"..."
"Too... too strong... I feel... I feel like I'm dreaming..."
Squala was trembling all over.
"The Captain... isn't human..."
Basho's voice quivered.
Baise and lody watched, their eyes shining with extraordinary brilliance.
Dalzoll stood there like a stone statue, his mouth wide open. Only Kurapika managed to retain so semblance of rationality.
...
"Hurry up and save Uvogin!!!"
"Damn it!!"
"This brat... kill him!! Attack together!!"
"Uvogin! Hang in there!! Fuck!"
...
The Troupe mbers on the cliff finally snapped back to their senses, each of them roaring furiously.
Bang—
Thunder - Guillotine landed.
Riku, who had leaped high into the air, brought a whip kick crashing down directly onto the back of Uvogin's neck. A sickening crack of bones shattering echoed out as Uvogin violently coughed up a mouthful of blood, smashing into the ground like a cannonball.
At this point, Uvogin had been beaten so badly he hardly resembled a human anymore. Both of his arms were twisted and broken, dripping with blood, and his chest was caved in; who knew how many ribs were snapped. If it were any ordinary Nen user, they would have died ten tis over by now.
But every single one of Riku's attacks was perfectly asured. While inflicting maximum pain, he also ensured the opponent would be left with exactly one breath of life.
"Heh! Are you coming?"
Having loosened up his muscles and bones, Riku glanced at the Troupe mbers and a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
With so many terrifying traits in his possession, if he couldn't even handle a single Uvogin, he might as well quit right now.
One must rember that a freshly awakened Kurapika straight out of the beginner's village could solo Uvogin!
He had him completely read like a book!
Whoosh!
Machi prepared to catch Uvogin to perform ergency first aid, but a silver chain was faster than her. It shot out like a nimble snake, snapping tight in an instant.
Uvogin was bound and rapidly dragged away!
"Let's go!"
Kurapika called out, turning around to retreat. This was the strategy he had agreed upon with Riku.
They would hunt down the Troupe mbers one day at a ti, and Riku would assist Kurapika in fulfilling his revenge!
In reality... it was also to make it convenient for himself to plunder their traits.
"Crap! Uvogin!!"
The Troupe mbers exclaid in shock. They watched helplessly as their comrade was beaten half to death right under their noses and then kidnapped?
This was absolutely beyond all expectations!!
[Ding! You have defeated Troupe mber Uvogin.]
[Ding! 10% chance to automatically copy the opponent's System Trait in progress...]
[Ding! Copy successful... Congratulations on acquiring [Innate Brute Strength] - Gold.]
...
A voice as pleasant as the sounds of nature rang out in Riku's mind.
Oh? What a pleasant surprise. Defeating an opponent granted a 10% chance to copy a trait, while killing them on the spot guaranteed a 100% random plunder.
He hadn't expected to directly acquire one of the opponent's Gold traits this ti.
System Trait: [Innate Brute Strength] - Gold Description: You are naturally endowed with formidable strength!
A very simple description, but it absolutely could not conceal the sheer power of this trait.
Upon acquiring this trait, Riku clearly felt his physical constitution undergo yet another dramatic leap forward.
Innate Brute Strength was equivalent to reinforcing his very foundation, rather than just providing a simple buff.
Excellent!
His strength had advanced another step!
To cover Kurapika's retreat, Riku charged directly towards Machi and Shizuku, who were relatively weaker among the Troupe mbers.
As expected.
Seeing the direction of Riku's attack, the expressions of the Troupe mbers shifted slightly. They didn't even have the ti or opportunity to chase after Kurapika.
Everyone understood that against a monster capable of beating Uvogin to such a state head-on, they would likely be killed if they didn't unite and work together.
"You're courting death!!"
Nobunaga let out a low growl, cold light flashing in his eyes.
The katana in his hand was drawn to its absolute limit!
Hum~
A spherical En with a radius of about four ters expanded outward, centered on him. This distance was precisely the maximum reach of his blade.
Within the range of this Nen En, even the slightest shift in the air currents could be effortlessly perceived.
This strike!
It contained thirty years of his mastery!
A thrust from bottom to top at an incredibly tricky angle; he was aiming to pierce the opponent's heart!
Pfft!!
It actually hit?
Nobunaga was stunned.
He was shocked to discover that the opponent showed absolutely no intention of dodging, almost as if he had deliberately allowed the blade to pierce his heart.
Then, in that exact sa instant...
Machi's Nen threads, Shalnark's attacks, Kortopi's, Feitan's, Shizuku's, and Franklin's hail of Nen bullets...
Almost everyone's attacks landed squarely on Riku.
But simultaneously, Riku, having abandoned all defense, grabbed Nobunaga with a lunatic-like expression.
"Nobunaga!!"
Realizing sothing was terribly wrong, the others cried out, rushing forward to save him.
None of them expected Riku to be this completely unafraid of death, to the point of trying to take Nobunaga down with him right before dying!?
"Damn it! Trying to take down with you? I won't let you succeed that easily!"
Iaijutsu!
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Nobunaga directly severed Riku's arm, but was horrified to find that the severed arm was still gripping his shoulder in a death grip.
Furthermore, there was not a trace of agony on the opponent's face—only a bizarre, eerie smile.
"Enjoy the art. Art... is Patrick Star!"
Riku suddenly laughed.
His body began to expand at a visible rate, emitting a blinding light.
Lightning Nen Beast - Riku!
White Lightning - Nuclear Explosion!!
Miniature Version!
BOOM—
In an instant.
The heavens and earth changed color.
The entire valley trembled violently, and rocks from the high mountains even began to collapse.
A blinding white light swallowed everything.
Nobunaga's furious roars and the panicked cries of the other Troupe mbers were completely drowned out and devoured.
On the road three kiloters away.
Dalzoll was driving away, sweating profusely. In the back seat, Uvogin was securely bound using Kurapika's chains.
"Hehe, a bunch of ants... Your captain should be dead by now. The ones to die next will be you. I will dismantle your bones piece by piece, making you beg for life and pray for death."
The heavily injured Uvogin laughed cruelly, his face showing not a hint of pain.
This was absolute confidence in his team!
One must know that everyone who arrived here was the entirety of the Troupe, minus the Boss.
That monster-like guy had been able to erupt with such astonishing power to beat him to a pulp, but his own consumption must have been equally staggering.
That being said, there was absolutely no way that guy could be a match for the others. It wouldn't be long before he would be hunted down by his team mbers like a dead dog.
As for himself, his injuries might look severe, but given enough ti, he could definitely recover. On the other hand, this bunch of sneak-attacking rats!
They were like hyenas hovering around a Lion King—no, more like re rats!
Uvogin could clearly sense that, apart from the brat tying him up, the rest of these guys were incredibly weak.
He only needed one hand to crush them all to death.
Uvogin's words instantly turned the expressions of the other bodyguards in the car extrely grim.
Squala, the dark-skinned guy, turned ghostly pale. Baise, lody, and Basho didn't look any better.
lody, in particular, could hear the opponent's unprecedented confidence—a confidence stemming from the deepest part of his heart. His heartbeat was extrely steady.
A voice filled with anger and confidence!
lody began to worry slightly for Riku.
"Shut up!"
Kurapika coldly shouted. With a slight twitch of his index finger, the chains seed to receive a command, rapidly contracting.
This instantly caused Uvogin to groan in pain.
It was only then that he realized in horror that this unremarkable brat possessed Enhancent Type Nen comparable to his own!?
Damn it!
How could this be?
This kid was definitely in the sa group as that guy from earlier!
A monster duo?
"Riku won't lose. You'd be better off worrying about your accomplices."
Kurapika spoke coldly.
He held absolute confidence in Riku, having accompanied him on this journey for a long ti and having a general understanding of Riku's true strength.
"Hehe, he will absolutely die, and so will all of you! You'd better pray that a dic leaves you with an intact corpse!!!"
Uvogin grinned savagely. He was like a vicious beast bound by iron chains, ready to break free and massacre at any mont.
BOOM—
Right in the midst of their conversation, a deafening explosion erupted from behind them, and the sky even montarily flashed white.
The expanding shockwave even forcefully pushed the speeding car a fair distance down the highway.
Uvogin and the others were startled by this sudden impact.
Everyone unanimously looked back in that direction and suddenly witnessed a scene they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
Behind them.
In the direction of the valley where the battle had just occurred, a bright, pure white moon had materialized... followed by a mushroom cloud!
And the continuously collapsing valley!
"..."
Seeing this, everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes, feeling as though their brains were short-circuiting. It felt exactly like a dream, leaving them entirely dizzy.
"What... what is that?"
"Captain... The Captain seems to still be in that direction?!"
"The... the valley has collapsed!!!"
"Captain!?"
...
"This..."
Uvogin was also dumbfounded, but it was quickly followed by wild ecstasy. He laughed excitedly, "It's Feitan!! Hahahahaha! That guy definitely made his move!! Do you see it? This is the true power of the Troupe!! You ants can just wait for your deaths!!!"
Hearing his words, the hearts of everyone present sank straight down.
Even Kurapika's expression turned terrifyingly gloomy.
It was too shocking!
Dalzoll's hands trembled so much while driving that he nearly crashed the car into the roadside; he had clearly been scared witless just now.
Basho, lody, and Baise were equally pale-faced.
Everyone understood that what this guy said was absolutely true.
No one expected that a powerful Captain like Riku could actually lose to these monsters.
But the Phantom Troupe were notorious A-Class bounties; every single one of them possessed terrifyingly powerful strength. The Captain was just... sigh...
"Kurapika, leave with the spoils of war. There are a few more small fries behind, I'll take care of the cleanup."
Suddenly.
Riku's voice ca through Kurapika's earpiece.
The voice wasn't loud, but it clearly fell into everyone's ears.
"..."
The entire car fell instantly silent.
Uvogin, who had been laughing maniacally, seed as if he had been grabbed by the throat by fate. His smile froze, his tiger eyes widened, and his face was etched with absolute disbelief.
...
How... how is that possible!?
What just happened?
Didn't this guy just get killed by Feitan? That was clearly Feitan's attack style just now, wasn't it?
But... but why?
"Captain!! It's the Captain's voice!! Captain, how are you doing? We just saw an explosion in the valley, are you alright?"
lody exclaid in excitent.
Baise and the others felt as though they had just walked back from the gates of hell; they were so thrilled they were on the verge of tears.
It could be said that right now, Riku was their absolute lifeline. If Riku died, their fate went without saying, having offended this notoriously infamous wanted Troupe.
Once they fell into the hands of these guys, even a quick death would probably be a luxury.
But now, to actually still be able to hear Riku's voice, and judging from the tone, Riku didn't seem to have suffered any major injuries at all.
But what was the deal with that explosion behind them?
"lody, is that you? I'm fine. Just keep an ear out for the surroundings. Dalzoll, drive carefully. I'll co find you guys after I finish dealing with the tails behind . Kurapika, you take charge of the situation for now."
Riku's voice echoed through the earpiece.
Everyone present was an experienced fighter. Even though it ca through a microphone, they could still hear it clearly.
"The Captain is still alive!! And perfectly fine at that. Then the explosion behind us..."
Dalzoll grew excited.
He felt as if he had just narrowly escaped death. The events he experienced today were more thrilling than a rollercoaster ride.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!! When you were fighting earlier, your stamina should have been practically depleted. And there is absolutely no way you could have survived Feitan's attack just now."
Uvogin roared in sheer disbelief.
"Stamina depleted? Uvogin, you don't really think I'm as weak as a girl like you, do you? That explosion just now? Oh, I forgot to tell you, that was just a little gift I sent your team. A tiny piece of art."
"However, your team's luck didn't seem too good. There was soone nad Nobunaga... who seems to have sacrificed himself for art."
Riku's voice transmitted over.
"What!?"
Hearing this, Uvogin's heart pounded wildly, his eyes going wide and completely bloodshot. "What... what do you an sacrificed for art?"
"Oh... just whoosh, boom—blown to death—don't worry, you won't die that quickly. At the very least, tomorrow, or around this ti next year, will probably be the anniversary of your death."
Riku's voice drifted through.
"Impossible—No—AAAAAHHHHH—"
Uvogin roared out like he had lost all control. He refused to believe even in his dreams that his comrade would die so easily.
First it was Pakunoda, and now Nobunaga?
But the explosion just now was sothing he could clearly feel. That terrifying power was absolutely astonishing.
Nobunaga... was dead!?
Uvogin's fury was quickly handled by the beast tar, Kurapika. With a tightening of the chains, the agonizing pain caused Uvogin to collapse onto the floor of the car, unable to utter a single word.
anwhile, a voice resembling the sounds of nature had already rung out in Riku's mind.
[Ding! Congratulations on killing Troupe mber · Nobunaga Hazama.]
[Ding! Randomly plundering the opponent's System Traits in progress...]
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> spat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you
User Comments
0 comments from readers