Oboro's figure weaved through the massive tree roots, then flew up, instantly arriving in front of a treant's 'face.' His arm, burning with spectral flames, pierced into the main trunk.
With this single blow, the treant's soul was scattered and absorbed.
The treant withered at a visible rate.
On the other side, countless ghosts, led by spiritual bodies like Meruem and Neferpitou, also launched a massive attack on the treants.
The Ant King, Cat Woman, and others employed attack methods similar to Oboro's. Without needing to burrow into the creatures' bodies to devour their souls, their purely external attacks could inflict significant damage on the treants. Meanwhile, the smaller vengeful spirits, as usual, continuously swarmed towards the creatures' bodies, feasting on the soul fire within.
These treants, like the monsters in the desert before, possessed immense life energy but relatively weak mental will. This resulted in their soul fire burning less intensely and made them unable to resist 'soul erosion' attacks.
However, their sheer numbers made them troublesome to deal with.
Furthermore, Menchi and the others were not as powerful as Oboro. Oboro had to end the battle quickly to prevent the three from being affected.
Fortunately, from the beginning of the battle, the spiritual bodies of Netero and Youpi, along with the black mist, surged towards the three, attacking the nearby treants.
On the ground, one towering tree after another withered.
Oboro flew among the giant trees, simultaneously monitoring the condition of Menchi and the other two. Although their strength had improved considerably, the tree roots, capable of smashing through skyscrapers, fell frequently. It was still difficult for the three to dodge them with their speed.
The sheer number led to a rapid attack frequency.
Moreover, the area covered by the descending tree roots left them with no place to stand.
Menchi clung to a tree root as wide as a road, using the sharp knife in her hand to stab into the branches, barely maintaining her position.
Her body, however, spun wildly in mid-air with the swaying root, constantly at risk of being thrown off.
And if she fell to the ground, the other tree roots, closing in from all sides, could instantly end her life.
She gripped the knife handle tightly with both hands, unable to see Gebuwich and Anthony's positions... Her effort to keep from falling off the root was already her limit!
Everything happened incredibly fast.
But Oboro had only managed to destroy about a dozen treants.
"This won't do. Although we can eventually destroy this forest, I can't protect all three of them... there's still danger."
After Oboro punched the soul out of another large tree in front of him, he frowned deeply.
Then, all the ghosts within the space, including spiritual bodies like the Ant King, transformed into smoke, and a black tide like rolling waves swept in all directions.
Oboro himself underwent another transformation. A figure, comparable in height to the treants, rose from the sea of mist. In his hand, he held a lantern suspended by a chain.
It was Thresh.
His sudden immense size caused all the treants to shift their attack target to him.
The tree roots surging in the black mist, like rolling dragons, attacked him.
"The Damned Grasp!"
Oboro uttered a phrase.
Instantly, within the domain of the black mist, soul structures resembling walls rose from the ground, trapping each treant within.
Next, green spectral flames erupted from the black mist, spreading rapidly and forming a sea of fire... As for Menchi and the other two, they were enveloped and protected by the ghost fog.
The spectral flames burned fiercely, and Thresh's Light of Ruin swept through the prison, collecting souls wherever it passed.
After two to three minutes, the battlefield finally returned to peace.
The battle ended, and the black sea of mist dissipated...
However, Oboro, descending from the sky, looked up at the sky with a grave expression. He noticed... that before the treants died, their crowns trembled, as if they had shed something.
Although minuscule, it was indeed present...
The light from the sky reflected, and Oboro's pupils contracted.
He saw scales reflecting in the air.
"Tree powder?"
He extended a finger, catching the falling powder.
This powder, like dust, was difficult to detect.
The next second, an even more astonishing scene unfolded.
The moment his finger touched the powder, these tree powders took root on the spot. They ignored Nen's defenses and protection, and in a flash, a small sapling grew on his fingertip.
The tenacious, sharp roots pierced Oboro's skin, absorbing life energy, causing half of his finger to age and wrinkle in the blink of an eye, showing signs of withering!
Oboro immediately contracted his blood vessels and pulled out the sapling on his finger.
Upon closer inspection, the ground around him was already covered in dense saplings. In just a short time, they had grown to human size.
"No wonder they can become overlords... What kind of medium is this for reproduction? It's too terrifying..."
Oboro realized that these newly grown saplings had almost no souls, only a slender soul thread maintaining basic life, growing wildly purely on instinct.
The tree powder shed by a single large tree was inestimable in quantity. Excluding external factors, it would at least give rise to thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of small saplings.
He saw tree powder that had landed on stones and even grew green saplings, just at a slower pace.
This indicated that this type of creature had no requirements for a 'host,' or very low requirements.
If their life energy was strong, it could be a good place to 'grind experience.'
However, these saplings were very weak, offering little value.
It was only due to their innate biological traits that they posed a significant danger.
The tree powder drifted through the air, covering an unimaginable area and space. This was a destructive attack released by the treants before their deaths.
Any life form within the affected area, as long as it was contaminated by the tree powder, would likely become nourishment for the saplings.
"Ah!"
At this moment, Oboro heard a scream.
He suddenly turned his head and saw Menchi, with a resolute expression, decisively severing the bone-bare arm of Anthony with her knife.
Seven or eight saplings had grown on that arm.
If there had been any hesitation, Anthony might have been reduced to a dried husk.
This powder was unavoidable and impossible to evade.
Shortly after Menchi cut off Anthony's arm, small buds began to sprout on various parts of her and Gebuwich's bodies.
The three looked at each other with despair in their eyes.
Did they have to cut off all the parts of their bodies that had been infested?
That would be no different from suicide.
"It's okay."
At this critical juncture, Oboro instantly flashed before the three.
He unleashed his soul's pressure.
Then, the small buds that had sprouted on the three, including on Oboro himself, lost their vitality and detached from their flesh.
Oboro's abilities couldn't prevent the treants' reproductive talent, but as long as the tree powder took root and sprouted, showing signs of 'life,' a soul thread would appear.
He could then cause their death by obliterating their souls.
The problem was, tree powder continued to fall from the sky, and the saplings on the ground would only multiply. Oboro couldn't solve this problem in a short time.
One was the quantity, and the other was the area.
As for that crimson liquid, it was probably impossible to take with them anymore, as it had become mixed with tree powder.
Given the terrifying growth rate of the saplings, Oboro wasn't sure if the saplings would burst out from their stomachs if they consumed the liquid.
"Let's go quickly."
With that thought, he hastily led his teammates away.
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