Whether the Ant King understood or not, Ronnel lightly shook his head and continued speaking to himself:
"Fighting you at your strongest—that's what I want. As for me, I have no chance of winning..."
With that, Ronnel smiled slightly, closed his mouth, and stopped talking.
No chance of winning?
He had once told Netero that he never fought a battle he wasn't sure he could win. And he hadn't lied.
No one understood better than him what would happen if the Royal Guards were sacrificed to the Ant King.
He wasn't the kind of person who acted recklessly just to satisfy a selfish desire for battle.
Before making his decision, Ronnel had already prepared for everything.
When it came to combat, even against the most powerful Ant King to date—even one whose strength surpassed his expectations—Ronnel was confident that, with all his means, he could defeat him by a slim margin.
But just in case, he had made additional preparations.
...
With the help of Ickshonpe's network, Ronnel had managed to acquire a stockpile of Poor Man's Roses. According to historical records, these bombs had been banned by international treaties. Their production methods and engineering techniques had been erased, and any further reproduction was strictly prohibited.
Yet, those that had already been manufactured remained scattered across the world. They were impossible to reclaim.
No one knew exactly where they were or whose hands they had fallen into. But they were still out there, always ready to bloom again.
Hundreds of thousands of them.
That's right—there were still hundreds of thousands left.
To ensure success, Ronnel had used Ickshonpe's connections to quietly purchase a large number of them from various individuals and organizations on the underground black market, spending an enormous sum in the process.
Perhaps the Ant King was right—a single Poor Man's Rose was no longer enough to pose a threat to him.
But what if a hundred bloomed at once?
Even setting aside their devastating explosive force, the sheer concentration of the deadly toxins they carried—amplified a hundredfold—would be inescapable. If Meruem could still survive that, then Ronnel would have nothing left to say.
Yet, the Rose was not his final trump card.
Against a monster like the Ant King, Nen remained the safest bet.
Ronnel had even secured a few one-time-use artifacts from Emuksu—objects capable of killing an opponent through absolute rules, bypassing raw strength entirely.
Of course, using such artifacts came at a great cost.
In the end, no matter who emerged victorious, there was no doubt about one thing:
This battle would be tragic.
And after it was over—the Ant King would not survive.
Dead. That was certain.
As for whether Ronnel himself would live or not? That, he couldn't say. But one thing was for sure—before he died, he would take the Ant King with him.
At worst, they would die together.
But he would drag the Ant King down with him.
Fighting an opponent of this caliber meant embracing death from the very start. Even though Ronnel had carefully planned out his victory, he still approached this duel with the mindset that he could die at any moment.
This was the ultimate battle against the Ant King—a peak duel of the six continents—and a test of his own resolve.
If he couldn't face it with that level of determination, then everything he had worked for—his years of training, his countless battles, all of his preparations—would be nothing but a pathetic joke.
...
The Ant King's expression remained unchanged as he listened to Ronnel's words.
Perhaps his opponent had even more tricks up his sleeve. But right now, he didn't care.
He had only one thing on his mind.
"What is my name?"
The Ant King's eyes darkened slightly.
"That old human—before you saved him, he was about to say my name. You must know it too, don't you?"
"And what if I do? What if I don't?"
"If you know it, then tell me now. If you refuse, or if you truly don't know, I'll kill you and go find the old man myself."
The Ant King spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
"The price of fighting him was my name. And in the end, he lost."
As he spoke, a vast En erupted from his body, expanding outward in an instant.
Its range was massive—so immense that it engulfed the entire Republic of East Gorteau.
"Found them."
The Ant King turned his head slightly, focusing on a particular direction.
That was where Morel had fled with Netero.
"Is that so?"
Ronnel observed the Ant King's movements and could immediately tell that he had located them.
Even with his enhanced vision, sharpened by Gyo, he couldn't see the edge of the Ant King's En.
More importantly—the Ant King looked completely unfazed.
It was as if releasing such an enormous En was effortless for him.
"I do know your name," Ronnel admitted. "Since the old man lost his bet with you, there's no harm in telling you."
He met the Ant King's gaze and spoke clearly:
"Meruem. That is the name your mother, the Queen Ant, gave you."
"Meruem..."
The Ant King repeated the name quietly before committing it to memory.
"There. I've told you your name." Ronnel rolled his shoulders, loosening up. "Now, there's no need to hold back. Give me everything you've got."
He shifted into a stance, forming the signature hand position of Shingen-ryu.
The Ant King observed him for a moment before, instead of sitting cross-legged like he had with Netero, he took a combat stance.
"Since you gave me my name," he said, "I'll leave your body intact."
...
Now, the Ant King fully understood the malice he had sensed from Netero.
He had come to recognize that not all humans were the same—there were some, like Komugi, who were worth protecting.
But on the whole, there could be no reconciliation between himself and humanity.
If he wished to rule the world—if he intended to achieve the ultimate purpose of the Chimera Ants—then he would have to face the ruling class of humankind.
And in that inevitable confrontation, there would be no compromises.
Only total victory—or absolute annihilation.
------------
Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)