The armed forces maneuvered through the forest, gradually closing in on the temple.
Staring at the armed personnel ahead, Sivir remarked coldly, "They rely solely on firearms, what use can they have?"
"Sivir, for Enhancers like us, firearms may indeed not pose much threat. But we can't deny their practicality."
Ken said as he walked, shifting his dagger to the other side of his waist and pulling out a handgun, "Look, although I'm an Enhancer, I like to keep a gun on me too. You never know, it might become a trump card."
"Don't give me that speech."
Sivir glared at Ken, then looked at her own fists. "If I were to use a gun, won't I be admitting that my fists are less powerful than guns? Once this kind of thought starts, I'll be crippled."
"Sivir, you always manage to perfectly ignore what others are trying to express."
Ken shook his head slightly, holstered the handgun, and paid no attention to Sivir's response.
Nearby, Genbu didn't bother with the two's exchange. Instead, he turned back to look at the long-haired man behind them and asked. "Cole, how's your 'preparations' going?"
"All set."
Cole replied expressionlessly.
Genbu nodded, not pressing further.
Their organization's goal was to collect Nen Artifacts with uncanny abilities, like the "Dark Sonata". Tonight's operation aimed to reclaim the Nen Artifact they'd lost 13 years ago – the "King's Libra".
Having joined the organization only four years ago, Genbu wasn't aware of the abilities of this Nen Artifact. He only knew that the operation thirteen years ago had ended in failure, with heavy losses…
The casualty statistic from that mission report flashed in Genbu's mind. Among them, what he remembered for a long time were a few brief words.
"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.
Thinking of this, Genbu couldn't help but glance at Sivir and Ken.
In the Seirin Group, which inherited the will of the previous Chairman and then separated from the Hunter Association, there were a total of ten top-ranking members with the title of Heavenly Stem.
Sivir was the current 'Fourth Stem', and Ken was the 'Sixth Stem', corresponding exactly to the two members who lost their lives in the mission thirteen years ago.
If Genbu hadn't known that the organization's principle for mobilizing task force members was based on proximity, he would have thought that the organization had deliberately sent the current Fourth and Sixth to execute this mission to avenge the past.
'It's really ominous. After this mission, I won't go to the casino for a while.'
Genbu thought to himself, looking ahead.
Under the cover of the night, the team advanced orderly through the woods.
Suddenly, a cracking sound echoed in the forest.
A stone wrapped in Nen streaked through the night sky, precisely hitting the night vision goggles on an armed personnel's face.
With a snap, the goggles shattered instantly, and the stone, with undiminished force, penetrated through the armed personnel's forehead.
Pfftt!
Blood sprayed from the armed personnel's forehead, and he fell lifelessly.
"Enemy attack! Find cover!"
The sudden assault startled the remaining nineteen armed personnel, they quickly judged the trajectory of the projectile, using nearby trees as cover.
In the back, Ken and his team immediately stopped in their tracks.
"Emitter?"
Cole pondered aloud.
Emission Nen users usually had only two directions of development.
One was to manifest Nen beast by detaching their Aura from their body, while the other is to release or project their Aura to create various forms of abilities.
Wrapping the released Aura around a stone and then throwing it is a conventional attack method for Emitters.
Genbu squinted and said, "It does look like it."
"It's not Emission."
Ken shook his head, and explained, "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."
"It's also possible that the other party intentionally did this to mislead our judgment. Ken, isn't this something you often do?"
As an Enhancer, Sivir voiced her opinion confidently.
Ken silently looked at Sivir, wisely chose to end this topic.
He didn't want to waste his breath explaining.
The attacks from the shadows continued. Stones wrapped in Nen shot through the air, accurately striking one armed personnel after another hiding behind cover.
In less than a minute, eight armed personnel were killed.
The remaining armed personnel couldn't even spot their enemy, and could only passively endure the attacks.
The four Nen users led by Ken gradually distanced themselves from each other.
"Can you see them?"
Ken asked.
"No."
"Can't see."
"Same here."
The other three gave their answers.
Ken smiled, "It seems the enemy's vision is far superior to ours. Whether they're Enhancers or Conjurers… For now, we can confirm that there is only one person, no, at least two. Let's press forward and try to locate the stone thrower."
The others had no objections. As the armed members continued to fall, they advanced, trying to locate the stone thrower's location.
At the edge of the woods forest below the steep steps of the temple, with one hand holding the Medical Roster, Cheadle picked up a small stone from the ground with the other, her gaze fixed on the forest's depths.
"Four of them… powerful Auras. It seems they are all experts."
Just as she spoke, Cheadle took seven steps to the left and then threw the stone with force.
Whoosh…
The stone, wrapped in Nen, cut through the night sky and disappeared into the forest in an instant.
At the next moment, another armed personnel deep in the forest was hit by a stone and perished
At the same time, Cheadle picked up another stone from the ground. She wasn't an Emitter, so she could only rely on these stones to extend the range of her Nen. Although it wasn't very strong, it was enough to handle ordinary people, even if they are well-equipped armed personnel.
"They must be thinking that I'm not an Emitter and approach without caution."
Cheadle observed the situation in the forest and muttered to herself, "Sending armed squad to take the lead, is it just to gather information? There must be a deeper intention…"
After throwing another stone, which meant another armed personnel was eliminated, she stated firmly, "No matter what, I won't let you approach this place."
Cheadle walked further into the forest.
The battlefield had to be chosen in the forest.
Inside the temple's kitchen, Moses slowly opened his eyes, his face showing a hint of seriousness.
He had gradually adapted to the use of Shared Vision ability, and the shadow he'd sent out allowed him to see Cheadle's actions.
"Is she… attacking the enemy?"
Moses frowned, then casually picked up two cups of water and headed towards the main hall.
Before reaching the main hall, Moses heard the familiar retching sound.
Inside the hall, Eriselle was biting into the Post-Mortem Nen on Hawk's body.
It seemed that Eriselle's 'Appetite of Anorexic' could digest the Post-Mortem Nen imposed by the Libra.
This meant that given enough time, Eriselle could completely remove the Post-Mortem Nen causing Hawk's aging.