The reason Cheadle and the others wanted to win this 'war' was to have Netero continue leading the Association.
However, they were unaware that behind this 'war' lay an even more important reason.
From Netero's standpoint, retaining the Chairman's position was merely an appetizer… the main course was yet to come.
Evening approached. Orange-red fiery clouds spread across the sky.
Kuro ascended directly above the cloud layer. From a distance, it seemed as if he were treading on clouds, moving swiftly.
When Knov was initially called upon, he felt quite flattered and honored.
Only when he stepped onto Kuro's back did he calm down.
The difficulty of this mission was no less than a frontal assault on the Royal Guards and the Ant King, yet he wasn't nervous at all because his role was the safest in the entire team.
'If possible...'
Knov sighed softly in his heart.
Hiding in Hide-and-Seek, ready to support Law and Netero at any moment, was a simple matter. But he really wanted to see Law's combat prowess firsthand, on the ground.
"At this speed, reaching Milsy Wetlands by tomorrow morning shouldn't be a problem," Netero said, gazing into the increasingly darkening sky ahead.
"Yes, we could be faster. But to be able to engage in combat immediately upon arrival, I need to reasonably control consumption," Law replied.
Hearing this, Knov said in surprise, "We're not resting first?"
"We'll decide based on the situation," Law said.
Knov wanted to say more but stopped. He felt that regardless of the situation, resting first would only bring benefits, not drawbacks.
After all, what Law was about to face were 2,500 Chimera Ants. Of course, he should face them at one hundred percent.
That's what he thought, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Law saw Knov's thoughts but didn't bother explaining.
The essence of this mission was to act as quickly as possible.
If the individual strength of the Chimera Ants wasn't high, there was no need to waste time resting.
Even if something unexpected happened, he still had [Lichen] to increase the margin for error.
However, he wasn't going to explain this to Knov just yet. This campaign to eradicate the Chimera Ants could also serve to nurture teamwork and tacit understanding.
Milsy Wetlands was Hunter Association's territory, typically used as one of the venues for the Hunter Exam.
When the Chimera Ants were located at Milsy Wetlands, Cheadle's heart immediately tightened.
The first thing she thought of was the Chimera Ants' reproductive characteristics.
After voicing this concern and discussing it, based on various speculations, the conclusion was that those 2,500 Chimera Ants likely didn't have reproductive abilities because they were created as soldiers.
There was a high probability it was just a false alarm, but the topic of reproduction indirectly reminded Law of Nique, who went out to have fun every day recently.
If Nique hooked up with girls he met at the nightclub and even sowed his seeds...
To prevent this from happening, before departing today, Law took from Nique something representing his male characteristics.
Even now, Nique's utterly devastated expression was vivid in his mind.
At the time of removal, Nique's reaction was earth-shattering… it was more than just crying and wailing.
But how could a thigh twist an arm? Under Law's hegemonism, Nique could only accept his fate. He probably wouldn't have an appetite for several days.
Night gradually fell.
With Law's assistance, Kuro's aerial traversal was very stable.
The night passed quickly.
In the early morning, Law's group arrived in the airspace above Milsy Wetlands, then found a place to land.
Milsy Wetlands was a place Law knew all too well. After landing, he immediately took Kuro, who had returned to house-cat form, into the forest for reconnaissance.
Knov, accompanied by Netero, went to set up the entrance/exit for Hide-and-Seek.
The trio and the cat divided the tasks.
In the early morning, before dawn, the forest was quiet, and the light was very dim.
Law and Kuro walked through the forest.
"Can we go on a killing spree?" Kuro asked.
"Yes," Law nodded. "This batch of Chimera Ants has mixed a large portion of human genes, so you should be able to gain some benefits."
"Heh heh." Kuro licked his lips, looking expectant.
Two thousand five hundred... he wondered how many heads he could snatch from the hands of monsters like Law and Netero.
After a moment, Kuro suddenly looked in a certain direction and warned, "Someone's there."
He said 'someone', not 'something'.
And the moment he spoke, Law immediately took action.
If Kuro could detect traces of a stranger in the forest, Law naturally could too.
Using [Instant] consecutively, Law caught up to the person who had been inadvertently discovered within a few seconds.
It was a male Nen User with a buzz cut.
Law showed no mercy whatsoever. With one encounter, he severed the buzz-cut man's head, then sliced the body into several pieces.
Because he used the ability of God Hand, the buzz-cut man didn't die on the spot. However, with his head held in Law's hand, his wide-open eyes showed fear.
Since Law's right hand covered the buzz-cut man's mouth, unable to struggle, he couldn't make a single sound.
The reason Law acted so decisively was because this buzz-cut man had emitted a faint trace of killing intent towards them.
It was this faint trace of killing intent that allowed Law and Kuro to detect him.
Should they kill him, or extract information?
To extract information, they would need Knov to come and take this person into Hide-and-Seek.
At that moment, Kuro, who had arrived on the scene, pulled out a Hunter License from the dismembered body and waved it at Law.
Law saw the license, then looked at the head in his hand and said calmly, "Association's Temp Hunter?"
The pupils in the buzz-cut man's eyes dilated even more.
Law didn't choose to uncover the buzz-cut man's mouth. Instead, he had Kuro go fetch Knov.
A while later, Knov and Netero arrived at the scene. The group went directly into Hide-and-Seek.
Inside the room, Law pulled out the buzz-cut man's heart and began forcefully squeezing it!
The room was then filled solely with the buzz-cut man's agonized screams. At this very moment, Milsy Wetlands remained completely silent.
Thirty minutes later.
A black circle opened in a marshy area. Law crawled out first, followed by Netero and Kuro, and finally Knov.
"Knov, you go with Netero," Law said.
Hearing this, Knov glanced at Netero, who looked calm.
"I'll handle the outer perimeter, I'll leave the inner circle to you," Law said, turning his head towards Netero.
Netero nodded upon hearing this. "Keep in contact at all times."
"Alright."
Law responded, then headed west with Kuro.
That buzz-cut man was indeed the Association's Temp Hunter. Law extracted some information from him, learning that the Chimera Ant eggs deployed here had basically all hatched.
Moreover, under the control of a Manipulator team, a group of Chimera Ants was heading towards the Pakari Forest Park near Milsy Wetlands.
That was a forest-themed vacation park. The permanent population was around tens of thousands. Factoring in tourists, the exact number was vague but certainly not less.
The Manipulator team controlling the Chimera Ants had only five members. In reality, they couldn't completely control the Chimera Ants, and they could only exert a guiding effect, using methods like hints or lures to make the Chimera Ants voluntarily go to a certain location.
With this intelligence, they only needed to eliminate that Manipulator team and the Chimera Ants, and the matter would be basically resolved. After that, they could slowly clean up the inner circle.
It can be said that Pariston was truly insane to use a force he couldn't fully control as his trump card. He probably didn't care about the consequences it might unleash.
Unfortunately, since Law was here, he had no intention of leaving a single Chimera Ant alive.