Before Oboro stepped into the lizard's trap, ripples suddenly appeared in the space nearby. An invisible creature emerged from the void, as if it had caught the sweet scent of water vapor and was searching for it.
A gigantic rat appeared with a single round scarlet eye on its face. Although it had the body and fur of a rat, its limbs resembled those of a lion or tiger, a clear sign of evolution. And it was undoubtedly a predator!
While the lizard was luring its prey, it had also revealed its own existence and was now targeted by a stronger life form.
With a thunderous boom, the mouse's entire body sank into the soft sand as soon as it appeared. The two creatures from the depths of the Dark Continent began to fight fiercely. Yellow sand filled the sky, and the ground shook violently like a magnitude 10 earthquake.
Compared to these two giants, Oboro seemed small as dust, nearly blown into the sky by the residual force of their clash. Even Menchi and her men, who had been hiding far away, retreated, moving further back as all the stones that had hidden them were blown away. If they hadn't left, they too would have been caught in the destruction.
The distance seemed great, but to these two massive creatures, the humans were practically right in front of them.
"My God!" Gabwich exclaimed as he ran, unable to look back.
They had seen the octopus before, but hadn't had time to take a closer look. Now, after actually seeing this creature from another continent, they couldn't help but turn pale and cry out in surprise.
The lizard and the rat rolled and howled across the desert, causing the surrounding sand to ripple violently in chaotic patterns. The sound of the two monsters fighting was enough to shake the earth itself.
And the captain was gone. He seemed to have been swept away by the rushing tide of sand!
This sudden hunt ended quickly, with the rat emerging victorious. It dragged the lizard's corpse out of the ground, then opened its massive fangs and began to chew on it with relish.
Oboro walked step by step through the curtain of sand and approached the blood-covered battlefield. He stood beneath the rat and had to look up to take in its entire body, as if looking up at a mountain.
The rat ate enthusiastically, still chewing on the flesh and bones of its prey, but its eyeball shifted to stare at the black spot at its feet. It only glanced at Oboro before returning to its meal, showing no interest in the 'little thing' that approached it.
"Strange?" Oboro noticed an emotion in the rat's eyes.
Maybe this was the first time the monster had seen a human being, and humans weren't on its menu. In addition, Oboro had suppressed his aura, which made his life energy seem very low. Moreover, although his physical strength was invincible in the human world, it was still at the lower levels in the Dark Continent.
Oboro did not unleash his Nen ability.
After arriving in this land, perhaps his true strength lay not in his body, but in his soul.
"To be looked down upon." Oboro smiled silently.
Just as he was about to act, something strange happened again. The rat, which had been eating contentedly, suddenly stopped. Its eyes widened in fear, as if it sensed something approaching. It dropped its food, shaking the ground, and fled.
Suddenly, the sky turned pitch black, as if covered by dark clouds. A cold gale blew up, and Oboro's body instantly transformed into a soul form, making him immune to wind damage and physical harm.
He looked over and saw the fleeing rat's body disintegrate into several pieces in the blink of an eye. A strange bird with three heads covered in rotting flesh swooped down from the sky and grabbed the rat's mangled body with its sharp claws.
The rat had been the hunter one second and the prey the next.
Everything was connected. The important thing was that crises could happen at any time. This frequency of hunting and dangerous living conditions seemed to be the norm in the Dark Continent.
It wasn't until this moment that a series of air currents and sound waves suddenly rose from above, indicating that this strange bird had flown from a great distance at a speed that definitely exceeded the speed of sound. After its body landed on the ground, the lingering pressure and sound followed.
Oboro couldn't guess how far away the bird had spotted the rat, but it was definitely beyond his range of perception. He hadn't noticed it at all.
After catching the rat's corpse, the strange bird didn't start "eating" right away. Instead, it looked around first, and after making sure that there was no danger, it began to tear the rat's body apart piece by piece.
That's right, ripping. Their heads were shaped like those of some ferocious beast. Instead of typical bird beaks, they had three mouths full of sharp teeth and round mouthparts.
Oboro approached again. But like the rat before, the strange bird obviously noticed him, but did not attack. It seemed that in the bird's eyes, this level of life energy wasn't worth its attention at all.
For Oboro, this was a good thing. At least it meant that appearing weak enough was also a kind of hidden security. As long as he didn't release his Hatsu and didn't spread his soul pressure, the risk of being targeted would be much lower.
But now, Oboro had also joined the hunt. The monsters could ignore him, but they couldn't eliminate his desire to hunt.
Suddenly, thick black fog exploded outward and rolled upward. The strange bird, which had not been paying attention before, suddenly sensed the danger. It roared with its three huge mouths, stirring up a turbulent, foul-smelling wind while vibrating its wings, trying to fly into the sky.
Although the wind made the black fog waver slightly, it didn't disperse it completely. The mist moved like smoke-like ropes, climbing up the body of the strange bird at an extremely high speed.
The strange bird struggled visibly, flapping its wings wildly, but was unable to extinguish the "ghost thing" that now covered most of its body. Dense evil spirits, like reptiles, shuttled through the mist and poured into the strange bird's body.
After a moment, the strange bird let out a desperate scream before being drowned by the spirit and falling heavily to the ground.
Although this monster possessed incredible strength and speed, once its soul was destroyed, it became difficult for its spirit and body to connect. In other words, it could no longer rely on its brain to control its body parts, and so the end was death.
After a while, the huge black fog shrank and was absorbed back into Oboro. He closed his eyes, a satisfied expression on his face. His body returned to its original state after being transformed into a soul.
Immediately, the system panel opened in front of him.
"Hiss, after absorbing three souls, the rating hasn't increased at all?" His eyelids twitched in frustration.
"My physical strength seems to be of limited use in the Dark Continent, but judging from my previous abilities, the increase in armor and Nen will also transform my physical body. The food chain status and ecological score on the system board should be comprehensive, including flesh and soul, after all, they're both part of life energy. In the early stage, I should play to my strengths and rely on soul hunting first and worry about evolution later. Compared to the innate hunting methods of these monsters, soul is my talent."
Oboro clearly analyzed his own evolution path. His way of life had both advantages and disadvantages.
Considering the strange ecological chain and species in the Dark Continent, Oboro didn't believe that there were no "soul-like" life forms here. Then his killing move might not be so effective. At least for now, it looked promising.
After a while, Menchi and her five companions came running from a distance. They were all shocked when they saw the piled-up corpses of the strange bird.
Oboro went to a sandy area that had become chaotic due to the previous battle. Pointing to an organ the size of a house in front of him, he shouted to Menchi, "Come here!
This organ was part of the previous lizard's tissue that hadn't been eaten by the rat. From the outside, it looked like a huge bag of meat, but inside it was full of water. It contained the same liquid that the lizards had spit out!
Menchi quickly stepped forward, raised her knife, and cut open the pouch. The wall of the bag was very thin.
Sure enough, a stream of sweet water flowed out of the crack.
"I watched the scorpion after it drank. I also tried to get some water vapor on my body and didn't feel any discomfort. It should be safe," Oboro said. "Put some in the bottle first. We shouldn't stay here for long. The bloody smell will soon attract other hunters."
"Captain," Menchi said as she walked around the bag, examining it carefully, touching and tapping it with her hands. As a gourmet hunter, she was very familiar with all kinds of animal components, including their body structures, and possessed knowledge that outsiders wouldn't understand.
"What's wrong?" Oboro looked over.
"In my experience, although the blood and flesh tissues are different, this flesh sac should be the lizard's digestive organ that stores excrement," Menchi said carefully.
Meanwhile, Anthony and Fant, who had been exclaiming how delicious the liquid was, suddenly froze. Although Menchi spoke very tactfully, they understood perfectly.
This water was lizard piss.