Chapter 144: My Name
Standing atop a distant high-rise building while keeping constant watch on the palace, Morel and the others knew that this was the perfect chance to infiltrate the palace interior!
"But could this be a trap?" Morel asked.
"Probably not. They wouldn't use tactics that could endanger the King of Ants," Knuckle replied.
Morel pressed further, "What if the King of Ants ordered them to do this?"
He couldn't afford to be careless—if they were wrong, the extermination team would face eternal damnation, and he bore responsibility for more than just his own life.
Knuckle shrugged, "That's possible, but regardless, the enemy has indeed withdrawn that wide-range En. We should take this opportunity to get as close to the palace as possible."
"We need to set up exits around the palace in advance to execute the infiltration plan later. Taking risks is inevitable sooner or later—we might as well seize this chance!"
...
Inside the palace.
The repair puppet materialized by Neferpitou was treating the King of Ants' broken arm.
In a corner of the palace.
Shaiapouf glanced toward the King of Ants and asked, "Pitou, how long will the King's treatment take?"
"Hmm... It'll take at least two to three hours to complete the treatment, meow," Neferpitou thought for a moment before answering.
"During the surgery, you can't use En or control puppets, right?"
Neferpitou nodded, "Yes, because this ability consumes a massive amount of energy."
"Repair puts a significant strain on your abilities. During the treatment, I'll guard the palace perimeter. My En range isn't as extensive as yours, but this task is too important to entrust to anyone else." After saying this, Shaiapouf turned and walked directly out of the palace.
...
Elsewhere.
Knuckle was doing his utmost to approach the palace.
Having reached the palace courtyard, he looked at the garden full of insect-egg fruit trees, his eyes filled with astonishment.
These bizarre trees bore enormous fruits, and he could vaguely make out human figures inside these insect-egg fruits.
Knuckle scanned the area—each tree bore five hundred such fruits, and there were currently eight trees in the large courtyard.
According to the initial estimate of selecting five hundred thousand people, roughly one percent would be fortunate enough to survive the selection.
"Due to our interference, along with another group's sabotage, the plan was interrupted before it could even last a day. Calculating it this way, the number of people roughly matches the number of fruits," Knuckle thought to himself.
"Which means these four thousand fruits are cocoons of selected humans. Once hatched, they'll transform into humanoid weapons with Nen Abilities, becoming the King of Ants' claws to harm humanity!"
Knuckle extended his finger and drew a circle on the ground.
"First, the distant exit—set!"
He raised his head to look toward the palace entrance, a flash of determination in his eyes.
"I need to get closer!"
...
Drip, drip...
Mord looked up at the sky.
It was raining.
In the empty street square, only he stood there, surrounded by scrapped tanks and crashed aircraft.
The East Gorteau soldiers, having lost Neferpitou's Nen Ability control, lay powerless before Mord.
Mord glanced at them, then turned to leave.
It was about time to return.
If not for wanting to experience flying on a dragon, Mord would have gone to the palace alone long ago.
This battle also proved that conventional modern weapons posed no threat to Mord.
...
In the palace.
During their game, the King of Ants noticed the aura of Komugi sitting opposite him had changed.
The King's learning ability needed no explanation—just a few hours of study allowed him to easily defeat national champions of various board games.
But Komugi sitting across from him gave him a peculiar feeling.
Like a mountain that kept growing taller no matter how hard he tried to climb it, always remaining beyond his reach.
This feeling seemed familiar.
As if he had experienced it before, back when he was still in that woman's womb.
That feeling of looking up at an insurmountable peak.
The King shook his head, dispelling the distracting thoughts.
Komugi had actually broken through her limits during her games with the King, achieving complete awakening.
If time could rewind and a young Netero had encountered the King, he might have truly broken through the limits of martial arts.
"Your Majesty, I have a strange feeling," Komugi suddenly spoke.
"I can't stop."
"Unexpected winning moves keep emerging endlessly in my mind."
"I can feel myself growing stronger and stronger."
Every casual move she made turned out to be a brilliant one.
The King stared at the board for a long time before finally resigning.
"Would you permit me to take a break?" Komugi bowed respectfully.
The King looked up at Komugi. In his memory, this was the first time she had actively requested a break.
"What's wrong with you?"
"I'm fine." Komugi shook her head, then continued. "I just want to return to my room and record all the moves I've thought of."
"Can your eyes handle that?" It was hard to believe such concerned words would come from the King of Ants.
"Ah! Actually, I just need to set up the moves on the board. Once I've physically arranged them once, I'll never forget."
"Very well, you may go."
"Yes!"
Komugi stood up and walked toward the palace exit with her cane.
Just as she was about to leave, a voice stopped her.
"Hey!"
Komugi stopped and turned to face the King.
"Your name..."
"What is your name?"
"My... name?"
"There's no one else here."
"K-Ko... My name is Komugi!"
"Komugi." The King of Ants murmured the name softly.
"Your Excellency... then what is your name?" It was at this moment that Komugi posed the soul-searching question.
My... name...
What... is my name?
The King of Ants stood frozen in place.
From birth until now, he had never considered this question. He only knew he was the King.
That was all.
Komugi's question struck directly at the King's soul.
Ant colonies possess social characteristics remarkably similar to humans.
Ants are born with the biological instinct for social organization, division of labor, tireless work, and self-sacrifice. The meaning of every ant's existence is to serve the entire colony. In other words, ants are among the creatures least likely to spontaneously develop self-awareness.
But Chimera Ants are not merely ants, because they contain mixed human genes.
As the final product of the entire ant colony's devotion, the King of Ants was born bearing the heavy mission of propagating the species (which meant ruling the world). The ant genes in the King strongly suppressed the formation of self-awareness.
The Squadron Leaders, not long after their birth, had already demanded from the Chimera Ant Queen that they possess their own names.
Yet the King's personal consciousness only awakened with Komugi's question.