Civilization Traces

Whether it's V5, Netero, Beyond, Oboro believes that these people have never ventured as far into the Dark Continent as they have.

The fact that they were able to discover the five calamities and the hope indicates that the Longevity Rice and the Herb that Cures All Diseases exist on the edge of the continent. However, they landed in the wrong direction and came straight into the desert, so they did not see it.

Geographical bias.

But now, with the oasis... that special plant is very likely to appear! Finding Longevity Rice can increase lifespan, who wouldn't want to eat it?

Oboro's physical strength is now far superior to Netero's, but without the blessing of the Longevity Rice, he believes that he will still die when his time limit is up... at most he will just live a little longer.

This is far from enough for exploring the Dark Continent.

After a long while, the four of them stepped out of the tall, dense grass and came to a flat area.

The weeds here have become normal, just like in the human world, only reaching ankle height.

The grass was particularly vibrant in color, not just a single shade of green.

"Team leader."

Menchi pointed to a spot.

Long followed the direction and squinted his eyes.

To their left, directly in front, at the ten o'clock position, grew four or five bright red flowers, about half a meter tall. Inside the open buds, instead of stamens, grew a crystalline substance the size of a fist.

It appears to be the 'fruit' of this flower.

Having gained some experience, the group immediately realized that this was the 'hope' they were looking for.

"It's not Longevity Rice or herbs..."

Upon seeing this, Long couldn't help but look disappointed.

The ecological environment in this area is significantly different from where Netero landed, which has resulted in a difference in the types of organisms.

It's not Longevity Rice...

If the hope represented by this fruit cannot bring them direct benefits, then it has no value.

Long led the four of them and walked over on their own.

Menchi and the other two turned to look in the other direction. Several hundred meters away, there stood two creatures that resembled wolves and rats, walking upright like humans, their bodies covered in white fur. What was particularly striking was that both monsters had stark white skeletons hanging from their backs, which had been polished into some kind of sharp weapon.

The wolf-rat has double pupils and red eye sockets.

Upon spotting several tiny life forms approaching the flower, it let out a sharp cry, rolled up its weapon, and leaped forward, its figure moving swiftly from side to side on the ground. Menchi and the other two remained calm, offering no warning, because even they had seen it... their captain must have already noticed the two strange creatures.

They went straight for the flowers, not paying any attention to them.

Before the wolf-rat charged, a cloud of black mist had already overflowed from Long's body, condensing into a familiar misty body.

Meruem, the Chimera Ant King.

Immediately afterwards, the Chimera Ant King disappeared from the spot.

Its speed surpasses that of the two wolf-rats, and its appearance and actions do not require the black mist to carry it. It seems to be a separate soul individual with more powerful abilities, capable of escaping the Ghost Mist.

With two thuds, the two monsters, which had just taken off into the air with astonishing jumping power, vanished in a wisp of black smoke and instantly fell to the ground lifeless.

Meruem gazed at the two corpses, licked his lips with lingering satisfaction, and walked towards Oboro's location. After taking a few steps, his figure dissipated like mist...

Long raised his hand, Menchi the three of them to stop, and walked alone to the beautiful flowers.

On the ground to the side, something was stuck in the ground crookedly.

Although the shapes are different, they look a lot like the scarecrow that Oboro knew...

Farmers in the human world often use this to deceive and intimidate wild animals that frequently harm their crops.

The inside of the 'scarecrow' is a skeleton, covered with some kind of animal skin... and shaped by strands of woven straw rope.

Strange patterns were drawn on the animal hide with blood.

It resembles a talisman.

"This kind of thing..."

Long stared at the scarecrow, his heart sinking.

Along the way, no matter what kind of life form we encountered, none of them exhibited this human-like behavior.

This has become a custom or trend.

"There are definitely advanced life forms nearby!"

A chill ran down Long's spine.

His intuition told him that the scarecrow was extremely dangerous.

But seeing the extraordinary fruit on the flower, it would be a real shame to give it up.

Disasters are often proportional to hope.

The greater the danger, the greater the hope.

Long stepped over the scarecrow and reached out to pluck the ruby-like fruit.

Suddenly, the straw man seemed to move, and Long looked over as if he had been electrocuted... Everything seemed normal, as if it were an illusion.

He confirmed once again that the straw figure had no soul; it was just an empty shell.

Then, with a loud bang, the scarecrow was smashed to pieces.

Then, it released Ghost Mist that swept over several flowers, devouring and absorbing the unformed souls within them.

The fact that the soul is not formed indicates that these flowers lack sound and mature thinking or consciousness; they are merely vegetation with weak spiritual power.

Life was cut short; several flowers immediately tilted and fell over, and Long also managed to pick several fruits.

Reverse quickly.

"Captain, that's... a scarecrow..."

Anthony stared in astonishment at the shattered animal hides and bone fragments scattered on the ground.

"There's nothing to be surprised about. Humans migrated from the Dark Continent to the Lake Island, so it's normal for some kind of civilization to remain here. According to the existing information, there was a human city on this continent, but it seems to be empty. It's more like a ruin... Although the route we chose this time is the same as Don Freecss's, it goes in the opposite direction from that empty city. The life energy on the Dark Continent is too concentrated, so it's natural that some highly intelligent species would be born... This also shows that humans in the past had at least some influence on this land," Long said calmly.

He spoke calmly.

In reality, the truth was not revealed.

I didn't want Menchi and the others to be in turmoil.

He glanced again at the destroyed scarecrow, a bad feeling creeping over him.

At his current level of life experience, his intuition far surpasses that of Nen user... The straw man gives him an immense sense of danger, and there must be a reason for that.

Curse?

Weird?

Still...

Long thought to herself.

"Let's go first."

Holding the fruit in his hand, he didn't have time to examine it closely before hurriedly giving instructions.

Then, the four of them left together.

Those two wolf-rats were probably there quite some time ago, but they didn't try to get any fruit. One reason might be that the fruit wasn't on their menu, even though it represented a kind of hope for humans.

But for the creatures of the Dark Continent, its value might not be that high... However, Oboro is more inclined to believe that the two monsters are afraid of that scarecrow.

It's just a shell.

"A symbol?"

Declaring territory?

As I walked further away, I pondered in a daze.

If it's a curse... at least it will have energy. No matter what form the attack takes, even if it involves rules, it won't be effective without energy.

Before Alluka kills, she will reveal her true form, appearing as 'spiritual energy,' or 'soul appearance.'

Her energy comes from her own body.

It becomes invisible due to the rules.

Even invisible energy can still be traced.

For example, twisting a living person into a pretzel and causing them to explode and die, or a spaceship in the sky scattering cash... these are all caused by 'force'.

The fact that Long sensed even a trace of 'energy' from the scarecrow did not mean there was no danger, because some kind of energy could descend upon him at any moment through the rules.

Just like Alluka's ability, twist him into a pretzel... that's the twisted nature of the rules.

But this wasn't the first time Oboro had come into contact with the power of rules; he himself was a player of the 'rules of the game' in the past.

There are two types of countermeasures. The first is to find loopholes in the other party's rules and thereby break them.

Secondly, its own energy exceeds the level that the opponent's power of rules can control.

Energy is always the most fundamental driving force.

This is how Oboro killed the elder of the Botswa Tribe.

The first method is no longer applicable to Oboro because he is unaware of the rules regarding 'potential danger' and lacks information.

All he can do is resist with his own strength when the energy driven by the rules arrives.

The power of rules can twist a person into a pretzel, but what if that person is as hard as a steel plate?

To drive the source of rules, a greater price must be paid! Rules can be seen as a form of disguised control and constraint; although they have flaws, they are not absolute.

The earliest game rules were the same. Although you had to follow the rules of the game, if you were strong enough, you could ignore the drawbacks of the rules... However, none of his opponents could do that back then.

Because it's too difficult...

The stronger the constraints and changes of the rules, the stronger the things that need to release the rules must be.

Otherwise, the effect will only be weakened.

Of course, that scarecrow might not necessarily involve rules... it could also be something eerie.

What is eeriness...? It's Melody, the companion Kurapika was supposed to meet.

The Dark Sonata she heard may very well have originated from the Dark Continent ...

It is extremely harmful to the soul.

Zobae Disease, one of the five major calamities, is also a typical example.

Oboro's soul abilities also fit the eerie characteristics.

However, whether it's strange or extraordinary, it all has signs of energy.

There was no scarecrow, so the only thing Oboro could think of was the rules... otherwise, his ominous premonition wouldn't have arisen out of thin air.

Of course, his guess might be wrong.

The danger lies hidden within the other equations.

If it weren't for the rules, he could actually breathe a sigh of relief.

"Demon King..."

When thinking of the Dark Sonata, Oboro couldn't help but think of a life form that mostly existed on the Dark Continent.

He could choose not to take the fruit, and he could choose not to take the risk.

But Oboro knew very well that rules... were unavoidable on this land.

He must... accept it as soon as possible.

When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it.