BOOM!!!
As the vehicles behind exploded into fireballs, Ethan slammed on the brakes, bringing their off-road vehicle to a screeching halt. Black skid marks streaked across the pavement.
Swish!
The back door and the passenger door flew open at the same time. Mia and Lisa jumped out the moment the car stopped.
Mia stood near the rear door, while Lisa agilely vaulted onto the roof of the off-road vehicle, taking up an elevated position.
A second later, the driver's door opened.
Ethan stepped out, Dilumon perched steadily on his shoulder.
The three humans and one beast all turned their attention forward.
Through the rising smoke and flames of the burning wreckage, they could clearly see four bizarre figures standing amidst the destruction.
The word weird barely did them justice—these four were truly grotesque.
One had jagged, sharp teeth and a face shaped like a monstrous mask.
Another had arms shaped like bat wings, draped in tattered cloth.
The third was short and squat, with eyes as small as beads.
And the last was tall but disturbingly resembled a kappa from folklore.
As Ethan's group sized them up, the four odd-looking enemies stared right back, completely unfazed.
"The portal that appeared earlier was definitely a space-type Nen ability," muttered the sharp-toothed man, Sick Dog.
"We were caught off guard by it," added the short man, Porcupine.
"Looking at them now, aside from the main target—the man—the two women seem easy to handle," the kappa-like man, Croaker, said with casual arrogance.
Though their eyes were locked onto Ethan's group, none of the four seemed tense. In fact, they nonchalantly gathered closer, chatting as if this confrontation were no big deal.
Their condescending attitude was obvious.
Standing atop the vehicle, Lisa smirked. "Interesting. Not only are they weird-looking, but they have interesting personalities too."
"I just think they're ugly," Mia said coldly, standing next to Ethan by the car.
Dilumon, perched on Ethan's shoulder, swung its tail and added honestly, "They all feel pretty weak to me."
Ethan leaned casually against the car door, arms folded across his chest. "These guys are part of the Yin Beast squad under the Ten Dons," he said lazily. "But your evaluations are pretty accurate."
He gazed at the four figures with amusement.
Their distinct appearances left no room for doubt—these were members of the infamous Yin Beasts from the Yorknew City arc in the original story.
The sharp-toothed one and the short one were Sick Dog and Porcupine, both killed by Uvogin.
The bat-winged and kappa-like ones, Ghost Bat and Croaker, were killed by Feitan, Shizuku, and others.
"The Yin Beasts?" Lisa and Mia both looked surprised. They glanced at each other, then back at the enemies across from them.
The Ten Dons—rulers of the underworld—were well known. As their personal elite guard, the Yin Beasts carried quite a fearsome reputation.
Lisa and Mia had heard the stories.
However, their surprise wasn't from fear. Instead, they were puzzled. Why would the Yin Beasts be after us? They hadn't had any previous contact or conflict with the Ten Dons or their agents.
Meanwhile, across the field of wreckage, the Yin Beasts were getting uneasy.
"What's taking Earthworm so long?" Sick Dog muttered, frowning.
"I don't know. But since our targets aren't making a move, we can wait a little longer," Porcupine said quietly.
Croaker growled in frustration, "What are we waiting for? Even without Earthworm, we can rush them and tear them apart!"
"Calm down!" Ghost Bat quickly intervened. "If we act rashly, we might fall into a trap. Remember, this guy caused chaos in Kavos City. He's not weak."
Back by the off-road vehicle, Mia narrowed her eyes. "Something's wrong," she murmured. "Why are they stalling?"
"It's suspicious, alright," Lisa agreed from the roof, eyes sharp as she scanned the surroundings.
The Yin Beasts had been arrogant before. Now they were oddly hesitant—something was clearly off.
Ethan, still leaning casually, chuckled. "They're waiting for something."
As he spoke, a sudden tremor shook the road between the two groups.
BOOM!
The asphalt cracked violently—and from the ruptured ground, a grotesque figure shot upward.
But it wasn't an ambush.
It was a corpse.
Hovering midair, the twisted figure was impaled from crotch to skull by a silver-white spear of threads.
Pinned like meat on a skewer, he hung lifelessly—dead before he even broke the surface.
"Earthworm!?" Sick Dog blurted out, face twisting in horror.
"No way!" Porcupine gasped.
"WHAT?!" Croaker shouted, backing up instinctively.
Even Ghost Bat's eyes widened in shock.
The figure impaled by the thread spear was none other than Earthworm—the fifth member of their squad.
They had planned for him to burrow underground and ambush Ethan's group from below.
Instead, Earthworm had been silently hunted and killed before he could even strike.
Ethan smiled coldly, his hands still folded across his chest.
He had sensed Earthworm's presence underground from the beginning, thanks to his danger sense.
Rather than act immediately, he'd set a silent trap using his Thread Fruit powers—extending razor-sharp threads into the ground to detect and kill any would-be ambushers.
The result spoke for itself.
One less enemy without even lifting a finger.
End of Chapter 178
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