Uvogin was hesitating.
Reason told him not to go to the private meeting alone; death likely awaited him. The memory of nearly being burned to death on the arena stage was still fresh. That agony had taken nearly a month to slowly fade.
But if he backed down now, Uvogin knew this incident would become a thorn buried forever in his heart, perhaps even becoming a mental block.
'Damn it!'
What he didn't know was that every move he made was under the gaze of Shalnark and Machi. Shalnark and Machi knew Uvogin too well. They were so familiar with him that even if the guy's face were disfigured, they could still detect his thoughts through subtle changes.
The two exchanged a look, both arriving at the same answer simultaneously. Uvogin was hiding something from them, likely something that happened when he was fighting Luo Ning's clone away from everyone else.
"Follow him," Shalnark mouthed to Machi.
Machi nodded slightly. A Nen thread had already silently attached itself to Uvogin's shoe without catching his attention.
Meanwhile, Feitan and the others had returned to the abandoned building on the outskirts. After Luo Ning's clone exploded earlier, Uvogin and the others had vented their frustration and anger on the Mafia. As for being mistaken for treasure thieves, that was completely inconsequential.
The hundreds of Mafia members gathered at the Cemetery Building had been slaughtered. Chrollo Lucilfer's call then notified the three of the new meeting point. By the time more Mafia reinforcements arrived at the Cemetery Building, all that remained were rows of twisted corpses hanging in mid-air and severed limbs left behind by slashes and tearing on the ground.
Even battle-hardened warriors felt like vomiting at the sight of the scene. The Mafia had launched a city-wide manhunt, and the bounty on the Phantom Troupe in Yorknew City had been raised to an extremely high price. In the coming days, as long as the Phantom Troupe couldn't be found, the entirety of Yorknew City might enter a state of frenzy.
"I must admit, that escaped Kurta boy has become a significant threat. Moreover, it will be quite difficult to eliminate him," Chrollo Lucilfer spoke, closing the book in his hand as everyone had arrived.
"There will still be two pairs of Scarlet Eyes up for auction at the underground auction. That remains our chance to follow the trail and find Luo Ning," Shalnark's previous plan was no longer effective. His gaze fell on Kortopi. "If we have Kortopi act in advance to replace the Scarlet Eyes, can we successfully track Luo Ning?"
"He knows my ability; he'll likely be on guard," Kortopi didn't think Shalnark's plan was reliable. When Luo Ning escaped from Uvogin's hands before, he had torn off the copied sticker, thereby avoiding any subsequent tracking. This was the reason they hadn't taken such action when they arrived in Yorknew City early.
"So what? Even if he notices something is wrong, we should let him know the Scarlet Eyes are in our hands," Shalnark proposed his idea. "Unless he truly doesn't want the Scarlet Eyes anymore, then that's a different story. But according to my investigation, he has been collecting Scarlet Eyes. Even his battle with Omokage was likely a proactive strike to seize the Scarlet Eyes in Omokage's possession."
The investigation in Mordin City hadn't been fruitless. Anyone who had seen Luo Ning fight could deduce how the situation at the church was caused. It was a combination of that ability to transform Nen into mud—which could drag away both Nobunaga Hazama and Machi—and the scorching of flames. Clearly, Luo Ning had gained new insights into his abilities back then.
"Fine," Kortopi was convinced.
Even Chrollo Lucilfer didn't oppose this suggestion, but he also offered some views of his own: "Luo Ning has already launched one attack on the Mafia's auction. The Mafia will certainly be on guard for our second attack, so it's better to have Kortopi create some corpses after the operation."
"Ours?" Kortopi asked.
"Yes." Being constantly pursued had started to annoy Chrollo Lucilfer. If they could temporarily evade pursuit by faking their deaths, they could devote more energy to hunting down Luo Ning.
"Won't it be seen through? My ability has already been exposed," Kortopi was somewhat skeptical.
"Twenty-four hours is enough," Chrollo Lucilfer's eyes flickered, then fell on Uvogin. "Uvogin, what are your thoughts?"
His sudden question caught Uvogin slightly off guard, and even Shalnark and Machi realized something at the same time. It seemed Chrollo Lucilfer had also noticed Uvogin's abnormality!
Uvogin remained silent for a moment. "Gordeau Desert, ten kilometers west of the outskirts."
"Are you going to duel him alone?" Chrollo Lucilfer's expression remained neutral, as if asking an ordinary question.
Uvogin nodded solemnly. "I'm not satisfied."
"Are you certain of victory?" Chrollo Lucilfer asked again.
Uvogin thought seriously for a long time before shaking his head. The brief exchange with the opponent's clone had given Uvogin a general estimate of Luo Ning's current strength. Right now, the opponent might be slightly inferior to him in physical toughness, but certainly not much lower in terms of aura capacity.
If both sides squared off and only used basic Nen techniques to fight, Uvogin was confident. The problem was that Luo Ning's abilities were primarily eerie and unpredictable. Furthermore, the opponent could create clones. If the original body and clone attacked together, it would be a two-on-one fight. Uvogin's concern was being kited.
After all, from previous encounters, it was clear that Luo Ning excelled at mid-to-long-range, large-scale area-of-effect attacks. Most importantly, the power of these area attacks was indeed great enough—great enough to injure or even kill him!
"Then you are prepared to go to your death?" Chrollo Lucilfer's brow finally twitched slightly.
Uvogin lowered his head, a smirk curling his lips. "The one who wins will definitely be me, because I already have sufficient resolve!"
Chrollo Lucilfer was silent for a while. "Fine, then go."
"Leader," Nobunaga Hazama called out. He was the person who had partnered with Uvogin the longest, and he considered himself the most compatible and easiest person to talk to Uvogin. He didn't want to lose his partner here.
Uvogin grinned. "Don't worry, I'll win!"
Franklin Bordeau watched everything happen silently, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally sweeping over the arm that had been sewn back onto Uvogin by Machi at his request.
"Don't push yourself; I don't want to have to collect your corpse," Shalnark said. "Also, go do what you need to do with peace of mind. Leave the rest to us."
Phinks Magcub swung his arm beside Feitan. "This time, if the opponent dares to use the power of others again, I'll let him know the meaning of regret."
"You guys really have high morals," Feitan squinted his eyes. "You better hurry up. Otherwise, if I'm not finished with my battle after I've killed Luo Ning's companions, don't blame me if I cut you down along with them."
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