Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the blink of an eye several lethal silhouettes closed in on Xiang Nan.
A squad of Nen users fanned out and, moving in perfect sync, unleashed a silent but deadly assault.
Fists and kicks whistled past like after‑images.
While dodging and parrying, Xiang Nan sized up the enemy's overall formation.
Eight of them… but only half have committed to close quarters.
The other four are hanging back, watching. They're clearly trying to read my Nen and fighting habits first.
Even surrounded, Xiang Nan's movements were pushed to the limit; for the moment he could still keep himself safe.
The scalpel in his hand flashed up and down, forcing would‑be ambushers to fall back with every step he took.
The one at my flank is an Enhancer… the one sneaking in from the left‑rear is an Emitter… They're not that strong individually, but they work together a lot—tight coordination.
With that quick judgment, he slammed out an elbow and a punch, met an incoming fist head‑on, used the recoil to spring away like a cat, bounded off several tree trunks, and finally landed at a safer distance.
"Hmm?"
The porcupine‑like man who had yet to act grinned.
"Not bad… Haven't seen a Nen user of this caliber in the underworld for ages. I honestly thought we'd drop you in ten seconds."
The Enhancer who had just traded blows spat on the ground.
"Quit running! Thought you were hot stuff a moment ago!"
Xiang Nan merely smiled, silently observing how the enemy had spread out in the woods.
I need to thin their numbers before they gather any useful intel on me. Individually they're fodder, but together they're a threat. Most of all, I can't let the four in the rear activate their abilities—that's where the real danger lies.
I've basically gauged the close‑combat types.
With that thought he vanished on the spot.
His speed had clearly jumped another notch—almost faster than the eye could follow.
In a single blink he was in front of one target, scalpel stabbing straight for a vital point.
The man jolted in shock—he hadn't expected such explosive acceleration.
Just then a whistle trilled through the woods.
Xiang Nan's mind blanked for a split‑second—long enough for the target to leap back and evade.
At the same moment a bald, tattoo‑covered brute surged in behind him, perfectly timing his strike to Xiang Nan's dazed pause.
But as the man closed in, the trench‑coat opponent reacted even faster—spinning early.
Both hands flicked like lightning at the attacker's face; when Xiang Nan sprang clear a scalpel was already buried deep in the man's ear canal.
Eyes bulged—the brute dropped dead on the spot. What should have been a sure kill became his own grave.
A few metres away, a masked Nen user spat a hair‑thin needle at Xiang Nan. It wasn't especially fast, but it flew in utter silence—practically invisible. Nasty.
Fortunately, Xiang Nan had extended his En; he caught the projectile on his blade with a spray of sparks.
"That bastard!"
Seeing his attack fail, the mask‑wearer swore, equal parts anger and disbelief—the trench‑coat man had sensed him even while fighting others.
Xiang Nan then blurred, circling behind another foe at a speed none of them could match.
One swing—head off.
Without missing a beat he hurtled toward his next prey.
But the strange whistle sounded again.
This time it failed to distract him.
He streaked through the trees; wherever he flashed, two more enemies collapsed—one with a blade in the brow, the other stabbed through the chest.
They were the masked man and the chain‑smoking fighter who had struck first.
Four Nen users dead in mere seconds.
The carnage stunned Porcupine's side. They had never imagined the "plain‑looking" man in the coat could be this terrifying.
Porcupine saw it clearly: their foe hadn't even revealed a special Nen ability. Pure physique, martial craft, and flawless aura control were enough to overwhelm his fallen teammates.
They'd sensed the attacks coming but simply had no tools to defend at that level.
"One, two, three—Head‑Bind!"
Xiang Nan had just launched at a scrawny fighter when another enemy shouted the words, eyes locked on him.
Instantly, Xiang Nan froze in mid‑sprint—unable to move.
His expression tightened.
Seizing the moment, a dagger‑wielding assailant dived in to slit his throat.
Yet when the blade bit, it only scratched a shallow line; the head didn't come off as expected.
Even paralyzed, Xiang Nan had read the strike's angle, focused Nen into his neck using Ken (Harden), and blunted the blow. In that heartbeat he had already deduced the immobilizing technique only blocked muscle movement—it didn't prevent aura control.
As I thought—the real threats are those two support types: the whistler and the "Head‑Bind" caller.
The attacker, annoyed at failing to decapitate him, twisted the dagger and stabbed for Xiang Nan's abdomen, knowing his aura had momentarily dispersed.
But because the first stab had failed, he hesitated a hair—and Xiang Nan predicted even that. He cancelled the neck Harden, shoved aura into his gut; the tip pierced cloth but never skin.
The attacker froze—Failed again?!
Clearly the trench‑coat man's aura volume and technical mastery were beyond his imagination.
At that moment the "Head‑Bind" user's face warped in reluctance, as though compelled by some rule, and he slowly turned his gaze away.
The instant his eyes left Xiang Nan, Xiang Nan was free.
He smiled at the dagger man—
A feint at the temple drew a shift in the man's aura. Xiang Nan struck the opening—
Bang! A punch caved the chest, vertebrae bulging out the back.
"Your aura control's not quite on my level, is it?"
With a quiet chuckle he vanished again.
Only a few minutes had passed, and five of Porcupine's team were dead.
Curiously, the Shadow Beast himself had done nothing, merely watching with a chubby grin.
With their shields gone, the two support‑type Nen users were tissue‑paper; Xiang Nan erased them in a single exchange.
He turned slowly, eyeing the Beast called Porcupine.
"Cold‑hearted, aren't you? Just watching your partners die without lifting a finger."
"That's how the underworld works. If they died, they simply weren't good enough—serves 'em right."
"But don't lump me in with that trash. I only brought them to save myself the effort; figured they could do the job. Never thought you'd be this capable."
"You can feel it, can't you? Our raw power is comparable."
"But that doesn't mean there's no gap between us."
"I wanted you to feel hopeful—then, right when you think you're about to win, I'll kill you myself. Isn't that more fun?"
Porcupine's voice was light, as though discussing the weather.
Even alone he seemed utterly relaxed.
He hardly looked like the legendary Shadow Beasts—the Ten Dons' living nightmares. Instead he resembled a nerdy, homely man—almost ugly.
"Oh, I see…" Xiang Nan feigned surprise.
"I've just about figured you out. Hate to break it to you: exquisite technique and aura mastery or not, none of it matters against me."
Porcupine strolled forward, openly provoking him.
"I'm not joking—come on, try me before despair sets in."
He raised a single finger, as though making a point.
"Ah, I almost forgot—allow me to introduce myself. I'm part of the Ten Dons' elite combat unit: a Shadow Beast."
"Shadow Beast… you've heard the name, right?"
Just like the earlier thug, Porcupine calmly faced Xiang Nan—short, forcing him to crane his neck to meet Xiang Nan's eyes.
"I've heard," Xiang Nan nodded.
"You're strong, sure… but unfortunately, no one who's ever met a Shadow Beast has lived to tell the tale. You won't be any different."