That was easy to say, but after witnessing the enormous vines erupting from the ground earlier, no one dared underestimate what lay below.
Moreover, even if they descended, the flower sea was still filled with ferocious beasts, despite the ghosts not appearing during the day.
Any beast capable of surviving among those ghosts was clearly no harmless creature. It had to possess something extraordinary, and most likely wielded some kind of special ability.
Many beings on the Dark Continent instinctively understood how to use Nen and had developed unique abilities of their own.
"No matter how you look at it, this seems like a coordinated system," Kurapika said after connecting the situation in the sky with what was happening underground. "The ancient city uses the Gold and Silver Ingots to blockade its airspace, forcing anything that wants to invade the city to enter from the ground."
"But judging from the way those vines treated the Gold and Silver Ingots, it feels more like the ancient city is under siege," Ging offered his own opinion.
None of that, however, was what Ronin cared about most.
"We definitely need to leave people behind to guard the floating island. Who wants to explore the ancient city with me?" Ronin's gaze swept across everyone.
As he did so, he began treating those who had been injured earlier.
Under the effects of the Mystical Palm Technique, the conditions of the three wounded people visibly improved. Fortunately, the golden beams had not struck any of their vital areas.
"I'm going," Ging was the first to step forward.
Kurapika and Shizuku followed.
Neon shook her head. For now, she was not particularly interested in the ancient city. Abaki felt the same way.
Odo hesitated, but ultimately chose not to take another risk. He understood clearly that his most important objective was to survive for as long as possible.
Veronica, who had always wanted to strip Odo of his position as captain and replace him, stepped forward instead.
"I'm going too."
"Good." Ronin was not surprised by either of their choices.
However, if he were Odo, he would have chosen to venture into the ancient city. With Ronin's assistance, Odo might have the opportunity to control even more Gold and Silver Ingots.
If he could command enough of them, then even if he could not roam freely across the Dark Continent, his chances of survival would still rise dramatically.
But although Odo had entertained certain ideas before, he still could not fully let go. He was the comparatively conservative type.
As for Veronica, she was probably growing anxious.
At present, her ability, which was more suited to interrogation, still had no opportunity to shine.
Still, bringing along one more person with a special ability was never a bad thing for Ronin.
And since Veronica dared to volunteer, she had presumably already prepared herself. If she truly died in the ancient city, she likely would not hold any resentment.
"Get some rest. Tomorrow, we officially advance toward the ancient city from the ground," Ronin decided.
The floating island's cleaning robots began their performance once again.
They emerged from the island's buildings and moved toward the sections that had been blasted apart by the golden beams of the Gold and Silver Ingots.
With the laboratory operating at full capacity to produce clay, the robots rapidly repaired the damaged parts of the island.
Perhaps calling them "cleaning robots" was no longer appropriate.
They should have been called all-purpose caretakers.
They were simply far too versatile.
When night arrived, the ground below had once again transformed into a sea of flowers. Ghosts drifted between the blossoms, while ferocious beasts constantly selected desirable targets to attack.
Everything looked as though the events of the previous day had never happened.
Even the enormous whip-like vines that had erupted from underground had silently disappeared back beneath the earth.
After observing the island and confirming that nothing below posed a threat to the floating island, Ronin finally relaxed.
At the first light of dawn, when all the ghosts had disappeared, Ronin used the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique to bring Ging, Kurapika, Shizuku, and Veronica down from the floating island.
Before leaving, he had also prepared sufficient food and supplies for those remaining behind.
He did not make any attempt to fly toward the ancient city using the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique.
The moment their feet touched solid ground, the overwhelming fragrance of the flowers assaulted them, accompanied by ferocious beasts hidden within the flower sea.
However, everyone who descended was wearing a gas mask.
The fragrance had no effect on them. Only the approaching beasts could be considered a threat.
Yet even that threat amounted to little.
Aside from their thick hides and tough flesh, the beasts moving through the flower sea had almost no combat ability in Ronin's eyes.
Most importantly, the beasts did not go mad and swarm Ronin's group all at once.
Their primary targets remained the countless flowers growing throughout the area.
Although a few attacked after discovering Ronin's group, they were quickly and easily killed. Their corpses were then casually stored inside Blinky by Shizuku.
The team advanced rapidly. Before long, they reached the area where several Gold and Silver Ingots had previously been swept down and crushed by the enormous vines.
However, those Gold and Silver Ingots were now severely damaged. Judging from their condition, they had no remaining value for collection or research.
Nearby, the group could also see trenches hidden beneath the flowers.
Following those trenches with their eyes, they could still make out the enormous vines. At present, however, they were completely dormant beneath the soil.
Ronin, who had remained prepared to flee at any moment, relaxed slightly.
It appeared that the enormous vines' targets were only the countless Gold and Silver Ingots from the ancient city.
But Ronin soon frowned.
Was it because the floating island had contained too few Gold and Silver Ingots to trigger the vines' attack?
Or had those vines attacked for some completely different reason?
Although more questions appeared in his mind, the team did not slow down at all.
Ronin's group planned to reach the edge of the ancient labyrinth city before nightfall, observe it for one night, and then decide how they would enter.
Of course, that depended on whether the Gold and Silver Ingots would charge out after them like rabid dogs, just as they had when they encountered the floating island.
Another reason for this arrangement was that they already had a general understanding of the flower sea, while everything inside the city remained completely unknown.
Fire Release became Ronin's most frequently used ability as they advanced.
It could not only burn the attacking beasts to death, but also serve as a deterrent. More importantly, it could destroy the surrounding flowers.
Otherwise, if he killed the beasts using other abilities, the energy within their bodies would become nourishment for the flower sea, causing the nearby blossoms to bloom even more brilliantly.
Throughout the entire journey, Ronin was almost the only one who took action. Ging and Kurapika occasionally provided support.
After Shizuku collected the corpses of several beasts, she stopped summoning Blinky altogether.
As for Veronica, she had become practically invisible within the group.
It had been a very long time since she had experienced that feeling.
~~~