When Werther saw the thriving forest before him and the light overhead, he was momentarily at a loss.
With his Observation Haki, Werther could sense all kinds of plants and animals living here in an orderly way. The tower's first floor was a complete ecosystem.
But what his Observation Haki told him felt strange, and his expression changed.
He had just sensed things that defied all common sense.
Just then, Werther felt a faint tremor ahead, followed by the crack of snapping plants.
A huge creature slowly appeared before them, crushing swaths of vegetation beneath its massive body.
It stood a full five meters tall and stretched more than ten meters long, its body covered in a jet-black shell.
Tuski and Anita stared at it, mouths agape in disbelief.
The creature before them was a giant ant.
It was dragging the corpse of a huge white soft-bodied insect behind it, slowly hauling it along and flattening plants as it went.
Werther's first thought was genetic mutation.
"Another island full of genetically abnormal creatures? Let's keep exploring."
The giant ant paid them no attention and crawled right past the three of them.
Werther made no move to provoke it, either. Basic common sense told him ants lived in colonies, and angering a colony of ants that size would be no fun at all.
Before long, they had ventured deeper into the jungle, and the giant ant was nowhere to be seen.
"Wooo..."
Werther suddenly heard a faint cry. It sounded familiar. Was that an elephant? Then why did it sound so feeble?
Still, Werther rested a hand on the hilt of Intent Blood. If even the ants in this forest were enormous, how terrifyingly large would an elephant be?
As the sound drew closer, Werther finally saw the elephant making it.