Golem's voice caught everyone's attention, and they noticed a faint light flickering in the air just a little ahead of him.
The lights were pure white, giving off a soft, gentle glow.
They were about the size of a fingernail and appeared in a small cluster.
This unusual sight immediately drew everyone's focus.
After all, no one really knew what the creatures of the Dark Continent ate to grow so large.
Most of the creatures they'd encountered were much bigger, so seeing something this small was rare.
They looked like tiny flying insects, harmless at first glance, so no one reacted right away.
But as these insects got closer to Golem and the others, they suddenly seemed to ignite with aura, darting through the air at lightning speed!
The white lights formed a strange vortex, swirling around Golem and his group.
"Get out of the way!" Miru shouted, but the insects were too fast, making it hard to react in time.
Golem's hair stood on end as a sudden warning shot through his mind.
Every cell in his body screamed the same thing: he had to move, now!
In that critical moment, Golem's mind raced faster than ever, pushing him beyond his usual limits.
His aura surged out rapidly, though he barely had time to use it to escape.
Still, every bit of aura he released could help fend off the attack and keep him safe.
Although he didn't fully understand how the insect swarm would strike, Golem instinctively knew their attack could be deadly.
Since the insects were heading straight for the closest person, unfortunately, Golem himself, he was in serious danger.
His only thought was survival.
His entire body poured out aura in a desperate burst, creating powerful fluctuations around him.
The insects seemed fragile because the moment the first one touched his mental shield, it shattered like a smashed mosquito, breaking into tiny pieces that barely caught anyone's eye.
Then, suddenly, a burst of fire erupted!
This tiny insect seemed completely unremarkable at first, but suddenly it unleashed a power far beyond what anyone could have imagined.
Its body exploded into a massive fireball, with a force comparable to a powerful bomb.
It was as if its entire body was packed with gunpowder.
No one witnessing it would believe such devastation came from something so small.
And this was only the beginning.
It's like a row
Of dominoes, once you push the first one, it causes the second to fall, then the third, and so on, until the last one crashes down.
These swarms of insects work the same way, each one triggering the next in a relentless chain reaction.
The death of the first bug wasn't the end, it was just the beginning.
In an instant, a swarm of 180 bugs exploded together, triggered by the intense heat and flames.
Huge fireballs shot up one after another, looking like a volcano erupting endless streams of magma, which made everything around tremble.
Golem's eyes were soon overwhelmed by a sea of fiery red flames, wild and ruthless, filling his vision.
The rapidly rising temperature didn't really bother him; the real danger came from the close-range explosions happening one after another.
"Boom! Boom!"
A series of loud blasts echoed through the sky, sounding like countless fireworks going off right next to his ears.
When the flames reached his tough mind, they only delayed him for a moment before burning right through, as if his mind were a sheet of white paper catching fire.
On the other side, Larry's expression shifted slightly, his eyes growing serious.
Since arriving on the Dark Continent, they had encountered many strange creatures, but this was the first time he'd come across something so unusual.
If they only considered attack power, these insect swarms might not be as strong as the purple bees in the Purple Forest.
Those bees were incredibly fast, with sharp, powerful stingers that made their strength clear.
But these bugs seemed different.
To the naked eye and even under "Condensation," nothing about them seemed special.
It was only when they got close to Golem that their speed suddenly changed, hinting that something was off.
And it turned out these insects weren't just fast, they packed an explosive punch comparable to high-powered bombs!
Compared to the giant sandworms and the speedy purple bees, these explosive insects finally gave Larry a real taste of the Dark Continent's weirdness.
Here, any strange creature could appear, and no one could predict what would happen next.
Thinking back to the flaming sunflowers and cloud beasts he had faced earlier, Larry realized that starting from this grassland, the threats they encountered were on a whole different level.
The earlier dangers had been understandable, mostly physical attacks, but now, things were getting truly unpredictable.
As they cautiously ventured deeper into the Dark Continent and reached this vast grassland, the creatures they encountered grew far more complex and unpredictable than before.
Their attacks became more varied and dangerous.
Suddenly, something terrible happened.
Miru and the others' eyes widened in shock, cold sweat breaking out on their backs.
Watching the Golem get swallowed by the fiery explosion, they could already sense disaster looming.
But there was no time to panic or dwell on their fears.
Staying close together, the team roughly held their formation.
Although the Golem took the initial hit, it didn't mean the rest of them were safe.
Without hesitation, some stomped the ground and propelled themselves backward, while others used their nen to quickly escape.
Yet, except for a few, the flames spread faster, rushing toward them like an unstoppable tidal wave.
Suddenly, a strong pink telekinetic barrier and a thick column of water appeared on the battlefield.
Psychic skill for instant movement, water skill for a powerful hydro pump!
In the blink of an eye, everyone found themselves safely standing on a distant patch of grass.
"Huh? What is this?" Miru said, steadying himself but with hands that trembled slightly.
It all felt surreal.
They had just been moments away from being engulfed by the sea of fire, and now they were in a safer spot far away.
Only one person could pull off something like this...
All eyes turned to Larry in disbelief, their lingering fear starting to ease.
Thanks to Sir Larry, they had narrowly escaped.
Meanwhile, Larry stared at the scorched ground where the grassland once stood, now nothing but blackened earth and smoke.
The clash between the flames and the hydro pump had completely destroyed the area.
The intense heat from the explosion had burned away the surrounding grass, and if not for the hydro pump, the damage would have been even worse.
The air around them seemed to boil with heat, and the oxygen level dropped sharply, making it hard to breathe.
Even from a distance, waves of heat rolled toward them relentlessly.
"Cough, cough," someone gasped.
"What kind of crazy bug is this? How can it be so powerful?!"