The blood scent permeating the observation deck couldn't even be dispersed by the sea breeze blowing in from outside.
The three men enveloped in sharp killing intent were similar in height and age.
The man holding the dagger had center-parted hair, revealing a large forehead, with prominent dark circles under his eyes.
His name was Voconte, a member of the Heil-Ly Family, one of the current four major syndicates.
The other two men: one wore a red headband, his eyebrows and mustache resembling tadpoles, the other was chubby with sideburns.
The former was named Orarge, the latter Notre.
All three were members of the Heil-Ly Family.
They showed no reaction to Ging's words, which carried a hint of sowing discord.
Voconte shifted his right foot slightly forward, sneering, "What, are these your last words… this nonsense?"
"Why waste words? Just attack!" The headband-wearing Orarge looked irritable, but his eyes were quite steady.
"What's the hurry? Good things should be savored slowly." Notre's gentle tone starkly contrasted with his rugged face.
While speaking, the three men didn't dare even blink, staring intently at Ging's every move.
Risk and reward coexist!
This man before them was immensely powerful, but the experience gained from killing him would surely be astonishingly huge.
They understood this deeply, which was why they acted as a team.
They dared not imagine how many levels they could gain upon success. At this moment, every cell had to be used to deal with the man before them.
Listening to the three men's words, Ging smiled slightly and said earnestly, "These aren't last words. Me, I'm quite interested in the current you all. I also want to properly understand the nature of this despicable Nen Ability."
"You won't disappoint me, will you?"
Before his words finished, Ging's figure instantly vanished from his original spot.
The pupils of Voconte and the other two sharply contracted. They immediately turned around, looking at Ging, who had instantly relocated behind them. Their expressions all changed.
"Don't be nervous. I'll warn you before we start." Ging stood sideways to the three, his gaze shifting, landing on several corpses.
Noticing Ging's gaze, Orarge, whose heart hadn't yet calmed, twitched his cheek.
'A coincidence…?'
'No, not a coincidence.'
'This man was definitely not an ordinary field boss… he was a dungeon-level boss, perhaps even the ultimate boss!'
Perhaps due to unspoken understanding, as they watched Ging begin to release Nen, Voconte and Notre shared the same thought at this moment.
It might sound shameful to say, but they came with fierce momentum, and now they felt a bit like retreating.
Sensing the other party's momentum falter for an instant, Ging chuckled, "Though I don't know what your current levels are, or what the max level is, I suppose I must be the max-level boss among Nen Users."
At these words, Voconte and the others' expressions turned somewhat ugly.
Not only because of Ging's words, but also because the rapidly intensifying Aura emanating from Ging gave them a sense of danger.
Thus, the thought of retreat grew stronger, but…
Originally, they had forced Ging to the edge of the observation deck. Just now, Ging had passed them, putting them at the edge instead, equivalent to standing at the precipice.
"No matter how strong the boss is, as long as you find the correct strategy, you can definitely defeat the boss. So you should have more confidence in yourselves."
Ging looked at the three who already showed signs of retreat and sincerely offered encouragement.
Simultaneously, Ging entered a combat state. Every wisp of Aura swirling around him exuded a dangerous feeling.
"..."
Voconte and the others couldn't utter a word… their faces turned somewhat dark.
'We seemed to have picked the wrong target…'
If only they had known, they would have acted like those cowards, honestly hunting ordinary people, steadily raising their levels. After all, there were so many people on the ship.
Why did they have to seek out Nen Users, and of all people, find such a tough opponent!
"Well then, let's begin," Ging said.
The faces of Voconte and the others suddenly tightened. Without hesitation, they launched an attack on Ging.
With no path forward, they could only press the attack.
The first to strike were the several corpses Ging had noticed earlier. They lunged towards Ging like suspended puppets, feet off the ground.
That was Orarge's ability… Dance with the Dead.
It allowed free manipulation of female corpses he personally strangled. The drawback was the target must have fair skin, pleasing features, and be young and vibrant. The maximum number he could control was five.
At this moment, five female corpses attacked Ging from various directions.
However, the speed Ging achieved using Emission-type characteristics was something Voconte and the others couldn't match.
First, he easily evaded the corpse puppets, then with a single feint, he eliminated Orarge.
'His speed is too fast!'
The remaining Voconte and Notre felt heavy-hearted.
After dealing with Orarge, Ging didn't continue a fierce assault. He had many questions he needed Voconte and Notre to answer.
However…
'Their Nen fundamentals are atrociously poor. It seems they haven't undergone any systematic training,' Ging thought, then moved again.
Ten minutes later, two more bodies lay on the ground.
After extracting the answers he wanted, Ging showed no mercy, directly eliminating Voconte and Notre.
"To think someone could develop such an ability."
Ging looked at the three corpses, his gaze slightly grave.
From the moment he saw Voconte and the others, Ging guessed the level-related Nen Ability belonged to a [Mother Insect] type.
The facts proved his guess correct.
"Morena and Etude of Love… But the ability's nature has nothing to do with love. There's only a strong desire to destroy the world."
Ging walked towards the exit. Even though he now knew the true identity and purpose of the perpetrators, he still had to find Machi and the others first.
Etude of Love was the ability of a woman named Morena. It could 'infect' subordinate members through saliva, including herself, with a maximum of 23 people.
Infected subordinates could raise their levels by killing people, thereby increasing their total Potential Aura and the power of their Nen. Once the level exceeded 20, they would automatically awaken a Nen Ability.
If a subordinate reached level 100, they would become an independent [Mother Insect], developing their own infection group, spreading continuously like a pyramid scheme.
Since the condition for leveling up was killing people, and the ability possessed the characteristic of [Influenza-like Contagion], it showed the essence of this Nen Ability was mutual slaughter among the same species. It also revealed the developer's extreme misanthropy.
In Ging's view, the emergence of such an ability was truly incredible. It was hard to imagine how intense the woman named Morena's desire to destroy the world was.
Otherwise, she absolutely could not have developed such an ability.
Mass-producing Nen Users through murder was exaggerated enough, like a bug-like shortcut. After all, normal people needed time to open their Aura Nodes and develop their own Nen Abilities.
But these subordinates could open their Aura Nodes and awaken their Nen by killing.
As long as one's heart was cruel enough and the efficiency fast enough, on this ship, one could reach level 20 in a single day.
'Because the ship is about to dock, they're letting loose to hunt ordinary people?'
Ging walked through the empty corridor. From Voconte, he learned that once subordinates crossed the level 20 threshold, the experience given by ordinary people would gradually decrease.
However, there were so many passengers on the B·W that even if ordinary people gave only 1 experience point, it was enough for level 20+ subordinates to develop.
It's just that some chose the faster, more dangerous path, while others chose the slower but steadier one.
'I wonder if Law's special Nen Exorcism method could extract benefits from these people.'