Humans controlled by the Puppet Manipulation Technique, although shadowless, can have their strength augmented with Nen.
Before the airship exploded, Kawahara hid inside a normal person's shadow, then used over a dozen puppet humans to wrap around the normal person, ultimately plunging straight from high altitude into the lake.
Facing the impact force upon hitting the water, even with Nen augmentation, several puppet humans were damaged.
And the normal person wrapped inside died on the spot.
Kawahara emerged from the shadow space and swam towards the shore.
The puppet humans under his command also returned to the shore.
After landing, Kawahara slumped to the ground, his face etched with fatigue.
The "Shadow Has No Retreat" ability is complex, and while it allows for diverse applications, the cost is extremely high Nen consumption.
After the various strenuous efforts, Kawahara's physical stamina and Nen were basically depleted.
"Damn it... only seven were saved."
Looking up at the seven barely intact puppet humans, Kawahara gritted his teeth.
In the circumstances at the time, he had too little time to operate.
Even a few seconds more of delay could have meant death in the explosion.
Managing to save seven puppet humans in such a pressing situation was already a decent outcome.
He was just angry that these mishaps had affected his mission.
He currently had no way of determining Moro's whereabouts, let alone continuing his attempts.
Kawahara struggled to calm his emotions, took a long breath, and closed his eyes, pretending to rest.
He had lost an excellent chance to act, but that didn't mean the mission had failed.
Once he recovered, he could certainly look for another opportunity.
Under the moonlight, Kawahara leaned against a tree, surrounded by seven motionless, zombie-like puppets guarding him.
Compared to Kawahara's deep exhaustion, Moro's state of physical strength and potential aura was quite good.
This was thanks to the leveling up benefit brought by that kill on the airship.
Moro, with Nen surging around him, walked straight along the shore toward the three men who had just finished hunting the massive-antlered white deer.
He hoped to ask these three for some information and borrow a phone.
"Excuse me, everyone."
To prevent an overreaction, Moro kept his distance and raised his hand to greet them first.
At this moment.
The three men were excitedly cutting the massive antlers.
Hearing Moro's greeting, their expressions instantly changed.
They unhesitatingly grabbed their hunting rifles and aimed the muzzles immediately in the direction of the voice.
When they saw that the person who spoke was a dirty-looking young man, they instinctively exchanged glances.
"It's a kid."
"So what? We've been seen."
"Kill him?"
"Nonsense... What do you think we're doing?"
The oldest man among the three, the bearded man, made the decision quickest.
Poaching the massive-antlered white deer was a serious crime, and the penalty was calculated by weight.
The coral-like antlers of an adult white deer meant a starting sentence of twenty years.
Killing intent flashed in the bearded man's eyes.
Their actions were inherently secretive.
At this moment, they didn't bother to ask Moro his purpose.
He aimed and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The silenced gunshot still echoed over the lake.
The bullet sliced through the air, heading straight for Moro.
Moro had sensed the bearded man's killing intent and immediately dodged out of the line of fire.
The bullet flew past his side and disappeared into the night.
The bearded man was stunned when Moro dodged the shot.
He quickly racked the bolt to eject the still-hot casing.
"What are you standing around for? Shoot!"
While urging his companions, the bearded man aimed his rifle at Moro again.
But Moro didn't give him another chance to shoot this time.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Several Nen bullets crossed the distance between life and death, head-shotting the three men with rifles.
Amidst spraying blood, the three men, along with their hunting rifles, fell to the ground with dull thuds.
Moro walked up to the three corpses and then looked at the white deer corpses nearby.
"Poachers, huh..."
Moro withdrew his gaze, his expression indifferent.
He didn't recognize the massive-antlered white deer, but judging by the three men's swift action in shooting, they were most likely criminals involved in poaching.
They probably didn't care why a young man appeared in the dense forest; they only cared about covering up their crime.
Moro squatted down, searched a corpse for a cell phone, opened it, and dialed Kanzai's contact number.
Beep, beep...
After a minute of ringing tone.
There was no answer from Kanzai, and the call was automatically hung up.
Moro dialed several more times, but still, there was no response.
"Could it be that his phone was also crushed? Unlikely... A combat-type member of the Twelve Zodiacs must be proficient in advanced techniques like Shu."
Moro put down the phone and glanced at the faint, smoke-like mist around him.
Surely Kanzai didn't have the bad luck to fall into a swamp, did he...?
The humidity in this area was high, so there were likely swamps, making the probability possible.
Thinking of this, Moro shuddered as the image of Kanzai plunging into a swamp like a javelin flashed in his mind.
That scene was too tragic...
Moro shook his head, then sent a text message to Argo.
Without waiting for a reply, he immediately put the phone away and continued searching the bodies.
Handgun, cigarettes, lighter, compass...
Moro put the useful items like the handgun aside and checked the backpacks of the corpses, finding some dry rations, clean water, and poached goods.
Claws of an unknown creature, sharp beaks mixed with several colors, and even emerald green beast eyes sealed in a bottle...
Finding these items taken from some kind of animal basically confirmed the identities of these people.
"No wonder they were so vicious."
Moro glanced at the nearby corpses.
He had simply intended to ask for directions, but these people had brought it upon themselves.
Moro pulled over a backpack, took out a can of meat, pried it open, and began to eat.
After a simple meal, Moro cleared out a backpack and packed the useful items and food inside.
As for the claws, sharp beaks, and the cut antlers on the ground, he certainly couldn't take them.
Based on the regional map found in the backpack, he had determined his location to be a forest within the Minbo Republic.
From a legal standpoint, he was loosely an illegal immigrant.
If he were to carry these seemingly valuable poached goods, it would be a double DeBuff.
Moro finished packing his backpack and suddenly became alert.
He picked up the handgun and pointed it toward the low-visibility forest ahead, while his other hand naturally gathered Nen.
He hadn't let down his guard since dealing with the poachers.
Hearing a slight sound now, he immediately went on alert.
Rustle, rustle.
A man pushed aside the overgrown bushes and casually appeared in front of Moro.
As if he hadn't seen the gun in Moro's hand, the man's gaze swept over the corpses on the ground and the half-cut antlers.
His expression subtly changed, then he quickly glanced at the poached goods scattered nearby.
Then, the man's attention returned to Moro, and he said calmly:
"Let's introduce ourselves. My name is Benjamin, a Gourmet Hunter by profession."
"..."
(End of this Chapter)
---------------------
Support me on P@treon
[email protected]/charaz
$10 -> 200+ chapters in advance
Check my pinned post on P@treon