The Ceremony

During the few days that Kaji and Dama were communicating with the base and the Association, Oboro conducted an experiment on a few live insects.

To further verify my conjecture.

On the grass, Oboro and Hisoka stared at the dead soldier before them.

The man's head was shattered, but his hands and feet remained intact, though they had suffered some degree of injury.

Click...

Then, a strange noise was heard, and the corpse slowly stood up from the ground, with a surge of Nen power emanating from its body.

Long glanced at Lance.

The latter immediately fired a bullet...

However, the bullets only caused small wounds on the corpse, indicating that the force of the bullets was clearly negated...

Hisoka threw out several cards and swiftly severed one of the soldier's legs and an arm.

Even so, the fallen skeletons continued to move, leaping up with the strength of a single lower limb and lunging at them.

Bang.

With a single whip kick, like a sharp blade unsheathed, Long shattered the soldier's body, causing it to explode.

"Before death, being possessed by insects would control one's mind...and one's life essence would be weakened to some extent, as if it were being absorbed... After death, through the insects as a medium, Nen was awakened. It was just pure Nen, with a tendency to initially form Nen power ...The way the Nen was contracted was clearly for defense," Oboro said.

"In other words, once it's possessed, the brain becomes like a worm, which controls it. But since these worms themselves have little thought or intelligence, they can only rely on instinct to drive their energy... The energy released after death is also from the worm, which first absorbs the individual's energy and then transforms and uses it..."

As the voices were heard, two worms emerged from the mangled flesh of the corpse.

There was originally one.

As soon as the two insects were exposed to the air, they reflexively scurried up and attacked.

The flapping of the wings, combined with that speed... made not a sound.

In other words, it's something you can see with the naked eye; if you can't see it, it's easy for someone to possess you.

"The thought, or rather the will, attached to them has a certain 'camouflage'. When it comes to sneak attacks, it is very similar to 'Ze'... When facing attacks, it can also use thought to resist, so it's no wonder that the soldiers have no way to deal with it."

Hisoka gently swiped the card in his hand, and the two insects were split in two.

After landing, they disappeared together.

"This kind of insect is very special. It doesn't simply parasitize flesh and blood to lay eggs and reproduce in order to increase its numbers... Instead, it splits its Nen and the accompanying 'will' and transfers them to another individual." Oboro's tone was heavy.

Boom boom boom...

Suddenly, intense gunfire and artillery explosions came from behind.

Without a word, Lance grabbed Pingsen and Dangrui with both hands, gathered his strength in his legs, and the skin on his calves began to turn a deep red like a branding iron. The next second, like a supercar, he carried the two away in the opposite direction.

Oboro and Hisoka disappeared from their spot and headed toward the source of the sound.

As you approach the town, you see a large number of soldiers in white protective suits firing wildly at animals of all shapes and sizes, some alive and some dead... It has turned into a massive beast horde disaster.

Too many to count...

It felt like there were at least tens of thousands of parasites, a dark, dense mass, like a black ocean.

The East Gorteau army, which was originally stationed at the other end of the town, closer to the Sawtooth Mountains, was also forced to retreat. Their numbers seemed to have decreased significantly... leaving them with less than a thousand men.

The parasitized species include birds, beasts, and reptiles... Their diverse attack methods mean that firearms alone are simply insufficient to deal with them.

For example, the flocks of birds circling overhead fall like a curtain of rain.

For soldiers, the lethality of a dive bomb is no less than that of a bullet.

Braving the hail of bullets, the beasts at the front fell one by one, but quickly got back up... Even those whose flesh and tissue were destroyed by bullets would still be shot at closer targets by flying insects.

Some soldiers had their protective suits torn apart and screamed as they became food for the beasts.

Some... were so terrified when faced with this scene that they immediately turned and ran away...

It seems that all the species in the Sawtooth Mountains have left their original habitats.

Split.

The ability to split is terrifying.

There may have been only one or a few insects at first, but after a period of parasitism and hatching, their numbers have reached an unimaginable level.

One guy stood out in the crowd.

She is an Enhancement Nen user.

They were wearing the uniforms of the East Gorteau Army, but without protective suits.

He was the only human who stood firm amidst the surging beast tide.

The aura he unleashed was even more powerful than that of Oboro, making him practically a human bulldozer among the beasts.

Any creature that gets close to him will be torn to shreds by his attacks. His Nen is extremely destructive and has a wide range, giving Oboro the illusion that he has seen Uvogin.

East Gorteau actually has such a Nen user! He and Hisoka were hiding behind the human military camp, in the woods of the town, where they used Zetsu to dissipate their Nen and make it easier to remain concealed.

With this expert in Enhancement present, the military's casualties seem to have been somewhat reduced.

Although the soldiers were gradually retreating, the lines were not completely broken by the parasites.

"If we lose, the battlefield will expand again..."

Long thought with certainty.

Just as he was about to tell Hisoka to leave first, suddenly, he saw a person appear deep within the beast tide.

A man with a long braid, his face covered with tattoo-like totems, wearing a white robe.

They are Botswa Tribe!

The parasites running wildly around the man did not attack him.

Then, Long's pupils contracted.

I saw this Botswa Tribe raise his hands towards the sky and make a gesture.

Then, he pulled out a dagger and slit his throat... He committed suicide! After his death, he did not rise again like a corpse; instead, the surrounding parasites stopped in their tracks, gathered together, and began to devour his flesh and blood...

There wasn't even a bone left; they ate it all up.

Immediately afterward, Oboro sensed that... the massive herd of beasts had become even more restless, and their aura had become even more ferocious.

"Withdraw!"

Oboro called out.

They immediately ran away at top speed.

Hisoka immediately followed.

Half a day later, after confirming that he had reached a safe location and left the area of the Sawtooth Mountains, he stopped.

A noise came from the side, Hisoka stopped.

"What's wrong?"

The latter asked.

Based on Hisoka's understanding of Oboro, he felt that... Oboro had figured something out.

"It's not an energy like the Cursed Grudge of the Dead... nor is it a direct Post-Mortem Nen, but rather it is transmitted indirectly through a medium... It possesses the will of Post-Mortem Nen and also has certain rules..." Oboro ignored Hisoka's voice, replaying the actions of the Botswa Tribe in his mind, and muttered to himself.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him.

It looks like it...

It resembles the Seed Urn Ceremony of the Kakin Empire.

Although the functions and effects presented are different, the types are very similar... There are rules, a venue, offerings, and participants. Connecting this to previous inferences, the Botswa Tribe possess some kind of special item...

"The birth of the Primordial Insect..."

"It seems complicated, but it's actually incredibly simple... It's far less elaborate than the Seed Urn Ceremony. Its purpose is to perpetuate the life of the race. The participants are both the Botswa Tribe and the kingdom's monarch. The venue should be the entire East Gorteau. They want to overthrow the regime, targeting the royal family... The sacrifice is the Botswa Tribe..."

"Once the ritual begins, the Botswa Tribe must sacrifice themselves periodically until only the last 'spark of life' remains, that is, the last person, at which point the division and parasitism will end..."

Long kept muttering to himself, his gaze fixed.

At this moment, he was brainstorming and completely forgot about Hisoka's existence.

"Um?"

Hisoka was also seeing him like this for the first time; his face had a half-smile on it, but he didn't disturb him.

Ren Youlong talked to himself like a madman.

"Something gave birth to Primordial Insect, giving it certain effects and abilities... and thus began the ritual."

"Its power and effect are far inferior to the Seed Urn... After all, the Seed Urn allows a group of princes to possess spirit beasts, while this insect does not directly affect the Botswa Tribe, but relies purely on its nature and ability to split and evolve. Its binding force of rules is not as strong as the latter, and it can not even be said to exist obviously."

"The venue is too large, which will weaken the effect of the ritual... If the Primordial Insect or the first batch of worms had been eliminated at the beginning, the Botswa Tribe would probably all have died, and it would not have turned out like this. The ritual would have ended early... If my analysis is correct, the Botswa Tribe who are alive cannot kill the king after the remaining people are sacrificed. In that case, the victor would be the other side, but the Botswa Tribe's fire can be preserved."

Oboro sensed the rule because he and Hisoka entered the Sawtooth Mountains and were attacked by parasitic beasts.

The person who was attacked first was not him, but Hisoka ...

Out of hostility towards the Botswa Tribe.

Similar to the prerequisites for using his Nen, it is precisely because his abilities are attached to rules that Oboro is particularly sensitive to rules.

It's important to know that Seed Urn Ceremony, the princes' spirit beasts will also protect their respective masters, exhibiting a certain passive defense mechanism.

Of course, outsiders can also get involved in the Seed Urn Ceremony, focusing on the participants, namely the princes... who are the main characters.

The purpose is to select the next generation to succeed the previous one.

Oboro didn't expect it at first because of the venue... The venue for the Seed Urn was on the Black Whale, where many rules were quite clear, such as the princes not being able to see their Nen Beasts and not being able to leave the Black Whale before the ceremony was over, etc. In contrast, the Botswa Tribe's ceremony had weak rules and no constraints... and the venue was also unclear.

However, judging from the gradual expansion of the battlefield, it may endanger an entire country.

The scope is so large... it's simply not something that a ritual can influence.

Or rather, from the beginning, this ritual didn't have such strict requirements for rules and venues... because the thing that created the ritual didn't have much power.

Even now, the swarm's fission is terrifying... Ultimately, if they had been wiped out from the beginning, or if they had been swept away with overwhelming firepower in the early stages, this outcome would not have occurred.

It was Wang Guojun himself who created a breeding ground for the swarm... which led the situation out of control.

"Whatever the conditions and factors that led to the start of the ceremony... it was certainly achieved."

"These are all speculations, and we need to confirm them step by step."

"Is the purpose of the ritual to preserve the last life of the race, or to perish together? If it's the latter... then this is the first time the ritual has been used, and the probability is too small. The more likely scenario is the first one: the continuation of the race."

"The threat identified by the Association is that thing... It should be the source of the Post-Mortem Nen."

"We're late. If we had come earlier, depending on the purpose of the ceremony, we could have used the rules to end it sooner... But now..."

If it is a ritual held for the continuation of the race.

I want it to end.

They had two options: first, kill all the Botswa Tribe and leave only one alive.

The second option was to kill the king and allow the Botswa Tribe to win.

One point that's relevant is whether creations can cover multiple people...

If the entire royal family is involved, then there are quite a few people, and every single one of them is a participant? Therefore, Oboro believes... there is only one target, and that is the king.

As for how to involve them in the ritual... what are the conditions, and how was it done? Lone couldn't figure it out... but the Botswa Tribe had clearly accomplished it.

The bugs... can't be eliminated anymore; the original number is too large.

The danger posed by this insect was negligible for him and Hisoka ...

It can be seen that the ritual creations are rather ordinary, unlike the mind beasts born from the Seed Urn, which are all terrifying... Hope is placed solely on a tiny insect, without any thoughts or consciousness.

The only advantage is its rapid spread...

Oboro wasn't entirely sure about her deduction... but based on the current situation, it seemed to be the most reasonable one.

Another explanation is that this insect is a species from the Dark Continent.

Forget about that idea... Oboro prefers to believe the inferences from the ritual.

"You... figured it out?"

Hisoka, standing to the side, was somewhat surprised.

He couldn't understand what Oboro was saying...

But this friend seemed to have a complete understanding of the situation.

It seems... that everything was planned from beginning to end.

What's wrong with his head? He's clearly a team member, yet he's completely clueless.

"Not sure, let's find Lance and the other two and bring them back to base first."

Lonely responded.

Hisoka's eyes changed slightly...

He understood Oboro and didn't think Oboro was talking nonsense...

What Long did, he didn't do.

Hisoka's gaze fixed on Oboro, growing slightly more intense...

They have been receiving the same messages these past few days.

"Tsk, can you please stop staring at me like that..." Long turned and walked ahead, speaking coldly without looking back.

"Hehehe..."

Hisoka smiled without saying a word.

After a while, they found Lance and his two companions.

Return via the same route and head towards the border.

A few days later, we stepped into a makeshift base not far from the border.

Kaji and Dama were also there.

Oboro found his phone and called Netero.

He explained his thoughts and the current situation in East Gorteau in detail.

"Hmm... your guess is quite possible... it seems things are more serious than I thought..."

The old man said slowly, "I still have to praise you. You found the direction so quickly. No wonder you're someone I've chosen..."

"... At this point, please stop joking. If it were truly a ritual, it wouldn't pose much of a threat to the outside world, but the country of East Gorteau might be gone... At this rate of fragmentation, with war engulfing the entire nation, few would survive," Long said calmly.

"Before it spreads completely, I think we can make use of some 'special items'."

"You mean nuclear weapons?"

"The regime of East Gorteau is unlikely to allow other forces to enter the country... In addition, the area affected by the war is already quite large, and it is difficult to stop it by an individual or a team alone! Just drop a nuclear bomb and wipe out all the bugs. That shouldn't be difficult for V5, right?" Long sneered.

"Is there a difference? It will still provoke international disputes and wars... The social impact is also immeasurable. If it can be done by human intervention, there is no need to go that far."

"Why don't you make a trip, or send more people over... You're not thinking of making me do it all by myself, are you?"

Long's heart sank.

"Hehehe... This isn't my mission."

"..."

"According to you, it's a kind of initiation ritual... Can't we just break it or end it?"

The president yawned. "Oh dear, I suddenly feel a bit sleepy... The older I get, the more tired I become... Keep going, I believe you can do it."

Smack

Long hung up the phone immediately.

Squinting...

You old geezer!

Typing is so hard!