Chapter 108: The Captain's Strength
In a dense forest, Rita extended her telekinesis.
Suddenly, the surrounding vegetation stirred branches and leaves shifting as though alive. When Rita's fingers brushed a cluster of vines, the plants seemed to communicate with one another…
A moment later, everything returned to stillness. Rita looked up.
Perched on a trunk above, Feitan kept a sharp watch on the area.
Sensing movement, Haze who was leading the group a kilometer ahead of Rita and Feitan responded mentally:
"Hmm… That's right. I've found an enemy lookout post."
Hidden behind a tree, he observed a crow perched about a hundred meters away, its feathers blending into the shadows.
It wasn't an ordinary crow Haze could sense Nen energy within it.
"It's a crow. It might alert others by cawing… or share its vision. Stay alert for nearby animals,"
Haze instructed telepathically.
"Machi and I have also spotted a trap," Anthony reported from another position.
"Judging from their formation and the enemy perimeter, their main base should be at nine o'clock slightly off the original red point. They may have moved their camp. Stay sharp," ordered Haze.
"Ignore the traps and watchtowers. Don't alert them move in quietly."
"Understood," the four replied in unison.
Avoiding the crows' blind spot, Haze turned into a streak of black and sped around the perimeter disappearing into the distance.
After covering a mile, he spotted a man standing under a tree, urinating.
Not far away, several makeshift tents were camouflaged among the foliage.
"All of you, stay put. Don't move," said Haze.
"Have you located their target? How many are there?"
"Even if a direct confrontation's risky, we can still eliminate any who try to flee."
When Machi and Anthony caught Haze's mental signal and heard the tone of his voice, they knew he had found the enemy.
"Not yet. Follow my lead."
Then Haze struck.
The man, just fastening his belt, suddenly froze an icy dread running up his spine.
He looked up… and saw a stranger emerging from the misty shade.
His presence was so perfectly hidden it felt unnatural.
"Damn it!"
Haze unleashed one of his Nen abilities. A ghostly green mist seeped from his body dense with spectral shadows and wailing echoes.
The vapor framed his face, giving him the terrifying air of a spirit from the underworld.
Overwhelmed by the aura's weight, the man opened his mouth to scream and alert the others
but before he could, the spectral mist enveloped him, followed by a massive hand that seized his face.
BANG!
With a single blow, his head shattered his body hitting the ground with a dull thud.
As he died, a torrent of spiritual energy burst from his corpse and merged into the ghostly fog swirling around Haze.
His armor and magical power increased slightly.
"Seems it grew a bit… but still too weak. I'll need more," Haze muttered calmly, examining his hand.
Unfortunately, only the soul was absorbed no black mist appeared.
The black mist increases attack range and critical strike rate.
Both his active and passive abilities remained constantly in effect, though the chance of obtaining souls or mist depended on probability.
"Enemy!"
A sudden shout broke the silence.
Rustling came from the tents seven or eight figures emerged.
"All powerful users, huh…"
Haze narrowed his eyes.
Even faint sounds carried through the air but his perception was sharp enough to catch them all.
"Raaagh!"
One of them a transformation-type user charged forward.
As he sprinted, his body twisted and grew fur, morphing into a ferocious tiger. Leaping high, he slashed down with massive claws.
But the next moment, Haze's fist struck upward.
The tiger's huge frame exploded midair, its abdomen torn open as it crashed backward.
When it hit the ground, it reverted to human form blood gushing from a gaping hole.
"Attack together!"
Seeing this, the remaining fighters realized how terrifying the intruder was.
One of the leaders shouted, and all unleashed their Nen abilities at once, intent on killing Haze.
His cold eyes swept across them, assessing their strength instantly.
One of them whistled sharply while glaring at Haze.
"Careful!"
The sound made Haze's body tense for a moment.
Another man swung a rope-like Nen construct toward him, trying to snare his neck.
"A Specialist, and a Conjurer…?"
One used sound as a medium reducing auditory perception could weaken the ability.
The other could possibly control targets once bound.
Haze analyzed the situation instantly.
He released a surge of psychic energy, clearing his mind, then flashed forward like lightning aiming directly for the whistling woman while dodging the rope.
He had planned to eliminate the strongest first but now he knew the control-type user was the greater threat.
"Urakoto, fall back!"
Another man, realizing Haze's intent, rushed to intercept him.
Pebbles all around began to rise shooting toward Haze like bullets.
The combined assault created a deadly crossfire.
Yet Haze's movements were terrifyingly precise. His superhuman reflexes and agility made him seem like a phantom dodging everything with ghostlike ease.
Not a single stone hit him.
And his speed didn't waver.
"Stop!"
A Nen user lunged forward, punching directly at him.
But before his blow could connect, Haze had already crouched anticipating the trajectory.
Time seemed to slow.
The man saw Haze glide under his arm expression cold, eyes unreadable. He hadn't even looked at him.
Pfft!
A chill spread across his chest. He looked down his heart had been ripped out and crushed.
He fell backward instantly, life draining away.
All it took was one move.
"Careful!"
"Careful!"
"Careful!"
The woman staggered back, pale-faced, whistling frantically as she screamed.
But her ability no longer had any effect.
"Ahhhhh!"
She shrieked then was swallowed by the ghostly mist coiling around Haze.
When it cleared, her body lay motionless in a pool of blood, eyes wide open her whistle fallen from her hand.
One. Two…
Haze moved like the Grim Reaper, scythe in hand, cutting through everything before him.
The enemies fell one after another.
Many Nen abilities couldn't even touch him.
Minutes later, silence returned to the camp.
"There's another one…"
Haze's eyes flashed white as he turned toward a small tree in the forest.
He approached slowly.
The tree shuddered.
"Camouflage ability… transformation-type," he noted.
"Limitation must be immobility while disguised."
He stopped before the tree and reached for a branch.
The tree suddenly twisted transforming into a monkey-faced man who trembled in disbelief.
"Impossible…! My ability enters a deep saturation state undetectable unless you saw me from the start! You were fighting the whole time… how could you still find me?!"
"Simple," Haze said with a faint smile. "Before the fight, I memorized the terrain and everything around it as a mental image. So when there was one more tree than before, it was easy to spot. Not perception just information."
He tapped his temple.
The man was speechless.
This ruin's incident had drawn many powerful Nen users none of them amateurs.
Yet facing Haze, he realized the overwhelming gap not just in strength, but in his analytical precision and battlefield awareness.
It was hopeless.
Haze raised his sword one swift swing, and the man's head flew.
The ghostly mist swirled; a sphere of spirit matter and a cloud of black energy rose.
The souls were absorbed into the fog, while the black energy flowed into Haze's body.
"Four souls, two layers of black mist… Not a bad harvest," he murmured, clenching his fist.
He crouched, pointing a finger half a centimeter from a blade of grass
and with a light flick
the grass split cleanly in two.
His attack range had increased.
Just a little but every bit mattered.
After processing the signals in his mind, he spoke mentally:
"Captain, what's going on?"
"Everything alright?"
"Should we… help?"
"Let's wait a bit longer…"
Five voices buzzed in his head.
"It's over. Let's go," Haze said calmly.
"Huh?"
"It's over… you mean…"
"They're dead," Haze replied flatly.
"Th-they're all dead? Already?" Gebwich stammered.
Barely fifteen minutes had passed.
They were supposed to face elite Nen users… yet before they could even worry, Haze had finished it alone.
When they arrived, nine corpses lay scattered.
The team fell silent.
They had known their captain was strong but only in theory.
Now they understood the truth.
Their captain… was exceptionally powerful.
(End of Chapter)