Chapter 59 Countermeasures X Surprises X Rewards

Buck threw his weapon, pinning down the shadow, and Moses launched a sneak attack from a blind spot.

The two engaged in close-quarters combat—

In the end, Moses decisively changed his tactics and leveraging force to withdraw, causing Buck's well-prepared killer move to fail.

This brief exchange, lasting less than three seconds, was observed keenly by Biscuit.

'That man's fighting skills are very good, and that weird-looking weapon of his probably contains poison.'

Biscuit lifted her hand to support her chin, evaluating Buck's level.

'Excellent vigilance, he took immediate action upon discovering the shadow, and his restraint was enough to use his body to block a lethal move during close-quarters combat.'

'Setting up, countering, and executing killing move.'

'His approach in dealing with the enemy wasn't bad.'

'On the other hand, little brother Kester initiated the attack by luring the enemy with the shadow and then moving in for a surprise attack.'

'Had it not been for the enemy's extraordinary vigilance, I'm afraid the victory could have been decided with that one blow.'

'Although the sneak attack failed, little brother Kester made a prompt decision...'

'After seeing through the enemy's tactics, he immediately changed tactics and withdrew, leaving no chance for the enemy.'

'Is it his Nen ability to make the shadow move outside his body?'

Biscuit's eyes slightly curved as she thought to herself:

'The shadow just now is the key to seeing through the enemy's killing move. It should have the ability to share the vision, leaning more towards a Manipulator-type ability. But the enemy is quite skilled. Little brother Kester, what will you do next? You need to be cautious in dealing with that weapon.'

Having finished her evaluation, Biscuit focused her attention on the situation of the battle.

In this battle, she wouldn't expose any trace of her Aura and also had no intention of providing assistance even in moments of crisis.

She had made her stance clear to Moses, yet he still chose to act.

This is Moses's choice.

Before enjoying the hunting process and reaping the rewards, one must endure corresponding risks.

If the hunt fails and results in severe injury or death...

It can only be attributed to one's own insufficient ability and judgment error.

This is what it means to be a Hunter.

'What a strange knife.'

Moses, who created distance after a failed attack, controlled the shadow to search for an opportunity while observing the danger in Buck's hand.

'The ten or so blades, that seemed to blossom like flower petals, seemed like specially designed to increase accuracy.'

After a glance, Moses couldn't help but think of the poisoned knife used by Chrollo, the leader of the Phantom Troupe in the Yorknew City arc, when he dealt with the two members of Zoldyck Family.

'Is it the same type?'

'In other words…'

'There's a high probability that those blades are coated with poison.'

Moses made a preliminary judgment.

On the other side.

Buck looked coldly at the kid who had just ambushed him, remaining vigilant while also keeping an eye on the shadow that seemed to transmit real-time vision.

'Time to escape, huh...'

In the brief exchange just now, Buck confirmed one thing.

The sense of danger he felt, entwining around his heart like a thread, did not originate from the kid before him.

Therefore, he could conclude that in a place he couldn't perceive, there was at least one person who could pose a definite threat to him.

This made Buck consider the idea of retreating from the battle.

In contrast, Moses just wanted to gain experience points to become stronger through this fight.

"I don't know his Nen ability, let's try probing."

Seeing Buck standing still, Moses, with a slight movement of his thoughts, decisively attacked Buck from the front.

He didn't have much time.

Because if Lisha noticed the commotion here, she will undoubtedly rush over at the fastest speed and then order him to withdraw from the battle.

Therefore…

He had to do his best to end this battle before Lisha noticed the commotion.

'Controlling shadow, it seems like a combination of Conjuration and Manipulation.'

Buck raised his dagger, and assumed an offensive stance. Before Moses stepped into the attack range, he silently analyzed:

'Since he's not an Enhancer, I'd better pay more attention to the shadow from earlier. But this kid probably hasn't noticed my real trump card yet…'

With his thoughts sorted out, Buck stood still, allowing Moses to approach.

'Just a slight scratch is enough to end the fight with Bone Gangrene.'

Seeing that Moses was about to step into the attack range, Buck prepared himself to respond at any time.

'If you're a Manipulator, then obediently adopt a Manipulator strategy.'

'If you insist on learning Enhancement, just regret it in hell.'

Buck's pupils slightly contracted, waiting for an opportunity with bated breath.

Moses, glowing with Nen, rushed forward, using 'double vision' to closely monitor Buck. He aimed to gain critical information through Buck's subtle changes in expression and body movements.

Then—

Through the image transmitted from the shadow, Moses observed the slight movement of Buck's lifted heel—a sign of an impending attack!

Without any hesitation, Moses forcibly stopped his momentum with a skiing-like movement. At the same time, he twisted his waist and swept his legs towards the ground, drawing a semi-arc line.

Boom!

With the sweeping leg, powered with Nen, he forcefully lifted rectangular bricks into the air, flying toward Buck like scattering flowers.

"Hmm?!"

In this gap where there was almost no room for thinking, Buck, slightly surprised, instinctively chose to charge forward against the flying bricks.

'Even if it just grazed this brat, it would be enough.'

'I can then activate 'Bone Gangrene' that can deepen the wound and enhance the effect of the poison, then decisively escape, distancing myself from the looming sense of danger.

Buck's initial expectation prompted him to make a forward judgment in this situation where his vision was blocked.

Clatter—

Smashing the bricks with brute force, Buck held the dagger in his hand and quickly shortened the distance with Moses. Then, he swung the dagger and attacked Moses directly.

'Pay for your reckless behavior of taking the initiative to close the distance.'

Buck's eyes flashed with cold murderous intent.

The dagger coated with poison drew a sharp light in the night, slashing straight at Moses's chest.

'I wouldn't need to personally take risks if I had the Mimic Appearance ability…'

At this moment, a thought flashed through Moses's mind.

Facing Buck's attack, though he knew the peculiar weapon might be coated with poison, he showed no intention of retreating to avoid close combat.

At least he needed to pull off one move.

With a subtle movement of his eyes, Moses's suddenly bent his knees, allowing the peculiar weapon to sweep over the top of his head.

'Too naive.'

Buck's eyes gleamed brightly. He retracted the dagger and stretched out his arm, preparing to drive the dagger away and continue stabbing Moses's chest.

But at this moment…

With a sharp sound, a street lamp nearby was fiercely thrown towards Buck's outstretched arm.

It was the doing of the shadow figure.

Frowning slightly, Buck immediately halted his attack—not because he feared the falling street lamp, but because of the shadow figure descending with it.

Radiating with bright Nen, the shadow figure leaped from the top of the street lamp, pouncing towards Buck like a flying squirrel.

At the same time.

Moses, bending his knees, also charged forward, attacking Buck.

It was a double-sided assault.

Crash!

The street lamp was the first to hit the ground, making a loud noise.

Buck ignored the shadow figure rushing from above and directly threw the dagger at Moses.

Whoosh—

With the sound of cutting through the air, the dagger flew towards Moses.

Moses's pupils rapidly contracted, and he barely managed to avoid the incoming blade by sidestepping.

At this moment, the descending shadow figure threw a punch towards Buck's head.

Buck sneered, and suddenly rotated his wrist quickly, treating the thrown dagger like a spinning top, creating a fierce whirlwind that engulfed both the shadow figure and Moses.

Moses, who was keeping a distance, promptly retreated from the attack range when he saw this. However, the shadow figure, who was suspended in mid-air without a foothold, was powerless.

For a moment, Moses considered having the shadow person switch to a two-dimensional form to avoid the attack, and then switch back to the three-dimensional form after landing to attack Buck's lower body.

But he endured it—

The shadow figure failed to touch Buck, and was sent flying into the distance by the rapidly spinning dagger.

Although Moses controlled the shadow figure to consume most of his Nen to construct a strong defense, severe pain was still transmitted back to him, causing Moses's body to tremble slightly and he let out a muffled groan.

At the second floor of the law firm.

"Spectacular, spectacular."

Biscuit, who was watching the battle, enjoyed it thoroughly, paying no attention to Lisha's reaction as she arrived by his side.

There's no way Lisha can't sense commotion caused during the battle and the fluctuations of Nen collisions.

Therefore,

At the moment when the street lamp hit the ground, Lisha and the injured Sanbica quickly reached the second-floor window, the most open view of the battlefield, where Biscuit was watching the battle.

"Mo… Kester?!"

Seeing Moses in a battle with another Nen user, Lisha's expression immediately changed.

As Sambica leaned against the wall, catching her breath, her black eyes, the only thing exposed, reflected the scene on the sidewalk.

'That's the remaining Nen user…'

She recognized the other party, thinking to herself.

Worried about Moses's safety, Lisha took two steps forward, about to open the window and jump out.

"Little brother Kester seems to have hidden his trump card. If you jump out like this and disturb his mood, he might throw a tantrum and run away from home."

While Biscuit was completely absorbed in watching the battle, she kindly reminded Lisha.

Lisha abruptly stopped the motion of opening the window, turned her head to look at Biscuit, and said with a frown: "In combat skill and Nen proficiency, Kester is not as good as the opponent."

"That's because you didn't see the previous confrontation."

Biscuit raised an eyebrow slightly, casting a sidelong glance at Lisha, and asked lightly: "How much do you know about the strength of little brother Kester?"

"…"

Lisha remained silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice: "I only know that he learned to read Nen in less than a month. Although his talent is outstanding, he lacks experience in the end."

"But if you don't say it, can others tell that he has only studied Nen for a month?"

Biscuit's eyes gleamed with a shining light, and she said in a tone full of expectation: "This little brother Kester, he's a natural martial artist. If you let him follow Cheadle, it will only waste his talents. "

"…"

Lisha's eyes turned cold at the words, and she violently opened the window.

How could she entrust Moses's safety to Biscuit's judgment?

On the other hand, Sanbica, who is leaning against the wall, looked at Moses with an expression full of disbelief.

'Learning Nen in less than a month, and possessing such a stable foundation of Nen techniques?'

Sanbica was astonished beyond measure.

She still remembered that when she first learned Ten, just slightly losing focus would cause the dissolution Ten, not to mention the more advanced Ren.

In fact, in her eyes, learning Ten or Ren is not difficult. The real challenge was how to maintain a stable state of Ten and Ren at all times.

At that time, it took her about half a month to maintain the state of Ten under any circumstances, which was considered to be barely meeting the conditions for combat.

Otherwise, if she got hit during a battle and the pain caused the dissolution of her Ten, it would be equivalent to announcing her death on the spot.

When she achieved that level in half a month, her Nen instructor back then praised her talent.

But now—

Beyond her comprehension, there existed a more unreasonable monster.

Sanbica stared at Moses silently.

In the battle.

'It's pretty resilient.'

Failing to cut the shadow figure in half and instead sending it flying, Buck was surprised. He guessed that Moses had poured a lot of Nen into the shadow figure.

But ultimately, it was just a waste of energy.

After confirming that the shadow figure was blown away, Buck seized the opportunity to pursue, swinging his dagger towards Moses, pressing him step by step.

Moses stepped back, employing the same sweeping leg technique to lift bricks into the air.

Immediately,

Many bricks flew towards Buck.

'He's out of tricks.'

Buck stepped forward and shattered all the flying bricks. Then, he gripped the dagger's handle, passed through the debris flying in the sky, and slashed towards Moses's body.

At such a close distance, coupled with the advantage in combat skill, there seems to be no reason why this attack should fail.

However…

Just when the dagger was about to hit Moses, perhaps because Moses dodged too hastily, his body leaned backward and fell to the ground.

Because of this, he narrowly avoided Buck's attack.

'Checkmate!

Seeing Moses lose his balance and fall to the ground, Buck, as if he had already seen Moses's fate, immediately swung the dagger towards Moses's bowed knee.

He didn't need to aim for Moses's vital points, as just opening a wound on Moses's knee would be enough.

This will also allow him to avoid exposing too many flaws when attacking.

'Victory was assured!'

At this moment, Buck was already considering the direction for his escape.

However, Moses lifted his head, directly facing Buck's attack.

He had prepared in advance for this moment.

"Soul Echo!"

"Release!"

The shadow figure, who was blown away, vanished in an instant, and the remaining Nen also dissipated with it.

With the ability released, a shadow appeared out of thin air on the ground in front of Moses.

"Mimicry!"

The shadow returned at a speed that transcended time, and Moses infused a lot of Nen into it.

In a flash—

The shadow figure, that changed into three-dimensional form, passed through Buck's crotch, circled to the back, and struck Buck on the back of the head with its palm.

At this moment, Buck had poured most of his Nen into the attack, and it's mostly distributed on his limbs.

Even if he reacted at the last moment, he still didn't have enough Nen to deal with the shadow figure's sudden sneak attack.

"You little brat...!!"

Buck's heart skipped a beat.

For him, the last chance is still to kill Moses.

The reason why Moses arched his knees after falling was because he used the judgment of 'the weapon is poisoned' to lure the enemy.

Because he is baiting the enemy into attacking, he naturally has the expectation to dodge the attack in advance.

Moses just straightened his legs, causing Buck's last hope to miss.

"!!!"

Buck's pupils shrank, and immediately after, the back of his head was struck by the shadow figure.

The instantly generated intense dizziness made his vision go black, and he collapsed toward the ground.

Moses quickly got up and commanded the shadow figure to deliver rapid consecutive blows to the back of Buck's head like a swift and violent storm.

Ora ora ora ora ora ora...!

Bang bang bang…!

It wasn't until Moses exhausted all the remaining Nen inside the shadow figure that he finally stopped.

Meanwhile, Buck was on the brink of death.

'My Nen is completely consumed, and there is not a bit left. As expected, consuming the potential Aura is indeed more enjoyable in this kind of exhilarating real combat.'

Moses looked at Buck lying motionless on the ground with contentment.

Not far away.

Lisha, who had just jumped down from the building and was about to come to help, didn't expect that the battle would end so suddenly, so she couldn't help but stood frozen in place.

On the second floor of the law firm.

Sanbica's eyes widened, stunned by the instantaneous countermeasure Moses had demonstrated.

'So strong, he's really strong...!'

At the standard of less than a month, Sanbica marveled at the strength Moses displayed.

"Fantastic, this performance exceeds my expectations. However..."

Biscuit supported her chin, suddenly curious.

'Lacks experience in the end?'

These are Lisha's original words.

But in Biscuit's view, Moses's performance didn't seem like that of someone lacking experience…

On the scattered remains of bricks.

Moses saw Lisha, who was stunned on the spot, thinking that since he had already dealt with the enemy, what happened afterward didn't matter.

"Perception is very satisfied with your outstanding performance. Your Vow effect +1"

'Huh!'