Hunter x Hunter: Infinite Growth

The night passed in the howling wind until dawn, when the gale gradually subsided.

By this time, the giant beast that had enveloped them had been completely buried by sand and stones. After shaking it off, they were able to emerge.

"It looks much the same as yesterday. With winds of this magnitude, creatures in the Gobi Desert simply cannot hunt at night."

"Perhaps there are special creatures that can hunt even in strong winds? The Dark Continent? Either way, it's perfectly normal."

As Kevin spoke, he recalled the monsters that could hunt even within the Shiyu Clouds; those were truly defying the heavens.

Looking back now, I realize it was a miracle I survived.

"Besides, this level of gale shouldn't happen every night. When we first entered the Gobi Desert a few days ago, the nights weren't this bad, although the wind was definitely stronger."

Buhara looked around and said.

The fishy, ​​towering tents and rakes continued their journey.

Although the density of organisms increases as you go further in, the natural conditions in the Gobi Desert are not very good, so the density is still very limited.

Moreover, it is very difficult to encounter powerful individual behemoths.

Limited resources mean that a large area will be occupied by only one or two giant beasts. It would be meaningless if too many beasts were occupied, because the resources would not be able to support them.

The situation is much better than in resource-rich areas like forests.

The environment is just too bad.

Continuing onward, as noon approached, the surrounding environment began to change noticeably. They were now moving forward. The environment was clearly improving, with scattered plants, trees, and various shrubs appearing.

"Are we leaving the Gobi Desert?"

Menqi couldn't help but ask.

"Not necessarily. That area is still the Gobi Desert; nothing has changed."

Kevin pointed to their right.

It was still a desolate Gobi Desert, and the environment had not changed at all.

They soon discovered why this was happening.

The lizards stopped and looked up slightly at the sky.

What's above the clouds?

Bisky and the others could only vaguely sense that something was wrong with the environment. They were somewhat puzzled by Kevin's action of looking up at the sky.

"In the sky, there are tree canopies... We have entered the territory of the World Tree."

Chapter 656 Life and Death X Misfortune

"We should have reached the edge of the World Tree's canopy."

Kevin looked at the sky and murmured.

Bisky and the others also looked up at the sky, very curious; they really wanted to see.

However, the tree canopy seemed to be so high, completely above the clouds, that it was not visible at all.

It had already exceeded the limit of what the field of vision could see, and with layers upon layers of clouds obscuring it, even the air itself seemed to be changing very little.

"You used a round object to float up and see?"

Menqi asked with some curiosity.

Kevin shook his head: "It can't float up; the upward-raising circle has a certain distance limit."

As for why, Kevin didn't want to find out.

This world is so vast that the Dark Continent alone could take them thousands of years to explore.

As he spoke, Kevin raised his hand.

Large amounts of phosphorus-like particles floated into the sky.

"I can feel it; it is indeed the edge of the World Tree's canopy, with some branches extending here."

However, after only a short while, the circle was pressed down.

"The World Tree is constantly radiating energy outwards."

As he spoke, he lowered his head to look at his surroundings. In the middle of the Gobi Desert, greenery was beginning to appear, and the reason seemed to have been found.

"It seems that even the smallest twigs that sprout from the very edge are enough to fill the surrounding environment with vitality."

Is it really that exaggerated?

Bisky crouched down and grabbed at the sand and dirt on the ground with her hands.

The soil here is essentially no different from the barren Gobi Desert next door, which means that there shouldn't be any greenery here.

The land didn't become wet, but some shrubs and weeds grew, indicating that other forces were indeed influencing this place.

"It's unbelievable. To be honest, I'm more interested in knowing just how huge the World Tree really is. Before, I could only tell stories based on the descriptions on the ruins."

Buhara was also somewhat astonished. However, until he saw its true appearance, he could only remain astonished.

Menqi suddenly thought of something and asked, "If the World Tree is among the human relics, does that mean that the origin of humankind came from this direction?"

"Not necessarily. It's not like there's only one of these. Such a powerful World Tree must exist in other places too."

Gawain asked curiously, "Why do you think that?"

"That's true."

Menchi was somewhat regretful; she still wanted to find out the origins of humankind.

We may not gain anything, but it's just pure curiosity, a simple desire to explore. After all, we are ancestors of humankind.

"And didn't Jin say that the one in human society is the seedling of that kind of tree?"

"There must be other World Trees growing in other places as well, and the one in front of us may not be the largest."

The group chatted as they set off again. Although they were now standing under the tree canopy, the difference wasn't significant.

The further they went, the more obvious the changes became.

If nothing unexpected happens, they should now be on one side of the World Tree, because the entire Gobi Desert has begun to be divided in two.

This time, there's no need to look up at the sky to sense it. Just knowing that there's a World Tree canopy in the sky is enough to clearly distinguish the differences between them by looking at the surrounding environment.

A line was drawn down the middle of the Gobi Desert beneath our feet.

On one side was a desolate, lifeless Gobi Desert scorched by the blazing sun, while on the other side it began to grow lush and verdant, with weeds and leaves growing and becoming increasingly dense.

This situation became very obvious a week later.

"Just how big is this Gobi Desert? It's unbelievable."

Bisky said somewhat helplessly.

How long has it been since we entered the Gobi Desert?

They still haven't seen the edge of the Gobi Desert, but fortunately, the area they're walking on is essentially on the edge of greenery, in a place where the world's trees can be seen and thrive.

Perhaps because of the shade provided by the World Tree overhead, the sunlight was significantly reduced, making it less hot. In addition, the surrounding environment had become completely lush and green, and the temperature had dropped considerably.

However, looking to the right, one can still clearly see the scorching Gobi Desert.

The two worlds are so distinct and clearly separated that one can't help but marvel at the vastness of the World Tree's canopy and the sheer size of the Gobi Desert.

“More and more guys are watching us.”

Menchi looked into the dense forest to her left and murmured to herself.

Bisky patted Kevin on the shoulder.

"There's a lord here, what's there to be afraid of?"

If Kevin hadn't been radiating his lordly aura in a certain direction, those predators would have already come up.

Humans are too small; on the Dark Continent, they are at the very bottom of the food chain.

Humans, however, possess the ability to sense energy; their small bodies contain a vast amount of vital energy, which is equivalent to life energy.

Therefore, it can be concluded that for those giant beasts, humans are simply high-calorie, high-nutrient, and highly concentrated food. There is no better food than this, and they can be called walking delicacies.

Especially those like Biscuit Guitarist, who are already incredibly powerful knight-level warriors.

Fortunately, humans possess the ability of Nen, which allows them to bind their aura around their bodies. This "entanglement" technique prevents them from being excessively harassed.

The problem is that those creatures that can see through this technique and accurately determine the nutritional value of humans are not simple creatures.

Kevin frowned at his surroundings.

"Are these guys really that bold? They don't seem to care much about the lord's intimidation. Is it because there's no lord here, or because there are too many lords here?"

The idea of ​​having too many lords sounds rather absurd.

But as they ventured deeper in, they were now likely at the edge of the World Tree's dense foliage, where the communities of life began to grow denser.

Even if the number of lords increases, they cannot be densely packed. The difference in life level should be quite intimidating to these beasts.

"Perhaps it's because of the huge size difference between us. To these enormous beasts, we exude a powerful aura of intimidation, yet we are too small in stature."

"With so many types of creatures, there must be some that imitate the aura of a lord to intimidate others. They may have suffered from this before, after all, they are not stupid."

Bisky thought for a moment and then said.

That possibility is quite high.

Not long after.

Among the creatures that had been watching them closely, a few finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"They were all indeed tall and imposing."

The three creatures that emerged were all giant beasts, each standing around ten or twenty meters tall, and all of them were among the best of the knight class.

One looks like a gorilla, while the other two are rather strange, and it's hard to say exactly what they resemble; they belong to a species I've never seen before.

“I came in person.”

As Kevin spoke, he placed his hand on Gawain's shoulder and walked forward.

Upon seeing Kevin move forward, the three giant beasts visibly paused, and one of them even silently took a step back.

"Looks like they're not stupid after all; they do know fear. They've clearly come up here with great courage."

Suddenly, a burst of light flashed in front of Kevin, turning his entire world pure white.

A gust of wind swept in, and the intense light forced Kevin to close his eyes. Facing the approaching beast, he frowned, somewhat angry.

"So you're going to throw flashbangs, huh?"

A crackling burst of electricity instantly coursed through his body, his hair stood on end, and you could see the electric arcs leaping within it.

Electric propulsion.

With a sudden, ear-piercing crackling sound, Kevin vanished from his spot in an instant, his eyes closed as he punched the gorilla that was attacking him, slamming it to the ground.

"Roar!"

The gorilla-like creature roared in terror, completely bewildered by Kevin's sudden appearance above him.

With a single punch, he instantly collapsed to the ground, his roar turning into a wail of agony, a wail so painful it was clear he was begging for mercy.

But Kevin didn't care about any of that. He grabbed Kevin's head and hurled it in one direction.

The enormous body was thrown out like a stone projectile, slamming heavily into another giant beast, the one that had just thrown the flashbang.

An unknown force allowed him to unleash a burst of light in the air from a distance. Even though Kevin had closed his eyes beforehand, he was still blinded by the light, which made his eyes uncomfortable. He had actually been successfully ambushed, which was somewhat embarrassing, even if it was just a flash of light.

The two collided, and the giant beast was sent flying by the sudden impact. With a loud crash, it fell into the dense forest, smashing a large section of it.

The other giant beast didn't even think about running away. Instead, it immediately prostrated itself on the ground and let out a pitiful howl, as if begging for mercy and surrendering. Kevin's fist was only a few meters away from its head.

"You're smart enough to know what's good for you."

Kevin opened his eyes again.

Clearly, these three giant beasts were aware that Kevin possessed the intimidating power of a lord, but because they were too small, they wanted to muster their courage and give it a try, just in case.

It's obvious that it's true.

Looking at the giant beast lying on the ground, Kevin scanned its surroundings, jumped up, and with a chop to the neck, sliced ​​off the top of one of its horns.