Netero's gaze swept over Knov, Ging, Biscuit, and the others, his resentment palpable.
Forget Ging and Biscuit… if only Knov had been with the team, they wouldn't have been so passive after arriving at the underground ruins.
With the crisis averted, Netero was genuinely full of resentment.
As for who that resentment was directed at, that went without saying.
Resentment aside, Netero sincerely thanked Law and his team for their timely assistance.
Without them, the worst outcome would have been complete annihilation. The best possible outcome would have been only half surviving.
The key was the unstable factor at the rear.
Without the Masked Man as a factor, with the Association's strength, breaking out wouldn't have been difficult.
Although the number of copper mechanical lifeforms showed no sign of decreasing, Stargie and the others took over the defensive line, giving Association members, including Netero, a chance to rest.
Currently, the Association team had fewer than fifteen members left.
The journey here had been one of heavy losses.
In fact, when Law first arrived, he took in the situation at a glance and noticed several familiar faces were missing, including Gel...
Since they weren't here, their fate was self-evident.
"Chairman."
Biscuit quickly approached Netero.
She was a close-combat type, unsuited for the current battle situation.
Anyway, with Stargie as the super artillery platform, she didn't need to exert herself much.
Netero nodded at Biscuit, sighing, "You arrived very timely. I never expected to meet you here."
Ging also came over. Hearing Netero's words, he couldn't help but glance at the skeleton and said with a sigh, "It's actually quite coincidental. We came here to find possible traces left by Don Freecss."
"Don Freecss..."
Netero murmured, then noticed the skeleton and Bruna perched on his shoulder.
After all, he was someone with some knowledge of the Dark Continent. Seeing such a skeletal lifeform didn't surprise him too much.
"In any case, you're safe now," Ging pointed behind him with his thumb, indicating Knov, and said calmly, "With Knov's ability, we can leave here anytime."
"Yes, I've already established a passage at the ruins' entrance," Knov habitually adjusted his glasses and said calmly, "With my Potential Aura, transferring from here to the entrance is completely feasible."
"That's truly reliable."
Netero's tone unavoidably carried a hint of resentment.
Though it wasn't very obvious, Ging, Biscuit, and Knov all caught it, feeling puzzled.
Seeing their puzzled looks, Netero certainly wouldn't bother explaining out of sheer boredom.
He first glanced at the current defensive situation, then turned his attention to the rear of the team.
Only now did he have the spare capacity to focus on the rear.
"It's fine to leave this to them?"
After understanding the situation at the rear, Netero looked at Stargie, who was efficiently clearing the copper mechanical lifeforms.
"No problem," Ging affirmed.
Regarding methods for dealing with the copper mechanical lifeforms, Stargie clearly reached MAX level. Handling them was no issue, and she was trustworthy.
"Then let's go to Law," Netero said.
"Someone has already rushed over eagerly."
Biscuit looked at Machi's back and shook her head slightly.
"Nobunaga and I won't go. We'll stay here… at least we can be of some help."
Nobunaga glanced at Stargie fighting vigorously. During his time in the ruins, he felt he was starting to admire her a bit.
Uvogin didn't say anything, obviously agreeing with Nobunaga.
"That works too," Ging nodded.
Subsequently, they headed towards the rear of the team.
As for the Association members, including Morel and Cluck, they rejoined the defensive line, resisting the attacks of the copper mechanical lifeforms from all directions.
At the rear, Law continued to slice away the Aura covering the Masked Man.
Originally, the Masked Man could still feel a bit of security relying on his vigorous life force.
But this executioner beside him actually wanted to strip away his last sense of security.
Feeling his life force being continuously scraped away, the Masked Man's emotions began to fray.
In this situation, he had to face a choice.
To abandon the Core Energy and recall the butterflies?
Or to hold onto a sliver of hope and continue struggling?
Throughout his existence, whenever the Masked Man made any decision, he had to think carefully.
Ten minutes, or thirty minutes.
The length of time didn't matter… as long as he enjoyed the process of thinking.
However, now the Masked Man wasn't in the mood to think.
This human in front of him was completely unreasonable.
The Masked Man willed his command, ordering the butterflies to come to his aid.
Receiving the Masked Man's instruction, the three butterflies abandoned the Core Energy and headed straight for Law.
Cheadle and the others, who had been observing, immediately focused their attention.
"They're coming."
Law glanced sideways at the approaching butterflies, suddenly withdrawing his right hand from near the Masked Man's body and instead flicking it towards the location of the Core Energy body.
A wisp of black smoke detached directly from the back of Law's right hand.
It was Kuro in his smoke form, soaring into the air, bypassing the butterflies, heading straight for the Core Energy.
Watching Kuro head straight for the energy crystal, Law then focused his attention on the butterflies, taking out the Chasefire Stone from his pocket and holding it in his palm.
The amount of controllable Nen he had now was limited, making it the perfect time to use external items.
Watching the threads woven by the butterflies slowly approach, Law silently calculated the distance.
He planned to use the Chasefire Stone's high temperature against the butterflies' threads, though he wasn't sure if it would work.
"I was thinking you might need help."
Just then, Machi's voice came from behind.
Seeing Machi arrive, Menchi and Sanbica's eyes instantly became peculiar.
'Why... is she here too?'
Law turned his head to look at Machi, who had walked up beside him. He didn't immediately, protectively, tell her to step back. Instead, he asked, "Are you confident?"
"That's a really dumb question."
Machi pulled a Nen Thread from the needle and thread kit on the back of her hand.
"..."
Law was speechless.
However, he also realized the question was indeed a bit dumb.
Even for him, his understanding of the butterflies' threads was limited to their ability to easily shred copper mechanical lifeforms, let alone Machi, who had just arrived.
Without detailed intelligence, how could there be any certainty?
"Be careful. If things seem wrong, retreat immediately," Law reminded.
"Hmm."
A smile suddenly spread across Machi's face.
The trust Law showed filled her with joy.
In that case, she couldn't disappoint.
Machi's expression turned serious. A Nen Thread shimmering with a crystalline glow extended between her hands, and she charged towards the butterflies.
When it came to playing with threads, she believed she was second to none.
She flashed into the intricate net woven by the butterflies, then swung her arm, casting out the Nen Thread. With a sudden contraction between tension and relaxation, she sharply pulled it taut.
Hiss...
The Nen Thread contracted, tearing a large hole directly in the intricate net.
"It can be done, but it shouldn't be extended too long."
Machi's gaze was intensely focused. She flipped sideways, her feet landing with a shock, darting forward like lightning.
With just a single slender thread, her hands traced a dazzlingly intricate trajectory.
Tension, contraction.
Contraction, tension.
The numerous threads released by the butterflies were visibly gathered by Machi at a visible pace.
The entire process resembled an art form.
Hiss!
Moments later, amidst a clean, sharp sound of Nen Thread contraction, Machi lifted the index finger guiding the thread, bundling the three butterflies together with a pile of threads.
Her Nen Threads became stronger in load-bearing capacity and material hardness the shorter they were, and conversely, weaker the longer they were.
However, she controlled the length of her Nen Thread to a degree where the butterflies' threads couldn't cut through it, thereby managing to bundle the butterflies and their threads together.
If the threads released by the butterflies earlier were like countless strands of yarn scattered on the ground, then what Machi did was use one Nen Thread to gather all those scattered yarn strands together.
"Well done."
Having watched the entire process, Law praised sincerely.
Machi responded with a beautiful smile.