Since entering the Ancient Labyrinth City, Law had heard two loud bangs in total.
The first came from within the Ancient Labyrinth City, the second from outside it.
This place was called a labyrinth, but it was actually lacking… at least, it couldn't trap people or make them lose their way.
Listening to the approximate direction of the sound, Law guessed the source was the camp established by the International Permit Agencies outside the city.
That sound seemed to be from cold weapons clashing.
Based on the sound's intensity, it was clear both parties in the fight were Nen Users.
Of course, it could also be some creature from the Dark Continent with extremely tough external defenses.
So, what was the opponent fighting the International Permit Agencies?
"Law, found another one."
At that moment, Tonpa's words interrupted Law's thoughts.
Law slightly shook his head, no longer dwelling on matters unrelated to him, and looked at the spirited Tonpa, saying, "Lead the way."
Relying on Tonpa's detection circle, since finding the first Herb for All-illnesses, they had successively found five more locations, a fairly good harvest.
The search process inevitably involved battles with continuous streams of Brion hosts.
Having grasped the threats and weaknesses of the Brions, and relying on the team's overwhelming strength, every encounter ended without suspense.
When charging into the nests teeming with Brion plants, they easily dealt with them using Chasefire Stones, then obtained the Herb.
For Law and his team, apart from their staggering numbers, the Brions currently showed no clear threat. The process of obtaining the Herb wasn't exactly difficult, but not that easy either.
The appropriate phrase would be: thrilling but ultimately safe.
So, just like harvesting Nitro Rice in the swamp, the team's consideration wasn't how to find the Herb, but how much Herb to harvest.
Arriving at the sixth location with Herb, after the wildfire ignited by the Chasefire Stone died out in silence, the team stepped over the charred ground and successfully harvested the sixth cluster of Herb.
Law plucked a few Herb leaves and handed them to Nique, who looked blissful, then asked, "Any situation on Ging's side?"
Nique happily accepted the Herb. Hearing Law's question, he immediately used his ability to check Ging's situation and replied, "No situation. They're searching for ancient scripts on rooftops."
Besides the females in the team, his [Unseen Things] was also attached to Ging. Using his ability, he only saw Ging and the others jumping from one rooftop to another.
Hearing this, Law nodded slightly, thinking they would search for one more Herb location before reuniting with Ging's group. He also wondered if Salin had deciphered any key information.
With this in mind, Law handed the Herb to Kuro to store in his space, then looked at Tonpa and asked, "Any more Herb nearby?"
"None. However, there's a group of Brions heading our way, distance about eight hundred meters, number around a hundred," Tonpa reported.
"Alright, prepare to engage."
Law glanced at his teammates around him.
After harvesting one more cluster of Herb, they could end the first wave of the search operation.
After all, they weren't robots… Nen and physical stamina weren't infinite.
Even with [Lichen] that could replenish Nen and stamina anytime, there was no need to waste it here in the Ancient Labyrinth City.
The Brions attacking again numbered less than a hundred. Due to the narrow passage width, the one who acted was Stargie, again using Emission-type sound blades covering the entire passage, slicing the Brions in the passage into fragments.
Because of the special terrain, in today's many battles, Stargie had taken action the most.
This time, it was again her ability that quickly eliminated the attacking Brions. Afterwards, the team didn't linger, continuing to search for Herb locations.
As the team moved forward, Law noticed Stargie's Nen consumption was quite severe. He thought to himself that the next time they encountered Brion hosts, regardless of whether the passage width suited Stargie's ability, he wouldn't let Stargie act again.
Luck was somewhat on their side. In just a few minutes, the team found another Herb location.
Again, they harvested the Herb without major incident. With this cluster, the number of Herb found exceeded four hundred leaves.
"That's enough for now. Let's go reunite with Ging and the others."
Using the characteristics of his God Hand, Law looked in the direction where Ging was and had Kuro transform into a mount.
Everyone stepped onto Kuro's back. Then, Kuro rose into the air and, guided by Law, headed towards where Ging and the others were.
They hadn't yet decided how many Herb leaves to harvest or how many days to stay here. In any case, if they wanted to harvest more, there was no need to rush.
...
Temporary camp of the International Permit Agencies.
Four magical beasts of varying forms were stained with much blood. On the ground around them lay scattered body parts of numerous corpses.
"Hey, a few got away. Which of you is fast? Go chase them."
Among the magical beasts, one with snake-like features looked at the dozen or so humans fleeing towards the Ancient Labyrinth City.
The lizard magical beast coldly glanced at the escaping humans, then retracted its gaze, looking at the several dozen human soldiers still putting up futile resistance around them, and said coldly, "Their fate is also death if they run into the ancient city."
"Just in case, I'll go deal with them." The fox magical beast giggled and chased after the fleeing dozen or so humans.
Within the area, the remaining several dozen soldiers all showed despair in their eyes. They were spread out, clearly not aiming to kill the enemy but to buy time.
Their only hope was Giles, yet...
Outside the camp, Giles was covered in blood. His robust arms exposed to the air were covered with fine, dense wounds. Blood flowing from these wounds accumulated, staining his entire arms red.
In contrast, his legs, chest, and abdomen also showed signs of bleeding.
Ancient Claw, unscathed, looked at Giles, who was at the end of his strength but still holding on, and said coldly, "Offensive capability isn't much, but defense is top-notch. I underestimated you. Originally, my target was the humans in the ancient city, but you qualify as an appetizer."
Before his words finished, Ancient Claw closed in, striking with a palm aimed at Giles's vitals.
Gritting his teeth, Giles raised his staff horizontally before him. Energy blades surged out, protecting his whole body.
Boom!
The powerful palm strike sent Giles staggering back some distance. Affected by the residual force, his injuries burst open, streaks of blood appearing.
"Haah... haah..."
Giles steadied himself, panting heavily, the arm holding the staff hanging slightly limp.
If not for his Transmutation-type characteristics, he would have perished long ago under Ancient Claw's unreasonable assault.
That amount of Manifested Aura, that strength… it was simply not something a human could withstand head-on.
'There's no chance left.'
Giles's peripheral glance briefly swept the situation at the camp. Originally, he wanted to quickly deal with Ancient Claw, then support the camp soldiers.
Now, that initial thought seemed naive.
'The humans in the ancient city...'
Giles's eyes trembled slightly. Blood continuously flowed from between his lips and teeth.
"I... can't die here."
His arm suddenly swung back, Nen flowing along with it into the staff.
Escape!
Escape into the city!
Shockwaves blasted from the holes, striking the ground.
Giles's battered body, carrying a desperate desire to live, flew into the air.