One-Hit Kill

Tricks or means—if they don't ultimately and decisively eliminate the opponent, they're utterly meaningless.

Moyu's current frontal combat ability was lacking. Even with a trump card obtained through exorcising a Nen curse, he couldn't necessarily finish off the opponent in one go.

With that in mind, putting on a show of weakness might either make the opponent hesitate out of suspicion or drive them to charge through the paper tiger.

Whichever reaction the opponent chose, Moyu was prepared.

Of course—

Moyu actually hoped the opponent would take the initiative to attack.

Only then could he exploit the uneven information gap to find and seize the opportunity to take down the Long-Haired Man.

And that opportunity—

Existed only in the instant after the Long-Haired Man believed his attack had succeeded.

"I can't even use 'Ken' right now. Breaking through his 'Ko' is nothing short of a pipe dream, but if I lure him into applying more 'Nen' to offense, the 'Nen' used for defense will decrease accordingly."

"Then I'll use the 'Emotion Fragment' extracted from the 'Post-Mortem Nen' to boost my attack power. If things go smoothly, I might be able to take him out in one go!"

"I just don't know if the 'Emotion Fragment' will live up to expectations."

Moyu pondered silently.

After receiving one exorcism opportunity from "Perception," when Moyu touched the photo entwined with Post-Mortem Nen, information about exorcism and Emotion Fragments flooded into his mind.

The so-called Emotion Fragment was something refined from Post-Mortem Nen, with diverse uses, one of which was for attack.

Though he wasn't sure if the actual effect would meet expectations...

At the very least, he had to ensure he used it properly.

"No rush. I only have one chance."

Moyu waited in silence.

In his field of vision, on one side was pitch-black darkness, on the other was the Long-Haired Man caught between advance and retreat.

Both sides remained deadlocked.

From their positions and current circumstances, their situations were actually similar—both were willing to wait in the stalemate for their companions to reach a result.

If Cheadle, Ken, and Sivir remained locked in a standoff.

Then it would come down to whichever fell first between Hawk and Genbul...

That would decide who made the first move.

But Moyu hadn't expected that moment to come so quickly.

"Thud!"

Within the battle zone, a dull impact suddenly rang out.

Hawk was sent flying by Genbul's blow, slamming heavily into a large tree, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

With injuries from a few days ago and having to allocate at least half his Nen to maintain "Rat Treasure's" condition, the combat power Hawk could bring to bear was actually very limited.

The same went for Cheadle.

As a non-combat type, relying on her ability's effects, she could at most manage to restrain, lacking the power to kill in battle.

When Hawk took a heavy hit and fell, Cheadle's already lackluster "attack power" grew even weaker, and the chain reaction it triggered instantly clarified the situation on the field.

Genbul prepared to deliver the final blow to Hawk, while Cole's thoughts finally broke free from the mire.

"Hawk...!"

Cheadle's expression shifted slightly. In that instant, her first thought wasn't worry for Hawk's life, but to make Moyu, who had only awakened to Nen half a month ago, flee directly.

Just as she was about to put that thought into action, gunfire suddenly rang out in the mountain forest.

The figure standing in the darkness had somehow produced a submachine gun, aimed it at Genbul, and pulled the trigger.

Amid the dense gunfire, scorching bullets flew toward Genbul.

As the muzzle flashed, the flickering light outlined the figure's clothing and the Nen steadily growing stronger.

"Huh?!"

Genbul reacted to the sound, choosing not to tank the hits but to dodge the bullets instead.

Yet the barrage of fire followed closely, as if trying to drive him away from Hawk.

"Heh."

Genbul caught the other's intent and sneered inwardly.

He went along with Moyu's thought, not insisting on finishing off the incapacitated Hawk, but instead kept evading the bullets while drawing Moyu's attention as much as possible.

This way, he could create an opening for Cole to attack.

And Cole certainly didn't disappoint Genbul.

The moment Moyu fired, focusing his gaze on Genbul—

He drew a short blade and, with the sharpest of movements, struck from a blind spot at Moyu, who was still shooting.

Before launching the attack, through the opponent's aura, which had grown noticeably brighter, he caught a glimpse of the man's clothes and the night-vision goggles covering half his face.

"Is this the extent of his 'Ren'?"

Beyond that, the only thing that caught Cole's attention was the mediocre level of the man's "Ren."

In the blink of an eye, Cole, having stepped into attack range, drove the short blade, charged with Nen, into Moyu's chest.

Shiiing!

The accompanying surge of Nen instantly shredded Moyu's clothes into countless fragments.

A "Ren" of this caliber was utterly powerless to stop Cole's assault—this strike was a sure kill!

"Pathetic..."

That was the thought that crossed Cole's mind as he ended Moyu with a single blow.

But in that same instant, the Moyu he had stabbed suddenly vanished into thin air.

The night-vision goggles that had been on Moyu's face, the remnants of his clothes, and the two submachine guns all fell from midair.

"!!!"

Cole's pupils contracted sharply.

At that moment, from a dark corner, a hand wreathed in black Nen swept cleanly across his neck, appearing behind him.

It was—

Moyu, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

"That hurt."

Moyu muttered to himself.

Behind him, Cole's head slid from his neck, hitting the ground with a dull thud, then rolling two or three times before stopping.

Before his consciousness faded completely, Cole strained to lift his eyes, staring fixedly at the one who had severed his head with a single palm strike.

A... brat?!

Why was this...

He had been using "Gyo" to observe the situation the whole time...

If this brat had used "Zetsu" to conceal himself, then after closing the pores, the "clone" manifested with Nen should have dissipated...

What the hell was going on?!

Drowning in endless confusion, Cole died with bitter resentment.

"Cole!?"

The sudden turn of events shocked Genbul, who had been certain of victory.

Hawk, leaning against a tree trunk and inwardly cursing his own inadequacy, also witnessed the scene and froze.

What just happened...?

How did Moyu do that?!

Hawk felt his brain couldn't keep up.

Moyu, after recovering from the pain, looked with some surprise at the black Nen缠绕 on his palm.

The effect was even better than he had anticipated.

"A brilliant one-hit kill. Your proficiency in the Four Major Principles has increased by 1."

Huh?

Sorry for the late update—I was swamped with enrollment issues...