A lampshade's shadow aptly described that black curtain moving across the ground. It wasn't large, roughly the size of a tablecloth.
The black shadow shifted back and forth, devouring all the flesh and blood on the ground in seconds. It even swallowed many still-living creatures into the shadow without a single ripple.
It was unknown where the massive amount of flesh and blood went. The shadow showed no signs of expanding, maintaining its tablecloth-sized area.
If Law and the others were here, they would likely recognize this shadow as the one they had seen near the Dragon Blood Tree.
While slaughter occurred in multiple parts of the forest, Law's group encountered the demi-human Magical Beasts.
Law initiated a sudden attack, forcing the sharp-nosed beast to dodge and channel its Aura to its limbs below the neck, reducing the Aura protecting its head. Before the attack even concluded, Kuro emerged unexpectedly to deliver a finishing blow.
In just one brief exchange, the sharp-nosed beast's head was bitten off by Kuro.
"Gulp."
Kuro unceremoniously swallowed the sharp-nosed beast's head. Blood gushed out like a fountain from the beast's severed neck.
It was a successful opening move.
The remaining nine demi-human Magical Beasts watched their companion be killed instantly without showing any anger or grief. They didn't even react to Kuro swallowing the head, only battle intent and a slight wariness were directed at Law and Kuro.
Whoosh!
The demi-human Magical Beasts unleashed the vast vitality within them. The residual force formed a strong wind, pressing the surrounding grass and leaves flat against the ground.
Nine Auras, each capable of overpowering a Chimera Ant's Squadron Leader, swept forward carrying killing intent.
Scattered leaves on the ground were sent flying towards Law's group.
Law and Biscuit remained expressionless. Kuro opened his large, fanged mouth and devoured the sharp-nosed beast in a few bites.
Tonpa and Bruna quickly hid behind a tree, staying as far from the battlefield as possible.
"Simply monsters," Tonpa muttered, watching the nine Auras ahead, his eyes full of fear. He couldn't imagine how large the Potential Aura of these demi-human Magical Beasts were. If he released his Aura like that, he'd be exhausted and collapse in less than five minutes.
His gaze shifted to Law and Biscuit ahead. They were caught in the vortex of these Auras yet seemed completely unaffected.
'It takes ruthless people to deal with ruthless people,' Tonpa thought to himself.
Kuro finished devouring the sharp-nosed beast, his mouth and half his face stained with a heavy scent of blood, looking quite ferocious.
He suddenly retreated rapidly, avoiding the Magical Beasts' target lock, and moved back to the edge of the combat zone, close to Tonpa and Bruna.
In this battle, his role was more of a bodyguard, protecting Tonpa and Bruna as much as possible.
Compared to battles that would rapidly consume his Nen, he preferred protection. If he could gain the experience of a demi-human Magical Beast effortlessly like just now, he'd welcome it anytime.
Judging by the Auras alone, these nine demi-human Magical Beasts were not easy to deal with. The reason Law and Kuro managed to take one down so quickly was largely due to Law's precise timing and targeting.
'Ryu like beastial instinct...' Biscuit murmured inwardly, directly reverting to her original muscular form, 'Then, in one-on-one combat, it's hard to decide the outcome. Only coordinated attacks are the most suitable method to deal with them.'
Combining the intelligence Law had provided earlier and witnessing firsthand Law and Kuro cooperating to instantly take down a sharp-nosed beast, Biscuit had already found the most effective method even as the battle was about to commence.
She quickly glanced at Law, who sensed her gaze and nodded back in tacit understanding.
One person would attack first, whether as a bluff or an all-out strike, to force the demi-human Magical Beast's Ryu to allocate most of its Aura to a predictable location under pressure or crisis.
Then, the other person could launch a fatal strike from a position with weaker Aura Defense.
This idea had been successfully verified by Law and Kuro, but there was no time to explain it to Biscuit.
However, the look in Biscuit's eyes at that moment made Law understand immediately, so he responded.
The demi-human Magical Beast group didn't know their enemies had silently devised a strategy. They gathered their momentum, ready to tear these humans apart.
Just then, the jade-white humanoid phantom behind Law quickly materialized. As the Magical Beasts began to move, it swung its blade horizontally across the front.
A bright blade light flashed and vanished, then dozens of giant trees ahead were severed cleanly.
The upright Magical Beasts either leaped into the air or dropped to the ground, all dodging the strike.
Rumble...
Giant trees toppled, leaves filling the sky.
Law stepped forward, appearing fifty or sixty meters away the next second. He targeted a bear-person most suitable for attack and brought his sword down.
The bear-person was wrapped in a large amount of Aura. Seeing Law's strike, it dodged to the right with a serious expression, avoiding the blow.
Simultaneously, it reached out and caught a giant tree that was about to fall and hit the ground.
It roared, lifted the giant tree, and aimed to smash Law into pulp.
At that moment, Biscuit circled behind the bear-person, her fist glowing with a dazzling light.
The bear-person sensed the crisis from behind. It decisively released the tree, turned around abruptly, and the surging Aura on its body flowed to its arms and palms. It then swung a palm towards the sneak-attacking Biscuit.
Boom!
Biscuit's fist struck the bear-person's palm. Upon impact, a sound like spring thunder erupted. Biscuit was sent flying backward, while the bear-person's body didn't budge an inch.
Even though it was a hasty counterattack, its explosive power was stronger than Biscuit's.
Before the bear-person could retract its palm, its expression suddenly changed.
This time, it couldn't react in time. It barely turned around to see Law thrusting his sword forward.
Stab!
The long knife accurately pierced the bear-person's chest, going right through.
The bear-person didn't feel pain nor had time to wonder why.
It raised both hands, like swatting a mosquito, and clapped them towards Law's head.
A cold smile touched Law's lips. He used [Instant], instantly retreating dozens of meters backward, while also keeping an eye on the other Magical Beasts.
The bear-person failed to catch Law. It moved its feet, intending to pursue and kill, but its body suddenly froze.
"What?"
The bear-person's face stiffened. Its tall body crashed to the ground, blood flowing from its chest.
Dozens of meters behind it, Biscuit's right hand was covered in blood and flesh fragments. At her feet was a mangled heart.
Law's thrust through the bear-person's chest hadn't caused substantive damage but had instead knocked the heart out through the chest.
Biscuit, positioned correctly, could directly grab the bear-person's heart and crush it, causing immediate death.
Their target selection synchronization was extremely similar, allowing them to execute such coordination.
The remaining eight Magical Beasts, initially forced to temporarily avoid the sharp edge by Law's sword, witnessed firsthand Law and Biscuit successfully pull off a coordinated kill in an instant.
'Tricky,' One of them thought.
Compared to Law and Biscuit's coordination, even the positioning of the demi-human Magical Beasts was a problem.