Beyer thought the same.
However, in the very next moment, his expression changed, and in his eyes appeared an emotion of extreme terror and disbelief, as if he had seen a ghost.
The child he thought would be sent flying by this punch of his and then vomit blood and die—his skinny body did not move an inch under the blow. He merely lifted one hand lightly and calmly blocked Beyer's punch.
"What—!"
"How is that possible?!"
The people behind Beyer couldn't help crying out in shock. Amid their incredulous expressions, the child revealed a mocking smile, grabbed the much taller man with his backhand, and with an effortless twist and flip—
"Bang—!" With a loud crash, Beyer was flipped onto the ground by Kisho, kicking up a cloud of dust.
This kind of contrast was no different from a kitten flipping over a wild wolf that had swung its claws at it.
"You motherf—"
The curse spilling from Beyer's mouth after being thrown was cut off halfway, stuck in his throat.
Because Kisho bent down and crouched beside him, his fingertip pressed against the side of Beyer's neck.
Beyer felt a faint sting coming from his neck. The sting itself was nothing, but the near-death terror that came with it made his pupils shrink to the extreme.
Kisho tilted his head and stared at him, curling his lips as he slowly said,
"Huh? What did you say? I didn't hear it."
He was clearly smiling, but once their eyes met, there was nothing left in Beyer's heart except fear.
The entire place fell silent, sinking into dead stillness.
Wenide's voice drifted over faintly: "Looks like hall master Beyer couldn't persuade my subordinate after all. What a pity."
His tone was filled with mockery.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, hall master Beyer. Since we're all from the same association, why don't you lend me your people? It's the same either way."
Beyer: "..."
A short while later, after Wenide finished the process of "borrowing people," he reorganized the team with the newly joined "partners" and headed toward the East District. Their target was the White Eagle Association's stronghold in District Seven.
After passing through the South District and entering the eastern area, along the way Kisho barely saw any people.
The flames of war had spread across the entire District Seven. What should have been a residential area was filled everywhere with flames that had yet to die out, collapsed building ruins, mud pits mixed with blood, shattered limbs—but Kisho did not see a single corpse that could be considered intact.
Occasionally, a shadow would flash by, poking its head out from afar, then silently hiding again.
The group arrived before a collapsed ruin at a street corner. The White Eagle Association's stronghold was here.
Calling it a "stronghold" was generous. In reality, it was just a pit dug underground, a basement with its entrance covered by broken bricks, rubble, and wooden boards.
Under Kisho's gaze, Beyer grimaced and ordered someone to lift the wooden boards covering the entrance, revealing the passage leading underground.
He gestured for his subordinates to step aside, while he himself stared at Wenide, waiting for his instructions.
Kisho turned his head and glanced into the entrance. Below it was a dark passage leading into the darkness, its end impossible to make out.
Standing on the other side, Wenide returned Beyer's gaze and smiled politely.
"Why not let hall master Beyer take the lead?"
Beyer: "..."
With Kleri missing, this outpost had lost its core defensive force. Even though only a very short time had passed, there was no way to be sure the inside of the stronghold was still safe.
Stared at by Wenide with that kind of look, Beyer's face darkened even more. He held back from exploding and casually pointed at one of the men he had brought.
"You. Go down and take a look."
The man who was pointed at stiffened all over. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but under Beyer's stare, the words were blocked in his throat.
He could only lower his head and carefully walk down into the basement.
After his figure had disappeared for quite a while, a voice came up from below: "Boss, there's no one down here."
Even after getting the answer, Wenide remained cautious. He gave Beyer a cold smile and said,
"Hall master Beyer, please."
Beyer cursed, glaring fiercely at Wenide. Wenide met his gaze without backing down.
In the end, Beyer still walked toward the entrance, and his two subordinates hurriedly followed him.
After waiting a little longer, Beyer also called out,
"Come down. There's nothing. Not even a single corpse of our people is left."
Wenide's face darkened to the extreme. He looked at Kisho and explained,
"This outpost was previously handled by people under hall master Kleri, but Kleri hasn't shown up for several days now—"
When Kleri was mentioned, Wenide's voice stalled, and a bead of cold sweat slid down from his temple.
In that instant, a terrifying guess formed in his mind.
He stared at the child standing before him, wearing an innocent, harmless expression and smiling all the time, and felt his heart pounding as if it were about to jump out of his chest.
Coren's arm must have been broken by this kid; the people under him were also killed by this kid.
Then what about the one who had also disappeared and never returned—the former hall master Kleri?
Wenide stared at Kisho, then forced himself to slowly move his gaze away.
"Vincent is someone from Elder Eros's side. He's been fighting us over this area. If he finds out Kleri hasn't come back, he'll probably take advantage of the situation."
He suppressed his fear and continued, then asked, "...Are we going down too?"
Kisho nodded indifferently.
...
This time coming to the East District, Wenide didn't bring any of his own subordinates. Instead, he had each minor leader send one person to go with him. Together with Wenide and his three men, that made ten people, planning to first investigate this stronghold.
Too many people would easily attract firepower. The minor leaders under his command were not united, and Beyer's people didn't obey him either. It was better to leave them all at home, where they could restrain each other.
As long as Beyer was kept under control, there was no fear of his forces causing trouble. It would also intimidate those wavering minor leaders under Wenide, making them think twice before harboring ulterior motives.
Letting the "cannon fodder" take the lead, Kisho and Wenide walked at the very back. After entering the tunnel, Wenide raised his hand and tugged a piece of tattered cloth over, covering the entrance.
The group moved forward, but suddenly, Kisho sensed a trace of malicious intent.
"How—" Wenide, who had been closely watching Kisho's expression, saw Kisho's face darken. The question he was about to ask wasn't finished when Kisho yanked him back behind the corner.
In the next second, a burst of bullets shrieked through the air, plunging into the bodies of the White Eagle Association members walking in front. Blood sprayed everywhere. Even at the moment of death, their faces still bore blank expressions.
The covering fire lasted five seconds. The bodies ahead were riddled with holes, blood pooling together and soaking the dirt red.
"Oh? Someone's still alive. Looks like this time, one of my own kind came."
An extremely sharp and sinister voice drifted out from inside the basement, making one involuntarily think of a venomous snake.
The speaker let out a laugh, the sound unbearably unpleasant.
"I really didn't expect that even after Kleri died, someone among this bunch of trash would still know how to use Nen."
He paused, then said, "Hey, the one behind the wall—why don't you come out and meet me?"
Wenide's face turned extremely ugly. He turned his head to stare at Kisho, watching him with extreme tension, afraid that this child would abandon him and run away, silently begging that he would be taken out alive.
He didn't even realize himself how ridiculous it was for a grown man to place all his hope on a child.
"No choice. Let's meet him." Kisho frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and made his decision.
He could escape, but Wenide would absolutely be dead.
If this man died now, both his own plans and Amos's plans would fall into serious trouble.
Hearing Kisho's words, Wenide's expression eased, and his eyes showed flattery and ingratiation.
Kisho withdrew his gaze and walked into the basement beyond the corner, standing in the center.
As he walked, at the moment his figure crossed the corner, his expression suddenly grew grave.
Because inside the enormous basement, there was not a single person.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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