What attacked Nique was a copper mechanical lifeform shaped like a snake, about fifty centimeters long and roughly as thick as a finger.
The energy core embedded within it was about the size of a marble.
There were twelve in total.
They hid within the lush vines. As long as they remained motionless, the glow from their energy cores would fade, making them very difficult to detect with the naked eye.
Just moments ago, Nique saw that the vines on the wall looked appealing and wanted to pick a segment. He hadn't expected the vines to hide twelve copper mechanical lifeforms capable of killing him.
Fortunately, when the copper mechanical lifeforms moved, Tonpa's Nen Ability detected them in time.
In that split second, all Tonpa could do was to immediately call out a warning.
It was his timely warning that allowed Ging, even without knowing the specifics, to decisively pull Nique into a game space.
Their coordination was a chain, one link after another.
No matter who, if they had been even a fraction of a second slower, Nique might have met with disaster.
Even though Tonpa and Ging reacted and responded promptly, Nique's right arm was still exploited by one copper mechanical lifeform.
However, the team had plenty of Grass Jelly, so losing an arm wasn't a big deal.
Of course, Shiro could also treat it, but Law chose to use Mermaid's Tears for Nique's treatment.
To perform the rescue, Ging pulled Nique into the game space and then canceled it.
In that back-and-forth, he consumed about thirty percent of his Potential Aura in a short time, but it wasn't a major issue.
Including the one copper mechanical lifeform that followed Ging and Nique out, all twelve were killed by Law's group.
The process was perilous, but the outcome was acceptable.
Ultimately, it served as a wake-up call for Law and the others.
"Such a small size is really hard to guard against."
Several people crouched by the remains of the copper mechanical lifeforms that attacked Nique, their eyes revealing a trace of gravity.
"Tonpa, wasn't your Nen Ability always active? How did you not detect these little things?" Kuro looked at Tonpa. To be honest, if he, in his physical form, were attacked by these small things, it would probably be a case of deleting the account and starting over.
By then, if Hakuro seized the chance to take his place, he wouldn't even have time to cry.
Facing Kuro's question, Tonpa explained, "My Nen isn't omnipotent. It primarily detects moving objects. Those twelve gear monsters were hidden and motionless earlier, so I didn't detect them."
"These copper mechanical lifeforms are usually so aggressive, yet the ones that attacked Nique were so calm?" Biscuit keenly noted.
"Hmm, it's strange," Sheila said softly.
Shiro said gravely, "Hey, hey, isn't your focus a bit off? Nique's combat power might not be strong, but his Manifested Aura is greater than most of ours. Yet these snake-like copper mechanical lifeforms could easily penetrate Nique's Nen Defense."
No one forgot Nique's identity… a Chimera Ant with mixed human genes.
Even though his Nen Ability wasn't suited for combat, his Potential Aura and Manifested Aura far exceeded human baseline standards.
However, the Nen Defense Nique had just constructed was ignored by those snake-like copper mechanical lifeforms.
Everyone instinctively looked at Nique's severed, rusted arm, their expressions all grave.
They originally thought the threat level of copper mechanical lifeforms was just so-so, but Nique's experience taught them a lesson.
Ignoring Nen Defense, the rusting characteristic, plus their small size and ability to hide, made them like assassins lurking everywhere in the dark.
If Tonpa's Nen Ability couldn't provide more precise assistance, these small copper mechanical lifeforms would be potential threats that couldn't be ignored.
They also couldn't use En all the time to prevent such contingencies. Never mind the difficulty of using En… the Nen consumption alone would be unbearable.
Understanding these points, everyone finally felt a sense of crisis as tangible as a physical presence.
"This complicates things. Ants carrying potent poison are often harder to deal with than an elephant."
"Actually, I can reduce the range to enhance precision," Tonpa glanced at his teammates, then looked at Law.
"That works too."
Law nodded at Tonpa.
Afterward, Tonpa halved his range to enhance the precision of his Nen Ability.
Even so, it still couldn't guarantee a hundred percent detection of those hidden copper mechanical lifeforms.
Since there were copper mechanical lifeforms resembling vines, it was possible there were also ones resembling gravel or brick pieces.
In such a somewhat complex environment, Tonpa's ability to process information was limited. After all, it was a Nen Ability, not a computer.
The team didn't linger for long and continued deeper into the ruins.
The skeleton kept close to the team. From start to finish, he had been downplaying his presence.
However, he had also been observing this human team that came from the [Holy Land].
'Too well-rounded, too powerful.'
'Truly a rare human exploration team.'
'If it's them, maybe..."'
The skeleton thought silently.
But soon, he sighed inwardly.
'Given my circumstances, why think so much?'
Although he longed for freedom, the skeleton found himself unwilling, almost unconsciously, to wish for this team to encounter a terrifying disaster, suffering heavy losses or even annihilation.
Even though that might give him a chance to slip away, deep down, he didn't want to see that happen.
Perhaps it was because he saw a certain possibility in Law and the others.
Because the Masked Man took the so-called [Energy Core] by brute force, the safe zones within the underground ruins lost their light.
Moreover, it caused the countless copper mechanical lifeforms on the surface to riot, pouring into the underground ruins in droves.
They were like densely packed, endless ants, flooding into the underground ruins through multiple passageways, like water pouring into an anthill. In the process of swarming into the underground ruins, their staggering numbers were enough to occupy all passageways.
The 'flood' composed of copper mechanical lifeforms was visibly pouring toward the depths of the ruins. Meanwhile, the copper mechanical lifeforms originally within the underground ruins became like boiling water.
Their total number was over ten times that of the surface copper mechanical lifeforms, but they were distributed everywhere, not gathered together.
Now, they were doing just that.
Beyond's group and the Association group, both inside safe zones, were attacked by copper mechanical lifeforms coming from all directions.
Truly... an endless stream!
Neither side understood what was happening, but losing the safe zones also meant losing their foothold.
Without safe zones, the copper mechanical lifeforms of unknown number within the underground ruins could brazenly assault them.
Although occupying a strategically advantageous position could create an impregnable defense line, even the fiercest elephant couldn't withstand an endless stream of ants.
It was possible... to be worn down alive.