Lord of Souls

The eldest prince, Benjamin, was attacked by unknown assailants and seriously injured.

The news quickly shook the entire Kakin Royal Family.

This caused all the princesses and princes to have strange thoughts.

They always felt that things weren't that simple...

However, several of Benjamin's private soldiers were also seriously injured or killed, and the remaining few, after interrogation, gave very consistent accounts.

The murderer was likely influenced by radical elements in the kingdom and intended to undermine the monarchy, starting with the princes.

This is just the surface explanation. In reality, many people believe that Benjamin's misfortune was caused by the machinations of other princes. Otherwise, King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou wouldn't have simply asked about the cause and course of events and then let it go. The only explanation is that other princes were involved in this matter.

The princes secretly began staging a scene of 'rivalry' ahead of time.

The only person who knows the truth is the Ninth Prince.

He knew exactly who had hurt Benjamin; there was no other culprit besides Oboro... After all, it was he who had lured Benjamin to the hotel under the guise of the Succession War.

He felt extremely guilty and remorseful.

Now that his girlfriend, the Honey Pot of the Fills Family's eye, is out of control and out of danger, he no longer needs to fear the mafia. Therefore, he plans to reveal the truth to the king, exposing the Fills Family's ambition to seize the Kakin throne... However, before he can even approach King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou, several of the eldest prince's private soldiers, led by Rihan, arrive first and strictly forbid the ninth prince from revealing Oboro's existence to the outside world.

Furthermore, the Ninth Prince was not allowed to reveal that Oboro was the murderer.

The serious and earnest demeanor of Rihan and the others made Halkenburg suspect that the eldest prince had also been coerced and controlled by the Fills Family.

"If you tell anyone, you will get the eldest prince killed."

Rihan left with only one meaningful sentence.

This left the Ninth Prince, who was already feeling guilty, at a loss for what to do.

He was quite certain that Benjamin was under the control of the mob, that man... in some way.

Damn it!

Inside the room, Halkenburg One-Punch Man the wall, blood trickling from the back of his hand.

The head of the Fills Family is too clever. No wonder it was him... no wonder they chose him, because they know he is the one among the princes who values brotherhood the most... Even if they kindly released his girlfriend and held the other princes hostage, he wouldn't dare to do anything reckless.

Too thin...

The other party takes almost every aspect into consideration when doing things.

He thought that once his girlfriend was freed, he would no longer need to fear the existence of the Fills Family.

Now, even though the eldest prince has been severely injured, the royal family's thoughts and attention are focused on these princes, suspecting that one of them is the real murderer... Fortunately, Benjamin's life is not in danger, so King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou did not investigate further.

"Your father... is a shrewd man who admires, or rather believes in, the survival of the fittest. That's how the Kakin Empire came to be so powerful... It's ingrained in his very being! If you can join forces with us, it would be best for you... Otherwise, if you brothers start fighting each other, your father will definitely stand by and watch, ruthless indeed..."

In a daze, Halkenburg recalled the words that Oboro had said to him with a smile that day.

At the time, he naturally didn't believe it.

But judging from the fact that the eldest prince was injured this time, it seems... there really are such signs.

Meanwhile, in the bedchamber where the eldest prince Benjamin, was recuperating from his injuries.

A private soldier was using his Exorcism abilities when he saw Benjamin, who was lying on the hospital bed, covered in a dense mass of wriggling worms... These worms seemed to be gnawing at something on his body.

Benjamin's breathing remained steady, and his injuries had been treated, but he remained unconscious.

"Not found."

After a long while, the private soldier withdrew his ability and said in a deep voice, "This should not be a Nen applied to the target's body... There is no external Nen attached to it, either outside or inside the body."

"Even curses leave traces... but this is the first time I've encountered something like this."

"It's not about imposing, it's about lacking..."

Rihan crossed his arms and recalled the scene of Long inserting his hand into the prince's body, pulling out his soul, and tearing it off, and analyzed it.

He is good at analyzing and reading the Nen of his targets, and it is based on this that his Outsider are able to use them better.

"He took away a part of the prince's soul... and locked it in that small cage."

Rihan sighed and closed his eyes. "We don't know what kind of impact this will have on the eldest prince yet. Judging from the current situation, the eldest prince seems to be fine... Out of concern for the eldest prince's life, we should not act rashly."

"Clear."

The others nodded.

In the darkness.

Benjamin's soul was curled up in a corner of his mind, he was in pain... in so much pain that he couldn't breathe.

Within this space, his body was mutilated, as if a large chunk of flesh had been ripped away, but strangely... there was no bleeding.

He would occasionally hear a man's Last Whisper and laughter.

The voice was very familiar.

But he couldn't remember who it was...

After a long time... the darkness that had enveloped him finally dissipated, and a large amount of green mist began to surge into his sea of consciousness. One ghost after another drifted in, circling around his body, howling and mocking him... looking at him as if he were a pitiful worm.

A moment later, Benjamin slowly looked up and found himself surrounded by a huge fence. He felt as if he were imprisoned in a cage. Upon closer inspection, he was shocked to realize that the overall shape of the cage was... similar to a lantern.

As he observed, the clouds overhead rippled outwards to both sides, revealing a gigantic face that blotted out the sky... looking down at him.

This scene is like a giant looking down at the ants at his feet.

"Ah!"

In reality, Benjamin, who had been in a coma with bandages wrapped around his body, suddenly woke up with a scream.

My clothes were soaked with sweat.

He looked as if he had just been pulled out of the water.

"The eldest prince..."

Upon hearing this, the private soldiers guarding nearby looked delighted and immediately approached.

"What am I doing..."

Benjamin was panting heavily, and after a moment, he looked around blankly.

"Your Highness, are you alright...?"

Rihan asked cautiously.

The Fills Family, Oboro! Suddenly, Benjamin's memories began to clear, his gaze sharpened, and he demanded, "What's going on?!"

The private soldiers exchanged glances and recounted the events that had transpired at the hotel that day.

Despite his strength, he was kicked and injured, and lost consciousness.

That Oboro! "Go arrange the army... I..." Benjamin clenched his fist, veins bulging on his forehead, his voice filled with anger.

He threw off the covers, ready to get out of bed and stand up.

However, just as he was about to get up, before he could finish speaking, his limbs seemed to be out of control, and he staggered and suddenly fell to the ground.

Fortunately, his subordinates reacted quickly and caught him.

"The eldest prince..."

"I?"

Benjamin was stunned.

He realized that his movements were incredibly sluggish, as if his brain was unable to skillfully control this body, and he felt particularly unfamiliar with this flesh and blood.

"Prince... based on the circumstances at the time... a portion of your soul was taken by him."

Upon seeing this, Rihan said in a deep voice.

"Soul?"

Benjamin paused, taken aback.

The soul is such a mysterious thing... However, the Nen in this world are incredibly diverse and have many uses, capable of triggering many incredible phenomena.

Immediately, he skillfully unleashed his spiritual energy according to his intuition.

However, they found that their own energy had been greatly reduced and had become very weak.

From the outside, he seems fine... but in reality, the impact of having his soul severed is enormous.

"Bastard! Bastard!"

Benjamin, enraged, roared hoarsely, "I'll kill him! Kill him! Mobilize the troops as I command... Go! Go now!"

The loss of power was something Benjamin could not bear.

"The eldest prince!"

Rihan hurriedly advised.

They were still unclear about the effects of Oboro's Nen, and the other party must have something to rely on to dare to let them return.

Launching a rash attack on a target could very well result in more harm than good.

Rihan wanted to speak, but suddenly, their pupils dilated and they fell silent.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and get on with it!"

Benjamin saw that they were all frozen in place, staring at him with horrified expressions, and his face immediately darkened.

"Your Highness... you... your body..."

One of the private soldiers reached out and pointed at Benjamin's back.

Upon hearing the sound, Benjamin turned his head slightly, and his pupils instantly contracted.

Because... a ghost emerged from his body, its blurry ghostly face 'smiling' at him.

"Behave yourself, or... I'll devour your soul completely."

The ghost's mouth was invisible, yet it made a sound.

It's Oboro!

The Exorcism nearby immediately reacted, and with a flick of his hand, a large swarm of insects landed on the ghost that Benjamin had spawned, instantly enveloping and devouring it.

"How is that possible? I clearly didn't sense any external Nen power just now..."

The private soldiers gasped in shock.

How did this ghost appear out of thin air? It couldn't be a parasitic type.

"Is that all?"

Rihan also came to his senses and hurriedly asked.

"I don't know..."

Exorcism's private soldiers swallowed hard.

Immediately afterward, catching the others off guard, Benjamin suddenly appeared in pain and let out a wail.

One after another, wisps of ghostly spirits emerged from his body, drifting around the bedchamber and howling incessantly... Just as the Exorcism once again manipulated the insects to shoot at them, the ghostly figures suddenly surged back into Benjamin's body and vanished.

The eldest prince also fainted, his face pale.

"Didn't you say that the eldest prince wasn't affected by any spirit manipulation?!"

Someone questioned their companion.

"I checked, it's not there..."

"But these ghosts are all formed from genuine Nen power... Where did they come from?"

"How would I know?! I'm wondering the same thing!"

"Alright, stop arguing!"

Rihan let out a loud shout.

He said coldly, "The development and structure of any Nen has its own logic and methods... I suspect that the other party used the eldest prince's captured soul as a medium to pull off this trick... In other words, if we don't retrieve that part of the soul, we are helpless."

At this moment, in a hotel dozens of kilometers away.

Long sat on the sofa, green mist swirling in the room. He held Thresh's Rigge's Lantern in his hand and smiled slightly. "Clever."

His gaze was fixed on a flame of soul within the lantern.

Yes, he can now hear and see everything happening around him through Benjamin's still-intact senses.

Rihan's judgment was very accurate... and he was very experienced.

He's an experienced player.

The reason Benjamin spawned a ghost is because... he put the ghost into the lantern here.

Rather than having some kind of Nen power attached to it.

This part of the soul is connected to Benjamin's original soul.