Chapter 184: Got You
The sudden turn of events immediately heightened the tension in the room.
Sakata, the third prince's guard, swiftly restrained Loberry, the maid sent by the tenth prince, while dialing the Chief Justice's number. "This is Sakata, a private soldier of the third prince. I hereby accuse the sixth queen consort of conspiring to murder Barrigen and participating in the assassination of the twelfth prince, and request her immediate arrest."
Upon hearing Sakata's words, the maid Loberry protested loudly, "That's far-fetched!"
Sakata's expression remained unchanged as he replied, "The moment everyone's attention was drawn to you, Barrigen was suddenly attacked. What are the odds of such a coincidence?"
The truth didn't matter—what mattered was seizing this opportunity to eliminate a rival.
Unbeknownst to the maid Loberry, no amount of explanation would make a difference.
The guards of the other princes watched the scene unfold, tacitly approving of Sakata's actions. Why not reap the benefits without lifting a finger?
Unfortunately, the request was outright denied from the other end of the line.
"Why?" Sakata asked, bewildered.
The voice on the phone provided an explanation: "Fabricating indirect evidence is as easy as pie, but the protections under royal privilege cannot be overstepped. I will dispatch investigators to Residence 1010 for a 72-hour surveillance and inquiry. Over!"
With that, the call ended abruptly.
The speaker was none other than Corea Batro, the Chief Justice of the Kakin Kingdom, a beauty with an aloof demeanor.
Thus, the farce came to an end.
Yet the guards still present at the twelfth prince's quarters could not calm down, for similar murders could occur at any moment. This eerie ability was virtually impossible to guard against.
As they debated the safety of staying to learn Nen Ability, Mord spoke up.
"No need for such trouble. Learning Nen Ability takes only an instant."
?????!!!!
His words left everyone—both those who could use Nen and those who couldn't—utterly stunned. What they had considered the "shortest possible time" was at least twenty to thirty days. But now, Mord claimed it could be done in an instant.
"You can't be serious?!" Shedule exclaimed.
Though Belerainte remained silent, his expression conveyed the same disbelief. As a member of the Hunter Association, he knew Mord's background—the man who had become a Two-Star Hunter in record time. But even the most powerful individuals had to abide by fundamental laws.
"I never joke," Mord said calmly, drawing his Zanpakutō and gazing at the crowd. "A single strike from this blade, and you will instantly master Nen."
"Madman! You're utterly insane!"
"Are you mocking us?"
"Do you have any idea what happens to those who deceive the princes?!"
...
The moment Mord finished speaking, the room erupted into chaos. Some even pinned the earlier murder on him, suspecting that Mord had gathered them with ulterior motives—to kill them all and weaken each prince's forces.
Mord spoke up: "From the very beginning, it was your own decision to come learn Nen. To gain something, you must pay the corresponding price. If you don't wish to attempt it, then simply leave."
No one was willing to entrust their lives so easily to a stranger.
The guards present made phone calls one after another, reporting the situation to their respective princes, then made a surprisingly unanimous choice—to leave.
For those princes' factions without Nen users, Mord's behavior was utterly incomprehensible. Only those with screws loose or suicidal tendencies would trust Mord.
As for those princes' factions that either had Nen users under their command or were Nen users themselves, Mord's actions could easily be misinterpreted as "Nen baptism."
While "Nen baptism" could indeed enable someone to immediately master Nen Ability, the survival rate was less than one in ten thousand. Moreover, they had long been aware of this method themselves.
Regardless of the situation, they had come with high expectations, only to feel severely deceived by Mord.
As the crowd began to turn and leave, Mord declared: "Those who can use Nen, don't be in such a hurry to leave." His aura directly locked onto three individuals.
The remaining guards and attendants, having witnessed Mord's capabilities before, quickly departed since this matter didn't concern them, already thinking about how to report to their respective princes.
"It seems I overestimated him. The Ninth Prince's two private soldiers concealed their ability to use Nen, and he actually failed to detect it," Shedule stopped walking and watched Mord, sneering inwardly.
Though the two private soldiers of the Ninth Prince had aura fluctuations, they weren't actually Nen users—the source of their aura came from the Ninth Prince's Nen beast.
Since Mord was investigating Nen Ability, there was naturally no need to keep them.
Among the crowd, one person pretended not to sense Mord's aura and tried to leave with his companions, only to find Mord suddenly blocking his path.
"Didn't you say those who can't use Nen could leave?" Longhi, the Fifth Prince's private soldier who had remained silent until now, looked up at Mord and spoke.
Beside him, Maor, captain of the Fifth Prince's guard, expressed equal dissatisfaction: "If you don't step aside, we'll have to take action."
"Just finished killing someone, and in such a hurry to leave?" Mord looked at Longhi and chuckled.
That's right—the hunter hidden in the crowd was none other than the Fifth Prince's private soldier, Longhi.
"I don't understand what you're talking about," Longhi said, his expression calm.
Maor beside him wasn't as composed. He glared fiercely at Mord and said: "You're slandering the Fifth Prince. Use your head—if the Fifth Prince had Nen users under his command, would we need to gather intelligence from hunters like you?"
"If you continue this unreasonable behavior, don't blame me for being impolite."
As he spoke, he even drew his pistol.
During his previous interaction with Kurapika, Maor had already been quite displeased. Now he encountered someone even more lawless, who clearly didn't regard the Card Royal Family's guard with any respect.
Without another word, Mord directly drew the sword at his waist and swung it toward Longhi.
Sensing the terrifying blade energy approaching, at the critical moment of life and death, Longhi no longer concealed his abilities and directly mobilized the Nen energy within him. With the enhancement of Nen, he barely managed to evade this fatal strike.
Beside him, Belerainte, a Hunter Association-affiliated hunter, and Shikaku, the private soldier of the crown prince, clearly witnessed the fact that Longhi was a Nen user.