Different Life Systems

Long's figure weaved through the massive tree roots, then took flight, instantly arriving in front of a tree-man's 'face,' his arm burning with ghostly flames piercing into the trunk.

With a single blow, the treant's soul was shattered and absorbed.

The tree-man also withered away at a visible rate.

On the other side, countless ghosts, led by spirits such as Meruem, launched a massive attack on the Tree Man.

The attack methods of the Chimera Ant King, the Neferpitou, and others were very similar to those of Oboro. They didn't need to burrow into the bodies of creatures to devour their souls; their purely external attacks were enough to inflict massive damage on the Tree Spirits. Meanwhile, the smaller vengeful spirits continued to surge towards the creatures' bodies, devouring the soul fire within.

These treants, like the monsters in the desert before them, possess immense life energy but relatively weak willpower, resulting in their soul fire burning weakly and being unable to resist the attack of 'soul erosion'.

However, there are too many of them, making them very troublesome to handle.

In addition, since Menchi and the others do not have Oboro's strength, Oboro must finish the battle quickly to avoid the three of them being affected.

Fortunately, at the start of the battle, Netero and Youpi, two spirits, drifted with the black mist to the front of the three and launched an attack on the nearby treants.

On the earth, one towering tree after another withered away.

Long flew among the giant trees, sensing the situation of Menchi and the other two. Although the three had improved their strength considerably, the tree roots that could almost smash through skyscrapers kept falling, and it was still difficult for them to dodge them at their speed.

The sheer number of attacks resulted in a very high attack frequency.

Moreover, the area covered by the tree roots left them with nowhere to land.

Menchi lay on a tree root as wide as a road, using the sharp knife in his hand to stab into the branch and barely maintain his figure.

The main body, however, was spinning wildly in mid-air along with the swaying tree roots, and could be thrown off at any moment.

Once she falls to the ground, the surrounding tree roots could instantly kill her.

She gripped the knife handle tightly with both hands, unable to see Gabe Vich and Anthony's location anymore... She was barely managing to stay upright from falling off the tree roots; it was her limit! Everything happened incredibly fast.

But Oboro only killed a dozen or so tree people.

"This won't do. Although we can eventually destroy this forest, we can't take care of the three of them... There's still danger."

After Long shattered the soul of a large tree in front of the door with One-Punch Man punch, he frowned.

Then, all the ghosts in the space, including the Chimera Ant King and other spirits, turned into smoke, and a black tide like ocean waves swept in all directions.

Meanwhile, Oboro himself underwent another transformation, and a figure as tall as the treant rose from the sea of mist, carrying a lantern suspended by a Chain in his hand.

It was Thresh.

He suddenly became so huge that all the tree people turned their attacks on him.

The surging tree roots in the black mist, like rolling dragons, rushed towards him.

"The Netherworld Prison!"

Long said something.

In an instant, within the domain of the Ghost Mist, walls of soul-like structures rose from the ground, trapping the tree-people within them.

Immediately afterwards, eerie green flames burst forth from the black mist, spreading rapidly and turning into a sea of fire... As for Menchi and the other two, they were enveloped and protected by the Ghost Mist.

The will-o'-the-wisps burned fiercely as Thresh's Rigge's Lantern swept through the prison, taking away clumps of souls wherever it went.

Two or three minutes later, the battlefield finally returned to calm.

The battle ended, and the black fog dissipated...

As Long fell back to the ground from mid-air, his face was solemn. Looking up at the sky, he noticed that... before those tree people died, the canopies above their heads trembled, as if something was falling down.

Although extremely small, it does exist...

Bathed in the sunlight, Long's pupils contracted.

He saw the shimmering light reflected in the air.

"Tree powder?"

He stretched out his finger and caught a bit of the falling powder.

This powder, resembling dust, is difficult to detect.

The next second, an even more astonishing scene unfolded.

The moment a finger touches the powder, the tree powder takes root on the spot, ignoring the defense and protection of Nen power, and in an instant it grows into a small sapling on the fingertip.

The tenacious, sharp roots pierced through Oboro's skin, absorbing her life energy, causing half of Oboro's finger to age and wrinkle in the blink of an eye, showing signs of atrophy!

Long suddenly constricted his blood vessels and pulled the sapling off his finger.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that countless Little Tree had sprouted from the ground around them, and in no time, they had grown to the size of a human.

"No wonder it became the overlord... What kind of medium is this for reproduction? It's a bit too terrifying..."

Long realized that these new saplings had almost no soul, only a thin soul line that sustained their basic life, and they were growing wildly entirely on instinct.

The amount of tree pollen shed by a large tree is incalculable. Even disregarding some external factors, it will at least give rise to several thousand, or even tens of thousands, of Little Tree.

He saw that some tree powder that had fallen on the rocks had sprouted into lush green saplings, though not as quickly.

This suggests that this organism has no requirements for the 'fertilized body'... or very low requirements.

If your life energy is strong, it's not a good place to 'farm experience'.

However, these saplings were very weak and had little value.

However, due to certain innate biological talents, they are quite dangerous.

Tree dust floated in the air, covering an unimaginable area and space; this was the devastating attack released by the tree-man before its death.

All living things in the area that come into contact with tree pollen will likely eventually become nutrients that the saplings can absorb.

"Ah!"

At that moment, Oboro heard a scream.

Turning around abruptly, he saw Menchi swing his knife and ruthlessly sever Anthony's skin-and-bones arm.

Seven or eight saplings grew on the latter's arm.

If Anthony hesitated even slightly, he would likely have been drained dry.

This powder is unavoidable and cannot be avoided.

Menchi had just cut off Anthony's hand when tiny buds sprouted all over her and Gabe Vich's bodies.

The three of them had a look of despair in their eyes.

Are you suggesting we cut off all the parasitized body parts? That would be tantamount to suicide.

"Fine."

In the critical moment, Long immediately flashed to the three of them.

He unleashed a soul-stirring pressure.

Look at the three of them, including the tiny sprouts that had just emerged on Oboro's own body; they all lost their vitality and fell off their flesh.

Oboro's abilities cannot stop the tree people's talent for reproduction, but as long as the tree powder takes root and sprouts, showing signs of 'life', soul lines will appear.

He could kill someone by erasing their soul.

The problem is that the tree pollen is still falling in waves, and the Little Tree on the ground will only increase, which will not be resolved in a short time.

One is quantity, and the other is area.

As for that crimson liquid, it probably can't be taken away either, because it's already mixed with tree powder.

Given the sapling's terrifying growth rate, Oboro wasn't sure if the sapling would burst out of his stomach after consuming the liquid.

"Hurry up."

After thinking it over, he quickly led his teammates away.