Chapter 58 : A clean battle!!

From a high perch, Germain plummeted towards the Bone Crow like a plummeting weight. The Cleaver contorted with a resounding "click" through the air. 

Gripping the Cleaver's handle with both hands, he aimed squarely for the Bone Crow's neck, ready to cleave!

Unexpectedly swift, the Bone Crow reacted, swiftly twisting its head to evade. In a split second, the Cleaver sliced through its right wing bone, severing it completely.

"Quick reflexes..." Germain mused aloud, eyes darting to the surrounding crows. 

"Keen perception or sheer instinct?" he pondered further, "Perhaps a combination, providing an almost panoramic field of view."

The severed wing bone plummeted into the mire, but before it could vanish beneath the surface, it surged with renewed vigor. Its pointed tip lunged towards Germain's abdomen!

With his left hand now free, Germain swiftly grasped an object. The conjured firearm roughly aligned in one direction before unleashing a deafening blast. 

The wing bone shattered into myriad fragments after being hit by bullets and Nen imbued within Bone Crow disperses back into the natural cycle.

"Its physical prowess wanes," Germain remarked, leaping to his feet. "Could it be due to its dual forms? If so, that makes things somewhat more manageable."

The Bone Crow remained poised upon the mud, its claws digging into the earth. Strangely, despite its hefty frame, it remained afloat upon the mire's surface. Nen enveloped its feet, dispersing the weight.

Having lost its right wing bone, the crow didn't succumb to fury but instead chose to withdraw from Germain, gradually unfurling its massive beak.

"Bang!"

In an instant, condensed Nen erupted like a cannonball, tearing through the concealing reeds and hurtling towards Germain.

Springing from one reed tip to another, Germain deftly evaded the barrage of "Nen bullets," bounding gracefully through the marshland.

In the blink of an eye, a deafening explosion rent the air as the far end of the reed thicket erupted into a cascade of mud and debris.

Germain poised himself atop the swaying reed, fixing his gaze upon the pulsating life nestled within the cavernous skeleton of the Bone Crow.

"Striking at its bones won't land a killing blow... yet it chose to retreat... Ah, it aimed to keep me at bay," he mused aloud.

At that moment, the Bone Crow swiveled its beak, once more setting its sights on Germain.

This time, a chorus of caws accompanied its advance, as the flock darted forth like onyx arrows, converging from every angle upon Germain.

"Like moths drawn to a flame, seeking to block every avenue of escape and deliver a 'Nen Bullets Barrage.' Yet not every path is obstructed..."

With a calculated leap, Germain descended towards the sole unguarded spot.

Simultaneously, the crows collided in midair, their cacophonous clash providing cover for Germain's descent. The "Nen projectiles" ruptured into a billowing mist of crimson.

Perilously close to plummeting into the mire below, Germain hurled his manifested shield towards the quagmire's surface.

With a heavy thud, the shield struck the muck. Utilizing its surface as a springboard, Germain propelled himself towards the Bone Crow!

In the blink of an eye, he closed the gap to a mere three meters from the Bone Crow's menacing form.

Confronted with such proximity, the Bone Crow refrained from launching its elongated "Beak Bullet," instead thrusting forth its stout beak like a battering ram towards Germain's skull.

Yet, Germain swiftly seized the shield resting upon the mire's surface, conjuring it back into his grasp before lodging it firmly into the sludge. 

With this makeshift buffer, he arrested his momentum just one meter shy of the Bone Crow.

Misjudging the distance, the Bone Crow lunged forward, its beak cleaving through empty air before becoming ensnared in the marsh's embrace, nearly disappearing beneath its murky depths. At that moment, it seemed to bow before Germain.

Capitalizing on the opportunity, Germain vaulted atop the shield, alighting upon the Bone Crow's back.

His serrated blade plunged into the narrow crevice between its ribs, puncturing the bulging flesh within.

"Agh--"

With a harsh rasp, the sawtooth tore through sinew and membrane alike, severing organs which spilled forth, rent asunder by the blade's merciless edge.

Having completed his grisly task, Germain planted his feet upon the Bone Crow's shoulder blades, launching himself free of the mire and back onto solid ground.

Shaking off the hunter's garb stained with blood, he watched as the Bone Crow wavered unsteadily before collapsing, its entire skeletal frame sinking into the quagmire's embrace.

There were few multi-eyed crows left. They watched as their new leader perished once more. 

After circling helplessly in the air several times, they all landed on the reeds near the bone crow, watching helplessly as it slowly sank.

The bone puppets that had been besieging Bisky and Shizuku lost control and collapsed, with bones nearly covering the ground.

"Vitality": 21→24

"Pressure": 0→3

Germain squinted his eyes.

"Last time it increased by 5 points, is it only 3 points this time?"

"It was resolved very neatly," Bisky commented as he approached, but couldn't help adding, "But Shizuku and I are about to deal with these remaining soldiers."

Shizuku inquired further, "What about the loot?"

"There's no loot," Germain replied, looking back at the half-sunken Bone Crow, "Keeping those crows captive might be useful, but we can't bring them back."

"That settles it," Shizuku said, not disappointed, as she stowed away the "Blinky."

"Are you short on funds too?" Germain asked.

"Yes," Shizuku nodded, "I regularly transfer funds to Meteor City so that the elders and priests can build facilities and purchase equipment and medicine there."

"Speaking of which, among the people of Meteor City, Chrollo has donated the most money. I hear the priest praising him every time. You used to donate as well, but not in recent months."

Germain caught Shizuku's mention of "Chrollo," knowing he must be the leader of the Phantom Troupe. 

As for not donating money, it was because he wasn't truly from Meteor City and couldn't engage in charity based solely on memories in his mind.

Bisky listened for a while, hesitated, then asked, "I don't mean to offend, but I have a question. Why are the people of Meteor City so kind to their own but indifferent to outsiders?"

"Huh?" Shizuku was momentarily stunned, pondering the question. "Well..."

The silence lingered for about a minute before Shizuku suddenly nodded, as if awakening to something.

"Ah... I remember... the strange one isn't us, but those from outside, right? They've always treated us like pets or trash. And we've just been doing the same."

Shizuku, behind her black-rimmed glasses, blinked her big eyes, her gaze filled with sincerity. But it was precisely this sincerity that sent shivers down Bisky's spine.

Bisky probably understood why Germain and Shizuku could be so indifferent and calm about life and death.

They survived the hunts and attacks from the people outside of Meteor City. Every day, they tasted blood. They were the ones who managed to stay alive. Death didn't scare them; as long as they died with honor.

Their outlook on life outside of Meteor City was shaped by these experiences.

Survival... yes, it's death, deceit, and betrayal that filtered out those from Meteor City who easily trusted outsiders.

Those with good intentions were mostly dead, leaving only the people of Meteor City like Germain and Shizuku.

"Ah." Shizuku suddenly opened her eyes as if recalling something, and she extended a finger, "But little Bisky isn't like them. You're different. I believe in you."

Bisky looked into her eyes and replied, sighing softly with a smile, "Of course I know... So, Germain, do you trust me too?"

"Yeah. You're right," Germain wasn't really paying attention. He seemed to be scanning the surroundings, and at that moment, he just nodded absentmindedly and half-heartedly.

This guy really let down the girly hearts of me and Shizuku...

Bisky resisted the urge to pounce on him, refraining from making a move like twisting Germain's arm into a kimura lock and forcing him to surrender.

********

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