Chapter 711 Youpi's Birth

Compared to Pitou's Aura, which was a mix of malice and subtle delicacy, the Aura that Moses and the others were sensing now was overwhelmingly vast and purely filled with an unadulterated intent to kill.

The owner of this aura was none other than Menthuthuyoupi, one of the Royal Guards. He was a Chimera Ant born purely from the mixed genes of various magical beasts.

The Chimera Ant Queen had given birth to three Royal Guards.

The first to be born was Pitou, followed by Pouf, who emerged from his cocoon two days later.

Following this pattern, Youpi was expected to break free from his cocoon tomorrow or the day after.

However, the Chimera Ants' reproductive system was unique. The offspring would continue to develop inside the cocoon until they reached full maturity before emerging. This was one of the most terrifying aspects of the Chimera Ants' reproduction, as they were already fully mature from the moment they were born, skipping the infant and growth stages entirely.

That is to say-

As the last of the three Royal Guards, Youpi was already a fully mature being, even though he hadn't yet emerged from his cocoon.

Having learned from Pitou about the threat posed by two exceptional humans, Pouf made a decision that starkly contrasted with Pitou's approach.

Unlike Pitou, who chose to wait reluctantly upon learning that Youpi hadn't yet awakened, Pouf believed that they needed Youpi's strength immediately. Without hesitation, he 'woke up' Youpi.

Fortunately, Pouf considered himself a refined and elegant male, so he didn't resort to roughly cutting open Youpi's cocoon. Instead, he injected life force into the cocoon to stimulate Youpi's awakening.

This move by Pouf left Pitou visibly surprised.

However, when she saw the dripping wet Youpi fall out of the cocoon, she put aside any unnecessary emotions and quietly sighed in relief.

For her, Youpi's appearance was a timely solution to an urgent problem.

As she did not need to assume guard duties for the time being, she immediately began to treat her severed foot.

And after she recovered from her injuries, she had to urgently extract information about the 'life force system' from the two human captives.

Having been awakened two days early by Pouf, Youpi was extremely displeased.

However, his duty as one of the Royal Guards took precedence over everything else, including his trivial anger.

However, it is impossible for him to calm down easily when his body is full of magical beasts' genes.

As he stood guard outside the nest, he projected this negative emotion through his Aura.

"Is that... the second Royal Guard?!"

Knov looked from afar at the Aura that enveloped the entire upper part of the ant nest, his brows furrowed.

'Judging by the intensity of the Aura alone, this ant is even more terrifying than the Royal Guard who was previously chased away by Moses and Chairman Netero.'

Moses silently looked at the extremely tiny figure sitting outside the ant nest.

Because the distance was too far, he couldn't see the other person's appearance clearly.

However, he was basically certain that the other party was Youpi, the strongest of the three Royal Guards in terms of combat ability.

If it had been one of the other two Royal Guards, Moses would have remembered their abilities and appearances, but might have inadvertently forgotten their names.

Only Youpi is different...

Moses has a very deep impression of this Royal Guard.

It can be said that-

Youpi was the Chimera Ant whose overall strength came closest to the Chimera Ant King, Meruem.

In terms of abilities, he was undoubtedly born for battle.

Destruction and slaughter were synonymous with Youpi.

'I remember that Youpi was supposed to emerge last. This means the butterfly guy is probably out too.'

Moses's eyes were slightly solemn as he thought of this.

'Three Royal Guards and an unknown number of Squadron Leaders...'

'Facing such a large force, it would be unwise to launch a reckless attack.'

Thinking of this, Moses turned his head and looked at Netero.

As if he had noticed Moses's gaze, Netero stroked his beard and sighed softly, "This is troublesome. There's another guy who is stronger than this old man."

Just the direct guard he met before was much stronger than this old man just by showing his magnanimity.

The previous Royal Guard they had encountered already surpassed him in terms of Manifested Aura. Now, this one guarding the nest, which is undoubtedly another Royal Guard, displayed an even more overwhelming Aura.

"Chairman, aren't you being a bit too modest?"

Knov suppressed the turmoil in his heart and raised his index finger to touch the frame of his glasses.

Whether it was the previous Royal Guard or this one, their strength was undeniably formidable.

Knov knew very well that he had no chance of winning against such an enemy.

However, he didn't believe that Netero, who wielded the devastating power of the 100-Type Guanyin, would be weaker than these two Royal Guards.

If strength was lacking, then technique would make up for it!

The reason Knov had so quickly changed his opinion of Moses was because he saw in him a reflection of Netero.

To be more precise-

it was the kind of mastery over 'technique' that the 100-Type Guanyin represented, a level of skill that deserved respect from every top-tier fighter.

After hearing what Knov said, Netero didn't respond directly. Instead, he stroked his beard and asked, "What do you all think?"

"What's certain is that a fight is unavoidable."

Morel put down his pipe and gently placed it on the ground. He continued to stare at the Aura that exuded overwhelming killing intent and said solemnly:

"Besides, in a battle between Nen users, the outcome can't be determined solely by the amount of Aura one possesses."

"Hohoho…"

Netero chuckled but said nothing.

The amount of Aura one had didn't directly determine the outcome of a battle. And in fights between Nen Users, it was quite common for the weaker to defeat the stronger.

However, when applying this logic to the Chimera Ants, another factor related to Aura had to be considered: Potential Aura. After all, this wasn't some one-on-one duel in an arena. What awaited them could very well be an army numbering in the tens of thousands.

Knov glanced at Morel and said calmly: "A fight is indeed unavoidable. So… what we need to do now is figure out the enemy's numbers."

"I second this."

Morel raised his big pipe and looked at the dense forest surrounding the nest.

No matter how their plans might change later, the first step was to assess the number of combatants inside the nest.

Netero slowly looked at Morel and Knov, then turned his gaze to Moses, who had remained silent the entire time.

Noticing Netero's gaze, Moses ignored it.

Based on the information available, since the three Royal Guards had already been born, the chances of a successful direct assault were now close to zero. This was something that didn't need to be explicitly stated or reminded.

In other words, Netero was left with only two options.

The first was to proceed with the original plan: use Morel and Knov's Nen Abilities as support, while Netero himself acted as the spearhead to eliminate the Chimera Ants one by one, gradually reducing their numbers.

The second option was to follow Moses' suggestion, and before the Chimera Ant King was born, gather as many top-tier fighters as possible to assist in a full-scale assault on the nest, wiping it out completely to eliminate any future threats.

"Moses, what do you think?"

Seeing that Moses hadn't responded, Netero stroked his beard and directly called out his name.

Moses turned to meet Netero's questioning gaze and replied calmly, "If possible, it would be best to just drop a bomb on the nest. Something like the Poor Man's Rose."

"…"

After hearing what Moses said, the three people, including Netero, fell silent.