'Why the laughter?'
Cheadle and the others didn't know the reason.
But they also didn't launch any further attacks against the Masked Man.
They stood where they were, silently watching the Masked Man continue to laugh.
They didn't understand why the Masked Man was laughing, but they could see his gaze remained fixed on Sanbica.
"His mobility is already restricted, and Sanbica's virus is taking effect. The safest course of action now is to stop attacking and wait for the virus's effect to reach its peak."
Cheadle stared coldly at the continuously laughing Masked Man. Her original plan was to take advantage of the Masked Man's immobility to help Sanbica introduce a few more viruses into his body.
However, the Masked Man was purely on the defensive, giving them no opportunity at all.
If even Menchi couldn't break through his defenses, what chance did they have?
Sanbica succeeded earlier only because the Masked Man was focused on offense, giving her an opening.
Cheadle shot Menchi and the others a look, signaling them to pull back to a safe distance and wait for the virus to reach its maximum effect.
Then, Cheadle glanced at the overall situation.
Some of the copper mechanical lifeforms were drawn to the unknown crystal brought by the Masked Man, reducing the defensive pressure on the Association team.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to provide support so quickly.
While they didn't know exactly what the unknown crystal was, they were certain it could attract the hostility of the copper mechanical lifeforms.
And the fact that the Masked Man had the three swallowtail butterflies guarding the unknown crystal indicated its importance to him.
If necessary, they could exploit the crystal's ability to attract the copper mechanical lifeforms.
But for now, the most important thing was to wait for the virus inside the Masked Man to reach its peak.
They didn't need to do anything… just wait.
Cheadle and the other four gave up on attacking, but Sanbica did not.
Despite repeated failed attempts, she felt that simply wearing down the Masked Man's Nen was still a good thing.
She controlled the virus remotely, like a fly tirelessly searching for a crack in an eggshell.
Cheadle tacitly approved of Sanbica's actions because she also believed they could erode the Masked Man's Nen.
For example, an attack formed from 10 units of Sanbica's Nen could force the Masked Man to continuously expend 100 units of Nen to maintain his defense.
Calculating the benefit, it was tenfold or more.
Whereas if Cheadle and the others attacked the Masked Man with all their might, they couldn't break the stalemate, essentially wasting their Nen.
That was the reason they stopped their attacks.
After a while, the Masked Man stopped laughing and silently watched Sanbica's persistent efforts to breach his defense.
His gaze was like that of someone appraising a rare treasure.
Because his face was covered, Cheadle and the others couldn't see this look.
Even if they had seen it, they probably wouldn't have understood its meaning.
The so-called Death Pattern is a general term for abilities that can dominate a certain region.
To explain the Death Pattern from the Masked Man's perspective, a simplified explanation is as follows:
A sharp weapon for a tiny being to contend with a colossal entity.
A further explanation would be: possessing a Death Pattern allows one to confront enemies hundreds or even thousands of times larger than oneself.
This type of ability is of paramount importance for humanoids dedicated to evolution and survival… there is no equal.
The Masked Man who came to the ruins seeking the Core Energy was a humanoid, as mentioned by the skeleton Law brought with him.
This group was once human. To survive better on the Dark Continent, they embarked on different evolutionary paths.
To enhance themselves, they continuously search for relics left behind by ancient humans.
Perhaps it was no longer purely for survival, but to reclaim their former glory.
The Core Energy was important… it was the key to activating the [Weapon]. But to the Masked Man, it was not as important as the Death Pattern.
If he could take both the Core Energy and the Death Pattern, the Masked Man naturally wanted both.
If not, then the Death Pattern took far greater priority than the Core Energy.
'I must obtain the Death Pattern.'
The Masked Man's excited heartbeat gradually calmed.
He did not recall the swallowtail butterflies… they needed to guard the Core Energy.
He did not counterattack… he needed to first digest the 'enemy' within his body.
Once the 'enemy' within his body was digested, it would be the first step in seizing the Death Pattern.
Unhurried, unmoved, he sat silently on the ground, allowing Sanbica's harassment, allowing time to slip by minute by minute.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
The virus's lethality didn't erupt as expected… instead, the distance between them grew.
Because the Association team was advancing, breaking through, and Cheadle and the others certainly couldn't foolishly remain stationary… they had to move with the team.
As the distance gradually increased, Cheadle and the others, watching the motionless Masked Man sitting on the ground, couldn't help but hesitate.
Leaving the Masked Man here to fend for himself, they would likely be able to leave this place soon.
But in that case, they wouldn't know if the virus had eventually killed him.
However, insisting on staying to eliminate the Masked Man risked unforeseen complications.
The more rational Cheadle and Saccho preferred to avoid trouble. As long as the team could successfully break out, that was more important than anything.
But Pyon and Menchi were more inclined to eliminate the Masked Man, partly to avenge their fallen comrades, and also to remove this potential threat.
Silently, a difference of opinion arose.
'After all this time, the Skytail virus should have spread throughout his body, but...'
Looking at the completely unresponsive Masked Man, Sanbica felt puzzled, along with a faint sense of unease.
But seeing the team gradually breaking through, and the Masked Man remaining inactive, that vague unease was suppressed in her heart.
'It's fine. I can sense the virus is still inside him.'
Sanbica silently thought.
The Association team gradually moved further away, while the Masked Man continued to stare at Sanbica.
Feeling his gaze constantly fixed on her, Sanbica didn't think much of it, assuming the virus had drawn his hostility.
Seeing that the matter seemed settled, Cheadle moved through the team to the front and told Netero everything that had just happened.
Learning that three elite members, including Mizaistom, had died, Netero sighed deeply, nodded to Cheadle to indicate he understood, then continued focusing on clearing the obstacles ahead.
What Netero was more concerned about wasn't the Masked Man, but the unknown crystal that could attract the copper mechanical lifeforms.
Perhaps due to distance, the copper mechanical lifeforms approaching from the front weren't drawn to the unknown crystal.
Given the current situation, the crystal didn't seem to have exploitable value. The focus had to remain on the breakout.
As the distance grew, Pyon and Menchi, who advocated eliminating the Masked Man, realized it was unfeasible and reluctantly went with the flow, abandoning the idea.
When the distance stretched beyond a hundred meters, the Masked Man suddenly stood up.
The light conditions within the ruins were limited, so Sanbica and the others, who had been keeping an eye on the Masked Man, couldn't see the specifics.
However, the Masked Man's Aura, mingled with excitement and killing intent, was like a light bulb suddenly blazing in the night, causing those at the rear of the team to shiver involuntarily.
They looked back in that direction.
Within the darkness, a ghostly shadow seemed to be rapidly approaching.
The Masked Man had stubbornly latched on again.