Leo looked at the heavily wounded and dead Douglas gang members before him, his gaze sweeping over those collapsed on the ground, foaming at the mouth, their eyes rolled back.
Some were still twitching, some were already motionless, and others were curled into balls, making indistinct whimpering sounds.
Blood seeped from the ears and noses of some, winding into thin streams on the stone floor.
A wave of warmth came from the tattoo on the back of his hand, like soaking in warm water, and numbers pulsed in his mind.
[Rank: 78 (83%) → 78 (85%)]
Leo withdrew his gaze, looked up, and stared at the gray manor villa five hundred meters away.
The windows of the main building were pitch black, and the curtains were drawn tightly, so no movement could be seen inside.
But he knew those people were inside.
He could feel their presence; although they had restrained it well, to him, it was as conspicuous as a torch in the dark.
Leo hadn't expected this group of Shadow Beasts to be so patient; he had killed so many people and made such a big commotion, yet they were still able to keep their cool, and not a single one of them had made a move.
He pulled his hands back into his pockets and shouted toward the manor in front.
"Come out."
Inside the villa, several figures behind the curtains froze simultaneously.
Rabid Dog's pupils constricted slightly, and a low grunt escaped his throat.
The smile on Porcupine's face froze at the corners of his mouth, and Bat stepped back from the window frame, his toe hitting a flowerpot behind him, making a faint sound.
Owl, who was to the side, also watched with a grave expression.
They had clearly restrained their presence to the extreme, no different from the dead objects around them; how could this person possibly have discovered them?
The few of them exchanged glances.
No one spoke, but they all saw the same meaning in each other's eyes—they couldn't hide anymore.
Rabid Dog took a deep breath, turned around first, and walked toward the door.
His boots struck the marble floor, making a dull sound.
The others followed silently behind him, their footsteps heavy.
The villa's front door was pushed open.
Nine people walked out simultaneously and stood in a row on the steps in front of the door.
Rabid Dog stood at the very front, looking Leo up and down.
"Hmph, your strength is indeed very strong."
His voice was hoarse.
"But with us Shadow Beasts mobilized as a group, no matter how strong you are, you can only die."
Porcupine stood next to him, hands in his pockets, a smile hanging at the corners of his mouth.
His gaze swept over Leo's bare upper body, paused for a moment on those smooth, clean muscles, and then moved away.
"You're an Enhancer, right?"
His tone was flippant.
"Guys with well-developed limbs are the easiest to deal with."
Leo did not answer.
He just stood there, hands in his pockets, looking at them with a calm gaze, as if he were looking at a group of dead people.
The next second—the ground beneath his feet suddenly exploded!
A figure burst out from underground, bringing with it flying gravel and soil, a punch with all his strength gathered, smashing fiercely toward Leo's jaw!
It was Earthworm.
His fist tore through the air, emitting a sharp whistling sound, with intense Nen gathered on the edge of his fist.
In his eyes, the image of Leo being sent flying was already reflected.
But Leo had known for a long time that there were people underground all around.
From the moment he stepped into this manor, he had sensed it.
That presence moving slowly underground, hidden one meter below the surface, waiting to give him a fatal blow.
He was waiting for this exact moment.
His left hand was suddenly pulled out, five fingers spread, instantly clamping onto Earthworm's fist.
Earthworm froze instantly.
His fist stopped, unable to advance an inch.
The power of that hand was incredibly great, and bones were creaking.
He widened his eyes, looking at the hand that held his own fist, then looked up at the expressionless man, his pupils contracting violently.
"How—"
Crack!
His entire palm was crushed alive.
Flesh and blood burst out from between the fingers, and bone fragments pierced the skin, revealing pale bone stubs.
Earthworm's mouth opened, and before the howl could escape, Leo had already clamped onto his skull.
Then—pressed down!
"Bang——!!!"
Earthworm's head was smashed fiercely into the ground.
The stone slabs shattered, soil splattered, and the ground caved in to form a shallow pit.
Earthworm's limbs twitched on the ground, Leo's right fist was raised, and Nen gathered on the fist into a blinding ball of white light.
A punch smashed down!
"Boom——!!!"
Earthworm's head exploded.
Red and white splattered everywhere.
Bone fragments and brain matter splattered onto the surrounding stone floor, Earthworm's body twitched twice, and then it stopped completely.
From Earthworm bursting out of the ground to his head exploding, it had taken less than two seconds.
The nine people on the distant steps hadn't even reacted yet.
Rabid Dog's smile was still hanging on his face, Porcupine's posture of crossing his arms hadn't changed, Bat's eyes were still narrowed, and Owl's glasses had slid down, his eyes widened to the extreme.
Leo shook his hand, blood droplets sliding off his fingertips and dripping onto the ground.
A warm sensation came from the back of his hand.
[Rank: 78 (85%) → (90%)].
"It is you who overestimate yourselves."
He looked up at the nine people on the steps.
"Come on, don't waste my time."
Rabid Dog's face turned bright red, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, his teeth gnashing and making clattering sounds.
"Damn guy—attack!"
He was the first to rush out.
Porcupine, Bat, Leech, and several other Shadow Beasts—six in total—followed closely behind.
The remaining three, including Owl.
Prowled around, wanting to give Leo a fatal blow.
Nine figures erupted with Nen simultaneously, leaping from the steps and pouncing toward Leo, who stood in the center of the courtyard.
Leo watched them rush over, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up.
That's more like it! Give me some excitement!
He erupted with Nen with a roar.
Golden Qi flames soared into the sky from his body, like a burning sun.
The stone slabs under his feet couldn't withstand this power, cracking toward the surroundings with him as the center, gravel was swept up by the air wave, and shredded into pieces in mid-air.
The air became heavy, and breathing became difficult.
Leo moved.
His figure disappeared from where he was.
The next instant, he had already appeared in front of Rabid Dog.
Rabid Dog's pupils contracted suddenly, and before his fist could even be raised, a fist had already smashed into his chest.
Crack—the sound of his sternum shattering was as clear as snapping a piece of dry firewood.
Rabid Dog's eyes bulged, his mouth opened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, his whole body flying backward like a cannonball.
He flew across the courtyard, knocking away the staggering gang thugs along the way—those people were knocked into a bloody mess, dying on the spot—and finally crashed into and collapsed a stone pillar, disappearing into the dust and smoke.
Those gang thugs who were still conscious and alive heard the screams of the Shadow Beasts, instantly sobered up, and struggled to crawl up and run outside.
Some fell to the ground, crawled up, and continued running, not daring to look back even after their shoes fell off.
Several people had just run to the main gate of the manor when the battle behind them broke out—
The intense shockwave blew them away, throwing them onto the small path outside the gate, spitting blood, and they could never crawl up again.
Leo didn't look at the flying Rabid Dog.
He turned around, raised his elbow, and smashed it fiercely into the face of Leech, who was pouncing from the side.
Leech's face caved in a chunk, teeth mixed with blood flew out of his mouth, and he flew away sideways.
He smashed into the most densely packed crowd, hitting several gang thugs who were still struggling, and they died without even having time to let out a scream.
Bat, in mid-air, launched a sneak attack from behind, his hands' ten fingers like claws, gathering intense Nen, thrusting straight at the back of Leo's neck.
Meanwhile, two other Shadow Beasts also moved.
One was holding a long blade, Nen gathering on the blade body, hacking toward Leo's back from the right, the blade edge tearing through the air, emitting a harsh buzzing sound.
The other was holding his hands in a phantom grip, a rope condensed from Nen extending from his palm, slithering in the air like a venomous snake, looping toward Leo's neck and arms, wanting to restrain his movements.
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100 POWER STONE = BONUS CHAPTER
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