The days spent traveling through the sky were far more comfortable than moving on the ground.
Standing at the edge of the enormous floating island and looking down, they could see all kinds of strange sights across the Dark Continent.
That broad, open view was something they could never experience while moving along the ground.
Especially from this angle, they could see that the Dark Continent truly had many beings so enormous that they were almost impossible to believe.
These things, large enough to trigger megalophobia, might not even be noticed when they were not moving. Even if someone walked onto their bodies, they might simply think they had climbed onto a small hill.
Other things that existed only in ancient records could also be found on this continent.
Multi-legged dinosaurs, towering carnivorous flowers dozens of meters tall, and even horrifying flesh worms that suddenly drilled out from underground.
Although no usable Nen bloomed from the bodies of these colossal beings, the life energy they naturally emitted was already enough to leave those who saw them shocked.
"I really wonder how long these things have lived," Kurapika sighed.
"Maybe longevity rice works on them too," Ronin said, thinking of another possibility.
However, his words were also a kind of agreement with Kurapika's statement. No one knew how long these terrifying creatures had lived to grow to such massive sizes and possess such astonishing life energy.
If these giant beasts did not clash with one another, it was hard to imagine what level of strength would be needed to kill something like them.
Ordinary attacks landing on these giant beasts might not even be able to break through the life energy they naturally emitted.
Ronin had previously tried controlling a Gold and Silver Ingot to shoot golden light down from high altitude. But the golden light, which had tried to pierce through a colossal dinosaur over a hundred meters long, had only left a dent on its body in the end.
"If ancient cities could exist, did they have some method to prevent these colossal beings from approaching?" Kurapika shifted his thoughts to the place they were heading next.
That ancient city, which was not too far from Lake Mobius, had already aroused Kurapika's interest.
"I don't know. Probably," Ronin said, also interested. "But what I care more about is whether we can see the entire labyrinth city clearly from high in the sky."
After all, it was called a labyrinth city. It was hard not to imagine getting lost after entering it.
"I doubt this floating island can really carry us over the labyrinth city. That place was left with Gold and Silver Ingots as guards, and judging from the way the Gold and Silver Ingots attacked the dinosaur earlier, they may not be the city's final defensive measure," Kurapika speculated about the ancient city.
The Gold and Silver Ingots were very strong.
Especially once their numbers increased, that strength would multiply several times over.
But after discovering the floating island, Kurapika did not believe an entire city could be protected by Gold and Silver Ingots alone.
Because in the floating island's weapons archive, they had already seen blueprints for even more powerful weapons.
Those things might not be suitable to place on a floating island, but they would be perfect for an ancient labyrinth city.
"No matter what, we still have to go take a look." A sense of adventurous anticipation rose in Ronin's heart.
However, in his field of vision, he saw some beings flying toward the floating island.
This happened not long after the floating island had completely flown out of the flood-damaged region and entered a wasteland where towering trees appeared at intervals.
The things they encountered were beetle-like creatures.
Their bodies were enormous. Each one was comparable to a huge airship.
These beetle monsters had hard carapaces, thick legs covered in barbs, and thin wings that extended from the shells on their backs while flying, producing a buzzing sound. Their massive heads had compound eyes that made people uncomfortable just by looking at them.
These strange insects lived on the giant trees. Anything passing near those trees would become their target.
It did not matter whether the thing flew over the trees or moved across the wasteland below.
It felt as if these strange insects were unbelievably domineering, treating the areas around the giant trees as forbidden zones.
Just like now.
Ronin lowered his head and looked down. About a kilometer away from them on the ground, there was a towering tree several hundred meters tall, with a top like a platform and a trunk that rose straight upward.
Those strange insects had flown up from the top of that giant tree.
Their wings flapped, producing a massive buzzing sound. That buzzing seemed like a warning, a notification, and also a hunting signal.
However, before they could fully approach the island, large numbers of giant eagles had already flown out from the floating island.
Most importantly, within the giant eagle formation, there were also several whose heads had the appearance of Gold and Silver Ingots.
The giant eagles might not be a match for the strange insects, given the difference in size between the two sides.
But the strange insects seemed to have an instinctive fear of the giant eagles. The moment the giant eagles rose into the air, the insects' charging momentum suddenly weakened.
And at that moment, golden light bloomed from the floating island.
Beam after beam of golden light landed on the strange insects. These beams, which had failed to completely pierce through ancient giant beasts, now displayed their domineering side on the insects.
One strange insect after another was pierced through in midair.
Even more shocking was that this time, the golden light did not end after piercing through the enemy.
Instead, after piercing through them, it suddenly slashed downward.
That downward motion instantly tore one strange insect after another into pieces in midair.
Under human control, the Gold and Silver Ingots had gained more attack patterns and had become far more flexible and varied.
If the Gold and Silver Ingot had released this laser-like golden light when Ronin brought Odo close to touch the first one regardless of life and death, Odo would probably have been cut into countless pieces back then.
Unfortunately, without anyone controlling them, the Gold and Silver Ingots could only follow their preset attack procedures step by step, then adjust their next attack pattern based on feedback.
The floating island versus the strange insects was completely a slaughter.
However, not all of the dead insects' corpses fell. Some were caught by the giant eagles in midair and carried away.
These were all food for the giant eagles.
After all, once the giant eagles were conjured, they had the traits of normal living creatures and also needed to eat.
Ronin and Kurapika were still standing at the edge of the floating island, each holding a telescope.
By now, their gazes had already passed over the strange insects, even past the trees below, and were looking farther away.
There, the earth trembled as large numbers of ants drilled out from underground.
The strange insect corpses that were not caught by the giant eagles fell to the ground and became food for these ants, dragged by them into the earth.
More strange insects appeared on the giant tree.
However, this time, their target was no longer only the floating island. Some of them also dove down from the tree and attacked the black-backed giant ants.