"Altan, levitate!"
Following Kaizen's order, Altan's figure floated up.
It came to a low altitude, about ten meters above the ground.
Under normal circumstances, this levitation ability would be useless.
Even for Nen users, including those with melee-type Nen, they can still be easily attacked.
Unlike Wendy's ability, which allows her to fly hundreds of meters above the ground.
But right now, this ability just happens to be useful.
As long as Kaizen stays suspended, the earthworms below can't sense him.
Kaizen can move through the area completely unharmed.
But mere safety isn't enough.
Kaizen wants to eliminate those dry branches to hasten the progress of the crystal ball.
Killing these earthworms is acceptable, too.
"Akutagawa Ryunosuke's attack won't do the trick.
"Natsu's attack has limited effects.
"The vitality of these earthworms is too strong."
"Then, we can only rely on the ability of the Killer Queen."
Kaizen thought for a moment.
Natsu disappeared, and the Killer Queen's form appeared in her place.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke landed on the ground, attracting the earthworms to attack him.
The ground trembled slightly.
"Industry!"
A massive earthworm burst from the ground.
Its dark red, sharp claws shot forward, but Akutagawa Ryunosuke didn't press the attack. Instead, he just grabbed the earthworm, and the Killer Queen moved in with a baseball bat.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke let go.
The Killer Queen swung the bat.
"Boom!"
The first bomb.
The Killer Queen's ability, combined with the baseball bat, was transferred to the earthworm.
The earthworm exploded in a silent burst.
Its body disintegrated, and a small star appeared, drawn to Kaizen's crystal ball, making its way to him.
Kaizen nodded.
"If you ask who the strongest Nen Beast is right now, it's definitely Natsu.
"However, the Nen Beast with the most bugs is the Killer Queen."
"The Killer Queen's bombs are incredibly hard to counter."
As Kaizen moved forward, he let Akutagawa Ryunosuke and the Killer Queen hunt the earthworms.
These earthworms, like dry twigs, were mindless monsters.
Even if their companions fell, they would keep coming.
Earthworms dropped one by one, and Kaizen's crystal ball slowly advanced.
After a while, it reached six percent.
Beyond this point, the death of any more earthworms wouldn't offer any further progress.
Kaizen stopped hunting the earthworms.
Both Akutagawa Ryunosuke and the Killer Queen vanished.
The grass faded away.
In its place was dry soil and scattered stones.
It looked like a Gobi Desert.
"What kind of monster is this?"
Soon, Kaizen discovered the source.
Black birds appeared above, their wings flapping in the air, their eyes glowing red.
They swooped down toward him.
At this moment, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, who was too weak to deal with the earthworms, was more than enough for these crows.
"Shh!"
One hit, and the crow was split in two with no chance of survival.
Kaizen frowned slightly.
"These crows are much weaker than the dry twigs and earthworms.
"But that makes sense."
"Even Nen beasts have limitations."
"It's impossible for all created monsters to be that strong."
"Plus, dry twigs and earthworms have clear weaknesses."
"The crows don't."
Against normal people, dry twigs and earthworms might not be that dangerous. But these crows could easily kill any ordinary person.
Kaizen glanced back at the grass behind him.
"Dry twigs and earthworms have weaknesses. Is that due to a restriction or an oath in their creation?"
"Or is it because the Kurta are venturing out?"
Two possibilities flashed through Kaizen's mind.
Both made sense.
The dry twigs and earthworms had weaknesses as part of their design, possibly as constraints or oaths to boost their aggression.
That fits within the logic of Nen.
As for the Kurta, their seclusion would require specific weaknesses in their monsters, if they were to venture outside.
"An ordinary man could walk through the forest with a torch. So what about the grass?"
"How would you avoid the attack of the earthworms in the grass?"
Kaizen's eyes suddenly brightened.
He noticed a path through the grass not far away, marked by scattered stones.
Some stones rose higher than the grass, while others were hidden among the blades.
"If you step on the stones instead of the grass, the earthworms won't notice you?"
Kaizen decided to test this theory.
He turned around, jumped onto the stone, and then—
Nothing happened.
"Just as I suspected."
Kaizen's eyes gleamed.
"That confirms it."
"According to this, it's likely these monsters weren't designed with restrictions or oaths in mind. Instead, the creation of these creatures must've considered the eventual need for the Kurta to leave their seclusion."
"For the Kurta, going outside is inevitable."
"One reason is the necessity of certain resources from the outside world."
"Another reason is to gauge the attitude of the world toward the Kurta people."
"Only by understanding this can the best defenses be set up."
"So, what would be the weakness of these crows?"
Kaizen scanned his surroundings.
The stones on the ground seemed different from those on the grass.
He picked one up and hurled it toward the crow in midair.
The crow dodged Kaizen's throw.
But as it did, Kaizen rushed forward like a blade.
"Shh!"
In mid-flight, the crow was cut down by Akutagawa Ryunosuke's attack.
The stone fell to the ground.
"Clang!"
A dull sound rang out.
The remaining crows shook their wings in alarm and fled.
Kaizen furrowed his brow.
"Is the weakness the sound?"
"The sound of the stone striking?"
"Interesting."
"Just like the saying: 'Wherever poisonous snakes appear, there must be an antidote within a hundred steps.'"
Instead of throwing more stones, Kaizen allowed the crows to attack.
They were killed by Akutagawa Ryunosuke one by one.
The progress of the crystal ball slowly climbed to nine percent.
Kaizen then ordered Akutagawa Ryunosuke to grab two stones and "tap them together as we move out of this area."
A vast expanse of yellow sand appeared before Kaizen.
But what drew his attention even more was the figure standing in the yellow sand ahead.
A woman.
She was currently fighting some monsters.
She had long purple hair tied into a ponytail.
The moment Kaizen appeared, her eyes briefly met his.
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