Chapter 40: Instant Kill
The bullet flew in, and Nobunaga’s legs bent—even at the brink of death, he would not give up.
“Nobunaga!”
Uvogin let out a furious roar. Nobunaga turned his head and managed a faint smile at Uvogin; the two were close friends.
With a cracking sound, the 17.36mm bullet pierced through Nobunaga’s left chest. It was no longer a matter of a bloody hole; his entire left chest was blasted to pieces, and one arm flew off into the distance.
Blood and shredded flesh splattered across Shalnark’s face. Machi, standing nearby, swung one hand forward, sending a mass of Nen threads to block in front of Nobunaga, but it was too late.
Nobunaga staggered back a few steps, looked down at the missing half of his chest, and a tattered heart twitched twice, yet he did not die immediately.
“The enemy… is… to the east… mountain…”
Nobunaga crashed to the ground with a thud. The moment he fell, Shalnark, Machi, and the other two made a decision. Almost simultaneously, they leaped toward a nearby slope. Nobunaga’s dying shout revealing the enemy’s position gave them a chance to evade.
Bang. Bang.
Two more gunshots rang out. One bullet slammed into a rock, causing it to burst open and leave a large crater. The other bullet “kissed” Shalnark’s left arm, grazing past it and tearing off a chunk of flesh.
He nearly hit the moving targets, and their speed was extremely fast, showcasing Su Xiao’s current marksmanship.
The three-shot volley that instantly killed Nobunaga had been planned long ago. He chose to eliminate Nobunaga first for two reasons: first, his cooperation with Uvogin made him stronger; second, Su Xiao also used a blade and understood that a swordsman’s instinct when facing a sniper was to use their weapon to deflect bullets.
He had anticipated everything, including the distance Nobunaga would retreat after deflecting the bullets, as well as the reactions of Shalnark and the others.
Most members of the Brigade had a common weakness: weak defense. Even Nobunaga, a Reinforcement-type, had half his body blown apart by the Spider Empress, so the others were even more vulnerable. Aside from Uvogin, no one could withstand the Spider Empress.
Compared to the first violator who tasted the Spider Empress, Nobunaga’s physical condition was already decent. That violator had been blown to pieces by a single shot, leaving only his head and two lower legs intact.
Su Xiao estimated that, without using an energy shield, the Spider Empress could one-shot him. An attack power of 60 to 134 was no joke; attack power and attributes were calculated similarly, increasing exponentially rather than additively.
Moreover, there was the “Equipment Effect 3: Crusher (Passive), increases chance of crushing enemies by 30%.”
Even if the Brigade leader, Chrollo Lucilfer, took a direct hit, he would be instantly killed.
However, the Spider Empress could only be used in limited situations. It required open terrain and an enemy caught off guard. Su Xiao’s energy shield could fully block the Spider Empress’s bullets.
[You have killed Nobunaga Hazama.]
[Nobunaga Hazama was a member of the Phantom Troupe. Obtained World Source 7.4%. Total World Source obtained: 29.7%.]
[Due to killing a second Troupe member, Phantom Troupe reputation -300. Current Troupe reputation: -200 (Sworn Enemy).]
...
A dark purple treasure chest appeared near Nobunaga’s corpse. Now was not the time to pick it up; he needed to eliminate the remaining Troupe members first.
The power of the Spider Empress was somewhat unexpected. Su Xiao’s original plan was to kill Nobunaga within five shots. Killing him in three was somewhat lucky, as it shattered his heart, but it was also closely tied to his sniping skills. Gun Proficiency: LV.30 had enhanced “Eagle Eye” twice, and Eagle Eye was directly linked to his sniping ability.
Su Xiao adjusted the gun barrel, aiming it at Uvogin in the valley below.
At that moment, Uvogin was full of rage, facing Su Xiao’s direction as if he wanted to tear him apart alive.
Uvogin thrust one hand into the ground, prying a few small stones from a large boulder beneath his feet. His steel-like body tensed, and he actually intended to throw the stones at Su Xiao, who was over 700 meters away.
Uvogin hurled the stones with all his might. They whistled toward Su Xiao, and with Uvogin’s full-force throw, the stones were no different from sniper bullets in terms of power.
Su Xiao sensed the rapidly approaching stones but didn’t bother to dodge. At a distance of over 700 meters, even with immense force, accuracy would be highly off. Even if it were precise, the energy shield could easily block such a projectile.
Slap!
One of the stones embedded itself into the mountain beneath Su Xiao, leaving a smoking hole.
Su Xiao pulled the trigger. Bullets and stones were not the same thing. Through the scope, he saw Uvogin stagger a few steps as a long bullet lodged into the muscles of his lower abdomen. The shot that had instantly killed Nobunaga could only barely wound Uvogin.
Was it a huge gap in defense? Not exactly. At that moment, Uvogin had concentrated all his Nen at the point of impact, effectively focusing his entire defense on a single spot.
Moreover, the slain Nobunaga had no time to react. His ability to slash once and leap back was purely instinctual. The three bullets had come in succession, taking only about 2 to 3 seconds in total.
Su Xiao flexed his sore shoulder. The firing frequency of these six shots was too fast. The magazine still had four rounds left, but he had already put away the Spider Empress.
Shalnark and the others were hiding behind rocks. As for sniping Uvogin, the earlier test proved it was a waste of bullets. Moreover, the Shadow Beasts were barely holding on; any delay and Uvogin would finish them off.
Su Xiao stood up and picked up the Dragon-Slaying Flash, which was stuck in the ground beside him. Just as he was about to leap down into the valley, someone suddenly spoke.
“Sir, I wonder if…”
Before the speaker could finish, he fell silent. Su Xiao turned his head to look at him.
“I’m not interested in the affairs of your Nostrade family. The auction will reopen tomorrow morning at the antique auction house on Mackay Street.”
Dalzollene of the Nostrade family opened and closed his mouth, then finally nodded.
“Understood. Thank you.”
Su Xiao leaped into the valley. The few bodyguards of the Nostrade family breathed a sigh of relief. Being around Su Xiao was never a pleasant experience, especially when he was in combat.
“Who is this guy? How many people has he killed to have such a strong smell of blood?”
As one bodyguard finished speaking, he noticed Kurapika walking toward the valley.
“Wait, Kurapika, what are you doing?”
The guard captain, Dalzollene, called out, watching Kurapika’s retreating figure with a sense of foreboding.
“Do you even need to ask? I’m going to catch them.”
Kurapika replied without looking back. His pupils were crimson. Though his tone was calm, his heart was anything but—it was filled with flames of rage.
One bodyguard spoke in a terrified voice: “Impossible! You saw it too, right? That monstrous strength down there. He’s a monster. Let monsters deal with monsters. We’ll just watch. Going down there is suicide.”
This bodyguard had been scared witless by Uvogin tearing the bat apart with his bare hands.
“So what?”
Kurapika stopped, and when he turned his head, the others saw his crimson eyes. The bodyguards, experienced as they were, immediately recognized Kurapika’s Scarlet Eyes and recalled the infamous massacre of the Kurta Clan by the Phantom Troupe years ago.
Melody’s expression darkened. She sensed that Kurapika’s heart was filled with anger and hatred, completely devoid of reason. Entering a “monster” fight in such a state would surely lead to death.
Melody raised her flute, and a gentle melody echoed. Kurapika’s steps suddenly halted.
Su Xiao, who was heading into the valley, also heard the flute.
[Prompt: You are affected by the “Field Spring” flute melody. Willpower and Intelligence attributes are being judged… If judgment fails, emotions such as fighting spirit and hostility will be forcibly suppressed.]
[Willpower judgment passed!]
[Intelligence judgment passed!]
[You receive the buff effect of “Field Spring”: Strength +2, Agility -2, Health Recovery Speed (per minute) +5, Abnormal Status Resistance +15%. Effect lasts 10 minutes.]
Su Xiao stopped and looked up toward the top of the valley. Melody had just lowered her flute and bowed to Su Xiao from a distance.
“Sir, please don’t harm Kurapika. This is my token of gratitude.”
Melody’s lips moved, and Su Xiao read the words from her mouth shape.
“You bastard up there! Come down and die!”
A roar shook the valley. It was Uvogin.