Chapter 129: Movements of Various Parties
"Since the Chairman has left, let's do what we can within our capabilities."
Knuckle sighed as a dark shadow began spreading at his feet. He crouched down, reached directly into the shadow, and pulled out Morel's weapon—that large smoking pipe—before casually tossing it over.
Morel caught it with a smile, saying, "We're not children who need the Chairman for everything."
"Since we're already here, let's have a proper fight."
It was clearly visible that Morel was equally enjoying himself.
He took a deep drag from his pipe and exhaled large amounts of smoke, which transformed into numerous smoke soldiers charging toward their targets ahead.
While pressing down on his hat with his left hand, Kite opened his right hand, where Crazy Slots appeared. The wheel of death began to spin.
He could sense that this batch of Chimera Ant soldiers had also mastered Hatsu.
...
Chimera Ant Nest.
Sitting atop the mountain peak, Neferpitou gazed into the distance and said, "Will those modified soldiers really succeed, nya?"
Shaiapouf's face had returned to its normal human appearance as he calmly replied, "Success or failure doesn't matter. For us, protecting the Queen is all that matters."
"Menthuthuyoupi should be waking up soon."
At that moment.
Deep within the Chimera Ant Nest, the last ant egg cracked open.
A tall figure dropped from it onto the ground.
This was the only one among the Royal Guards that contained no human genes, a monster purely born from mixed magical beast genes.
Sensing their companion's birth, Shaiapouf's expression showed clear delight. In his view, with all three Royal Guards present simultaneously, no one could harm the Queen anymore.
He even happily began playing his violin.
Amid the music, a loud explosion suddenly sounded.
BOOM!
A stone wall was completely shattered as Youpi followed his companion's aura and found his way over.
Cat Girl turned to look at the large man who had appeared before her and greeted, "Good morning, Youpi."
"Youpi?" Youpi stretched his limbs, his mind still somewhat slow to react.
Lacking human genes made him unlike Neferpitou and Shaiapouf in intelligence, rendering him completely unskilled at thinking.
"To be precise, Menthuthuyoupi," Shaiapouf corrected, putting down his violin.
"I'm hungry," Youpi said.
Watching Youpi's simple-minded demeanor, Neferpitou suddenly laughed aloud.
At the same time, the incredibly powerful aura emanating from Youpi reminded her of that man.
Just thinking of that man made her tail wag involuntarily.
"How delightful, that time truly felt like a dream." Neferpitou recalled her battle with Mord that night, her tail wagging even more cheerfully. "I'd love to fight you again. Where exactly are you now?"
...
The man who occupied Neferpitou's thoughts had long since left NGL, having even departed the Balsa Islands region entirely.
Mord's private jet was headed for the faraway Republic of Padokea, specifically the Donto Region.
"If you're going to Kukuroo Mountain, the most convenient option is the mountain circuit tour bus group. Though there's only one bus per day, it comes with a guide. That's your best starting point."
In the town closest to Kukuroo Mountain, Mord asked local residents about the best way to reach the mountain.
Following the locals' directions, Mord boarded the day's mountain circuit tour bus.
The assassination profession should inherently belong to the shadowy underworld.
Yet the Zoldyck Family, a globally recognized assassination clan, had their residence become a famous local tourist attraction—they were truly one of a kind in the entire world.
"Thank you all for joining this tour. Our bus will now proceed to Kukuroo Mountain, world-renowned for being home to the assassination family known as the Zoldyck Family."
The tour guide enthusiastically addressed the passengers.
However, several individuals clearly weren't paying any attention to the guide's explanations. Mord could tell at a glance they weren't ordinary tourists.
Mord blended right in.
Having just emerged from NGL, he finally had a chance to relax.
"Now everyone, please look carefully to your right," the guide continued her warm introduction. "That is Kukuroo Mountain where the Zoldyck Family resides. Somewhere on that 3,722-meter high mountain surrounded by sea of trees, their mansion is said to exist, though to this day no one has ever seen it."
"The Zoldyck Family here consists of ten members: the great-great-grandfather, grandfather, grandmother, father, and mother, along with five brothers below them—all of them are assassins."
Mord turned his head and gazed through the car window at the distant mountain, which indeed looked quite spectacular.
This wasn't just a single peak but an entire mountain range.
Having immense wealth really made a difference.
"Then let's get a closer look at that mountain."
...
After driving along the winding mountain roads for nearly half a day, the tour bus finally came to a stop before a magnificent, ancient Eastern-style city wall.
Once the tourists disembarked, they couldn't help but exclaim in admiration and awe at the sight of the wall.
"This is truly magnificent!"
"It must be at least fifty meters high, right?"
...
Before the tour guide could even begin her introduction, many tourists had already rushed to the wall to take photos and check in.
"This is the main gate of the Zoldyck Family, also known as the Gate to the Underworld," the tour guide explained with a smile. "It's called that because no one who enters ever returns alive. To get in, you must use the door next to the guard."
"However, the area beyond is private property, so we can't go in for a tour."
Upon hearing the tour guide's words, one of the tourists complained.
"We've only just reached the foot of the mountain! Did we really endure that bumpy mountain road for half a day just to see this wall?"
"I'm very sorry, sir," the tour guide explained. "Not to mention the forest sea beyond, even Kukuroo Mountain itself is entirely the private territory of the Zoldyck Family. From here on, it's the hiding place of assassins."
Judging by the fact that the Zoldyck Family could occupy an entire mountain range, they must have deep connections with the upper echelons of the Republic of Padokea.
After all, such an act was equivalent to carving out a concession within a country—a state within a state. Such an operation wasn't something that could be achieved simply with money.
Mord thought to himself.
"It's all just scare tactics," two men carrying swords and weapons, who had just stepped off the bus, said as they pushed past the crowd and headed toward the small door under the distant wall. "An assassination family no one has ever seen, with a bounty of nearly a hundred million Jenny for a clear photo of them. They've become legends just through rumors—in the end, they're probably nothing special."
Clearly, these two regarded the Zoldyck Family as mere frauds seeking fame.