After walking for a while, the group returned near the royal palace and noticed that the human formation outside the palace was gone.
Instead, they saw a group of people.
Knov, Palm, Knuckle, Ikalgo, and three other unfamiliar Chimera Ants.
It turned out that after Shaiapouf's death, the Post-mortem Nen was absorbed by Germain's "Hunter Badge," and the hypnosis over the residents of the Republic of East Gorteau was completely broken. They all woke up.
They were confused, terrified, and unsure of what was happening, not understanding why they were standing there or how long they had been. They just felt their legs giving way.
Knov and the others told some kind lies.
They pretended to be subordinates of Ming Jol-ik and Minister Bizeff, and persuaded the group to leave, not staying in this place.
The crisis with the Chimera Ants has mostly been resolved, but precautions are still necessary to prevent crowds from gathering.
Although everyone was confused, they still followed orders as usual, leaving the area and returning to their homes, too scared to go outside.
Later, Knov and the others waited until now. When they saw Germain and the others returning, it was another joyful reunion and celebration.
The hardships and dangers of this night were only truly understood by those who directly participated.
Next, Knuckle introduced the three relatively unfamiliar Chimera Ants to Germain, Netero, and Morel.
One Chimera Ant looked like a lobster and was called Bloster, while another looked like a wolf and was named Welfin.
They both had been defeated by the strong-willed Ikalgo in various ways, thus they withdrew from the final battle.
After confirming that the Ant King and his three royal guards had been completely killed, Bloster and Welfin did not resist; instead, they surrendered to Knov and the others.
The last Chimera Ant was a female, wearing a rabbit doll hat, named Hina. She had been slacking off during the final battle.
At one point, she planned to escape. However, as soon as she drove the truck above ground, she ran into Knuckle and Ikalgo, who caught her on the spot.
Fortunately, Hina surrendered quickly, and since she had some connections with the Chimera Ant eradication team, she wasn't eliminated.
This connection came from the fact that she had once taken in a maid. That maid happened to be the sister of Colt, who had surrendered to humanity not long ago.
Strictly speaking, before they were transformed into Chimera Ants, they were biological siblings. Colt, recalling his past life, found his sister, who had been serving as Hina's maid.
At the time, Colt had not yet surrendered to humanity, so Hina treated him like one of her own, letting him go without hesitation.
The siblings were sent to the rear area, waiting for a chance to return to the NGL district and reunite with their mother.
Of course, whether their mother and the nearby residents would accept their current forms and whether they could start over was another matter.
Because of this, and since Hina hadn't hindered or harmed any members of the Chimera Ant eradication team during the final battle, she was given a more lenient treatment.
Back at the palace, amidst the chaos of the battlefield, there were still a group of surviving humans.
Among them were the Minister Bizeff, who had been tied up and had surrendered to the Chimera Ants, and the woman he had imprisoned in the underground world.
Those women were of course set free, but they still gathered together, looking at Bizeff with fear in their eyes.
Even though Bizeff was tied up, they were still afraid he might do something to them.
Bizeff had more than once pretended to faint or be bound, testing these women's "loyalty."
If they resisted or tried to escape, they would be punished by him.
The worst possible outcome, of course, was being dragged to the ground and used as food for the Chimera Ants.
Over time, no woman dared to resist him anymore.
Even now, they were still worried this might be another of Bizeff's tricks, and that at any moment, he might rise up with a sinister smile.
Palm was among these women, which allowed her to enter the royal palace.
Although she was quickly killed and reborn as a Chimera Ant, she still knew a bit about the situation these women were in.
She wanted to comfort them, but, first, she wasn't the type to do so, and second, she was now in the body of a Chimera Ant. These women feared her more than they did Bizeff.
Bizeff was tied up and thrown onto the ground, with a ball gag in his mouth that he usually used.
When he saw everyone return, he squirmed like an eel, making muffled sounds to attract attention.
Everyone noticed him, but no one paid him any mind.
So, in the silent early morning, only Bizeff's whimpers echoed.
After a while, someone finally spoke, and it was Welfin, one of the Chimera Ants who had surrendered.
The wolf-shaped Welfin sat cross-legged on the ground, occasionally glancing at Netero and Germain.
He could tell that these two held the highest positions here.
However, since Germain looked so young, Welfin still leaned toward Netero being the true leader. And indeed, he wasn't wrong.
"By the way, what's going to happen to us?"
Welfin looked at Netero and asked the question that was on the minds of all the Chimera Ants present, including Palm, whose identity was now complex.
Netero looked at Welfin, then swept his gaze across the other Chimera Ants.
"What do you want to happen to you?"
"How could I possibly know?"
Welfin scratched his fur irritably, then pointed at the eggs on the trees.
"These humans are beyond saving. They will also become Chimera Ants, they just haven't fully hatched yet."
He pointed to the ground.
"Countless humans have been turned into meatballs, stored in various parts of the palace, especially in the largest freezer below."
"Most of us used to be human. It was the invasion of the Chimera Ants that changed our lives."
"In the beginning, we were confused, and we did very cruel things to our fellow humans. Now, many of us are starting to remember our past lives as humans."
"Are we humans or Chimera Ants? Are we righteous or evil?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure how we should be treated."
The situation with the Chimera Ants here is very complicated.
Some are tonight's heroes, some are the ones who just surrendered, and others were captured and turned into Chimera Ants. How should we deal with this?
Everyone frowned deeply.
Netero pressed his lips together, turned to look at Germain.
"Germain, what do you think?"
Germain thought for a moment, then pointed at Bizeff.
"Someone has to take responsibility for tonight's events. Let's make him the scapegoat. Say it was him who planned the coup against Ming Jol-ik, and that's what led to everything."
"This way, most people in the world will be fooled."
Bizeff, hearing this, widened his eyes in disbelief, staring at Germain.
Then, he squirmed even harder, but the gag in his mouth caused saliva to fly everywhere, and he couldn't say a full sentence.
Germain ignored Bizeff and turned to look at the Chimera Ants.
"As for you all… those who want to start over, can start over. Those who want to hide away, can hide away. Those who want to atone, can atone. It's an explanation for those in the know."
********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 15 early chapters.
https://www.patreon.com/Unique_Writer