The long sword conjured out of thin air pierced into Mantis's chest.
Blood bursts out.
This stab not only ended the battle quickly and efficiently, but also destroyed the joy and satisfaction that Mantis had just gained from the depths of his soul.
In their place came shock and disbelief.
"Wha, what...?!"
Mantis slowly lowered his head and looked at the long black sword that had stabbed into his chest, his rapidly trembling eyes filled with disbelief.
'How could this be…!!'
As his strength gradually faded, Mantis, whose mind was full of confused thoughts, struggled to lift his eyes to look at the young man before him.
At this moment…
There was no panic or confusion on the young man's face, only a calm expression devoid of any ripples.
It was as if-
Everything that was happening now was under the control of this young man.
To the extent that it seemed like such a trivial matter, as ordinary as drinking water or eating.
'How could I fall here so easily?'
'Damn it…'
A strong sense of unwillingness filled Mantis's mind at this moment.
But no matter how unwilling he was, he couldn't hold onto the rapidly fading vitality.
Squelch—
Moses looked at Mantis with a calm expression in his eyes, then slowly pulled back the black sword, then directly dispelled his ability.
The black sword dissipated into nothingness, and the blood that had adhered to the blade instantly lost its attachment, scattering from mid-air to the ground.
Mantis's body trembled, his face was almost distorted, and he stared at Moses, who was now within arm's reach.
He wanted to swing his sword...
However, the Nen on the two scimitars had already dissipated into wisps of smoke.
Both his physical strength and mental strength.
Both were on the verge of exhaustion, with no remaining strength to support his Nen.
An endless darkness quietly descended, engulfing all of his emotions.
Thud.
Mantis's lifeless body fell to the ground, and a large amount of blood gushed out from under him, forming a glaring pool of blood.
Moses glanced at Mantis's body with calm eyes.
The so-called combat style of Conjuration could actually spawn quite a few tricks.
Among them, the most unpredictable one was probably when Conjurers constantly wore the conjured item in a conspicuous place on their bodies.
For example, Kurapika in the original work.
He would always wear the conjured chain, creating the illusion that this chain was a 'non-conjured object'.
Then, using this as a starting point, he could convey message that can cause the enemy to make wrong judgments in any battle.
The tactics adopted by Moses to kill Mantis were similar to this routine.
The difference is that-
Moses first fought with a real long sword to conceal his ability to conjure a long sword.
Although Nen users will carefully choose the timing, location, and type or style of opponent for combat in order to maximize their advantage...
Moses didn't possess the ability to predict the future, so his actions couldn't be called 'disguises', nor were they prepared specifically for today's battle.
He was able to easily kill the not-so-weak Mantis simply because he adeptly utilized the existing conditions.
An ordinary long sword carried for training.
A conjured long sword that has never been revealed to outsiders.
After more than a year of hard training, Moses had now possessed the ability to withstand frantic attacks with his swordsmanship.
Through seemingly prolonged entanglement, he discerned the characteristics of the opponent's abilities, as well as identifying what could be considered 'weaknesses' in their combat habits.
In the end…
He used the imaginary use of Soul Echo to create the perception of 'this is my ability'. At the same time, he took advantage of the seemingly normal flaws revealed when using his abilities, prompting Mantis to step into the trap.
It was also from this moment on that all the conditions were in place.
And the final piece of the puzzle that allowed him to decisively kill Mantis was the action of throwing the broken blade forward in an attempt to gain maneuvering space.
From the perspective of outsiders and even Mantis, such an action seemed like a desperate struggle in the face of imminent death, a futile attempt to prolong life by a second.
But the arm that moved forward due to the throwing motion filled the last bit of distance to drive the long sword into Mantis's chest.
It can only be said that…
From the moment Mantis sets his sights on Moses because of 'a sword', his fate would also be sealed by 'the sword'.
The pleasure and satisfaction he had obtained from his opponents in the past were also one of the fundamental reasons why he perished today.
All the gifts of fate have long had their prices marked in secret.
The so-called world of Nen is mostly like this.
Moses withdrew his gaze from Mantis's body, but did not dispel the 'Shadow Armor' on him.
Since he had already used this ability of Soul Echo in front of everyone, it was opportune to let this wrong application of ability continue.
This was also a foreshadowing of deception, which can make others in the field realize that Mantis's failure might be due to the help of this 'Shadow Armor'.
Misdirection was one of the ways to win in the so-called intelligence warfare.
'The enhancement of Conjuration-Type Nen Category correction rate +3%... It's somewhat of a boost.'
Moses muttered to himself in his mind.
This is the reward he obtained for killing Mantis in secret.
A 3% increase in Conjuration-Type correction rate, in simple terms, meant an increase in the strength of Conjuration-Type characteristics.
For example, would enhance the speed and strength of the shadow mimicry of Soul Echo.
The conjured black sword that he has been training in the past year is also suitable for this.
A 3% increase might seem negligible.
But many times, even a difference of a fraction of a second could have a decisive effect.
Furthermore, the possibility of 'many a mickle makes a muckle' cannot be ruled out in the future, as he can continue to receive similar rewards from Perception.
Not far away.
Menchi looked dazed.
One second ago, she was still worried about Moses, who was suppressed by Mantis and was retreating steadily, was in danger.
But the next second, she saw Moses suddenly kill the aggressive guy.
It all happened so fast that she couldn't figure out the reason for it immediately.
As she was shocked, she just felt that this scene seemed familiar.
'That's right…'
'The first time I met Master, I saw Master unexpectedly defeat Wright in a disadvantaged situation.'
'At that time, I was still shocked, feeling that the world of Nen was really full of countless possibilities.'
'It seemed that this shock still continues to this day.'
'Is Nen so magical...'
'No.'
'It's Master who is so awesome.'
Menchi slowly came to her senses, her eyes shining as she looked at Moses, with an undisguised admiration on her face.
At the same time.
Shalnark, who had suppressed his aura and watched the battle, as well as Viper, who were always paying attention to this side, also saw the battle that ended in a short period of time.
'He is indeed a tricky fellow…'
Shalnark's heart trembled.