Human Nature

Fragments of speech came from the darkness—

Cole was shocked, unable to believe it.

He even blurted out the question, "Who the hell are you?"

That in itself was a question that would basically go unanswered.

But it was also an instinctive reaction born from the turmoil of shock and disbelief churning inside him.

Because—

The figure whose silhouette emerged from the darkness had likely seen through his ability.

Only that could explain why the "Harvest" had been so miserably poor.

And the thing he understood least of all was...

If this person had discovered his ability on the way here and wanted to stop him, they should have destroyed the plants on the armed soldiers at the first opportunity.

If they had destroyed even one of the "Corpse Soil" instances, he would have sensed it immediately and chosen to "Harvest" early to cut his losses.

But the other party hadn't chosen to destroy the "Corpse Soil." Instead, they interfered with the "nutrients" needed for growth, without affecting the "growth process" itself.

In other words—

The other party had likely analyzed his ability from minimal information, while also realizing that "uprooting" the plants might alert him...

Then they chose to play along, using this method to make his harvest meager, thus wasting his potential aura.

If this reasoning held, then this person's understanding of "Nen" and their sharpness...

Was terrifyingly strong!!!

Cole couldn't control his expression anymore. The question he'd blurted out naturally received no response.

He could only stare fixedly at the silhouette standing silently in the darkness.

He could clearly see the Nen on that person, but it was so faint it only emitted a dim, hazy glow.

To confirm, he used "Gyo" to observe the surroundings but didn't see any other hidden Nen.

At least from his perspective, he could only see the Nen on that one person.

Such weak Nen...

He could probably take them out with a single punch, but—

"On purpose? Trying to bait me into striking first?"

"So is it a counter-attack type...?"

"That's possible. I can't rashly strike first. I could use 'En' to probe the situation... no, my 'En' can't reach that far, and there's a risk of being hit while using it..."

"What should I do? Just wait and see, then hold out until Genbul and the others get here?"

"Or should I test them first... damn, I don't have the habit of carrying a gun."

Cole's thoughts were somewhat chaotic. Just staring at the motionless silhouette in the darkness made him feel an immense pressure out of nowhere.

"Not only was my ability seen through, but it was also turned against me."

This realization not only made Cole deeply aware that the other party was a formidable opponent, but it also inevitably disrupted his thoughts.

So when he saw the other party release only a trace of Nen and stand still in the darkness, his first reaction was that they were deliberately showing a weakness.

With that preconception lodged in his mind, Cole didn't dare act rashly.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate, neither moving, neither speaking.

In contrast, the battle on the other side was intense.

Genbul's "Gambler's Rhapsody" was the same type of ability as Cole's "Harvest Time"—it required a certain preparation phase to reach its full potential.

So how to smoothly get through that preparation phase?

Relying on a comrade's combat power was one option; improving one's own response capability was another.

Genbul chose both.

So his direct combat ability wasn't weak.

Similarly, Cole's direct combat ability wasn't much weaker either.

Therefore, even if his ability was interrupted, he wasn't completely helpless.

At the very least, Genbul could handle Hawk's attacks, and he even had the upper hand.

"What the hell is going on with Cole..."

Dodging a flying Nen bullet by sidestepping, Genbul surged forward to press Hawk, while quickly glancing at Cole, who stood motionless in place, his brow slightly furrowed.

He had been counting on Cole's "Harvest Time" to give them the power to end the fight in a short time, but it turned out to be much ado about nothing.

And the culprit behind all this was that skulking bastard.

But so what?

In terms of numbers, they still had the advantage.

Yet Cole remained motionless, only wasting their advantage.

With no time to dwell on Cole, Genbul closed the distance and suppressed Hawk with a ferocious assault.

"Damn it, the wound on my left hand hasn't healed yet."

Hawk struggled to fend off Genbul's onslaught.

A Conjurer who appeared to be a "preparation-type," yet possessed formidable close-combat skills—likely a core member of the Qinglin Squad...

"What about Moyu..."

Hawk wanted to check on Moyu's situation, but pinned down by Genbul like this, he simply lacked the strength.

He figured Moyu had only awakened Nen for less than half a month, so even if he'd independently developed a Nen ability, he probably couldn't stand against a Qinglin Squad member.

On the other side.

Facing the combined assault of Ken and Sivir, Cheadle remained calm and composed.

"I don't know what that Long-Haired Man's 'preparation-type ability' is, but it seems to have been interrupted. Was that Moyu's doing?"

Cheadle glanced sidelong at Moyu, a glint lighting up in her eyes as she evaded attacks from Sivir and Ken.

If Hawk's timely aid had surprised her and brought relief at the removal of the Post-Mortem Nen, Then Moyu's arrival, and his interruption of an enemy Nen user's ability, was something that delighted and invigorated her.

The more outstanding Moyu proved himself, the stronger her urge to take him away grew.

Unable to break through Cheadle after a prolonged assault, Ken remained patient, but Sivir grew increasingly irritable, her offensive rhythm starting to falter.

Ken noticed this but didn't advise Sivir to calm down.

Because "irritability" as an emotion...

Was the necessary fuel for Sivir to activate her ability.

None of the three fronts showed any clear change.

The situation on the field thus remained deadlocked—

In the pitch-black darkness where one couldn't see their own hand.

Moyu was somewhat surprised.

Calling out the Long-Haired Man's ability first, planting a preconceived notion in his mind, then putting up a display that suggested a trap—

This approach was simply meant to force the Long-Haired Man to actively engage his brain in thought and speculation, thereby tying him up as much as possible, at least easing some of the pressure on Hawk and Cheadle.

After all—

Setting aside Nen abilities, this Long-Haired Man was still a Nen user above the average level.

"Being this paranoid is beyond what I expected."

Moyu didn't count on such psychological tricks to hold the Long-Haired Man for long.

He had indeed set a trap, but it could also be called a paper tiger.

Yet the Long-Haired Man played along so cooperatively.

Human nature, this kind of thing...

Was it really quietly amplified by Nen?

Toying with the Long-Haired Man like this wasn't enough to make Moyu smug; instead, it made him reflect on the influence Nen had over human nature.

Sometimes it could be used as a weapon, but it must never be underestimated.

For now—

He needed to think about what means he had at his disposal to kill the Long-Haired Man...