Hunter: I became stronger even after I died.

Chapter 371 The general attack begins!
"It's that human again...!"

On the platform outside the ant nest, Neferbitt stared intently at the location where the intense light of the explosion had suddenly appeared in the distance.

Since experiencing Morrow's long-range attack capabilities firsthand, she has not dared to relax in the slightest while carrying out her guard duties, and has begun to maintain the operation of "Circle" around the clock.

Later, Oyapouf and Youpi, who were awakening one after another, offered to take turns on guard duty, but Neferpitou refused.

It's just that their vigilance range is far less than hers, making it impossible for her to truly feel at ease.

After learning the reason, Xiao Yapufu and Youpi did not insist any further.

From this perspective, Neferpitou's highly vigilant response precisely aligns with the deterrent effect that Morrow intended when he launched the direct star attack on the anthill.

Regrettably……

Morro's intention was to use the Queen Ant's safety to force Neferpitou to keep the "circle" running day and night under unknown threats, thereby constantly depleting her mental energy.

But the direct bodyguards were ultimately the real monsters.

Half a month has passed, and Neferpitou has been using "En" to keep watch around the clock, but the information presented by her spiritual energy shows no signs of weakening.

It's important to understand that the larger the circle, the greater the mental exertion required to maintain it.

Even for a top-tier Nen user who excels at the Enchanted form, being able to sustain it for a full day and night is already quite impressive.

But Neferbitt was able to last a full half month.

Even more incredibly, her physical and mental state were not affected in the slightest.

"I must not be negligent in the slightest before the king is born."

Gazing at the aftermath of the explosion, Neferpitou's vigilance towards Morrow increased even further.

"If only he attacked directly... then I could completely eliminate this threat."

She thought with some regret.

To guard against Morrow's long-range attacks, Neferpitou even sacrificed many of his hobbies.

That's why she wanted More Than anyone else to get close to the anthill and give her a chance to kill him.

However, humans always stayed away from the nest and only attacked the soldier ants that went out to hunt.

Neferbitt was well aware of the other party's strategy.

It simply involves exploiting the weakness of soldier ants that they must go out to hunt, continuously weakening the ant colony's forces through sniping, and then launching a general offensive when the time is right.

Neferbitt and Shayapov were not worried about the actions of the human side.

This stems from their absolute confidence in their own abilities, and also from their clear understanding of one thing.

Before humans wipe out all the division commanders, the Ant King will be born first.

At that time, only one personal guard will be needed to protect the king.

The other two could then switch from defense to offense, taking the initiative to attack and present these special humans as newborn delicacies to the king.

Deep inside the ant nest.

Yupi and Xiaoyapf both sensed the brief but intense fluctuations during the starburst.

Yupi, who disliked thinking, didn't pay much attention and continued to wholeheartedly fulfill his duty of protecting the queen ant.

Owlapf was somewhat concerned, but he believed that with Neferpitou's extensive surveillance network and the fact that he had already developed Nen abilities for a small squad of soldier ants, there was no need to worry about the humans suddenly attacking.

At least for now, they still have plenty of time to wait for the birth of the king.

Unless the human side is confident that they can launch a full-scale attack while still retaining one-third of their forces in the ant colony.

........................

Rock Mountain area.

Moro rode on a flying star, soaring through the air and hovering above the cliff where Moro and Nobu were.

Then, he leaped up and landed steadily in front of the two of them.

Faced with Moro's sudden visit, both Moro and Nobu could not hide their surprise.

During this time, while they were focused on their plan to weaken the Chimera Ant forces, they were also aware that Morrow was secretly working on the same thing as them.

However, they never had any contact or communication with each other.

Unexpectedly, Moro suddenly made a move at this moment, instantly killing the Chimera Ant Master leader, whose aura was clearly stronger than theirs, with a single strike.

That level of destructive power truly shocked the two of them.

"What's up?"

Nob looked at Moro, who had landed on the edge of the cliff, suppressed the shock in his heart, and spoke first.

This was the first time he had met Moreau in person.

But he did not have a good sensory impression of Moreau.

After all, if the review department insists on pursuing the matter afterward, the blame will inevitably fall on Nitero.

It is precisely for this reason that Nob does not approve of Morrow's unauthorized actions.

However, he had to admit that Moro's recent actions had indeed been of great help to the current campaign.

When asked by Nob, Moro simply replied, "I have something important to discuss with the chairman."

"The president is busy right now. If you think it's important, you can wait nearby. He will contact you as soon as he has time."

Norb naturally wouldn't reveal any information about the four-dimensional apartment's capabilities to Moro, only instructing him to wait patiently.

Mo Laowu, who was standing to the side, hesitated to speak.

He and Moro were acquaintances, and had even exchanged contact information.

Seeing that Moro had come specifically to see the chairman, he wanted to reveal some details, but considering the confidentiality of Nob's abilities, he ultimately remained silent.

Protecting one's own ability information is a common practice among Nen users.

Even among the twelve Earthly Branches who have worked together in the association for many years, they are unaware of each other's abilities.

Therefore, there is nothing wrong with Norb's behavior.

However, Moro was a time traveler and was aware of the effects of Nob's four-dimensional apartment ability.

Hearing Nobu say this, he understood that the other party did not want to reveal any information about the Four-Dimensional Apartment's abilities to him.

Then look at Mo Laowu's hesitant expression...

Clearly, the two members of the expedition team held different attitudes toward his campaign against the Chimera Ants.

Moro didn't care and thought Nob's precautions were justified.

After all, he was indeed rejected by the censorship department and then acted on his own.

In fact, if he had known earlier that Netero was so passive in choosing his companions, he would never have mentioned it to the chairman; instead, he would have directly infiltrated NGL.

But now that things have come to this, he doesn't care about the so-called qualifications for the expedition, nor does he think about earning merit.

He was only thinking about how to gain more experience while resolving the incident.

"Okay, I'll wait nearby."

Moro nodded to Nobu, then nodded to Mo Laowu in greeting, before turning and heading towards the rocky mountain not far away.

Mo Laowu and Nobu watched Moro leave, and at the same time, they glanced at the deep trench left by the bombardment by Feixing.

"If it weren't for Moro's help, we probably would have had to spend another month to reduce the Chimera Ants' forces to the expected level. With such a free laborer to help, those old fogies in the review department must be overjoyed."

Mo Laowu withdrew his gaze and said half-jokingly.

Norb understood the meaning behind his words.

It's simply a matter of wanting to prioritize the status quo, tacitly accepting Moro as a member of the extermination team, and acknowledging him as a professional hunter who is prepared to face this biological catastrophe.

"No rules no standards."

Norb answered calmly.

He wasn't as easily swayed by emotions as Mo Laowu.

Although he did not agree with certain systems or unprofessional practices within the association, he believed that President Netero must have had a deeper meaning in allowing these systems to exist in the association's core.

Therefore, whatever he does, Nob will use various strategies to achieve his goals while adhering to the rules.

It was precisely because of this code of conduct that he was able to gradually build up a deep network of connections within the Hunter Association.

Mo Laowu was well aware of this, and shook his head imperceptibly, still genuinely feeling that he was more suited to the sea.

After a while.

Inside the largest room of the four-dimensional apartment, the remains of the Chimera Ants were scattered all over the floor.

Netero stood in the center, holding a telephone, listening to Nob report that Moro had come to see him.

"Is it something important..."

Netero's eyes lit up with keen interest.

He had always been curious about what motives would make Moreo willing to give up his achievements in order to get involved in this mess.

"Let him come."

Nitro gave the instructions in a relaxed tone over the phone.

ten minutes later.

Moro met the sprightly Chairman Netero in a cave in the rocky mountains.

Perhaps it was the fierce battles of the past two weeks that reignited the passion in this elderly man, which had already cooled down.

With just one glance, Moro could clearly sense that Netero was anticipating something.

What he was expecting,
It should be a showdown with his direct bodyguards.

The soldier ants in the ant nest are like an hourglass that counts down the time.

With each elimination, we get one second closer to the final showdown.

"The king ant is about to be born."

Moro got straight to the point.

Netero remained expressionless, but Nobu and Mo Laowu's eyes immediately sharpened.

"What's the basis?"

Netero asked calmly.

The association's experts had previously estimated that the king ant would be born in two months.

According to current intelligence, the total time that the chimeric ant queen has been incubating the ant king is theoretically only about twenty days.

Moro knew that his account differed greatly from the association's experts' deductions, and it would be difficult to easily convince Netero and the others.

This is no child's play, after all.

Launching a full-scale attack on the ant nest at this point in time would mean taking on greater risks and making it difficult to achieve Nitero's initial goal of a simple solution and avoiding sacrifices.

But Moro had no idea how to explain the origin of this information. He could only make up a reason; he couldn't very well tell Netero that he was a time traveler.

"I encountered a division commander who was afraid of death. In order to save his own life, he offered to exchange intelligence for his own. I agreed, and then I learned from him that the Ant King was about to be born. Of course, I kept my promise, but I had my comrade finish him off."

"I see."

Netero gave Morrow a deep look, but instead of immediately questioning the veracity of the information, he suddenly asked:
"You should know very well that without the approval of the review department, everything you do now will not receive the rewards and recognition you deserve. So why are you working so hard?"

"Perhaps it's just a wish for world peace."

Without hesitation, Moro replied, "Since I know that there is a disaster here and I have the ability to help, I will naturally not turn a blind eye. This is like seeing conspicuous trash on the beach; I just pick it up."

Norb, who had been listening quietly to the side, couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Mo Laowu's body trembled, and a hint of approval appeared in his eyes behind his sunglasses. He looked at Mo Luo with more appreciation.

Norb seemed to keenly sense Mo Laowu's reaction and suppressed the urge to speak.

I guess it was that metaphor of picking up trash on the beach that struck a chord with Mo Laowu.

After all, Morel was a sea hunter, dedicated to protecting the marine environment, and possessed an inherent sense of justice. As Nobu pondered this, he suddenly realized that Morel's answer, which avoided the core question, had somehow coincidentally struck a chord with Morel.

Could this have been designed on purpose?

Norb, being a man of deep thought, naturally considered this possibility.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Kurt overheard Morrow and the others' conversation through the telepathic paper doll, and his eyelids drooped slightly.

Kurt was all too familiar with Morrow's kind of nonsensical ramblings.

Just as Kurt was thinking this, he saw Pence next to him looking at him with admiration.

"..."

Kurt opened his mouth, but ultimately remained silent.

In contrast, Netero, inside the cave, simply stroked his beard leisurely and chuckled, saying, "I don't believe it."

This answer seemed to be both a response to Moro's claim that the ant king was about to be born and a lukewarm reminder: Don't try to fool me.

Moro met Nitro's meaningful gaze and immediately said seriously:
"What I just said is only the surface reason. As for the deeper reason, it is actually not complicated. It is just that I want to hone my strength through battle. Of course, there is also the reason that I don't want to see more casualties."

His answer this time was sincere.

If conditions permit, while he is charging toward his target, he also sincerely hopes that Netero can prevent the birth of the King Ant here.

In this way, Netero wouldn't have to pay the price of his life to eliminate the King Ant.

Netero stared into Morrow's eyes and fell silent for a moment.

As the commander-in-chief of this hunting operation, he had to weigh the possibilities behind every decision, that is, to consider everything carefully.

The information provided by Moro regarding the imminent birth of the Ant King may not be entirely reliable.

What if it's a trap deliberately set by the enemy?
Norbu and Mo Laowu naturally thought of this as well.

Despite his complex feelings toward Moro, Nob still acknowledged Moro's efforts to prevent the biological catastrophe.

He was willing to believe in Moro's initial intention to prevent the situation from worsening, but found it difficult to fully trust the source of the intelligence.

Even if chimeric ants, influenced by human genes, might indeed betray their colony for survival...

However, it can only be said that the possibility is extremely low.

Seeing that Chairman Netero remained silent in thought, Nob stepped forward, looked at Morrow, and spoke at the opportune moment:

"You obtained the information about the imminent birth of the Ant King from the Chimera Ants, but how can you ensure its authenticity? It could also be a trap deliberately set by the Chimera Ants to lure us into attacking and then use their superior numbers to encircle and annihilate us."

"..."

Moro paused for a moment, then nodded: "That is indeed a possibility."

The intelligence itself is accurate.

But this reason was fabricated by him.

He couldn't very well say that he was a time traveler who knew all along that the Ant King would be born a month early.

Therefore, convincing Netero and his team of the intelligence's authenticity remains a challenge.

The more fundamental problem is that there is still a quarter of the ant colony's forces, which is about 10 to 12 division commanders' teams.

Based solely on intelligence containing unknown risks, they decided to launch a general offensive against the enemy's superior forces...

This is indeed unconvincing.

Moro had previously considered persuading Netero to send reinforcements ahead of time in order to weaken the ant colony's forces as quickly as possible.

But if he did that, he might not be able to reach Lv.81 at the last minute.

He neither wanted to see Netero die in the Chimera Ant incident, nor did he want to miss this only opportunity to upgrade his strength and reach the Dark Continent.

So all he could do was hunt down chimeric ants with near-frenzy within a limited timeframe.

The more ants you kill, the less pressure and risk you'll face when you finally attack the ant nest.

Despite his best efforts and the assistance of Netero's squad, the ant colony's manpower was still reduced to a less than expected degree.

He does not deny that this situation is related to his own selfish desire to advance in the rankings.

But he didn't think there was anything wrong with this approach.

What he needs to do now is to decide whether Netero is willing to use his intelligence as a key basis and then decide to launch a general offensive ahead of schedule.

He was also willing to advance and retreat together, attacking the ant nest together while bearing the same high risks.

The question now is whether Netero is willing to take the risk.

Seeing that Moro also acknowledged the risks of the intelligence pried out of the Chimera Ants, Nob said no more.

His viewpoint naturally leans more towards the conclusions given by the experts, and he knows that Nitro will never accept Morrow's statement.

With so much time to spare, why take risks when we can proceed steadily and surely?

Just as Nobu made this conclusion, he heard Netero slowly speak: "I will notify the reinforcements to come and join us as soon as possible. It will take about three days. We will then discuss specific countermeasures."

The implication was that they had decided to adopt the intelligence provided by Moro.

"President, what's going on...?"

Nobu was stunned for a moment, and was about to ask more questions, but Netero stopped him by raising his hand.

"Moro".

Netero withdrew his gesture, his gaze settling steadily into Moro's eyes, and asked earnestly, "There are three extremely strong auras within the anthill. I speculate that they are the legion commanders of the Chimera Ants. If I were to ask you to be responsible for restraining one of them, would you be willing to accept?"

"no problem."

Moro answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Hoo ho."

Netero smiled slightly, glancing at Nob out of the corner of his eye.

Norb silently raised his hand and pushed up his glasses.

Despite receiving no credit or reward, he so decisively accepted the high-risk mission of holding back the legion commander...

He naturally had nothing more to say and understood that Chairman Netero had made his decision, so he could only accept it.

Moro was somewhat surprised by Nitero's decisiveness.

But after the decision was made, he felt a little relieved.

"Three days?"

Moro then lowered his head slightly in thought.

The reinforcements that can arrive within three days are most likely Mo Laowu's two apprentices.

These are Nakuru and Shuto, who performed exceptionally well in the original Chimera Ant arc.

In terms of tactical arrangements, Nakoruru's abilities are undoubtedly one of the keys to dealing with his direct guards.

If he could bankrupt one of his direct guards, thus forcing him into a "dead" state, he would have a better chance of delivering the final blow.

Great, that works...

Judging from the current situation, there is a good chance to completely eliminate the threat of the Chimera Ants in one fell swoop.

What he had to do was to successfully implant stars into his three direct guards during the final battle.

Ideally, we would take down both Xiao Yapuf and Youpi.

As for Neferbit...

Currently, only Netero in the team is capable of confronting her head-on.

In Moro's mind, a match schedule quickly took shape.

Netero dealt with Neferpitou, Morel temporarily restrained Owl Yapf with his prison lockdown ability, and Yupi...

Let him hold them back, and then, in conjunction with Nakoruru's "Heaven knows not that I alone am harmed" ability, try to bankrupt Yupi's Nen.

With this strategy, the odds of winning seem quite high.

The real challenge lies with the remaining soldier ants in the ant colony.

"In short, by taking action seven or eight days in advance, even if we fail, we still have a high margin for error."

Moro thought to himself silently.

Then, during the two days of waiting for reinforcements to arrive and join them.

In addition to continuing to hunt soldier ants, Moro is also considering developing new abilities.

He considered it for a day, and in order to ensure the success of the operation, he finally decided to use the upgrade reward on his tough and resilient personal guards.

After all, we can't put all our eggs in one basket with Nakuru's abilities.

So, how can one overcome the unreasonable power of this monster's Nen and physical strength, which are beyond their level...?

Morrow's idea lies in the conditions for achieving the star markers that condense starlight.

Or it could be described as a similar ability usage, but more inclined towards manipulation.

In game terms, it's like gathering energy!

If you successfully dodge, you can accumulate attempts to implant a star mark on the target.

If an attack is successful, the conditions for "gathering energy" can be met by accumulating the number of attacks.

In order to achieve the condition of a one-hit kill by the operator system.

If we design new abilities based on this line of thinking, and if they are designed to target monsters like direct guards, then the mechanisms of oaths and constraints are unavoidable.

For example, attacks must be launched in the same location in order to successfully accumulate attacks...

"It should be in time."

New capabilities should be able to be developed before reinforcements arrive and a countermeasure is devised.

Day 19 of the hunting plan for Netero's team.

Reinforcements arrived at NGL and joined Nitero and his men.

To Morrow's surprise, not only Nakoruru and Shooto, but also Kite, who had lost an arm, as well as Gon and Killua, came.

Although Netero didn't specify the reason, Moro guessed...

Netero, like him, probably also considered the potential risks posed by the remaining soldier ant army.

That's why we called in Kite, Gon, and Killua.

The purpose is to increase the number of combat troops so as to tie down more soldier ants.

Meanwhile, the other main force members can focus on dealing with their direct guards.

And at least one combatant should be freed up to undertake the task of assassinating the queen ant.

Everyone gathered in the four-dimensional apartment.

Kurt, Menchi, and Pence from Morrow's team were also present.

Given the current situation, the more "number" of our own forces, the higher the success rate of the attack.

…………

Day 20 of the hunting plan for Netero's team.

A fluorescent green streak, like a meteorite, fell from the sky toward the ant nest.

Neferbitt instinctively jerked his head back.

High-altitude clouds,

The flying star pierced through and fell.

"So they've finally broken through...!"

Neferpitou was furious.

(End of this chapter)