Underneath the tangled roots of the World Tree, Germain and the others took a brief rest.
They removed their gas masks, fanned themselves, and brought out food and water.
After the battles they had faced and the recent encounter with several Phoenixes, Germain's "Physique" had reached 46 points, just 4 points shy of the "Master" limit.
However, reaching "Master" level in "Physique" didn't mean Germain was a Master yet. It simply meant he was close to achieving the qualifications and potential to become one.
During their break, Germain checked the projection of the "Hunter Badge" and noted there were less than two hours until the teleportation lantern cooled down.
Bisky looked up and saw only the dense bark of the World Tree, unable to spot its crown.
"Hey, Shizuku," she suddenly pondered, "If we could cut down this World Tree, could your 'Blinky' swallow it?"
"No," Shizuku replied, munching on a sandwich cookie. Crumbs fell on her sweater collar. "Blinky' has other Vows and Limitations about that."
"I don't know how much space is inside it, but it can only absorb things the size of a swimming pool at a time, then it has to stop."
"If it didn't have those 'Vows and Limitations,' it could not only swallow the World Tree but also all those volcanoes."
"I see," Bisky nodded. "We'd not only have to bring down the World Tree but also chop it into swimming pool-sized pieces. That's a huge task."
She sighed, resigning to the fact that felling the World Tree alone would require immense time and effort, let alone cutting it.
Still, Bisky asked Wing for help and cut off a small piece of exposed tree root for Shizuku to swallow with the "Blinky."
"Let the plant hunters examine it when they get a chance," Bisky suggested, "and see how these World Trees differ from those on the six continents, aside from their size."
After another ten minutes of rest, they resumed their journey once Germain returned from patrolling the area.
It took them nearly fifteen minutes just to En around one side of the massive World Tree, even when moving quickly, illustrating its immense size.
At this moment, amidst the twisted tree roots and cracked soil, an unexpected obstacle emerged.
Between the world trees stood a towering wall, stretching tens of meters across the landscape.
As they drew nearer, intricate patterns on the wall came into view, rippling like waves, stirring indescribable thoughts in everyone's minds.
"There's actually a wall here..." murmured Bisky. "While it's not surprising to find intelligent creatures in the Dark Continent, seeing tangible evidence still surprises me."
The four of them refrained from touching the wall that separated inside from outside, silently observing. Bisky continued to capture images with his mobile phone.
After pondering for a moment, Germain shared his conclusion with the group.
"In the Dark Continent, there exist magical beasts known as 'Gatekeepers' and their summoned subspecies called 'Guides'."
"The gatekeepers reside either in the outer seas or on the coasts of the Dark Continent, while the guides ensure smooth access for humans landing on the continent."
"Given this precedent, it's not difficult to understand why they've erected a wall at the World Tree's border. However, if that's the case..."
"There must be 'guardians of the wall' nearby," Bisky added, finishing Germain's thought.
"Indeed, that seems highly likely."
"Ah!" Shizuku suddenly exclaimed, startling everyone.
Adjusting her glasses, she suggested, "Could the palm prints we found at the bottom of Spider Valley belong to the 'Guardians of the Wall'?"
Though her expression was perplexed, her insight occasionally hit the mark.
Upon hearing this, Germain nodded. "It's quite possible. This location isn't far from the depths of Spider Valley. We should proceed with caution."
"What should we do now?" Bisky asked. "Should we climb over this wall directly, scale the World Tree and then go over it, or should we walk around to find a passage?"
Germain shook his head. "If the 'guardian of the wall' really exists, there's unlikely to be a passage or gap. It's better to climb over and save time."
"Yeah," Bisky nodded, glancing at Shizuku. "What do you think?"
"I agree with Germain's plan to climb over," Shizuku replied.
Bisky turned to the last member of their group.
Wing, who had temporarily taken over security duties from Germain and expanded the nearby 'En', remained silent during the discussion.
"Wing?" Bisky called out.
Wing didn't respond immediately. Suddenly, he turned and flew towards the group.
"Danger!" Wing shouted urgently. "A powerful Nen is approaching!"
Germain and the others were startled, focusing their aura and concentrating the Nen, but they couldn't see the enemy until the Nen Wing mentioned crashed down.
The buzzing-like waves left them disoriented, feeling as helpless as ordinary people facing 'Bloodlust' released by 'Nen users'.
Despite looking around, they couldn't spot anything. The pressure in the air intensified, making them feel like they were facing a formidable foe.
Germain gulped, feeling his stress levels rise sharply.
"+20 Pressure" "+20 Pressure" "+20 Pressure"
Before their journey to the Dark Continent, Germain had asked Bisky to use 'Magical Beautician Miss Cookie' to relieve his stress.
He thought he had done enough, but in just a few seconds, he could only watch helplessly as the "pressure" skyrocketed to 64 points!
As the "pressure" rose, Germain's vision began to change. He saw a massive black shadow and its broad hand descending towards him!
"It's it! It must be it!" Germain instantly connected the dots between the palm print at the bottom of Spider Valley, the guardian of the wall, and the towering black shadow!
While Bisky and Shizuku were still on guard against an unseen enemy, Germain was the first to react. Only he could see this palm!
"Run!" Germain shouted loudly, "It's invisible, stay out of its Nen range!"
Germains' reminder snapped everyone back to reality, and they scattered in different directions under the intense pressure.
Pressure +20
Germain also retreated quickly in one direction, but to his surprise, the palm changed course and aimed straight at him.
"It's coming for me." The moment Germain realized this, his "pressure" surged past 100 points.
A dark aura and a scarlet halo burst forth from Germain's body. It resembled a half ring and several interlaced small arrows. The "Torture" known as "Masochism" suddenly manifested!
He involuntarily paused, and the gigantic palm suddenly emitted an irresistible suction force, lifting him into the air and firmly grasping him in its palm.
"Germain!" Someone called out his name, but he could only hear faint murmurs. He didn't even sense the imminent danger.
The pain coursing through his body inexplicably brought him a strange sense of satisfaction.
With a "whoosh," the massive hand clenched tightly, and under the horrified gaze of Bisky, Shizuku, and Wing, Germain exploded into a swirl of black and red gas mid-air, dissipating into the wind!
********
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