Chapter 48 The Leader of the Phantom Troupe in Meteor City; 48 The Fourth Prince of the Kakin Empire...
Your Highness?
Ayana was startled.
Just then, a mouse retrieved a gold foil card that had fallen from the man's body.
The card had a blurry pattern printed on it, which seemed to be the same as the pattern Ayana had seen on the other side of the container.
By the moonlight, Ayana saw that the pattern appeared to be a national emblem, with the Roman numeral "IV" printed below it.
Just then, the system's cold, mechanical voice rang out at the opportune moment.
[Mission complete. The mastermind has been confirmed as the fourth prince of the Kakin Empire, Cheridonesh Greygoro. Rewards have been issued.]
[Host, please retreat immediately.]
Before Ayana could react to what the system meant, she saw the blond man looking in her direction.
A smile curled at the corner of his mouth, but it was a smile that sent chills down one's spine.
The man didn't act personally; he simply raised his hand casually, pointed to Ayana's location, and gave the order in a low voice.
"Get rid of that lurking rat."
Ayana's eyes widened, and without any hesitation, she turned and ran.
As soon as the man finished speaking, several figures sprang out from the shadows of the warehouse with astonishing speed.
The group, exuding a fierce killing intent, headed straight for Ayana's hiding place.
One of them was burly and his punches were fierce.
The other person wielded two blades and moved with unpredictable movements.
The last person was slightly behind, his Nen energy gathering in his hands, suggesting he was a Nen user of either manipulation or emission type.
Ayana thought she was fast enough, but the three figures were relentlessly pursuing her like a persistent leech.
Their speed was in no way inferior to Ayana's after using [Strong School Amplification], and their teamwork was excellent as they surrounded her, clearly indicating that they were all experienced Nen users.
Several sharp short blades imbued with Nen energy attacked, but Ayana rolled to the side to dodge the attacks.
The short blade grazed her cheek, embedding itself deeply into the texture of the wood, the blade trembling beneath it.
However, just as Ayana dodged the flying blade, the burly man charged at her like a tank.
A fist the size of a clay pot slammed into an abandoned wooden crate, shattering it into pieces that flew towards Ayana.
Ayana was forced to stop in her tracks.
She knew that if she didn't get rid of these pursuers, she wouldn't be able to escape today.
[Special ability [Biomanipulation] confirmed for use.]
Please confirm the target and confirm the instructions.
Ayana's target wasn't those few Nen users, but other creatures lurking in the shadows.
In an instant, countless nocturnal birds let out sharp cries and swooped down from the sky, desperately harassing the three with their sharp claws and beaks, aiming fiercely at their cheeks.
"A trivial skill!"
The Nen user who was lagging behind snorted coldly, formed hand seals, and an invisible wave spread out. The controlled birds were as if they had hit a wall, and they were all dizzy and lost their aggressiveness.
But that brief moment of interference was enough!
Ayana seized the opportunity, moving with lightning speed, and pounced on the seemingly weakest double-bladed assassin.
She knew she had to act quickly, otherwise, if she were surrounded by the three of them, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Clang!"
Ayana focused her spiritual energy into her arm, forcefully blocking the assassin's blade aimed at her throat.
The immense impact numbed her arms, but the power from the [Powerful Amplification] allowed her to barely withstand it.
With her other hand, she pointed her fingers like a knife, aiming straight for the other person's chest.
The assassin reacted extremely quickly, using another short blade to deflect her finger strike.
The two exchanged more than ten blows in the narrow space, their movements so fast that they were just afterimages, and they were locked in a stalemate for a time.
"Roar!" The burly man, having shaken off the bird's harassment, roared and charged again, throwing a punch at Ayana's head.
Caught between two attacks, Ayana had nowhere to escape.
A resolute glint flashed in her eyes as she endured the assassin's slash aimed at her shoulder.
Blood instantly stained Ayana's clothes, but she seemed to feel no pain. Taking this opportunity, she suddenly pressed herself against the assassin and delivered a powerful elbow strike to his chest.
"Snap!"
A clear cracking sound rang out.
The assassin groaned, spitting out blood as he flew backward.
At the same time, Ayana used the recoil from the impact to fall to the side, narrowly avoiding a fatal punch from the burly man behind her.
The force of the punch grazed her back, causing her blood to surge.
Ayana dared not linger in the fight, and without even tending to the wound on her shoulder, she sprang up the moment she fell, using both hands and feet like a nimble cheetah, and plunged into the shadows without looking back, pushing her speed to the limit.
"Chase!"
The Nen user helped his injured companion up and continued the chase with the burly man, but Ayana, thanks to her familiarity with the terrain and the brief time she gained by trading her injuries for her life, gradually widened the distance between them.
The sounds of pursuit behind her gradually faded away, but the excruciating pain in her shoulder and the dizziness caused by massive blood loss continued to assault Ayana's nerves.
She gritted her teeth, pressed her bleeding wound against her skin, and stumbled forward through the maze of alleyways, her consciousness beginning to fade.
She struggled to stay conscious, turned a corner, and saw what appeared to be a half-collapsed building ahead. Without thinking, she crawled inside, completely exhausted, and collapsed to the ground.
Inside the warehouse, Celidonish Graygoro played with another gold foil card, listening to his subordinates report that the target had escaped. Instead of being angry, he showed an even wider smile.
*
"Is he still alive?"
"If she dies, then we've dragged her in for nothing."
“…”
Ayana opened her eyes groggily.
The dim moonlight leaked through the cracks in the collapsed building, barely illuminating the figures of the three children.
A girl with pigtails squatted down next to Ayana, poking her cheek from time to time, her eyes filled with undisguised curiosity.
Another pink-haired girl stood with her arms crossed against the wall, looking down at Ayana.
Ayana knew her; she was Machi.
The third was a girl with short blonde hair, who was deftly tearing strips of cloth from her tattered clothes, seemingly preparing to bandage Ayana.
Ayana instinctively tried to struggle to get up, but the movement aggravated the wound on her shoulder.
The excruciating pain caused her to groan, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
"Don't move." The blonde girl said, stepping forward with the torn strips of cloth. "You've lost a lot of blood from your shoulder; you'll die if you don't stop."
Despite the pain, Ayana looked at Machi with gratitude and inquiry in her eyes.
March caught her gaze and said briefly, "Parker."
This serves as an introduction to the blonde girl's name.
She then looked at the girl with pigtails and said, "Sarasa."
Paknoda had already begun treating the wound, pressing hard with strips of cloth against the gruesome gash on Ayana's shoulder.
The intense pain made Ayana bite her lip tightly.
"Who injured you like this?" Machi asked, his sharp gaze sweeping over the knife wound on her shoulder and her disheveled appearance. "I've seen your skills; very few people in Meteor City could injure you like this."
Ayana gasped for breath and answered through the pain, "They were outsiders. They were very strong, and I was discovered by accident."
"An outsider?" Paknoda paused slightly in her bandaging, then looked up and exchanged a glance with Machi.
Salazar stopped poking and opened his eyes wide.
“There have been some unfamiliar faces acting suspiciously lately,” Paknoda said in a low voice, as her subordinate continued to deftly wrap the cloth strips and tie them securely. “Why are they chasing you?”
Ayana shook her head, not telling them the specific reason, but vaguely saying, "I don't know, maybe I just saw something I shouldn't have."
She didn't want to involve these children.
She could have used the healing potion directly, but with these children in front of her, she didn't want to arouse unnecessary suspicion.
Machi looked at Ayana in silence, without asking any further questions.
She knew the girl had a secret.
After finishing bandaging, Paknoda clapped her hands: "It's stopped for now."
Salazar whispered, "We heard the noise and came over, and we saw you lying outside. Machi said she would save you."
Machi didn't deny it, but looked at Ayana and asked, "Can we go? It's not safe here."
With Paknoda's help, Ayana struggled to her feet despite her dizziness and whispered a thank you.
"Let's get out of here first." Paknoda looked outside warily.
Machi nodded and walked towards the exit first.
Salazar quickly followed, while Paknoda supported Ayana, and the four figures disappeared silently into the shadows.
The four of them carefully moved through the ruins and shadows, cautiously observing their surroundings.
The atmosphere eased slightly once they were sure they were far from the previous area.
The pain in her shoulder still throbbed in waves, but Ayana's mind had cleared considerably. She looked at the three girls beside her and asked, "Thank you. Where do you live? Is it around here?"
Machi didn't answer immediately, but just walked on in silence.
Paknoda also maintained a wary silence.
The youngest, Salazar, replied without much guile, "We don't have a fixed place. We stay wherever we can find shelter from the wind and rain and is relatively safe."
She spoke as if it were the norm for the kids in Meteor City.
Ayana felt a pang of anxiety, realizing the truth of the matter.
She blurted out, "Then do you want to come to my place?"
As soon as the words left their mouths, Machi and Paknoda stopped in their tracks, their sharp gazes instantly falling on Ayana's face.
The children of Meteor City have almost no fixed abode, and they don't understand what Ayana is talking about.
Ayana knew what they were thinking, and said through her pain, "At least my place is a relatively safe place where I can shelter from the wind and rain, which is better than you wandering outside."
She paused, then added, "I can share some food with you as a token of my gratitude."
Salazar's eyes lit up instantly, and she instinctively looked at Machi, whispering pleadingly, "Machi..."
Paknoda frowned slightly and whispered something to Machi.
Machi stared at Ayana and asked directly, "Why? In Meteor City, taking in strangers means sharing the already limited resources, and it also means risk."
“Because you saved me,” Ayana replied simply.
“And…” she glanced at the rough but sturdy bandage on her shoulder, “I think we can look after each other.”
A long silence.
Salazar watched Machi nervously, while Paknoda awaited her decision.
Finally, Machi nodded and said succinctly, "Lead the way."
Paknotta seemed somewhat surprised, but did not object.
Sarasa gave a small cheer.
Ayana breathed a sigh of relief and pointed in a direction: "Go this way, be careful, and try not to attract attention."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com