The moonlight was like silver.
Burning cars illuminated the surrounding ground like bonfires.
The fierce wind on the wasteland twisted and distorted the thick black smoke, filling the air with an acrid burnt smell.
On the distant road.
One car after another was blocked by the explosion.
Many people got out of their vehicles, watching with varied expressions as Morrow and the Shadow Beasts faced off on the wasteland.
Perhaps because they all had bodyguards, giving them an unusual sense of security, they didn't immediately distance themselves.
However, some cautious individuals had their drivers turn around and leave.
Under the gaze of many eyes, killing intent was exposed on the wasteland.
There was no need to ask why.
From the moment Worm burst from the ground to attack, both sides were destined to fight to the death.
Mosquito, who had just arrived at the scene, didn't even say a word before suddenly launching an attack against Morrow.
His body emanated aura like a torrent as he charged toward Morrow, naturally extending his hands forward.
Just as Mosquito made his move, Worm suddenly bent down, pressing his long, pointed head against the ground.
Then his smooth, hairless body began to rotate strangely at high speed like a drill, and in the blink of an eye, like a real worm, he quickly burrowed into the ground.
One attack visible, one hidden.
This was the standard tactic when other Shadow Beast members coordinated with Worm.
Morrow's gaze passed over Mosquito, glancing at the hole left behind as Worm burrowed into the ground.
Attacking from underground, or directly dragging someone into the ground.
This was Worm's consistent attack method.
However, compared to his attack style, Worm's concealment technique before striking was the real threat.
Only Nen users with exceptionally developed hearing like Melody could detect his heartbeat when he approached without using "En."
In a one-on-one situation, using En to counter Worm would be no problem at all.
But now he was outnumbered.
Using En would be like exposing his vital points to Mosquito.
What made it more troublesome was that the starlight from Starlight Convergence couldn't penetrate the ground like En could.
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Morrow retreated to create distance, buying time to release his Shooting Star.
"Deceptive Shooting Star"
The sharp aura on his right hand instantly condensed into a phosphorescent green star.
Whoosh!
The star shot straight up into the sky like a rocket.
"Hmm?"
Mosquito looked up at the star soaring skyward, unable to immediately discern Morrow's intentions.
Despite this, his speed charging toward Morrow didn't decrease at all, displaying his immense confidence.
Seeing this, Morrow could only think that this was indeed the same person who, in the original story, believed the Phantom Troupe wasn't all that impressive even before fighting them.
These Shadow Beasts all possessed a kind of mysterious self-confidence.
This was probably the influence that came with their status.
In the air.
The phosphorescent green star suddenly burst and split, falling downward like a meteor shower.
It targeted friend and foe alike!
A flash of confusion crossed Mosquito's eyes, but he determined that after splitting, the stars couldn't have much attack power, so he charged into the attack range through the meteor shower of Nen bullets.
At the same time.
The split Star Rain Nen bullets bombarded the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
Beneath the ground.
Worm, who was waiting for the right moment to strike, suddenly froze.
Underground, he located enemies by sensing vibrations on the surface.
These sudden, dense vibrations undoubtedly disrupted the accuracy of his "Earth Listening," interrupting his imminent attack.
Is it coincidence, or was I detected...?
With the ground vibrations chaotic and unceasing, Worm temporarily couldn't locate Morrow's position.
He could only remain still while trying to get accustomed to these vibration frequencies, gradually developing a filtering logic.
On the ground.
Morrow used the split stars to interfere with Worm's positioning method, then shattered the aura around his body into countless star points.
"Starlight Convergence"
Star points like the Milky Way circled around Morrow.
At this moment, he had only a thin layer of aura protection, and the star points couldn't penetrate underground, so if Worm attacked him now, he could basically kill him instantly.
Undoubtedly, this was a risky move.
But Morrow's precise judgment of Worm's sensing method directly reduced this risk to zero.
Mosquito stepped into the attack range, simultaneously entering Morrow's Starlight Domain.
This is...
Face to face, Mosquito wasn't certain about the function of these light points, but he noticed that the strength of Morrow's aura had become very thin.
So he decisively attacked. When still more than a meter away from Morrow, his extended fingers suddenly elongated rapidly, piercing toward Morrow like sharp spears.
However, Morrow used the star points to instantly extract information about the rapidly elongating fingers. First, he sidestepped to avoid Mosquito's left hand's sharp fingers, then leaped into the air to dodge the right hand's attack.
After evading twice and finding himself airborne, Morrow quickly retracted Starlight Convergence, returning his aura output to his body at maximum speed. Then he burst aura from both feet, propelling himself backward.
This move directly extinguished Mosquito's intention to pursue while Morrow was suspended in the air.
Morrow landed steadily from the air while simultaneously raising his hand to release another star into the sky.
Mosquito looked up at the ascending star and finally understood why Morrow was doing this.
This guy... is using Nen bullets to interfere with Worm's positioning method. He figured this out just after dodging one of Worm's attacks?
Watching the star burst and split, falling again like a meteor shower, Mosquito was secretly alarmed.
However, he understood Worm's ability and knew this interference method could only work temporarily.
Just as humans in darkness can gradually enhance their visual sensitivity to slowly distinguish surrounding objects, Worm could also adapt to gradually locate his true target.
And what he needed to do was create a 100% hit opportunity for Worm.
With this in mind, Mosquito suppressed the turmoil in his heart and once again charged toward Morrow through the star meteor shower.
Morrow stood his ground, carefully observing Mosquito's body movements.
"Starlight Convergence"
The galaxy-like starlight spread outward again.
As Mosquito stepped into it, every movement he made was read by the star points.
He attacked.
But instead of retreating, Morrow advanced, matching Mosquito's step frequency and force, evading the piercing fingertips.
When he rushed to Mosquito's face, he suddenly deliberately stomped harder, then leaped backward into the air.
This strange behavior surprised Mosquito, though his movements didn't stop as he raised his hand toward the airborne Morrow.
"Piercing Mouthpart"
His sharp fingers pierced through the air, directly targeting Morrow.
Just then, the ground beside Mosquito suddenly exploded as Worm burst out, throwing a punch at Mosquito.
"?!"
Mosquito's heart jolted, and by the time he reacted, he had already been hit by Worm's punch.
Bang!
Under the tremendous force, Mosquito's face suddenly deformed, and his entire body flew sideways, bouncing on the ground several times like a ball.
"W-Worm... what are you doing!?"
Mosquito flipped up from the ground, half his face already deformed, looking at Worm with disbelief.
Worm was still maintaining his punching posture, surprised, with a drop of sweat sliding down.
"He... mimicked your step frequency and vibration intensity."
Worm realized the reason he had mistakenly struck his teammate and couldn't help but look at Morrow, who had landed from the air, unable to hide his shock.
When Mosquito heard Worm's explanation, he angrily said, "Stop making excuses! How could that possibly be done?!"
"But he did it..."
Worm's speech naturally carried a trembling tone, but this time, he was truly trembling.