168: Domilot

"Everyone..." Komatsu looked at the scene before him, feeling both stunned and somewhat nervous.

Toriko took a deep breath, stepped in front of Komatsu and Erina, and said resolutely, "Komatsu, Young Miss Erina! Obtaining the century soup is up to the two of you! As for them—"

His gaze was sharp as lightning as he swept it across the three members of the Gourmet Association. "We will deal with them!"

Erina looked at Lin Luo, her eyes filled with inquiry and a trace of unease.

Lin Luo smiled at her, his tone gentle yet full of strength. "Go. Whether you can taste the legendary flavor depends on your skills and luck."

Then he looked at Komatsu and solemnly urged, "Komatsu, you and Erina must assess the situation and act according to your capabilities! Remember, safety first!"

"Yes! Mr. Lin Luo!" Komatsu nodded vigorously.

Erina also took a deep breath, suppressing the anxiety in her heart, and her eyes became firm once again.

She scanned the area and soon discovered a deep, dark opening that had been blasted open at the edge of the collapsed ice wall, leading straight down. "Komatsu-kun, there's a cave here! It should lead straight down!"

"Trying to leave? Fuji! Barry! Take out those two nuisances!" The insect-winged man—Domilott—sneered upon seeing this and gave the order directly.

Behind him, the burly man with exposed fangs named Barry, and the other tall, thin member of the Gourmet Association bodyguards wearing a suit, Fuji, immediately lunged out like hunting cheetahs, charging straight at Erina and Komatsu who were preparing to enter the cave!

However, their path was not clear.

Swoosh!

A beam of pure white light, as solid as reality, shot from Lin Luo's fingertip like a laser, precisely blocking the path of Fuji and Barry, forcing them to stop and dodge abruptly.

At the same time, the figures of Takimaru and Machi had already blocked their way. Machi gripped his long sword, his eyes cold. "Apologies. Although we have no grudge against you, our goal is also the century soup."

"Just you?!" Barry bared his fangs and snorted disdainfully.

Machi's three subordinates also moved quickly, blocking the area near the cave entrance to form a second line of defense.

"Heh..." Domilott, upon seeing this, was not annoyed but instead let out a low laugh. "Since I have to kill all these guys anyway, the order doesn't matter. Besides..." He curled his lips into an eerie arc. "I'll send 'something' to track them!"

As he spoke, he opened his mouth wide again!

This time, it wasn't a projectile attack, but a spewing one!

Whoosh—!

A dense, writhing black fog surged from his mouth and spread rapidly!

From within the black fog came the dense, hair-raising sound of scuttling and flapping wings!

The black fog hit the ground and expanded and divided as if it had a life of its own!

In the blink of an eye, countless hideous insects of various shapes and sizes hatched from the black fog and flew out!

There were beetles with thick carapaces, multi-legged centipede-like crawlers, and moths with compound eyes glowing red... They were thick and dense, as if the nest of insects from Hell had been uncovered!

"I see..." Toriko's eyes sharpened as he stared fixedly at Domilott. "You're a user of the 'Insect Head Beast' ability! Your body is like a greenhouse, hiding tens of thousands of insect eggs that can nurture and hatch insects with various abilities at any time!"

"That's right~" Domilott licked his lips, revealing an intoxicated expression. "These guys, aren't they cute?"

"You disgusting guy, state your name!" Toriko shouted angrily.

"I am Domilott—" The insect-winged man spread his arms, his voice carrying a hint of boastfulness and cruelty. "Gourmet Association, Vice Chef!"

Just as his voice fell, a sudden change occurred again!

In front of the swarm of insects that had just hatched and were surging toward the cave, a huge energy web woven from colorful halos suddenly unfolded!

The large web instantly closed, enveloping all the insects surging toward the cave!

It was Lin Luo who had acted!

He held his hands in a void-grasping gesture, with the colorful halos flowing between his palms and the energy web.

The insects in the web struggled, bit, and sprayed venom or acid, attempting to break through, but the colorful light web, while appearing soft, was incredibly tough and rendered all attacks strangely "ineffective."

Even more terrifyingly, as Lin Luo slowly clenched his hands, the light web began to contract sharply!

Sizzle...

The insects touched by the light web, no matter how hard their carapaces or what special abilities they possessed, seemed to have all their life force instantly drained. They shriveled, withered, and stiffened at a visible rate, eventually turning into light, lifeless "insect husks" that fell like rain through the gaps of the contracting light web, covering the ice in a thick layer.

With just one move, the vanguard of the insect swarm that Domilott had sent to track and interfere was completely wiped out by Lin Luo in this domineering and eerie way!

The smile on Domilott's face froze completely for the first time. He stared fixedly at Lin Luo, his eyes a mix of shock, suspicion, and anger, but more than that, an excitement at having discovered rare prey.

"Interesting... too interesting!" He licked his sharp teeth, his voice hoarse. "Those 'treasures' I released earlier, losing contact for no reason... that was your doing, wasn't it?!"

"Vice Chef Starjun specifically mentioned that you were strong and had special abilities... As expected, very 'special'!" He emphasized the word "special," the greed in his eyes almost overflowing.

Lin Luo lightly flicked off a piece of insect debris that had landed on his shoulder, his tone flat to the point of indifference. "Just some minor tricks, nothing worth mentioning."

"Minor tricks? Heh heh... heh heh heh..." Domilott heard this and let out a weird, twisted, shrill laugh, as if he had heard something extremely ridiculous.

He suddenly arched his back, his body taking on an inhuman, eerie curve, his throat pulsating violently—

Gack—!

A flying centipede, pitch black all over, with four pairs of transparent thin wings on its back and hideous mouthparts, was violently spewed from his mouth as if he were vomiting!

As soon as the centipede left his body, it turned into a streak of black light hard for the naked eye to capture. It didn't attack Lin Luo or Toriko, who were close by, but instead, with incredible speed and a tricky angle, lunged straight at the family of three Wall Penguins not far behind, who had just reunited and were making low, soothing calls!

"Too noisy! Just honestly go die, you stinking penguins!" Domilott spat viciously, his face full of cruelty and impatience.

The Wall Penguin parents were large in size, relatively slow to react, and having just experienced the ice collapse and the fright of losing and regaining their chick, they couldn't possibly mount an effective defense in time!

Pfft! Pfft!

Two dull, heart-wrenching sounds of piercing rang out almost simultaneously!

The black streak of light, like the sharpest poisoned arrow, easily pierced through the thick fur and muscle of the adult male Wall Penguin, and without losing momentum, slammed into the body of the female Wall Penguin next to it!

The two massive Wall Penguins let out pained and angry cries, their bodies swaying, yet they still instinctively protected their chick beneath them.

After completing the double kill, the flying centipede actually made a sharp turn in the air, its mouthparts opening, glowing with a cold, ghostly blue light like a life-taking sickle, and lunged again to bite the shivering chick "Youyou," which was soaked in its parents' blood! It intended to cut off the roots!

"You bastard!" Toriko's eyes were splitting with rage, and he roared, his right hand instantly transforming into an energy fork. With the posture of throwing a javelin, he threw it with all his might!

Whoosh—!

The energy fork turned into a blue streak of light, arriving before the centipede could complete its attack!

Clang!

A crisp sound like metal clashing!

The fork precisely knocked the centipede's biting trajectory off course, and with its remaining momentum and immense power, it slammed the flying centipede onto the ice wall behind it!

The centipede struggled violently, its carapace scraping against the ice wall, making a harsh sound.

"Die!" Machi erupted at almost the same moment, his long sword carving a cold, desolate arc!

Slash!

As the blade flashed, the hideous head of the pinned flying centipede fell off, dark green, foul-smelling fluid spraying from the stump, and the remaining body twitched a few times before stopping completely.

"Domilott, you bastard!" Toriko's voice was cold with extreme rage. "What's the point of killing those penguins?!"

"Huh?" Domilott tilted his head, as if he had heard a stupid question, his face full of confusion and mockery.

"Huh your head!" Toriko's suppressed rage almost burst through his chest. "Are you hungry, you bastard?! Or do you just kill for pleasure?!"

Domilott sneered disdainfully and picked his ear. "Who would want to eat such trash? They were just too noisy, so I killed them. Do I need a special reason?"

The nonchalant tone made it seem as if he hadn't crushed two living lives, but just two annoying flying insects.

"Not only do you treat noble lives like grass... you don't even have the most basic reverence for death!" Toriko's anger finally reached its peak.

He roared, his muscles bulging all over, Gourmet Cell energy frantically gathering in his right fist. He stomped, the ice surface shattered, and he shot forward like a cannonball, rushing toward Domilott, ready to obliterate this cold-blooded monster with his strongest "Nail Punch"!

However, Domilott didn't give him a chance to get close. Facing Toriko's violent charge, he just opened his mouth slightly—

Pfft pfft pfft pfft pfft...!

Like opening the valve of a high-pressure water gun, countless black dots surged from his mouth!

It was still those brown stag beetles with fast speed, hard shells, and sharp mandibles!

But this time, the number was astonishing, forming a real torrent of insect swarm!

These insects were not only fast enough to leave afterimages, but their tactics were even more troublesome—they didn't just attack head-on but used their numbers and speed, like maggots clinging to bones, to entangle, harass, and find weaknesses from all directions.

Once they found an opportunity, their sharp mandibles would try to burrow into the body, causing intense pain and continuous damage.

Toriko was instantly submerged by the insect swarm!

He roared repeatedly, his hands transforming into knives and forks, waving frantically to mince patches of insects, but there were simply too many, wave after wave, constantly consuming his stamina and energy, and leaving small wounds all over his body, making it difficult for him to break free, let alone get close to Domilott.

Lin Luo saw this, his eyes narrowing, and he was about to act to help Toriko break out and disperse the pressure of the insect swarm.

But Domilott clearly didn't intend to give him that chance!

"Heh heh, don't be in such a hurry, your opponent... is these cute children of mine!" Domilott let out a weird laugh, his head snapping toward Lin Luo, his mouth opening even wider!

This time, what was spewed out was no longer a single type of stag beetle, but a swarm of insects mixed with various forms and sizes!

There were beetles spraying corrosive acid, moths releasing paralyzing dust, and bloated worms capable of self-detonation...

Like a mobile insect arsenal, all the insects turned into the deadliest "bullets," raining down on Lin Luo with the firing rate of a machine gun!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!!!

A rain of insects poured down! Instantly completely engulfing the location where Lin Luo stood!

Brilliant colorful halos immediately erupted around Lin Luo, forming a solid protective shield.

The insects collided with the light shield, making a dense "pitter-patter" sound, acid corrosion, dust adhesion, explosion impact...

Various attack methods took turns, causing the light shield to fluctuate violently, sending out ripples.

The immense life essence previously absorbed from the stag beetles and other beasts was now rapidly converted and released, continuously replenishing the shield's consumption and maintaining the stability of the defense.

However, passive defense was not Lin Luo's style, especially when facing such a shameless insect swarm tactic.

His eyes sharpened, and within his Sea of Consciousness, the vast power of his Divine Sense was no longer gentle, but like a drawn sword, carrying a cold, judgmental will, it erupted thunderously!

"Die!"

There was no sound, but an invisible, terrifying fluctuation that seemed capable of freezing the Soul instantly swept across the entire scene, with Lin Luo at the center!

It was like the most precise scanner, and like the decree of a supreme deity.

All the insects covered by this Divine Sense fluctuation—whether those attacking Toriko, those frantically slamming into Lin Luo's shield, or even those brewing in Domilott's mouth that hadn't been spat out yet—froze in unison!

Their simple intelligence, dominated by instinct and Domilott's commands, was fragile and vulnerable before this pure and powerful mental shock.

Pfft pfft pfft pfft pfft...

A "rain of insects," denser and more thorough than before, descended.

In the sky, on the ice, and even those about to be spat out from Domilott's mouth... all the insects nurtured and controlled by Domilott lost all life force in the same instant, falling, stiffening, and dying in swathes like harvested wheat.

Outside the colorful light shield, a thick layer of insect corpses instantly covered the ground, forming an eerie "carpet of insect corpses."

The entire scene fell into dead silence once again.

Only Toriko's heavy breathing remained, along with Domilott's face, which was twitching slightly from shock and anger.

Lin Luo slowly retracted his externalized Divine Sense, his face a shade paler than before; continuously using Divine Sense for large-scale annihilation clearly consumed a significant amount of energy.

But his gaze remained calm as he looked at Domilott, as if he had just done something trivial.

"Your 'children'..." Lin Luo said indifferently, "seem to be not very durable."