Chapter 20 : Candidates Eliminated by Germain!!!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The sound of something slicing through the air cut through the quiet night.

Germain, without even turning his head, tilted slightly to dodge three poison darts. He then reached into his coat and pretended to draw a meat cleaver, spinning around to sever the heads of two venomous snakes slithering toward him.

"My snakes!" Bourbon shouted in alarm, his head wrapped in gray cloth.

Greta, the dark-skinned woman who'd shot the poison darts, took a step back, her face tightening with worry.

They were all participants in the hunter exam.

Not long ago, "Rookie Crusher" Tonpa had approached them with a proposal: instead of searching Yanisha City for rare cards, like finding a needle in a haystack, they could stake out near the church, ambush other candidates, and steal their cards.

Tonpa had powerful laxatives, Greta had poison darts that could paralyze the torso, and Bourbon had deadly snake venom. These three poison specialists blended into the crowds, selecting their prey with care.

So far, their strategy had worked. They'd captured two cards and needed only one more to advance by submitting it to Izunavi.

But this time, no one showed up. As their patience wore thin, Germain arrived.

The three debated whether to attack him. Greta was against it, but Tonpa, having a grudge against Germain after a previous encounter with firecrackers, pushed for it, while Bourbon just wanted to get things moving. With two votes for and one against, they decided to make Germain their target.

However, Germain proved much more skilled than they expected, dodging the poison darts and dispatching the snakes with ease. This was no typical prey.

"Is this guy really a rookie?" they thought.

Tonpa's smirk froze when he saw things going sideways. He quickly distanced himself from the others, raising his hands in surrender. 

"Hey, I had nothing to do with this. It looks like there's been a misunderstanding. You all work this out. I'm outta here," he said, turning to flee, his shoulder bag swinging behind him.

Greta and Bourbon cursed Tonpa for his cowardice but backed away, reconsidering their choices.

Germain couldn't resist getting involved. When Greta and Bourbon were distracted, he quickly ducked and caught up with Tonpa, who was attempting to make a hasty escape. 

Tonpa's eyes widened in shock as Germain suddenly appeared beside him. Germain stretched out his right leg, tripping Tonpa mid-run and sending him tumbling to the ground. 

Tonpa's short and stocky frame hit the hard floor with a thud. He cried out in pain as his head struck the ground, leaving him bruised and bleeding.

"Don't hit me! It wasn't my idea!" Tonpa wailed, clutching his bleeding head.

Germain glanced at the other two standing nearby, assessing their threat level. Greta had a hefty load on her back, and she was eyeing Germain warily. 

She hadn't wanted to target Germain initially, but now she didn't have much of a choice. She took out her poisonous needles and flung them at Germain with a swift motion.

The needles zipped through the air with a sinister "sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss" sound. But Germain raised his Cleaver and deflected them with ease, sending them clattering to the ground.

Greta was about to blend into the crowd when she heard the "clang-clang-clang" sound of the needles hitting the floor. Before she could even process what had happened, Germain was right in front of her. His speed was incredible.

With a swift punch to the side of Greta's face, Germain knocked her out. She dropped to her knees, dazed and disoriented. 

A sudden heat surged through her nose, and when she wiped it with the back of her hand, she saw blood. She spat blood mixed with one of her own teeth. 

The pain and the impact had taken her by surprise, and she realized that Germain was not someone to be underestimated.

Germain quickly defeated Tonpa and Greta, leaving them sprawled on the ground. He then turned his attention to Bourbon, who was adjusting the cloth on his head with a nervous look.

"I surrender," Bourbon said, raising his hands.

The crowd in the square was stunned. The entire sequence of events had taken less than 30 seconds. Two people had been knocked out, and another had surrendered without much of a fight. Everyone was left in shock at how fast it all happened.

Many people in the crowd recognized Germain as the same guy who stopped a rampaging beetle car earlier that morning and knocked down three thugs later in the afternoon. His reputation was quickly spreading, and people couldn't help but gossip.

Tonpa, Greta, and Bourbon knew they had no chance against Germain, and they stood there in fear, awaiting their fate. But Germain surprised them with his next move.

"Hand over all your money," he said, blinking his dark eyes.

The three of them exchanged puzzled looks. The spectators were equally confused. Was Germain robbing them? How could one person successfully rob three people? It seemed outrageous, but they had just witnessed him take down two without breaking a sweat.

Germain repeated his demand, and the three men realized that he wasn't planning to kill or seriously hurt them. If all it took was giving up their money to walk away, they'd gladly do it. They handed over everything they had, totaling over 10,000 Jenny.

Germain pocketed the money, but he wasn't done. He reached out and grabbed Tonpa's shoulder bag, rummaging through it until he found three cans of drinks.

"Drink these," he said. "One each, and I won't bother you anymore."

The crowd watched as Germain forced the three men to drink the contents of the cans. Little did they know that the drinks contained a powerful laxative. 

Just a sip would keep someone glued to the toilet for hours, let alone an entire can. By making them drink it, Germain ensured they wouldn't be able to continue with the Hunter Exam for a long time.

The antidote to the potent laxative was in the shoulder bag that Germain was holding.

Germain knew this, Tonpa knew this, Greta and Bourbon knew this, too.

The three of them exchanged uneasy glances, then Germain flashed the Cleaver at them.

They had no choice but to grit their teeth, take the drink can, pop it open, tilt their heads back, and chug the entire thing.

Almost immediately, the three of them turned pale, clutching their stomachs as sweat poured from them like rain, dripping to the ground. They all shot Germain a pitiful look.

"Let's go," said Germain, with a dismissive wave.

It was like a pardon. The three of them leaped to their feet, took two steps at a time, and ran to find the nearest bathroom.

Germain didn't care what the onlookers thought of him. He tossed Tonpa's shoulder bag into a nearby trash can, turned on his heels, and walked into the church under the puzzled stares of passersby.

People like him don't seem like the religious type.

Shortly after Germain left, a hunter disguised as a homeless person approached the trash can and retrieved the laxative drinks from Tonpa's bag.

They worked in silence, doing the logistical work discreetly to avoid drawing attention from civilians and other candidates.

Though it might not seem like it, Germain did have faith—but not in the Gods worshipped in churches or secret sanctuaries. He believed in himself.

Following the same route, this time without needing a priest to guide him, Germain pushed open the back door of the church and entered the foggy cemetery.

The front of the church was bright and sunny, but the area behind it was shrouded in lifeless mist. It wasn't something that could be explained by simple weather conditions.

Germain walked down the familiar red-brick path, leading to where many candidates had originally gathered. There, he saw dozens of people had already assembled.

After all, the first stage wasn't particularly challenging.

Izunavi had changed his spot. He was sitting cross-legged under a large tree, his upper body leaning to the left, with his left palm resting on his chin, and his right hand tapping rhythmically on his knee.

In front of him was a stack of cards, each bearing the emblem of the Hunter Association.

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