To survive, one needs food.
The creatures of the tree sea were all trying to obtain food by any means necessary.
Most creatures pursued quantity over taste, eating anything that could satisfy their physiological needs. But some creatures were different, such as the demi-human Magical Beast.
Unlike most creatures in the tree sea who hunted blindly, they were selective about their prey, much like humans with picky eating habits.
Often, they also targeted plants, similar to how humans need fruits and vegetables.
The use of life force, superior physical strength, and intelligence on par with humans were the assets that allowed the demi-human Magical Beast to thrive in the tree sea.
With this confidence, they weren't satisfied with mere survival.
In their concept, there was also the notion of 'gourmet food', much like the Chimera Ants who found Nen Users tastier than ordinary people.
In fact, the demi-human Magical Beast not only had the concept of 'gourmet food' but also of 'cuisine'. They knew how to make their prey more delicious and pursued this aspect.
The leopard-man who had attacked Law earlier was trying to seize the Pearl Flower because it was not only delicious but also increased vitality.
If he could defeat Law, the leopard-man wouldn't have minded properly 'preparing' Law and then eating him.
"Don't mess with Chick Flute. It's not tasty and too much trouble," One demi-human objected.
"Right."
"But there's another smell... I want to eat it." The sharp-nosed Magical Beast lifted its head, bull-like pupils gleaming with greed. Its nostrils twitched incessantly, veins involuntarily bulging on its cheeks.
The other Magical Beasts watched the sharp-nosed one's reaction, then exchanged glances.
The sharp-nosed Magical Beast had an incredible sense of smell and another notable characteristic: a very strong digestive system, making it extremely gluttonous.
A scent that could elicit such a reaction from the sharp-nosed beast was definitely not some trivial hunting trap. Therefore, it was worth investigating.
"Shall we go?"
The flame-footed demi-human Magical Beast had fur like fire, covering most of its facial features with red hair. It asked the question again.
"Let's go."
Because of the sharp-nosed beast's reaction, some decided to go check it out.
Soon, they reached a consensus to investigate the anomaly in the forest, but they didn't want to provoke Chick Flute, so they would take a slight detour.
They identified the direction and had just started moving when a group of creatures surrounded them.
The demi-human Magical Beasts saw this and erupted with life force, forming a white light that enveloped their bodies. They charged into the group of creatures, instantly tearing huge gaps through them.
Inside the tree hole, the Stuffed Chicken had been completely devoured, bones and all, swallowed by Kuro.
Law let out a satisfied sigh, as did the others.
Having stayed in the tree hole for a while, the chicken was finished, and Tonpa and Biscuit had mostly recovered.
Next was to cross the sea of trees and see the World Tree that pierced the clouds.
Then, Law proposed leaving in two hours and detailed the results of his nearby exploration for Tonpa and Biscuit to remember.
However, the sea of trees was vast, with countless species. The information Law had gathered was merely a drop in the bucket and wouldn't be of much help for the journey ahead.
An hour passed, and Tonpa suddenly interrupted Law's explanation.
"There's situation."
Tonpa's nerves were taut as he suddenly stood up.
Seeing Tonpa's reaction, Law and Biscuit tensed up. Having spent time with Tonpa, they knew that if he reacted strongly, it meant the detected situation was quite serious.
"Many, many of them, heading straight for us. And..." Tonpa's face showed hesitation, "There are Nen Users too, probably..."
He looked at Law, seeming uncertain.
"Could they be demi-human Magical Beasts?" Biscuit also looked at Law.
Law had told Biscuit and Tonpa about encountering the leopard-man.
"Most likely." Law stood up and looked at Tonpa, "How many?"
"Ten," Tonpa stated firmly.
"What forms?"
Tonpa shook his head, "Too fast, very blurry. Should we leave? Besides them, there are many other things, all coming this way. They'll be here soon."
"Of course."
Law glanced at the messy dishes, his expression darkening.
If they were indeed demi-human Magical Beasts, even ten of them, judging by the leopard-man's strength, Law wasn't too worried.
However, Tonpa's combat ability was weaker, and there was Bruna. In an uneven fight, they could easily get injured or even killed.
Without hesitation, the three of them abandoned the tree hole they had stayed in for some time. They went outside, and then, based on the intelligence from Tonpa's detection, moved sideways, intending to bypass the group of creatures heading for the tree hole.
However, the range of Tonpa's detection couldn't keep up with the targets' high speed.
With a limited range, even if they could grasp the other party's movements, once their speed was sufficient, there wasn't much time to react in a hurry.
The group of three stopped. A sharp-nosed Magical Beast blocked their path ahead, its eyes burning with a crazy desire to devour them.
Besides the sharp-nosed beast, there were nine others, positioned in a fan-shaped formation.
"They... came for us," Tonpa said warily, watching the massive amount of Aura on the sharp-nosed beast.
He took a deep breath. Seeing it firsthand, he realized how terrifying it was.
The quantity of Aura flowing on its body surface was simply incomparable to that of a human.
Tonpa subconsciously gritted his teeth. Based on the other party's movement pattern, a chilling possibility occurred to him.
"And they can track our movements."
It was just a guess, but he said it to Law and Biscuit with certainty because he hoped Law and Biscuit would choose to kill these ten extremely dangerous demi-human Magical Beasts rather than flee.
Otherwise, he didn't think he could escape.
Although it was a guess, it had some basis.
In his earlier detection, a group of unknown creatures and the ten demi-human Magical Beasts were heading straight for the tree hole.
But after they left the tree hole and chose an escape route, only the ten demi-human Magical Beasts turned to pursue them.
Worse still, the large group of creatures wasn't far away. If they were delayed by the demi-human Magical Beasts and that group arrived, it would be even more troublesome.
In fact, Tonpa's guess was correct. The sharp-nosed beast could smell the scent emanating from Law and the others… the scent of the Stuffed Chicken.
The moment Tonpa finished speaking, Law was the first to move.
In a flash, he appeared before the sharp-nosed beast. Raising his hand, Shin appeared in his grip. Then, wrapped in Aura, he brought it down squarely on the beast's head.
"Is it this guy?" The sharp-nosed beast's expression changed, recalling a person its companion had mentioned over half a month ago.
Its body was quite rotund, but it could rapidly allocate most of its Nen to its legs, dodging Law's first strike in time.
Law's arm came down, the back of his sword-wielding hand facing directly towards the dodging sharp-nosed beast.
Suddenly, Kuro emerged from the back of his hand, growing with the wind, opening his large mouth, and biting off the sharp-nosed beast's head in one go, then landing on the ground.
At this moment, Kuro's form was like a leopard-tiger hybrid, the sharp-nosed beast's head dangling from his mouth.
He turned to look at the other nine demi-human Magical Beasts, his eyes showing a greed even more direct than the sharp-nosed beast's had been.
Who was the prey remained to be seen.
…
Meanwhile, the feast in the forest continued to intensify. In an area resembling a battlefield, various creatures were engaged in life-and-death struggle.
A patch of black curtain, like a shadow, flowed across the ground, passing over areas filled with blood and corpses. Like a vacuum cleaner, it sucked all the flesh and blood dry.