Hunter x Hunter: Card Master, the Strongest in the World.

Chapter 188 Symbiotic Relationship! Army of Corpses!

At the critical moment, Norbu remained silent, opened his arms, and a channel-like stream of Nen energy connected his two hands.

The severed head and some of the insect's legs, which had been cut off by the energy channel, had completely disappeared.

The one who opened the window!

This is one of the ways Nob uses his Nen ability, "Four-Dimensional Apartment," and it's also one of his few methods of attack.

Like opening a window in an apartment, Nobu creates a space of thought between his palms.

It's like taking a portion of the space in the "Four-Dimensional Apartment," enveloping it on the enemy, and then closing it off.

The part that was covered was forcibly sealed within the space of thought, severing its connection with the rest.

The enemy was as if they had been hit by an attack similar to [Dimensional Slash].

In other words, part of the insect's body has now appeared inside Nob's [Four-Dimensional Apartment].

To ensure a fatal blow, Nob deliberately targeted the head, since it's better to kill insectoid creatures with a blow to the head.

Norb's caution proved necessary. After losing part of its legs and half its head, the insect collapsed under the tree, but continued to struggle until it finally died.

The dark green blood mixed with dust, combined with its shape resembling a giant fly, made the scene look particularly eerie.

"Phew—that was dangerous," Nob sighed softly.

Being able to react is one thing, but being frightened is another.

"A fly this big?" Pjorn frowned, instinctively taking a picture of the insect's corpse before using his Nen ability to analyze it.

Lynn sized up the bug; it was roughly at the B-rank level, a level of strength usually reserved for a low-level tower master in the Sky Arena and a skilled Nen user.

Coupled with its formidable stealth abilities and unpredictable ambush style, it is impossible to avoid encountering a non-A-level Nen user on the first meeting.

Nen users below Rank A are highly likely to be killed by a sneak attack!

It's only because Nob is quite strong and has quick reflexes; otherwise, someone else would likely have fallen victim to his attack.

There are countless insects like these—this demonic realm is quite dangerous, and who knows what other creatures lurk in the depths.

While remaining vigilant, he was also eager to see what kind of cards would be produced here, the higher the level, the better.

At that moment, a commotion came from the nearby woods.

Others also suffered attacks from these giant flies.

The Ancient Ganyu Kingdom's team consists of twenty-two people.

Apart from Leo, who is A+, most of the others are between B and A.

One of the red-haired men was grabbed by the insect, which then pulled his entire body into the tree!

The sudden crisis made everyone gasp for breath. By the time they realized something was wrong, the man had already been dragged into the tree hollow.

"Damn it!"

Holm, the red-haired man, shouted angrily, not expecting that he would be caught in the trap in just a moment. He tried his best to break free of the restraints, but he couldn't.

The eight insect legs wrapped around him, holding him firmly in place. His hands hung limply at his sides, making it impossible for him to break free.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his spiritual energy suddenly surged, with waves of energy expanding outwards from him.

Despite the impact, the insect still refused to let go, instead gripping even tighter, intending to carry him up the tree to eat.

With a flick of its tail, the stinger, infused with potent venom, pierced through the air with a sharp, whistling sound.

If you are hit by the tail needle, you will die instantly from the poison!

A flash of light!

boom!

At that moment, a violent collision sounded, and the tail needle was shattered by the suddenly appearing giant axe!

The axe, its power undiminished, swung straight upwards, cleaving the entire insect in two, and splitting the tree in two with a huge gash.

The trees, already hollowed out by insects, cracked and popped continuously after a fierce battle.

Fortunately, the tree was very large, and even so, it still stood tall and did not fall down directly.

"Are you alright?" Team leader Leo casually helped his companion Holm to his feet and asked in a deep voice.

Holm glanced at the dead bug, wiped the green liquid off his protective suit, and breathed a slight sigh of relief: "It's alright."

Leo nodded slightly, but his heart grew heavier.

Holm, though a support player on the team, was quite skilled, yet he was clearly at a disadvantage against the sneak attack of this strange insect.

"This insect is not simple. Be vigilant and stay away from trees as much as possible!" Leo made a quick decision.

Lynn and the others also noticed the commotion over there, which showed that these insects were not isolated cases, and their numbers were probably more than they had anticipated.

Leo's team continued cautiously forward while awaiting Pjorn's analysis.

Jin crouched down, resting his chin on his hand as he examined the completely dead insect, and said thoughtfully, "I originally thought there probably wouldn't be any living creatures in this forest."

"This insect ambushes from inside the tree, and it gives off a particularly harmonious feeling."

"I don't know why they would do that. Is it an isolated incident, or is there a population of these insects in this forest?"

"Moreover, [Yuan] cannot sense the presence of insects; it can only detect them with the naked eye when they appear in front of it."

Since entering the Demon Realm, many people, including Jin, have been using the "Circle" to anticipate unknown dangers.

However, even after taking this step, it still failed to prevent the insects from attacking.

"I had this feeling from the moment I came in. I always felt that the circle was a bit strange—which means it's not that the insects are special, but something that has been around us all along."

After speaking, Jin slightly tilted her head back, looked at the leaves on the tree that emitted a purple light, and squinted her eyes: "Is it these leaves?"

"However, the fact that it can affect perception shouldn't raise too many questions, since it's normal for things in the Demon Realm to have strange effects."

"I'm still more interested in the relationship between the insect and the tree."

Lynn walked over to Kim and pondered, "Perhaps they have a symbiotic relationship."

"The insects are responsible for capturing food, then eating it, and the residue becomes nutrients for the purple tree."

"The toxins in the purple tree can also help insects capture other creatures."

"Even with protective clothing, a sneak attack can still succeed."

"It's easy to imagine how terrible it would be for other creatures after being affected by the paralyzing purple light toxin."

Kim also agreed with Lynn's explanation.

Lynn held up two fingers and slowly said, "As for why the insects are not affected by the purple light, there are two explanations."

"First, the insects usually hide inside the tree trunk. Because the tree layer is too thick, the ultraviolet light cannot penetrate, so it has no effect."

"Secondly, insects have antibodies against toxins, which can provide some degree of immunity."

"Regardless, this insect still has some research value, so we can keep it."

Seeing this, Nobu temporarily stored the insect's corpse in the 4D Apartment.

It must be admitted that Nob's Nen ability is truly useful.

It can be used for teleportation, as well as as a temporary safe house or warehouse, which is equivalent to Capone's castle ability plus his door-door fruit ability.

Before long, Pjorn used his superhuman typing speed to complete the decryption and analyze various aspects of the insect, including some intelligence about the Purple Forest.

This confirms their previous guess: the "failure" of the circle was indeed caused by the purple tree, and the insects and the purple tree were indeed helping each other.

However, his Observation Haki did not fail.

Perhaps it is because [Circle] releases its spiritual energy to explore the outside world, focusing on external objects, that it is affected by the purple tree.

Observation Haki, on the other hand, is based on the individual's own perception of danger, allowing them to sense the impending crisis in advance, thus remaining unaffected.

Lynn and the other three continued walking forward.

Although the insect attack was just a minor incident, it served as a wake-up call for people.

This forest is not just about the obvious threat of poison!

There are also some hidden dangers!

Inside the woods, a series of soft rustling sounds rang out, the sound of several teams deliberately keeping their footsteps light.

Not only did everyone tread lightly, but they also all avoided the area around the trees, or at least didn't get too close.

After what had just happened, everyone knew that there might be insects lurking in the tree.

Lynn's team was relatively okay, but this threat was quite dangerous for the other teams, which led to this situation.

Even if they really have to get close to trees, they will be extremely careful and choose smaller trees.

Based on the assessment, it is more likely that insects will be found in that type of large tree.

Because the danger level in the Demon Realm is quite high, they are more like competitors to each other, but they also cooperate to some extent.

The four teams, spaced a short distance apart, comprised about sixty people in total, making it a group activity to facilitate mutual support.

In the dense, murky purple forest, they seemed like a group of passersby, completely out of place.

Lynn suddenly stopped and stared into the depths of the forest.

Norb and the others also stopped what they were doing and raised their alertness to the highest level.

Danger may be imminent!

A few breaths later, a rustling sound came from the depths of the forest.

Suddenly, strange figures appeared from the grass in the distance.

After seeing the figure clearly, the crowd's eyes gradually changed from wariness to horror.

The bodies of those figures were decayed to varying degrees, and it seemed difficult to find any good flesh on them.

The group of figures was not of a single race, but rather comprised a diverse array of creatures.

Some resembled lizards, some resembled some kind of large insect, and some resembled giant pythons —

They may have originally looked very different, but their bodies rotted away due to the influence of unknown things.

Even as they move, some rotten, dead pieces of flesh fall onto the grass, accompanied by drops of foul-smelling water.

Their appearance added another color to the forest, which was originally only purple, but everyone preferred not to see them.

Because it's disgusting.

The enormous head had dull, lifeless eyes that were unusually cloudy.

There wasn't a single piece of healthy flesh on its enormous body; it was all black, rotten, and vaguely purplish.

That is, they were wearing safety suits and keeping some distance, otherwise they would have smelled a very disgusting odor.

No one doubted that the rotting flesh on their bodies would continue to fall off until it was all gone.

Because among this group of rotting corpses, there were several white figures.

Their flesh had completely fallen off, leaving only thick, white bones—they were skeletal monsters.

It looks like a skeletal specimen in a museum, except now it's moving.

Both the rotting corpses and the skeletal monsters were extremely eerie, shrouded in strange dark energy.

"Huh, is that a skeleton?"

Jin narrowed his eyes, but a hint of excitement flashed across his face unintentionally.

Seeing these strange and unknown things was the real purpose of his trip.

Jin was purely skilled and daring, coupled with his personality, so instead of being worried, he was even more excited.

The other teams weren't as enthusiastic as Jin.

Those accustomed to using weapons picked them up.

Those who are used to using both hands clenched their fists.

Fortunately, the safety suits provided protection; otherwise, those skilled in close combat wouldn't have dared to touch the rotting flesh.

Who knows if touching them with my own body will cause me to turn into that kind of ghostly appearance?

However, these are not the most eye-catching aspects.

What has truly changed is their demeanor.

Everyone activated their Nen, and the Nen around them fluctuated and flowed continuously.

The withered branches and rotten leaves underfoot were instantly crushed into dust by countless breaths, and then blown far away by the strong wind pressure.

Everyone here, even the support staff, has at least B-level strength. They are the elite forces of the six continents, and they are facing unknown monsters!

War is imminent!

The number of rotting corpses was unusually large, like waves of foul-smelling water crashing in.

It crawled on the grass, making a continuous rubbing sound.

The sound gave people a sense that danger was closing in step by step; even these sounds of movement could send chills down one's spine without one realizing it.

Someone used telekinetic bullets to launch a ranged attack, causing a commotion, but the number of rotting corpses did not decrease significantly; they seemed to be surging endlessly like a vast ocean.

Moreover, they move quite fast, leaving only afterimages as they crawl.

In the blink of an eye, the army of rotting corpses closed in on the group, making everyone's hearts leap into their throats and their attention fully focused.

"drink!"

As one of the leaders of various forces, the honest and kind-hearted Leo, as usual, took the lead.

With a powerful stomp on the ground, boundless golden spiritual energy surged into the sky, along with countless particles of dust that had been crushed and annihilated.

Leaping into the air, Leo, who was originally at the back of the group, suddenly flew to the front and plummeted downwards under the influence of gravity!

The Nen energy around him was like soft, flowing ribbons, carrying him downwards.

One leg was stretched out straight, covered with a rich and powerful aura!

Peng!

Leo's foot landed squarely on the body of a wolf-shaped carcass, as if he had been struck by a meteorite.

The wolf-shaped corpse made a series of cracking sounds, and then its body immediately collapsed!

Leo was startled.

A gloomy look appeared on his rugged face; his complexion did not improve but became even more somber.

To others, this appears to be a completely overwhelming power disparity.

But only Leo, the attacker, knew that the defense of these corpses was even stronger than he had anticipated!