerate any minor injuries. She should be able to last until the rescue team arrived.
But that was the limit.
Internal injuries were a different matter entirely. Unlike external wounds, no amount of treatment could change her fate.
With that in mind, Ronnel decided to let things play out on their own. He turned his attention elsewhere, sorting through the spoils he had obtained from Leol and the deceased Squadron Leaders.
...
Four hours passed in a flash.
After receiving a call from Netero, the medical team from Fanlin University moved with impressive efficiency, setting off immediately. In less than four hours, they reached the entrance of NGL, where Knov was already waiting alongside Morel's two apprentices, Knuckle and Shoot.
Knov wasted no time, using his ability to transport the medical team and their equipment inside. Along with Knuckle and Shoot, they headed to the hillside near the ant nest, where the remaining Hunters were stationed. There, they rendezvoused with Morel and the others before proceeding inside.
Meanwhile, Ronnel had finished inspecting the aura clusters within the nest and organizing his findings.
Leaving aside the refined aura, the Chimera Ants were an entirely new species, created by blending high-quality human genes with those of various animals. As a result, they possessed multiple inherent advantages.
They had the raw physical power of animals and ants, the cognitive abilities of humans, and an affinity for Nen that surpassed most veteran users.
Ronnel was genuinely impressed by the power these division leaders wielded.
In just a few months—less than half a year—they had achieved a level of strength that many Nen users wouldn't attain in their entire lives.
And that was without proper training. Most of them hadn't even unlocked Nen yet. The only reason their Aura Nodes had opened was due to Ramot getting beaten up by Gon and Killua, leading to a rushed, makeshift method of Nen awakening among the Chimera Ants.
Ramot was merely a low-ranking officer, yet he had managed to withstand full-powered blows from Gon and Killua—both of whom had undergone intense training under Bisky on Greed Island. That kind of durability...
Tsk.
Even more shocking was that most Chimera Ants didn't train. They simply hunted, carried out their orders, and continued growing stronger passively.
And that wasn't even considering the three Royal Guards, who were born with overwhelming Nen abilities. Then there was the Ant King—nature's ultimate creation, blessed with unmatched power from birth.
This kind of power... it was beyond unfair. It made cheats look balanced.
Ronnel couldn't help but feel that his advantages—his knowledge of tomb raiding and future events—seemed insignificant in comparison to a species like this.
Even though he was currently strong enough to defeat the Ant King, that strength had been hard-earned. It had taken him years of effort:
Surviving in the depths of Meteor City.
Spending years as a corpse cleaner at Heavens Arena, steadily climbing the ranks.
Going broke in search of valuable gems just to convince Bisky to take him as a student.
Passing the Hunter Exam, navigating the Hunter Association's politics, and exploring the Hunter Mausoleum.
On the surface, his journey looked smooth, but behind the scenes, it had cost him everything—time, money, and countless risks.
It had taken Ronnel three to four years to reach this point. But if you gave the Chimera Ants just two years—no, even a single year—to train seriously like humans, they might catch up.
At that point, the rulers of this world might truly change.
And the Ant King? If not for his arrogance, his obsession with proving himself in every field instead of dedicating himself to training...
If he had actually trained...
Netero might not have lasted a single move against him.
And the Poor Man's Rose wouldn't have been enough to injure him at all.
------------
Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)