Psychological Warfare X Illumi Unjustly Implicated

Psychological warfare?

Provoke the opponent, force them to lose their composure for a split second, and carve a sliver of possibility out of the impossible...

"If he weren't facing Silva, he might have actually had a chance."

Zeno added this after the old man spoke...

The elderly are as cunning as foxes; their insight is naturally extraordinary.

Just as Maha and Zeno said, an elephant never cares about the provocation of an ant, because if it gets annoyed, it simply crushes it with one step...

Silva remained completely unmoved.

His tall frame stood firm within the training hall, watching Roy with an expressionless face, a mocking curl at the corner of his mouth.

This mockery was undisguised, and sharp enough to be blinding...

"Clumsy provocation..." Illumi spoke the very thoughts in Silva's mind.

The foolish younger brother peeked at Roy from the cover of the wall corner.

Roy leaned on his blade, gasping for air; he had already anticipated this outcome.

If this arrogant father of his were the type to easily lose his head, he would never have reached this point, bearing the name of the head of the world's number one assassin family.

But, isn't the meaning of life found in the attempt?

If he failed, so be it; he would simply try again...

Roy wiped the blood from his face to keep it from obscuring his vision, took a deep breath, drew Snow Walk, and returned to his stance. His blade tip and gaze aligned, pointing straight at Silva.

"From the garden to the training hall, it takes three seconds... using 'Shadow Step' cuts it by two seconds, unleashing [Zetsu] cuts another 0.5 seconds, and the swing takes 0.01 seconds..."

"So, the time left for me to attack is only 0.51 seconds..."

"Within these 0.51 seconds, I have to distinguish the Nen, dodge the whip, find an opening, and strike..." Roy narrowed his eyes and gave a self-deprecating smile...

This task really is heavy enough, he thought.

At this moment, the wind blew through the willow trees, stirring thousands of silk-like branches. Leaning against a willow, Roy closed his eyes, sealed his pores, and began to regulate his breathing...

[Zetsu], besides lowering one's presence and being well-suited for tracking, also has the effect of gathering energy within the body to eliminate fatigue.

The weakness caused by blood loss began to creep up... Roy could not pretend it didn't exist. He did his best to steady himself, opened his eyes again, stepped into a lunge, and lunged forward once more...

Visible to the naked eye—

A streak of light struck out, and Roy lunged forward, aiming a thrust directly at Silva's chest!

This time, he abandoned the slash...

A swing requires raising the arm... but a thrust does not... Roy fully utilized the principle of "maximum arm extension," closed the distance to Silva, and without a word, drove the blade forward!

"Whoosh—"

The tip of the blade pierced the air, igniting a burst of flame...

Silva's pupils reflected the boy's indomitable figure. A flash of approval crossed the depths of his eyes, but it was quickly reduced to ash by the whip he raised.

Ask him to concede?

Dreaming of freedom?

Wanting to walk step by step to the very top?

Rebellious son, there is only one path waiting for you ahead—

"Obediently return to the family!"

"Snap~" The air was shattered. The whip arrived after being launched but struck first, slamming heavily into Roy's body.

Snow Walk flew from his hand, and then... Roy let out a pained cry, was knocked down by the whip, and collapsed at Silva's feet.

"It's over." Illumi watched this scene expressionlessly and turned to leave.

To play the mantis blocking the chariot to this extent... this is the price for being ungrateful and delusional enough to fight back.

He didn't hesitate at all, but just as he took a step—

"Swish—"

A cold glint flashed by, grazing his cheek and flying past, taking a lock of Silva's silver hair with it. With a crisp "ding," it pinned into the south wall.

Illumi suddenly froze in his tracks. He instinctively looked up and saw—

The snow-white katana, with a silk thread attached to its hilt. At the end of the thread was a raised middle finger.

"Cough... not bad." The owner of the middle finger coughed up blood, his head buried in the floorboards. He let out a cold laugh, his head slumped, and he collapsed along with his middle finger...

At this moment, the wind seemed to stop, and the atmosphere in the training hall froze in place!

How did he do it? the boy wondered.

Answering him was a soft chuckle...

"Heh heh heh, the brat actually managed to pull it off..."

Inside the dim, yellowish room, Maha patted the armrest and kicked his legs with a grin, signaling Zeno not to just stand there and to hurry up with the leg massage.

Zeno was clearly stunned for a moment; coming back to his senses, he shook his head and retracted his En...

"Using a frayed cuff to connect to the hilt—to think he actually came up with that..."

Zeno muttered to himself...

As it turned out, right by Silva's feet, a strand of Nen attached to a thread quickly dissipated. It was this very thread that had driven Snow Walk to make a sharp turn in mid-air, slipping past the cheeks of both Silva and Illumi while they were off guard, and flying away...

The three lashes were over, and the test had reached its end; this was precisely the moment when everyone would let their guard down.

Launching a surprise attack at such a time, even Silva could not be an exception. He had to rely on his body's instinctive, transcendent reflexes to tilt his head and dodge, and the result... was a lock of his hair being severed and pinned to the wall.

"Did you understand?" Silva pinched the strand of hair, remained silent for a moment, and suddenly asked Illumi.

Illumi processed the realization and nodded stiffly.

"Tell me what you think."

"Calling for a surrender was bait to intentionally heighten Father's vigilance. When the test ended and Father truly let his guard down, that was the only opportunity he could find to strike..."

"And?"

"And what?" Illumi looked at Silva, confused.

He was met with a lash from Silva that struck him squarely on the head.

Instantly, he was whipped to the ground, following in Roy's footsteps.

"And strength."

"He was able to take three of my lashes; could you?"

Silva flicked his wrist to hang the whip on the south wall, right next to Snow Walk, then shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away expressionlessly...

That lock of silver hair swayed slightly in the breeze... just as Illumi's consciousness grew dim and hazy, sinking into total darkness.

"Strength..." The boy's head tilted vaguely to the side, and he closed his eyes.

The butler Luke had been waiting outside the door the whole time. Seeing Silva walk out, he bowed and offered a salute.

Silva: "Dig a hole and bury them."

"Understood." Luke was well-versed in this line of work, but... Young Master Roy didn't seem to like sleeping in holes...

Luke muttered to himself, but his hands didn't falter; he shouldered a shovel and carried out the order.

Not long after, two heads slowly woke up in the garden, looking at each other with mutual disdain.

"Who buried me here?" Roy glanced at Luke.

"It was the Master."

Roy: "..."

"Dig me out."

"Understood."

With a rustling sound...

Roy was lifted out of the dirt pit and laid down next to a willow tree. Only after a light breeze blew and the willow provided some shade did he feel a bit more comfortable.

"Hey~"

At that moment, a very unpleasant, ghostly wail drifted over... ruining the beauty of the sunset...

Illumi stared at Roy with his hollow eyes, fixated with meticulous intensity: "I will not lose to you."

Roy simply closed his eyes, pretending he hadn't heard.

Illumi stubbornly repeated: "I will not lose to you."

Roy rolled over, turning his back to him entirely.

Illumi opened his mouth wide: "Did you hear me? I said, I will not lose to you."

"So annoying!" Roy flew into a rage, threw a slipper, and smacked it against Illumi's head.

Finally, it was quiet...