After days of travel, Akira and his group finally emerged from the purple forest that most creatures avoided.
Passing through the last few sparse trees, their vision suddenly expanded—before them stretched an endless grassland.
Unlike the towering trees of the forest, this terrain was a vast expanse of overgrown weeds.
Yet, something felt off about this grassland—it couldn't simply be dismissed as ordinary.
Most of the weeds were a vivid emerald green, with dewdrops glistening at their tips.
However, scattered patches of withered yellow grass stood out starkly against the lush greenery, drawing immediate attention.
The weeds here were not short, most reaching half a person's height, with some exceptionally long ones even growing as tall as a full-grown adult.
This suggested that without caution, one could easily get lost in this grassy expanse.
The weeds were densely packed, making it difficult for the group to see through them and gather more useful information.
This also meant that something could be hidden within, obscured from view by the thick grass.
Apart from the uniform sea of weeds, there were faint glimpses of various flowers scattered among them, and further away stood a few large trees.
"On the surface, this place seems much safer than the forest behind us," Muheer remarked in a hushed tone, glancing around.
But everyone understood the implication of his words.
What appeared safe on the surface didn't necessarily mean it was truly safe.
In a place like the Dark Continent, it was hard to imagine any truly safe locations.
The more "safe" a place seemed, the more deceptive it was—and the more vigilance was required.
"Indeed, it looks safe on the surface~"
"But we've already noticed something unusual just after arriving," Pariston murmured, his gaze lingering on the swaying grass as a faint breeze passed through.
A peculiar glint flashed in his eyes.
Hearing this, the group held their breath and focused intently on the grassland, plunging the area into silence.
Too quiet!
Across the vast expanse of the grassland, the only sound was the faint rustling of grass stirred by the breeze.
There was nothing else—no other noise whatsoever.
At first glance, it seemed unremarkable, but as the group faced the open grassland, an oppressive feeling weighed on their hearts.
It was as if stepping into that grass would trigger something terrifying.
After a long pause, Beyond sighed and shrugged helplessly.
"Well, we already knew the Dark Continent was anything but ordinary. We'll just have to face it as it comes."
"But we can't charge in recklessly. We need to prepare properly."
"For instance, figuring out what those flowers are for."
Following Beyond's finger, the group noticed a cluster of flowers amidst the grass.
Their differing colors and shapes, along with standing taller than the surrounding greenery, made them particularly conspicuous.
A long green stem extended upward, supporting a large floral disk.
The outer ring of the disk was lined with deep yellow petals, while the center was a circular area so dark it was hard to discern.
"Hmm… sunflowers?" Ging narrowed his eyes, voicing the thought on everyone's mind.
From their appearance, the flowers did resemble sunflowers.
But no one believed these were ordinary sunflowers.
"They're moving," Ging observed after a careful pause, his frown deepening.
"The floral disks are subtly shifting direction, following the sun's movement."
Yet he couldn't shake off a strange sense of familiarity.
What was it about these flowers that felt so familiar?
"Alright, let's avoid the areas with these sunflowers. No close contact with them."
"We can use En to scout the grass. Miro, your Nen ability should be functioning normally now, right?" Beyond said calmly, turning to Miro.
"Yes, now that we're out of the forest, the purple light's interference is gone. My Nen ability is back to normal." Miro nodded, indicating that she could still take on the role of lookout.
While the group was discussing, Akira focused on the two additional Incubation Bars that had appeared in his mind.
Just like Purple Forest, this unknown grassland had also provided two Incubation Bars.
This made Akira sigh inwardly—the Dark Continent truly had an abundance of Incubation Bars.
Grassland... so the Pokemons born here would likely be Grass-type.
Additionally, they might be related to the creatures they will encountered here.
Grass-type Pkemons, huh...
...
"Swish, swish..."
The faint sounds of clothing brushing against weeds echoed as the group carefully advanced through the grass.
Fortunately, the Safety Suits provided an extra layer of protection for everyone.
After moving forward for a while, several sunflowers in the distance suddenly tilted their flower heads.
They turned directly towards Akira and the others, their deep black centers resembling dark voids capable of swallowing anything whole.
"Hmm?"
Akira turned his head just in time to notice the sunflowers' strange movement and immediately shouted:
"Watch out for the sunflowers!"
Instantly, everyone's gaze snapped toward the sunflowers.
What they saw made many of them pale.
A dazzling white light had appeared at the center of each sunflower's head, pulsing with visible energy!
The light was incredibly pure—untainted by any other color—and radiated a sharp, aggressive aura.
Ging's eyelids twitched violently, and his body jerked.
He finally remembered why these sunflowers seemed familiar!
This method of attacking with beams was strikingly similar to the Gold Brion!
One moment, the group was standing still; the next, they all scattered to either side.
Before anyone could catch their breath, the sunflowers' attack arrived.
Several thick, pure-white beams shot forward in an instant, their fierce momentum creating loud sonic booms in the air.
'Is this... Solar beam?' Akira thought in surprise.
The scene before him perfectly matched the Grass-type ultimate move, Solar beam.
The beams whipped up fierce winds, flattening countless weeds and exposing the brown soil beneath.
Luckily, everyone had already moved out of the line of fire, so every beam missed its mark.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
The energy-packed beams struck the ground some distance behind the group, triggering massive explosions comparable to missile impacts!
Countless clumps of dirt and weeds instantly turned to ash, mixing with thick clouds of dust that spread outward.
At that moment, Miro suddenly sensed movement and urgently warned.
"Watch the ground!"
Before anyone could react, another anomaly occurred!
"Huh?!"
Mascher let out a confused sound as an intensely tight sensation wrapped around his ankle.
A series of cracking noises followed, signaling that his Safety Suit was under continuous assault.
But Mascher wasn't the only one being attacked—others were too.
The previously weed-covered ground abruptly sprouted wildly thrashing dark-green vines.
The vines were so numerous that the grassy field transformed into a writhing nest of serpents.
These vines were incredibly strong—merely coiling around a foot was enough to damage the Safety Suits.
As you know, this is a Safety Suit that even those rotting corpses could barely damage!
"Haah!"
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