Chapter 178: The Abnormal Chimera Ants
Chimera Ants.
Ronin stared at the creatures. Why were they here, inside a ruin within the known world? By all logic, they were creatures that should only exist on the Dark Continent.
Furthermore, judging by the size of the jungle and the density of the ecosystem, this colony had been here for a long time.
Given the Chimera Ant's "Phagogenesis"—the process of inheriting traits from the organisms they consume—this colony should have mastered Nen and reached extreme intelligence decades ago, especially if they had been feeding on the high-level explorers entering these ruins.
So why haven't they left the nest?
Ronin scrutinized the two ants in the distance. They looked fundamentally different from the Chimera Ants he remembered from the NGL and East Gorteau arcs.
Those ants had evolved into humanoid or animal-hybrid forms, losing their insectoid traits. These, however, looked like pure, prehistoric ants—just scaled up to the size of a man and draped in a shimmer of aura.
Regardless of their form, the V5 had designated them as a First-Class Quarantined Species. They were the definition of an extinction-level threat.
If a Queen had birthed something on the level of the Ant King or the Royal Guards here, his seventeen-man squad was already walking into a mass grave.
I need to take those two out and verify the state of the hive.
If the worst-case scenario was true, Ronin's plan was simple: abandon the mission, evacuate his team, and let the Hunter Association's big guns—the Zodiacs or Chairman Netero—handle the cleanup.
He was confident in his strength, but he wasn't delusional. Facing a monster that possessed ten times his POP (Potential Output Power) and unknown Hatsu was a losing gamble.
Ronin, who had been observing in silence since entering the "Den," made his move.
Lightning Style Chakra Mode: On.
A high-pitched, electric chirping erupted in the clearing.
Before the rest of the squad could process the sound, a blue streak of light tore across the terrain.
Ronin's speed was absolute.
The predators lunging at the group didn't even realize he had passed them. He was a blur of ionized air, racing straight for the two Nen-using ants in the rear.
The ants, despite their aura, never saw him coming. The screech of the Chidori was the last thing they ever heard.
Lightning Style: Chidori Raikiri!
Ronin blurred past them. Two ant carcasses, their thoraxes punched through by concentrated lightning, slumped to the ground.
Even though they possessed Nen, these were merely "Soldier" grade ants. Against a Kage-level lightning strike, their biological armor was as thin as paper.
The members of the subjugation squad stared, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.
They knew Ronin was strong, but they hadn't realized he occupied a different dimension of combat entirely.
That level of speed... there wasn't a single person in the unit who felt confident they could track his movement, let alone defend against an attack that happened in the span of a blink.
A specialist in extreme speed and piercing power, the freelancers collectively labeled him in their minds.
Mashur silently retracted the massive volume of Nen he had been gathering in his palms.
His logic matched Ronin's. Now that Chimera Ants were confirmed, the mission was no longer about loot—it was about containment and survival.
We can't let any more Nen users die here, Mashur thought. If the Queen eats us, the next generation she births will be unkillable.
Benket tried to bark an order, but Ronin was already pushing deeper into the hive territory. Mashur and Vanessa exchanged a quick look and abandoned the main formation to follow him.
In this group, the only other person they respected was Colin. His spear-throwing was "real." Benket, while a good administrator, had shown only mediocre combat basics during the earlier raptor skirmishes.
Once they were clear of the group's line of sight, Ronin wove a seal.
Shadow Clone Jutsu.
He sent the clone racing into the deep jungle as a high-speed scout. He then throttled his own speed, allowing Mashur and Vanessa to catch up within seconds.
The two didn't ask questions. They knew how Ronin operated.
Vanessa vanished. Ronin felt her presence merge with Mashur's shadow. She was ready to bail at the first sign of a lethal threat, using Mashur as her mobile exit point.
"If we hit a hard wall, we retreat immediately," Mashur whispered. "Captain Muherr has the Golem on standby to provide cover fire for an extraction."
Ronin nodded.
He appreciated the professional pragmatism. Exploring a Kurta ruin was a deal between him and Muherr, but raiding a Chimera Ant hive was a suicide contract. He didn't expect the mercenaries to die for his curiosity.
But a thought nagged at him. The Golem might not be enough if a Royal Guard shows up.
His Shadow Clone was now several hundred meters ahead.
It blurred through the trees, a ghost in the canopy. As it moved, it spotted more and more ants. They were patrols, dozens of them.
And they were all emitting that same, rhythmic thud-thud-thud.
The clone paused, analyzing the visuals.
Wait. This isn't right.
The problem was the uniformity. Every ant the clone saw was identical in size, shape, and aura signature. They lacked the chaotic, chimeric genetic blending that defined the species. They were like a cloned army.
The lightning armor flickered around the clone. He swapped his focus from the Chidori to his fingers.
Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite.
He charged. In a flash of light, he sliced three soldier ants in half.
The bisected bodies thrashed in the dirt, letting out high-frequency distress calls.
Hundreds of ants in the vicinity immediately turned toward the sound. But the clone had already vanished, accelerating toward the heart of the signal.
As he sprinted, a new sound joined the rhythm. A heavy, vibrating buzzing.
Ronin's clone looked up.
Dropping from the canopy were winged ants—larger and more aggressive than the ground troops. They dived like fighter jets, mandibles wide, aiming for the glowing intruder.
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you