Suddenly, dozens of puppets filled the sky, casting an eerie atmosphere under the gloomy sky.
At the same time, the puppets released a wave of dark aura, dimming the sky even further.
Aside from Larry, Ging, and Beyond, Marionai is the strongest member of the team, and each puppet she commands is formidable.
Working together with Lilith, they're rapidly reducing the fish schools on the seabed.
However, things aren't going as well in the sky.
When Lilith and Marionai moved to the side of the ship, a group of thought-aura shells soared into the air, aiming for the thunderbirds everyone was watching.
But the expected impact never came.
The thunderbirds suddenly shook their wings, sending down a flurry of white feathers at high speed.
These feathers pierced through the shells, like arrows raining from the sky, wrapped in blue lightning currents.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The shells exploded mid-air as they were intercepted by the feathers.
Many feathers shot straight toward the ship, slicing through the air with sharp, cutting sounds.
It was clear these feathers weren't ordinary, they were deadly weapons.
Although this outcome surprised everyone, they quickly realized they couldn't let these feathers damage the ship.
As the feathers flew through the air, some people chose to intercept them using mental weapons, while others relied on their own mental abilities.
Ging stepped forward with a sharp movement, his body lifting slightly off the ground before suddenly splitting into three identical figures, mental clones.
Each clone extended a hand and skillfully caught a feather, cradling it with a surge of aura.
Ging wanted to study the feathers closely.
Not only did he catch three feathers, but while still airborne, his hands released a powerful burst of aura.
Small spheres of concentrated aura, about the size of ping-pong balls, shot out and collided with feathers a few meters away.
This was his [Mind Ball Game] technique.
When these mind balls struck the feathers, the aura triggered the lightning embedded in them, causing instant explosions.
The feathers turned to ash and vanished in the wind and rain.
With a series of rapid blasts, Ging cleared the surrounding feathers with ease.
Others' interception methods worked too, but none matched Ging's effortless precision.
After several quick explosions, most of the falling feathers were intercepted by the group.
However, a few still managed to land on the boat, causing several electric bursts.
Thankfully, Bushidora was protecting the vessel at that moment; otherwise, the feathers might have pierced holes in it.
Judging from the power of the explosions, these feathers were no joke, each as tough as steel and charged with lightning.
Ging held three blue and white feathers quietly in his hand, his gaze fixed on them with intense focus.
Ging is quite knowledgeable about creatures and even invented a way to breed two-headed wolves.
But these thunderbirds are unusual.
Normally, birds fly low during thunderstorms to avoid danger, but these thunderbirds do the opposite, they fly right out of thunderclouds filled with lightning.
That's definitely not normal.
Their large size isn't that surprising, since many big creatures exist across the six continents.
Each thunderbird has three feathers, two longer ones and one shorter, but they all look very similar.
Their feathers are pure white with streaks of blue electricity running through them, crackling softly.
However, this electric current fades pretty quickly and will likely disappear soon.
This suggests the lightning aura is being used up, either because it's left the bird's body or because the bird has been away from the thundercloud for a while.
Since the lightning flows along the feathers, it shows these feathers aren't afraid of electricity and can even store it to some extent, making them very valuable.
If these feathers were brought back to the six continents, they could inspire a lot of research and lead to new inventions.
Additionally, the feathers are as hard as steel, which makes them a great material for crafting.
Ging casually caught three feathers and slipped them into his bag like a magic trick, then looked up at the thunderbirds circling above.
Others, like Ging, also noticed how unusual the feathers were and carefully collected some that were still in good condition.
Even ignoring the rare [Hopes] with incredible effects, these ordinary feathers were already valuable.
Just these feathers alone would fetch a high price on the six continents.
The Dark Continent is full of dangers, but it's also rich in treasures.
Miluk and the others frowned, their eyes fixed on the thunderbirds above.
After the last round of attacks, the feathers on the thunderbirds' wings had thinned out significantly.
They probably only had two or three more rounds of attacks left.
Maybe they realized that the artillery fire was hurting them, so the thunderbirds flew higher to stay out of reach.
This situation made it impossible for their mental attacks to work effectively.
"Are you really unwilling to give up the prize right in front of you?" he muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing and his expression wavering.
Though his voice was quiet, it was clear enough for everyone to hear.
'Devour.'
Unlike others who only half-guessed, Beyond understood the situation deeply.
He had witnessed firsthand the survival rules of creatures in the Dark Continent, endless devouring.
It was a simple law: survival of the fittest, where big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat even smaller ones.
The key theme was evolution.
If Beyond had seen the ant king himself, he wouldn't have been surprised by its ability to devour and evolve, because he had encountered many such creatures in the Dark Continent.
In that mysterious land, most creatures seem to share this ability.
Every time they consume another being, they absorb its aura, and when this accumulation reaches a certain level, they grow stronger.
In human terms, this is "evolution."
This ability to harness aura from devouring others drives continuous evolution.
The Dark Continent is filled with gigantic creatures, and compared to them, humans lack this evolutionary advantage.
Still, humans with strong mental abilities are considered prime targets, delicacies, in a sense, for those creatures.
Creatures too far above in strength might ignore humans, but those with only a moderate advantage often prey on mind users.
According to reports from returning soldiers, most deaths were caused by natural disasters, strange hazards, or disease, but the most frequent cause was predation by creatures.
The thunderbirds they faced now were likely no different.
Even though they sensed the danger, they were reluctant to leave because the temptation of a ship full of powerful humans was just too great.
For a moment, the situation seemed stuck in a stalemate, the thunderbirds were wary, and the humans had no effective way to harm them.
The flight altitude was quite high, and even though long-range attacks like aura shells could technically reach that height, the thunderbirds would likely dodge them easily.
But then, everything changed in an instant.
"Bang!"
"Bang! Bang!"
Three gunshots rang out one after another, shattering the calm between the people and the birds.