“What a monster!”
Eugene, watching from the sidelines, stood with his mouth agape, staring at Sluke in shock.
He could tell that the ice eagles “Franklin” had just unleashed were far from weak.
Even if he were to take such a hit head-on, it would cost him a significant amount of Nen.
But what about Sluke?
The creature had simply tanked two eagles and then instantly regenerated.
Such terrifying restorative power would put immense psychological pressure on any enemy.
It was hard to imagine that such a monster existed in this world.
If it were him, Eugene would have likely turned tail and run at the first opportunity.
Yet Franklin still hadn’t left; the man was truly something else.
Eugene didn’t believe Franklin could defeat such a beast.
He couldn’t help but feel that today had been far too perilous.
He had originally thought he was the strongest, only to find that Maggio was stronger.
He thought Maggio was about to win, only for Franklin to turn the tables.
Shouldn’t things have ended there?
But then Sluke stepped forward, revealing his true face as an undying monster.
Franklin would likely not escape death.
The ultimate winner would be this monster that had hidden itself the deepest.
Twist after twist after twist.
“That hit really hurt~” The vines on Sluke’s face twitched like countless wriggling earthworms, emitting a piercing screech.
“It makes me even more satisfied with you.”
“Stop resisting.
Just let me become you!”
As soon as he spoke, Sluke raised his hands.
Countless vines shot out, crossing a dozen meters in an instant to fly toward Lynn.
So fast!
Lynn’s brows twitched.
He slammed his foot down, using the recoil to dodge to the side.
Six Powers: Shave (Soru)!
The vines missed and struck the ice wall behind him, leaving deep punctures.
Every single one was more lethal than a bullet.
When facing an unknown disaster, the rule was simple: don’t get hit.
God only knew if Sluke’s vines were poisonous or carried some other secondary effect.
Many “Disasters” often featured a “kill-on-first-sight” mechanic; it was entirely possible to die from a single scratch.
Seeing Lynn dodge, Sluke wasn’t annoyed.
He simply pursued him relentlessly, vines shooting out as if from an infinite source.
Lynn dodged while attempting to counterattack, his Nen flowing continuously.
The ground vibrated as ice walls rose from the floor one after another.
When the vines hit them, they could only manage to pierce through before losing their momentum.
Soon, the ice cavern was filled with walls of ice.
Both Lynn and Chopper vanished from Sluke’s line of sight.
“What is this?
A deathbed struggle?” Sluke mocked, maintaining a high frequency of vine attacks.
He just needed to grind these obstructive ice walls into powder!
As the vines shattered the ice walls, ice shards accumulated on the ground.
A frost mist gradually rose in the air, causing visibility to drop.
Unbeknownst to Sluke, as Lynn dodged, the distance between the two was steadily closing.
Finally, catching Sluke aiming at an ice wall in the opposite direction, Lynn seized the opportunity to rush out from a corner, his hands already forming a gesture to attack.
“I tricked you!” Sluke grinned savagely.
Simultaneously, multiple vines erupted from his waist…
In reality, he could fire vines from anywhere on his body.
Using only his hands previously had been a deliberate attempt to create a false impression.
In the next moment, Sluke’s smile froze.
He saw Lynn being instantly impaled by the vines, multiple holes appearing through his torso.
The death was gruesome to behold.
But a second later, the lifelike “Lynn” turned into a shattered ice sculpture, disintegrating into shards that scattered across the floor.
Ice-Make: Clone!
A fake?
Then where is the real one?
Sluke felt a surge of panic as he heard footsteps behind his ear.
In a rush, he spun around while firing vines to attack.
He came face-to-face with the barrel-chested Kung Fu Point Chopper.
Chopper’s eyes narrowed as he leaped lightly to avoid the vines, then struck toward Sluke’s waist.
In the air, Lynn’s hands were gripped onto the claws of a giant eagle.
He let go and descended from the sky, condensing a massive amount of cold energy to strike directly at Sluke’s head!
The previous clone had just been bait!
This pincer attack from the sky and the ground was the real killing move!
Though there were still risks, it was time to put it to the test.
Even as he ambushed, Lynn was worried about Chopper’s side.
Card characters could die, though fortunately, they could be resurrected.
There was no cost to activate a card character for the first time.
However, after the first death, one would need to infuse enough Nen to reactivate them.
For example, if the B-rank Chopper died, Lynn would need B-rank levels of strength to bring him back.
Furthermore, with every death, the required Nen would double.
After a few deaths, the required amount would become astronomical, effectively resulting in permanent death.
As such, Lynn cherished his summons and preferred to keep them alive whenever possible.
Crackle—
Lynn’s attack landed first.
Sluke began to freeze from the head down, the ice spreading to the rest of his body as if to seal him entirely.
On the other side, Chopper unleashed his full strength, striking Sluke’s waist.
Kokutei: Sakura!
(Carving Hoof Cherry Blossom)
Boom!
The frozen Sluke instantly exploded.
Countless vine fragments scattered everywhere, accompanied by glittering ice crystals.
Looking at this scene alone, it was actually quite beautiful and grand.
“Did it work?” Not far away, Eugene’s eyes widened.
Could Franklin and his pet really have killed that monster?
It was blown into literal scraps; surely it couldn’t recover from that?
Unfortunately, reality went against his wishes.
Those briefly scattered vines acted as if they possessed a magnetic attraction to one another.
They began to converge in mid-air, and the moment they touched the ground, they reformed into Sluke’s original shape.
Even before he had fully reconstituted, Sluke’s voice rang out first.
“You really do give me surprise after surprise.”
“Not bad, not bad at all.
I’ll make sure to savor that pet of yours as well.”
“No matter how much you struggle, your fate is sealed!”
In truth, Sluke also felt it had been a close call.
He was nearly finished, but luckily, Franklin’s primary element was Ice!
Perhaps because he was born from the Ice Maze, he had a naturally high resistance to cold, which was why he could regenerate normally just now.
What he feared most was fire.
Once caught in flames, things would become very troublesome.
The previous coordination had been excellent; had Franklin’s ability been fire-based, Sluke might truly be dead right now.
“Lynn, what should we do?” Chopper stood beside Lynn, looking at the restored Sluke with a heavy expression.
Lynn’s heart sank, but he didn’t speak immediately.
A “Disaster” truly lived up to its name; this fight was never-ending.
But no matter what a thing was, there had to be a way to solve it.
For instance, Sluke’s regeneration must have a limit; if he killed it over and over, he could eventually wear it down.
However, that path was too risky.
His own Nen reserves weren’t that high.
Among the advanced application techniques, he had only mastered “Gyo” and “Ken”—he hadn’t even had time to truly grasp “Ryu.” If it weren’t for the B-rank Ice-Make Magic boosting his effectiveness, his overall strength rating might not even reach B-rank.
Ice-Make magic consumed a lot of Nen; he would likely run out of fuel long before Sluke ran out of lives.
Therefore, only one method remained!
Bet on his fear of fire!
Lynn recalled the earlier insect attack.
When faced with the fire of the blonde man, Shador, Sluke had appeared extremely irritable and kept his distance.
Vines fearing fire was perfectly logical.
As for the fact that he currently had no fire?
It didn’t matter.
His cards had fire!
Earlier, he had used a mental link to tell Capone Bege to prepare everything—including personnel, firearms, and flamethrowers.
Time for one last gamble.
If he couldn’t win, he would retreat!
But if he succeeded…
he couldn’t even imagine what kind of card might drop!
“What’s wrong?
Are you afraid?” Sluke laughed wildly.
“I’ve told you a thousand times, you cannot defeat me!”
“That’s not necessarily true.” Lynn’s eyes flickered as he flipped a card into his hand.
“I’m waiting for time.
What are you waiting for?”