Conrad remained still behind the thick trunk of an old tree, his presence almost erased within the forest.

  His en stretched outward like an invisible web.

  Ahead of him, the Bck Centipedes moved in coordinated patterns.

  At the center of their formation are their eggs.

  "In the world of Hunter x Hunter," he thought calmly, "Nen is almost everything."

  "But the true danger…"

  "…lies beyond the known world."

  The thought of the Dark Continent surfaced naturally in his mind.

  Compared to those horrors, these bck centipedes were manageable.

  Basically nothing in the eyes of human civilization.

  "With proper pnning, capable hunters could clear this area."

  Even conventional heavy weaponry would shred these creatures if deployed.

  Their shells, while resistant to small arms, were not invincible.

  But this was not a battlefield with artillery support.

  Conrad's gaze sharpened slightly.

  "I have the physical capability to eliminate them."

  "I have Nen."

  But could he guarantee zero error?

  That was the real question.

  If his aura failed to guard a vulnerable point

  Even momentarily

  Would his body resist the toxin?

  His ability made him resilient.

  But it did not make him immune to everything.

  "What if the poison bypasses surface defense?"

  It would be foolish of me to think that nen defense is enough to protect his physical body from the stingers and mandibles of these creatures.

  "Small chimera ants that attacked Killua were able to draw blood from him when they first arrived beside Kite."

  There was also another type of event that physical capability overwhelmed or was high enough to bypass Nen and Aura.

  When Rammot, one of the chimera ants that did not have "Nen," still had a body and physical capability that was high and powerful enough to fight against Gon and Killua for some time and hurt them with pure physical attacks, not to mention take a Jajanken on the belly and not die.

  While he weighed these probabilities, something shifted inside his enn.

  An applicant that was trying to do something.

  Approaching from his left fnk.

  Conrad's focus adjusted instantly.

  A young man entered the edge of his detection radius.

  In his hands there was a twin-bded sword.

  "Interesting choice," Conrad thought.

  The man moved carefully, stepping between roots, pausing whenever a centipede shifted direction.

  He was not careless.

  But Conrad can see that he was ambitious.

  His gaze locked onto the egg cluster.

  He believed he could do it.

  Conrad smirked faintly.

  "So you're going to try."

  The centipedes had not yet reacted.

  The young man lowered his stance.

  He inhaled slowly.

  He then burst forward with all of his power.

  His bde spun in a circur arc, striking the nearest centipede across its upper segments.

  A metallic screech rang through the forest.

  Sparks flickered.

  The bde cut, but not cleanly.

  The shell of the creature resisted.

  The centipede recoiled violently, twisting its body with shocking speed.

  Its legs stabbed into the soil as it pivoted.

  The other three reacted instantly.

  The young man pressed his attack, spinning his weapon in a second ssh aimed at the head.

  This time, the bde penetrated between segment joints.

  Conrad's eyes narrowed.

  "Not incompetent."

  But then came the problem.

  The other three moved with coordination.

  One lunged low.

  One coiled from the side.

  The third climbed partially up a nearby root and unched itself downward.

  The young man blocked one strike with his bde, but the force pushed him off bance.

  Another centipede's mandibles snapped inches from his shoulder.

  He twisted, barely avoiding it.

  A sharp, needle-like stinger shot forward.

  Even Conrad felt a slight appreciation for the speed.

  The stinger pierced the man's thigh.

  The applicant gasped and retaliated with a desperate ssh, severing part of the attacking centipede's tail.

  He staggered back.

  His movements became less precise within seconds.

  Conrad watched without interference.

  The man attempted one st offensive burst, driving toward the eggs.

  "A mistake." Conrad commented, shaking his head.

  The remaining centipedes swarmed.

  One tched onto his arm.

  Another struck his torso.

  He screamed once.

  Then his body stiffened.

  He colpsed onto the forest floor.

  The centipedes did not devour him immediately.

  They re-established a formation around the eggs.

  Conrad exhaled quietly.

  "Suicide," he murmured under his breath.

  Not because the man was weak.

  "He overestimated how long he could maintain offense under toxin exposure as well as the defensive capabilities of centipedes and his own destructive capabilities."

  Conrad's lips curved slightly.

  -

  Note

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