Thousands of skeletons hanging on racks were a chilling sight. It was impossible to tell if this was a hobby of the demi-human Magical Beasts or a warning to other creatures in the forest.
Law carefully concealed his Aura. Dealing with ten of them through tactical maneuvering would not have been difficult, but a hundred was a different matter entirely, requiring careful consideration.
Furthermore, with so many burrows around, it was impossible to know if more were hiding inside.
He silently watched the hundred-plus demi-human Magical Beasts busy among the skeletal racks, thinking that after leaving this place, he would have to avoid this area as much as possible.
However, he couldn't guarantee he would be able to steer clear of it perfectly.
'If only it were a human settlement…'
Law sighed inwardly, 'If even these physically powerful demi-human Magical Beasts lived in burrows, how much worse must it be for humans?'
He thought of the shadowy figures he had encountered in the forest and the slashing attacks of unknown origin… both were threats that could kill him in an instant. Especially the slashes, as they had no visible form or target, and their power was so immense they had nearly breached his Domain.
In that situation, even someone like Netero or a top-tier Enhancer might not have been able to defend against it, because his Domain was a combined ability utilizing Specialization, Enhancement, Manipulation, Transmutation, and Emission, all operating at one hundred percent output.
Relying on physical defense alone would likely have been impossible, so no wonder that one demi-human Magical Beast had been sliced into three pieces earlier.
Law shook his head slightly, dismissing the thoughts, and wordlessly stared at the Magical Beast's settlement.
Unless absolutely necessary, he had no desire to provoke the demi-human Magical Beasts' territory and prepared to slip away quietly.
He had just turned around, his right foot about to push off, when a violent impact suddenly slammed into the Domain behind him.
Caught completely off guard, Law grunted and was sent flying like a cannonball into the base of a giant tree ahead. With a deafening crash, the giant tree snapped and collapsed, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
On the tree trunk, a demi-human Magical Beast, barely one and a half meters tall, slowly materialized out of thin air.
The Magical Beast looked somewhat like a koala, with gray fur covering its body, two large protruding ears on its head, and a big black nose.
Its meaty paw was extended toward the direction Law had been sent flying, holding the pose from its strike.
Law's body was tangled in thick roots as wide as utility poles. His internal organs churned, and a small trickle of blood escaped his lips.
He snapped his head up, his heart sinking like a stone, his gaze sharp as lightning, piercing the koala Magical Beast on the trunk.
'I had been highly vigilant. When had it gotten so close?'
The moment he was hit, Law realized the koala Magical Beast had been standing right beside him.
If he hadn't maintained his Domain, the force of that single palm strike would have been enough to kill him instantly.
Even with his Domain's defense, as he hadn't concentrated his aura on a single point, the blow had still injured him.
Thankfully, it wasn't a piercing attack, or it would have been fatal.
It wasn't until he landed that the feeling of heart-pounding fear finally surfaced.
No number of 'what ifs' could adequately describe how close a call that had been.
Law's thoughts raced. He quickly got up and sprinted at high speed in a chosen direction.
There was no time to analyze the stealth ability the ambushing Magical Beast had used to conceal its presence and movements.
His only thought was that he had been discovered, and this place was too close to their settlement. If he didn't retreat immediately, he would be in grave danger once surrounded.
In an instant, Law covered hundreds of meters, then suddenly forced himself to a halt as a jade-white humanoid phantom manifested behind him.
A shadow, brimming with powerful force, dropped from the sky and smashed into the ground just one meter in front of him.
Boom!
The ground shattered. A shockwave carrying dust and debris surged toward Law's body.
Standing firm within the fierce wind, Law remained unshaken, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light.
The Domain spread one meter in front of him retracted into his body. Simultaneously, the jade-white humanoid phantom behind him swung its arm, a blade of force slicing cleanly through the oncoming cloud of dust.
The dust parted to the left and right, but the black shadow that had fallen from the sky was gone.
A split second later, Law glanced down at the ground, his expression turning cold. The Aura flowing throughout his body channeled into his right foot, transforming into a soft force focused into a single beam that penetrated the firm soil and injected into the earth below.
A dead silence followed.
Law then looked up, gazing forward. A circle of Domain expanded from his body, swept rapidly through the surroundings, and retracted back into him in a flash.
That instantaneous reconnaissance immediately allowed Law to grasp the positions of the surrounding demi-human Magical Beasts. He was indeed surrounded.
'This direction…'
Law suddenly charged toward one direction… the weakest point in the encirclement, and the way he had come. He might encounter the shadowy figures again, but that might actually be for the best.
The moment he left, the ground where he had been standing was suddenly stained red with blood.
The demi-human Magical Beast that had attacked him from the air, after its strike missed, had burrowed into the ground, making a U-turn to attack the soles of Law's feet.
Law had detected it, gathered his Nen, and using the soft force technique of the Linne-School, delivered a strike like 'hitting the mountain to shock the tiger', killing the creature underground.
In battles between Nen Users, the best chance for a sure kill is the moment the opponent attacks. It is only then that their Aura Defense is at its weakest.
Law's figure moved like lightning, weaving through the forest.
From the left, right, and behind him came powerful Nen Fluctuations… more than twenty in total.
Among them, one figure was incredibly fast, circling around to Law's front.
Its powerfully explosive leg swept out in a low, sweeping motion, pressing down against the ground with immense force.
The motion was like a car at high speed suddenly braking and drifting, causing the body to slide in a sharp, controlled arc.
The leg swept across the ground, kicking up a fierce gust of wind mixed with dust that roared toward Law.
Law clearly saw the face of the figure ahead… it was the leopard man he had encountered initially.
Dust mixed with shattered rock shot toward his face, but Law faced it fearlessly, charging directly into the cloud.
Clang!
A spark flashed within the dust cloud. The violent collision generated a shockwave that blasted the dust away.
The leopard man had crossed his claws, blocking the downward strike of Law's real weapon.
The spark had been produced at the moment of their clash.
The two remained locked for just over a second. The leopard man's arms, and then his entire body, were swiftly covered in a flow of Nen that conjured numerous black claws resembling hooks or curved blades. They seemed alive, stabbing toward Law's torso.
However, the dozens of claws halted ten centimeters from Law's body, unable to advance another inch. The tips of the claws grated against the air, continuously throwing off sparks.
The leopard man's gaze, filled with deep apprehension, was fixed on Law's eyes. He said in a low, gravelly voice, "What exactly are you?"
He had never encountered a being like Law in the forest. The body before him appeared so fragile, yet it wielded such immense and powerful life force.
From the moment he blocked Law's strike, the leopard man hadn't considered the possibility of his own death.
His only thought, since Law had discovered their settlement, was to cooperate with his companions to kill this intruder on the spot.
Law did not understand the leopard man's words, nor was he interested in deciphering them.
The moment the leopard man chose to lock blades with him, Law had already passed a death sentence on him in his heart.