"What are these?"
Beyond's face remained calm after seeing the monster on the screen. He was well-traveled and had seen many giant creatures over ten meters tall. Some "treants" wouldn't scare him.
"It's likely a creature living in this forest, but it was awakened by the fire."
Illumi rubbed his chin and speculated. He wasn't sure what type of creature these things were. They had flesh and blood tissue, with roots and flowers as their outer skin.
"Boom... boom... boom..."
The ground trembled more and more violently and frequently, as if someone who had been walking slowly was now taking large strides and running.
"Roar!!!"
Suddenly, a deafening roar made Beyond and the others, who were deep in thought, change expression.
From the forest behind Illumi and Beyond's group, a colossal creature suddenly burst out. After roaring, it stomped fiercely towards Illumi and his group.
"Retreat!"
Illumi said in a deep voice. Pride's four people, plus thirty Avenger soldiers, and Beyond's group immediately darted in all directions, dodging the stomp.
"Boom!"
The ground shook violently. A huge foot, several meters long and wide, slammed into the sea of flowers, leaving a deep footprint almost a meter deep.
"Swish!"
Beneath a towering tree, the empty ground shimmered faintly. Illumi's figure appeared under the tree, looking at the treant monster with a solemn expression.
The moment he appeared, Sloth and Pride instantly appeared beside him. King Bradley and Greed also converged towards him.
"Roar~!"
The treant monster raised its huge foot, finding nothing beneath it, and couldn't help but let out an angry roar.
Clatter, clatter...
The treant's roar actually triggered a powerful storm, making the leaves in the forest and the sea of flowers "rustle" loudly.
At this moment, Illumi and his group truly saw the appearance of this treant monster. Its entire body was covered in colorful, vibrant flowers. And beneath those vibrant flowers, a large number of roots of varying thickness were twisted and intertwined, forming a protective layer like armor.
What concerned Illumi even more was that he saw purple flesh-like tissue through the gaps in the roots, and an unknown object embedded in the treant's chest.
Swish, swish, swish...
Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the sea of flowers. Branches covered with fresh flowers began to rustle and move, wrapping around the monster that had stomped down.
For a moment, countless vines and branches wrapped around the treant.
Not only that, but those vibrant flowers actually released a colorful pollen, making the treant's entire body enveloped in a colorful mist.
"Roar!"
The treant monster roared, breaking free from the vines and branches wrapped around it. But still, large numbers of branches and vines continuously wrapped around it from the sea of flowers.
"Beware of those pollen mists; they might be poisonous."
Beyond's voice echoed in their earphones. The Hunters immediately pulled out gas masks from their backpacks and put them on to avoid being poisoned.
"Give me the Ranger Neuro-Mechanical Helmet."
At Illumi's command, a triangular metal mechanical helmet popped out of an Avenger soldier's backpack. Illumi directly put it on his head and immediately felt his breathing become much smoother.
However, just as he felt this, a sense of drowsiness surged within him, as if he was already sleepy and wanted to sleep.
Tat-tat-tat...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, dense gunshots echoed in the forest. The scale seemed to be thousands of people firing simultaneously, mixed with bursts of violent explosions.
At this moment, Pride handed over the tablet. Illumi could see numerous treant monsters appearing in the forest fire, charging towards the army investigation team.
Flames immediately splattered in the forest, and explosions continued. Flames continuously shot out from the forest. The fresh flowers on the treant monsters immediately burned with "crackling" sounds, turning them into "fire people" completely covered in flames.
Roar~
But unexpectedly, the flames still couldn't stop their advance. Even though someone in the army attacked with RPGs and other weapons, it only further enraged them, seemingly making their attacks even more ferocious.
"This is the investigation team, requesting backup!"
"Requesting backup!"
"Investigation team, this is [Limit Breaker], received."
"This is Captain Orson. Immediately dispatch Viper Squad for support. Our weapons and equipment are insufficient to deal with these monsters!"
"Viper Squad received. Locating. Arriving in five minutes."
Everyone in the Hunter team heard Captain Orson's request for help and knew the situation was critical.
Swish, swish, swish...
But at this moment, they also couldn't afford to be distracted. The vines and branches in the sea of flowers were not only targeting the treant monsters but also them.
Facing the continuous attacks assailing them, Beyond's group, although appearing at ease, seemed somewhat sluggish in their movements.
"This pollen can affect us even if we don't inhale it, just by contact with our skin."
Natalie's voice sounded in the earphone, making everyone's expressions change drastically. They indeed felt a wave of fatigue.
"It seems this sea of flowers and those treant monsters are not working together, otherwise there wouldn't be this 'mutual slaughter' situation."
Illumi, on the other hand, was much more relaxed. He calmly observed the situation.
The surrounding attacking vines were all blocked and cut down by the Avengers with steel knives. The Avenger soldiers wouldn't feel fatigued, but it wasn't that the pollen's poison didn't affect them. It was just that they would still obey the authority's orders even when exhausted.
But trying to exhaust Avengers equipped with prosthetic limbs was extremely difficult.
"Roar~!"
The treant's furious roar was deafening. More and more treant monsters gathered around.
"They're all coming towards us."
Illumi and his group looked around. In the vast sea of fire, over a dozen treants had already gathered around Illumi and his group, heavily encircling this area.
But more treant monsters charged towards the thousand-person investigation team behind them. After all, their target was too large.
"This pollen is useless against us. Should we attack?"
King Bradley looked at Illumi and asked in a deep voice.
At this moment, Illumi had already activated his strongest shield ability. His entire body was pitch black, with no skin exposed to the air, as if he were wearing a black tight suit.
At this time, the pollen's poison gas could not penetrate his skin pores. He also couldn't inhale these toxic gases while wearing the Ranger Neuro-Mechanical Helmet.
"Yes, attack."
Boom!
As soon as Illumi's words fell, Sloth's figure suddenly vanished, transforming into a blurry black shadow that charged towards one of the treant monsters, leaving only a deep pit on the ground.
"Hmm!?"
"What's that!?"
Beyond and his group, who were dodging the treants and the sea of flowers, only felt a blur before their eyes. They could only feel a powerful aura charging towards one of the treant monsters around them.
Boom!
With a loud bang, a treant monster paused. Its right leg was gone, and blue-purple blood splattered in the air like a burst sewer pipe.
"Roar!"
The treant monster roared in pain and fell to the ground with a "thump."
Swish, swish, swish...
But just as Beyond and his group were shocked, sounds of tearing air echoed above their heads. Looking up, it was Illumi controlling the black giant wolf, continuously leaping between thick tree trunks. In its giant mouth, filled with sharp teeth, it held a bloody severed arm.
Click.
The giant wolf bit down hard. The treant's severed arm "cracked" and broke into two. Its vertical pupils widened. With a "whoosh," it instantly appeared in mid-air in front of another treant monster.
Its sharp wolf claws flashed with dazzling light, and "swished" past a treant monster's neck.
"Thud!"
Although the treant monster moved quickly, it was far from being able to compare to the speed of the black giant wolf controlled by Illumi. Before it could react, its head flew high into the air.
Meanwhile, Pride also controlled the fox-like giant Nen Beast, rapidly shuttling between the treant monsters. The treant monsters continuously turned their heads to face it.
"Roar!!"
But they were helpless against Pride's speed and could only roar ineffectively.
Thump, thump, thump...
The giant fox's running footsteps caused intense, frequent vibrations on the ground, making Beyond and his group sway unstably, almost losing their balance.
Swish, swish, swish...
The figure of the running giant fox suddenly vanished, transforming into streaks of black shadows that continuously flickered between the treant monsters. Each time it appeared in front of a monster, that monster would pause, as if its body had frozen.
"Swish!"
Cervantes and Sergio's eyes widened. The giant fox's figure suddenly appeared in front of them, accompanied by a violent gust of wind that frantically whipped their hair and clothes.
Thump, thump, thump...
Beyond's group clearly heard the sounds of blood splattering amidst the strong wind. They knew very well that it was the sound of the treant monsters' blood splattering.
Bang!
The ground trembled. Cervantes and Sergio looked towards the direction of the treant monsters.
Indeed, treant monsters continuously fell to the ground. Their heads had long rolled off, and blood continuously sprayed from their necks.
Rumble!!!
Suddenly, an even more deafening explosion sounded in the forest. Everyone turned their heads and instantly their pupils dilated.
They saw that in the vast sea of fire behind them, a mushroom cloud, not too big or too small, rose. It was a rocket launched from a military helicopter.
"That's from the army!"
Beyond's group looked at the mushroom cloud. The mushroom cloud was small, but to cause such a phenomenon, it must have been more than one rocket launched.
Illumi, who was operating the black giant wolf, continuously leaped between the thick tree trunks. He closed his eyes and carefully sensed the surrounding situation.
Most of the surrounding treant monsters had gone towards the army due to the explosion. On the contrary, he and Pride were in a void where there were no treants because they had already killed many treant monsters.
The sea of flowers also gradually retreated with the spread of the fire, no longer attacking their people or releasing mist.
"Pride, you come with me to the army."
"King, you take the Avenger troops and leave the forest. At least leave the fire zone."
"I understand."
King Bradley nodded. The coastline was still a long distance away, and the sea of fire blocked the coastline. They could only move forward in the forest.
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