Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 179 (Patreon)

Chapter 179: The Stunning Beauty

Two members down, seven remained in the arena.

After the young Nen user's death, another page in Luo's book turned black. If he had noticed, he would have seen that the number of blackened pages had reached 99.

Inside the hall, a rootless fire lit up the area, and a faint smell of blood lingered in the air.

The sound of a harp's strings, like flowing water, spread out, causing everyone to brace themselves and retreat tens of meters.

The strong aura emitted from the palace seemed to weaken due to the distance, gradually receding and eventually disappearing.

This change did not lower everyone's guard.

Who was playing those harp strings, and where did the now-vanished powerful aura originate from? Could it be a Nen from beyond the grave?

Not only was it capable of forcibly controlling targets, but it also seemed to allow controlled targets to temporarily become stronger at the cost of their vitality, unlike the effects of the known Dark Sonata.

The Dark Sonata, which turns the performer's appearance hideous and claims their life, seems to involve a trade-off between wishes and costs—after paying a certain price, one gains corresponding rewards.

If this harp string sound was a solo version of the Dark Sonata, it would differ from other solo performances, suggesting that each solo piece could contain unique abilities.

The original text mentioned a flute solo, and now this suspected harp solo also possessed unimaginable abilities.

The mere power of a solo performance was daunting, making one shudder to think what phenomena and costs a symphony could entail.

Luo gazed at the silent palace, his thoughts complex. Without seeing for himself, he couldn't be sure if this was the Dark Sonata he had learned about from Fringe.

After the powerful aura disappeared, the harp strings also slowly began to fade, eventually falling silent.

The unsettling Nen was gone, and the harp strings stopped. Only the gentle, orderly breathing of the people remained in the hall.

No one knew the effects of that last stylistic shift in the music, and nothing happened until the harp strings went silent.

Whether it was Little Bin or the two members lying dead on the ground, it might have been an intimidation tactic or a warning to everyone.

"Luo, are you sure you can handle that Nen?" Uncle Li asked gravely, his arm swollen and painful to move, barely hindering his actions.

"No," Luo crisply replied.

He trusted the information on the white smoke, but the aura he had just experienced was too powerful, coupled with the eerie performances of those two members, to lightly risk danger.

Hearing Luo's response, Uncle Li immediately felt conflicted, and although reluctant, he began to think about retreating.

That final treasure chest might as well remain unopened; it might be better to look for valuables in the ruins outside than to lose one's life.

Similarly, Aya and Ruby, along with Mark who had a fractured arm, all harbored the same thoughts.

Money is good, but one needs to be alive to spend it. If Luo could handle the strange Nen and harp strings, that would be one thing; if not, recklessly entering the palace could lead them to meet the same fate as the two members.

Just being touched by the black Nen resulted in losing consciousness without resistance, becoming a controlled puppet—truly unnerving.

Having witnessed this, fear overcame greed.

"I don't want to continue," Mark suddenly said.

After a moment, Aya bit her lip and added, "This place is too weird, and we don't even know if there's anything good inside. Let's just go outside and find some valuables."

"We're here for wealth, but we must measure our capabilities."

After Mark and Aya expressed their positions, Ruby slightly bowed his head and then slightly raised it again, speaking solemnly, "For the lifelong happiness of countless girls in the future, I also don't want to continue."

He looked at Uncle Li and continued, "Uncle Li, don't forget our operating principles."

Only undertake what we're confident in, caution is paramount.

Uncle Li nodded hard. He had encountered many cakes laid before him in his life, most containing bombs, so when choosing cakes, he often preferred not to choose at all rather than make a wrong choice.

Watching many cakes slip past him, he never regretted it, except for this palace which he felt reluctant to give up before abandoning it.

There were many rational arguments to persuade himself, but he just couldn't let go, as this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Seeing the four deciding to give up, Biscuit, who had been slacking off in the instance, was ambivalent.

She was here for the gems, but this place really didn't seem like a tomb. Regardless of whether there were gems in the palace, she also found the harp strings and the black Nen quite troublesome.

While

 more than half were ready to give up, Luo did not want to give up, but he had no reason to persuade Uncle Li and the others, unless he took the initiative to dispel the unknown Nen in the palace.

"Your ambition is just that," Antomu sighed, his tone noticeably different from his usual straightforwardness.

"What did you say?" Mark stared at Antomu, and Uncle Li and the others also turned their gaze towards him.

"I should...not be mumbling, right?"

Antomu gave a cold smile, suddenly took several steps to the side, and embraced a stone column.

"Ha."

With a low shout, he forcibly tore the towering stone column with a diameter of two meters.

Boom...

The top scattered stones and dust, and the palace remained unaffected.

While everyone watched in confusion, Antomu's aura surged around his body, part of which wrapped around the stone column in his hands.

Biscuit noticed and narrowed her eyes; that was a very familiar technique—Ten.

Everyone was unsure what Antomu intended to do, and then, he threw the massive stone column at the palace.

At that moment, Uncle Li and the others, who had decided to give up, felt their hearts beat faster, only to see the stone column spinning in the air, about to land on the palace.

"Are you crazy!" Mark shouted.

Antomu ignored him and continued to watch the palace intently.

Bang!

When the stone column, wrapped in aura, hit the palace roof, the ground of the entire palace suddenly shook.

The stone column exhibited tremendous destructive power, or perhaps the palace was too old; this impact caused the front part of the palace to collapse.

Dust rose, and the sound of falling rubble was incessant.

Watching this scene, Uncle Li and the others were about to question him when they involuntarily closed their mouths because, in the dust cloud ahead, a human figure slowly emerged, along with the Nen they had felt before.

They hadn't seen the person yet, but just by that Nen, Uncle Li and the others' hearts tightened.

"Human or ghost, it doesn't matter. As long as there's Nen, we can decide the outcome between the two," Antomu stated firmly, watching the figure in the dust. He had his reasons for doing this.

Luo looked at Antomu in surprise, then performed Ren, covering his body with aura, and watched the dust for the unknown person.

Could it be a Nen user in the palace playing the music? Or perhaps a Manipulator type Nen user?

As the dust slowly cleared, a stunningly beautiful woman holding a harp walked out from the dust, her aura behind her rippling like sound waves, weakly forming a vague human shape.

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