Law had never underestimated Machi's strength, but because the combatants in the team were highly abundant, he never particularly emphasized Machi's combat prowess either.
At this moment, Machi's clean resolution of the butterflies actually surprised Law a bit.
Bound by Nen Threads, the butterflies were as if trapped in a spider's web, unable to move at all. Even their razor-sharp threads could only be gathered into a clump, rendering them useless.
Machi's move completely crushed the Masked Man's last hope.
Reluctance, or fury.
No matter the emotion, a fish lying on the chopping block could no longer make waves.
Meanwhile, Kuro timely reached the [Core Energy], transforming from smoke form directly into his giant black panther form, opening his mouth to snatch the [Core Energy] and run.
With the barrier of the butterflies' threads gone, the surrounding copper mechanical lifeforms charged towards Kuro, who had taken the [Core Energy].
However, Kuro's speed far surpassed theirs… he left them behind in the blink of an eye.
Moments later, Kuro arrived beside Law, threw the [Core Energy] aside, then promptly reverted to his housecat form, throwing up his hands and saying, "The rest is none of my business."
On the Dark Continent where [Human Resources] were extremely scarce, he genuinely lacked the capital to waste Nen. So until now, if he could avoid using Nen, he wouldn't.
What was more unfortunate was that the Lichen effect was ineffective on him.
"Well done."
Law nodded at Kuro.
Kuro gave Law a strange look.
Law didn't notice Kuro's gaze… his attention shifted to the copper mechanical lifeforms gathering from ahead.
Currently, most of his Nen was being used to restrain the Masked Man, so he couldn't unleash his Domain to instantly deal with these nuisances.
There were quite a few methods suitable for this situation.
Using Wither, or the Chasefire Stone, would both work.
But the former was no longer used lightly due to wear on the Ten Horns.
The latter was somewhat unsuitable for the current environment, but fortunately, the space was large enough, so as long as he didn't overdo it, it would be fine.
Thinking this, Law raised his hand and flicked a fragment of the Chasefire Stone towards the gathering copper mechanical lifeforms.
A spark of fire flickered in mid-air.
The next moment, the spark suddenly transformed into a raging pillar of fire, engulfing the copper mechanical lifeforms.
The flames appeared abruptly and vanished just as quickly.
Contrary to Law's expectations, the heat from one Chasefire Stone fragment wasn't enough to destroy the foremost copper mechanical lifeforms… the effect could only be described as average.
Even so, Law didn't plan to chip off a larger Chasefire Stone fragment immediately, opting to clear the copper mechanical lifeforms slowly.
Just as he was preparing for a second wave, a flash of golden light arrived… it was Netero's Guanyin.
The copper mechanical lifeforms were attracted by the [Core Energy], causing them to cluster together, not too dispersed.
Seeing this, Netero unceremoniously directed the Guanyin to unleash the 100-Type Ninety-Ninth Hand. Under the chaotic bombardment, all nearby copper mechanical lifeforms were instantly annihilated.
Seeing Netero and the others arrive, Law directly put away the Chasefire Stone and turned to observe the [Core Energy].
The intertwined spiral crystals reminded Law of fried dough sticks.
Upon close, detailed inspection, no signs of artificial carving could be found… it seemed naturally formed.
And the white-haired human at the top of the spiral crystal was neither a doll nor an imitation but a corpse showing no signs of decay.
The delicate features made it difficult for Law to determine the corpse's gender at first glance.
Why? Because this corpse lacked sexual organs.
Netero and the others gathered around.
Nearby, Cheadle and the others watched as familiar faces like Ging and Biscuit arrived.
They knew these were Law's team members.
Since Law was here, they must be too.
With a sweeping glance, Cheadle and the others' attention was inevitably drawn to the skeleton, while Bruna attached to his shoulder was less eye-catching.
Noticing Cheadle and the others' gazes, the skeleton didn't react much.
'Bunch of scrubs.'
With a lofty attitude, the skeleton silently performed an inner monologue.
Among the present humans, he only acknowledged Law and Stargie's strength.
Or rather, the humans he feared most here were only Law and Stargie.
If not for Law and Stargie's presence, he wouldn't be this obedient.
'Energy crystal, truly a rare and good thing,' The skeleton ignored the surrounding gazes, instead looking at the peculiarly shaped Core Energy, silently thinking to himself.
Bruna's tentacle twitched slightly. She turned her head to look at the skeleton and asked curiously, "What's an energy crystal?"
Hearing this, the skeleton was momentarily stunned… he had almost forgotten this little one. Once the communication channel was established, even inner thoughts would be exposed instantly.
Although Bruna hadn't connected her tentacles to others now, he would have to contribute information eventually, so he simply explained, "Energy crystals are power sources used to drive oversized instruments."
Pausing, the skeleton added, "For example, me. If I don't replenish bones on time, I'll lose the strength to move. And these energy crystals are equivalent to bones."
Bruna blinked her large, pitch-black eyes, remained silent for a moment, then said softly, "Brother Skeleton, I know what a power source is. So your later explanation... well, was unnecessary."
"..."
The skeleton opened his mouth, at a loss for words.
'Wasn't that because I was afraid you wouldn't understand?!'
"Let's go find Law," Bruna said.
The skeleton said no more, walking towards Law and the others.
Basically, everyone at the rear of the team had gathered together.
Law looked at Knov and said, "Set up the entrance and exit here."
"Okay."
Knov responded, raised his hand, and flicked a droplet of ink-black Nen Water onto the ground.
The droplet fell, splashing a circle of black ripples, forming a pitch-black passage.
"Keep it open like this."
After giving the instruction, Law simply picked up the [Core Energy] and jumped directly into the passage, arriving in a room of the Hide-and-Seek.
Then, he placed the [Core Energy] down and returned to the ruins through the passage.
"Close it."
"Okay."
Knov nodded and directly closed the passage.
The black Nen Circle instantly disappeared.
Law looked around. The copper mechanical lifeforms were still continuously arriving.
He wanted to verify if the agitated copper mechanical lifeforms were indeed attracted by the [Core Energy].
Regardless of whether the number of copper mechanical lifeforms decreased later, everyone present could directly transfer to the Hide-and-Seek.
After that, they could extract information from the Masked Man.
Since this unknown crystal was brought by the Masked Man, presumably he knew its use.
Even if the Masked Man didn't know, they could have Ai-chan try to appraise it.
'White Smoke Font...'
When he touched the crystal earlier, the White Smoke Font hadn't provided any information.
Law sighed inwardly. In the past, he thought the White Smoke Font were truly a universal appraisal tool. But upon arriving at the Dark Continent, it seemed like they were on strike, working only intermittently.
Seeing Law send the [Core Energy] into a different dimensional space, a huge wave of shock suddenly surged within the Masked Man.
'It's actually a spatial ability...!'
"This guy is a humanoid, right."
The skeleton who had arrived here examined the Masked Man pinned down by Shin.
Bruna promptly connected her tentacles to Law, transmitting this sentence's information to him.
"Oh, a humanoid?"