Hunter: I'm Really Not a Nen Exorcist - Chapter 29

Armed troops moved stealthily through the woods, gradually converging on a temple.

Staring at the armed personnel ahead, Sylvia remarked coldly, “What use could those who rely solely on firearms possibly be?”

“Sylvia,” Ken began, adjusting the blade at his waist and pulling out a handgun with a smirk, “For Enhancers, guns may not pose much threat. But we can’t deny their practicality. See, I am an Enhancer too, but I like to keep a gun on me. Who knows, it might come in handy.”

“Don’t feed me that line,” Sylvia retorted, clenching her fist. “If I were to use a gun, wouldn’t that admit that my punches are weaker than bullets? Such doubts would only hinder me.”

“Sylvia, you have a unique talent for missing the point,” Ken sighed, tucking his pistol away.

Close by, Genbu did not pay heed to the duo’s exchange. Instead, he turned to a long-haired man trailing them. “Cole, are your ‘preparations’ complete?”

“All set,” Cole replied impassively.

Genbu nodded, not pressing further.

Their organization’s goal was to collect Nen artifacts with uncanny abilities, like the “Dark Sonata”. Tonight’s mission was specifically to retrieve a Nen artifact they’d lost 13 years ago – the “King’s Libra”.

Genbu, who had only joined the organization four years prior, was not privy to the artifact’s capabilities. But he knew the last mission to retrieve it had been a tragic failure with significant losses.

A grim statistic from that mission report echoed in Genbu’s mind:

“Fourth Heavenly Stem, deceased. Sixth Heavenly Stem , deceased.”

Losing two prominent members named after the Heavenly Stems in a single mission was a grievous blow. Genbu cast a glance at Sylvia and Ken. In the present Pure team, a faction that had split from the Hunter Association, Sylvia was the current ‘Fourth Stem’, and Ken was the ‘Sixth Stem’, corresponding to those fallen members 13 years ago.

If Genbu hadn’t known that the organization assigned missions based on proximity, he might’ve thought they were intentionally trying to avenge the fallen members with this mission.

“Not a good omen. After this mission, no more casinos for a while,” Genbu resolved inwardly.

Under the cover of night, the team advanced orderly through the woods.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound shattered the silence.

A stone imbued with Nen sliced through the dark, smashing into the night vision goggles of an armed personnel. With a pop, the goggles shattered, and the stone, undeterred, pierced right through the man’s forehead.

Blood spurted out, and the soldier fell lifelessly.

“Enemy attack! Find cover!” The remaining 19 soldiers urgently took shelter behind nearby trees.

In the back, Ken and his team stopped in their tracks.

“Emitter?” Cole pondered aloud.

Emission Nen users typically had two main paths of training.

One way is to emit aura to materialize a Nen beast, while the other is to release or project aura, forming various abilities.

Circling the released aura around a stone and then throwing it is a standard attack for Emitters.

Genbu squinted and said, “It does look like it.”

“It’s not Emission.”

Ken shook his head, explaining, “If it was Emission, an attack concentrated like the one just now wouldn’t have shattered the night vision goggles like that. The control technique is too crude.”

“Perhaps the enemy deliberately did that to mislead us, Ken. Isn’t this something you often do?” Sylvia, an Enhancer, voiced her opinion earnestly.

Ken glanced at Sylvia, wisely choosing not to delve further. He didn’t want to waste his breath explaining.

The attacks from the shadows continued, with stones imbued with Nen slicing through the air and precisely striking one soldier after another.

In less than a minute, eight armed personnel were downed. The remaining soldiers couldn’t even spot their enemy, simply taking the hits passively.

The group of four Nen users led by Ken gradually distanced themselves from each other.

“Can you see them?” Ken asked.

“Nope.”

“Can’t see.”

“Same here.”

The others replied in turn.

Ken smiled, “It seems the enemy’s vision surpasses ours. Are they Enhancers or Conjurers? What’s certain is there’s at least one, no, at least two of them. Let’s press forward for now.”

The others remained silent, advancing forward amidst the chaos, trying to pinpoint the stone thrower’s location.

At the edge of the woods below the temple’s steep stairs, Cheadle held the “Diagnostic Register” in one hand and picked up a pebble from the ground with the other, staring intently into the forest’s depths.

“Four of them… powerful auras. Seems they’re all masters.”

Just as she spoke, Cheadle moved seven steps diagonally to the left and threw the stone with force.

With a swift motion, the Nen-infused stone disappeared into the woods, and another soldier met his end.

At the same time, Cheadle picked up another pebble. She wasn’t an Emitter; she relied on stones to project her Nen, which wasn’t very strong. But it was enough to handle ordinary people, even if they were well-armed.

“They think I’m not an Emitter and approach without caution,” Cheadle muttered, observing the woods, “Sending a small armed squad just to gather intel? There must be a deeper intention.”

After throwing another stone, which meant another soldier downed, she stated firmly, “No matter what, I won’t let you approach this place.”

Cheadle proceeded into the forest. The battlefield was set within the woods.

Inside the temple kitchen, Moyu opened his eyes, looking somewhat grim. He was getting used to his “Shared Vision” ability, and the shadow he’d sent out had shown him Cheadle’s actions.

“Is she… attacking the enemy?”

Moyu frowned, picking up two cups of water and heading towards the grand hall.

Before he reached it, he heard a familiar retching sound.

Inside the hall, Erisel was feasting on the grudge from Hawk. It seemed—

Erisel’s ‘Appetite of the Anorexic’ could digest the grudge imposed by the artifact.

This meant that given enough time, Erisel could completely remove the grudge that aged Hawk.