__________ POV Narration__________
The guard's struggle against Ashton didn't go unnoticed, the sounds of their panic echoed throughout the cave and immediately alerted the rest of the people inside.
Zhang Lei was one of the few people that remained calm. He didn't know who the intruders were, but he knew that he had enough manpower to take down the entire Hunter Association that was present on the continent.
Simply put, he was confident in the ability of his men. A bit too confident perhaps.
He didn't really think that his hideout would be found, but he figured that the Nen users of the association must've had some special means to locate him.
It wasn't far-fetched, Zhang Lei knew quite a bit about Nen and its boundless potential. But he considered the 'Aura' to be superior to the Nen that the hunters used.
Zhang Lei's Nen Beast was an odd one, it had the appearance of a large coin with a face. Its abilities were mostly unknown at first, but it could spit out a coin daily.
The prince believed that they could be exchanged for powers when they were inserted back into the Beasts mouth. He also believed that the abilities would only come into play after he ascended to the throne of the Kakin Empire.
Well, he wasn't entirely right.
One day, while on the Black Whale, his Guardian Nen Beast had reappeared.
Zhang Lei hadn't expected such a thing to happen, it seemed that his Guardian Nen Beast remained in existence because the coins it was handing out were still circulating.
And, it had actually started speaking to him. It had told him of the ways to use said coins. It told him of how he could build an army of powerful fighters. All using the Aura that the coins provided.
The Nen Beast called it 'Shakti' and it claimed to be superior in all aspects to 'Nen'.
It taught Zhang Lei how to muster and train that energy. Which he proceeded to use to entice all of the soldiers that were currently working under him.
That coupled with the abilities that the coins provided... Well, it gave Zhang Lei a private army, one powerful enough to give him confidence.
He left the black whale because his Nen Beast told him to, but he still wanted to get rid of his siblings, so he left a few of his soldiers there.
They weren't the strongest of the bunch, but he knew that there shouldn't have been anyone capable of taking all of them down inside that ship...
Well, that was until he lost all contact with them, and he got wind of the fact that the Hunter Association was after him.
But Zhang Lei wasn't all that worried, although his Nen Beast kept beckoning him to leave the continent. He found it quite foolish when taking into consideration the power he had amassed.
'Why retreat when you're winning?' Was his philosophy.
He paid no mind to the numerous screams and shouts that echoed throughout the cave. He had no way of knowing that they were the cries of his own men...
But he did decide to act, he didn't want all of his strong subordinates to be attacked one by one. Through the ability of one of his trusted commanders, he telepathically told his soldiers to gather in one place.
After which, he and his commanders also started heading for that same place. Zhang Lei still wanted to see which members of the Hunter Association were sent after him.
__________ POV Ashton__________
Wow, I didn't expect there to be so many people... I already came by at least 16 different people. And my senses are telling me that there are at least 50 more in these caverns.
And a few seem to be a lot stronger than the rest.
I think I can also sense Zhang Lei among them, he seems to have the most special 'aura' inside his body.
To my surprise, it seems that none of them is retreating. They all seem to be gathering in one large open section of the cave.
Which makes it all the better for me, I don't have to walk around too much, I can just walk towards them!
Although, I will be putting on my relics, just in case. I don't really know the scope of this strange Aura, and I'd much rather not stupidly endanger myself.
I wore my greaves(Wind Walker Boots) and my gauntlets(The Gauntlets Of Neith). The silver shine of the gauntlets seemed to light up the cave around me.
The gauntlets weren't anything special in looks, they were just medieval hand armour that seemed to have a coat of white paint on them. The only difference is that the fingers were all pointed.
I walked slowly while navigating the cave system. All until I reached the entrance of that large room.
I walked in, there were torches lining the walls, this time, they were all lit, and I could clearly see the people gathered in that room.
They all seemed to be prepared for battle, their weapons grasped and their hands as they all looked directly at him.
"Who might you be?" Zhang Lei was the first one to open his mouth. I guess he hasn't been around me long enough to recognize me as I am now...
Still, he looks quite irritated right now. "Where are the other attackers?!" He asked while looking at the tunnel I had come out of.
"How hurtful... I thought you'd be happy to see me, Zhang Lei." I said with a smile as I took a step closer to them.
I could see the soldiers all taking their stances.
"Now, now, no need for all of you to be so rigid. I only came here for Zhang Lei." That's a lie, but I do want to see how they will react later after I finish beating them up.
Is their loyalty affected by that Aura? Or will they forsake their allegiances in order to run away?
"Don't joke around! He's only one man! He lucky he even made it this far." Wow, they clearly didn't see the state of the people that I ran into.
If they did, they wouldn't be this composed.
I slowly crouched down and stuck my gauntleted hand into the ground, picking up a small piece of it and infusing it with my Parasitic Explosion.
I infused it to the point where I couldn't even see the stone when using Gyo. It was completely covered inside and outside.
The accumulated aura became blood-red as I prepared to throw it.
They can treat this as a formal greeting of sorts. Only the people that will survive this will get the chance to fight me properly.
__________ POV Narration__________
"Catch!" Ashton lazily threw that stone right in the middle of the group.
The soldiers looked confused for a second, one of their gunmen was already aiming for Ashton's head.
But he didn't get to pull the trigger to his rifle, a large explosion engulfed the lot of them, shaking the entire cave and cracking shattering the ground underneath them.
All of the people in the cave were caught in the explosion. Ashton was obviously unaffected.
Zhang Lei had been protected by three of his men, they had shielded him with their bodies.
The only thought in his head is 'What the fuck?!' All of his previous grace was lost in front of a threat he could barely comprehend.
Well over 30 of his men were instantly killed in the explosion, the ones closer to the centre of the group mainly.
But all of them were injured. All to varying degrees of seriosity. Some were missing limbs, some had 3rd degree burns all over their bodies.
Overall, only 7 people were still able to keep standing up. And one of them was missing a hand.
Zhang Lei looked on, horrified, as the soldiers he had nurtured were all taken out instantly.
"I guess no one was good enough huh? Well, I guess some were lucky..." Zhang Lei could hear Ashton's mutters as he looked at the remains of his previous small army.
"Get it out! NOW!" Zhang Lei shouted immediately. Calling for their trump card as soon as possible to come out as soon as possible.
One of the soldiers quickly ran off, earning a raised eyebrow from Ashton. But he didn't react yet. He wanted to see what exactly Zhang Lei had up his sleeve.
He heard a simple shout from the corridor that the soldier had run in. Then a bloodcurdling scream. Then, half of a body was thrown back into the open room with great force.
It stuck to one of the walls on the other side.
Ashton just smiled.
'Finally... Something interesting showed up.'
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