Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

The inky valley mirrored the dark clouds hanging low in the sky. Even in the faint light, the countless white bones scattered along the mountain path stood out starkly.

Law fixed his gaze on the lifeless mountain trail and unleashed his En, stretching it a hundred meters in diameter. He swiftly advanced into the path, bringing everything within a fifty-meter radius into his perception.

There were no moving objects, only clusters of bones. The human skulls among them were distinguishable, and their numbers were far from small.

The valley walls were uneven, studded with protruding objects of various shapes. Aside from vine-like plants that were relatively easy to identify, the rest were hard to pin down… some resembled clamshells, others looked like yo-yos, and some even appeared as clusters of feathers.

Buhara was eating a roasted black insect leg while quietly watching Law who was maintaining the En.

A few seconds later, William came to them and also noticed that Law was using the En to detect the situation in the valley, so he remained silent.

Law frowned. Though everything within the fifty-meter range was motionless, he couldn't say with absolute certainty that these objects were truly lifeless. Moreover, the piles of bones on the ground were excessive.

'This was just the entrance of the valley, yet so many creatures had already died here?'

At this thought, he turned to Buhara and said, "Throw the shell in your hand into the path. Make sure it doesn't go beyond fifty meters."

"I haven't finished eating yet." Buhala was stunned for a moment, then said.

Law glared at him and urged, "Hurry up."

"Fine."

Buhara gave his half-eaten roasted insect leg a reluctant look before tossing it into the path The leg traced an arc through the air before landing on the bone pile with a clatter.

'No movement...'

Law raised his eyebrows slightly. Within his perception range, everything remained deathly still. After a moment, he withdrew his En and silently observed the path ahead.

"Is there any living thing inside?" William asked immediately when he saw Law retract his En.

His En only has a range of less than seven meters, which is far too limited for effective scouting.

"I'm not sure."

Law felt that something had to be lurking beneath that lifeless darkness, so he couldn't give William a definitive answer.

Hearing Law's words, William pinched his chin, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Ali had finished counting his men. No one was missing, but some of the supplies strapped to the armored bulls had been swept away by the sandstorm. Additionally, the sand sleds hadn't been practical to bring along while crossing the storm, so the remaining provisions would only last them three to five days.

Ali gathered all the supplies and distributed them among the group. Then, he secured the armored bulls on the sandy ground outside the valley.

The dark clouds overhead blocked most of the sunlight and heat, meaning the bulls could survive for days even without food.

After settling the armored bulls, Ali led the rest of the people towards the entrance outside the mountain path.

"Have you found anything?" Ali asked Law with a spear in his hand.

Law glanced at the approaching members of Desert Hawks and replied, "No."

"Is that so…"

Ali took a deep breath as he stared at the bone-covered ground inside the valley, "Light the torches."

At his command, the twenty members of Desert Hawks swiftly ignited their prepared torches while the others readied their weapons.

"No need for lengthy speeches. Fame and fortune are just a mountain path away now… follow me!"

With that, Ali strode into the path first, and Desert Hawks' members followed in silence. Their expressions were complex… anticipation, greed, fear-

Desert Hawks moved in formation, with torchbearers on the inside, shield-bearers on the outside, and those wielding long weapons in the middle.

Law, Gel, and the others, who carried no bladed weapons, were placed at the center of the group, which is also the safest position.

"Probe ahead."

After advancing about twenty meters, Ali scanned the surroundings warily and gave the order.

At his command, the torchbearers in the group drew their crossbows and fired explosive arrows packed with gunpowder forward.

A series of detonations followed, shattering countless bones in their wake.

About ten seconds after the explosions faded, the path ahead remained silent. Only then did the group press onward.

Out of caution, they stopped every twenty meters to fire another volley of explosive arrows, ensuring no threats lurked in the unlit corners. After all, ambush tactics were a common trait among desert creatures.

After advancing a hundred meters and firing five rounds of explosive arrows, they found nothing… just more craters blasted into the bone-covered path.

From the moment they entered, Law had been observing their surroundings. The valley walls were like black jade, streaked with irregular white patterns. Their surfaces were rugged, dotted with strangely shaped protrusions… just as he had sensed earlier from outside.

Raising his head to look up, Law could only see the churning black clouds, as if they were the ceiling of this valley.

What drew his attention the most were the yellow vines sprawling across the mountain walls, which were the only living things they had encountered so far.

As the group approached the 120-meter mark, Law suddenly grew suspicious, 'How did all these bones behind us come to be?'

Just then, Ali's voice came from the front: "Halt. Something's up."

Upon hearing this, the members of the Desert Hawks immediately stopped in their tracks.

Law moved past the group to stand beside Ali, peering at the faint, blurry shadows ahead.

"Giant morning glories?" Ali muttered under his breath.

Law glanced at him. The shape of the shadows did resemble trumpet flowers, only about ten times larger. There were over a dozen of them, blocking the path with gaps of about a meter between each.

"Torch." Ali stretched a hand toward the group, and someone quickly handed him one.

Taking the torch, Ali hurled it forward with force. The spinning flame illuminated the path, revealing the true form of the shadows.

They were unknown plants over two meters tall, resembling gramophones from the past. The upper part consisted of a massive, trumpet-shaped orifice connected to a thick, arm-sized tube that curved slightly downward, leading to a pulsating red tumor at the base.

The trumpet-shaped openings were all pointed directly at the group.

Law could clearly see the pulsating red tumors pushing spherical objects up through the tubes toward the orifices… like someone forcing a candy down their throat, the bulges distinctly visible from the outside.

Without hesitation, Law shouted and expanded his Domain.

Puff, puff, puff!

Suddenly, the dozen or so plants fired basketball-sized projectiles from their trumpet-shaped mouths, shooting straight toward the group.

Law barely managed to deploy his Domain when the projectiles exploded midair, splitting into countless tiny pellets that blanketed the entire path.

While most of the Desert Hawks' members instinctively dropped to the ground at Law's warning, a few reacted too slowly.

Law blocked a portion of the pellets, but the sheer number overwhelmed his defense. The remaining pellets shot past him, striking the slower members.

Those who hadn't dropped in time were instantly riddled with holes… then, their bodies abruptly exploded, spraying blood mist into the air.

"No."

Hearing the muffled blasts, Law's eyes narrowed. He redirected dozens of the pellets back at the gramophone plants, which were still loading their next volley.

At the same time, he turned to see the remaining pellets detonating into a cloud of faint red smoke, rapidly filling the surroundings.

"This is…?"

Law instinctively contracted his Domain, wrapping it tightly around himself.

The red smoke swallowed everyone in an instant.

At the same time, the pellets Law had reflected shattered the gramophone plants, releasing even more of the red smoke.

The smoke appeared suddenly… and vanished just as fast.

The Desert Hawks' members slowly rose to their feet, still shaken.

Gel also stood up, giving Law an unreadable look before her expression suddenly shifted.

"It's poison."

Gel said with a frown.

No sooner had she spoken than the standing figures collapsed like dominoes, crashing back to the ground.