Meanwhile, the Chimera Ant King, Meruem, had successfully conquered a nation—a momentous occasion indeed.
Meruem was born of the Chimera Ant Queen, the sovereign of the Chimera Ants. He forced his way out of the Queen's body before his time, causing her death. The Chimera Ants were creatures native to the Dark Continent, but the Queen, having been injured, had drifted into the human world and, through phagogenesis and mating, given birth to Meruem. Yet because he willed his own premature birth, the Queen died. He then set out to conquer the world and prey upon humans, mastering human language and knowledge. To pass the time, he took up human board games.
In his earliest days, Meruem was violent, bloodthirsty, and treated life as worthless, believing that might alone made right. He intended to build a fair and perfect world under his absolute rule, plotting with his Royal Guards to carry out a Selection in the Republic of East Gorteau—a planned massacre that would claim the lives of countless innocents.
Chapter 256