Chapter 210: The Assault Begins
Lately, Prince Tserriednich had been living a strictly monotonous life: back and forth between the Palace and his private hotel.
Though he had a steady supply of "merchandise" delivered to his door, even the most exquisite toys grew dull after a while. His newly recruited security detail was massive, featuring several world-renowned mercenaries, which gave the Prince a renewed sense of security.
He briefly contemplated whether he should master Nen himself, but the thought of his brother, First Prince Benjamin—who exercised until his muscles looked like a anatomical diagram—disgusted him.
Tserriednich preferred the elegance of the mind. He had no desire to turn his brain into meat.
The convoy rolled out of the palace gates, heading toward the hotel. The streets were beginning to thin as night fell.
"Haven't they caught that damn terrorist yet?" Tserriednich asked, his voice dripping with irritation. He thrived in a lively environment; the state of high alert in the capital for the past month had made the city feel like a tomb.
Sitting in the passenger seat was Ryde, the Prince's personal tattoo artist and high-level enforcer.
"Zero leads," Ryde replied, tapping on his phone. "The assailant vanished into thin air after the second failed hit. He hasn't left a fingerprint since."
The guard behind the wheel had a grim expression.
His Hatsu had triggered again.
Just like before, he felt a phantom gaze, but he couldn't pinpoint the location of the observer. This sensation had occurred with maddening frequency over the last few weeks. The "peeping" didn't lead to an attack, but the knowledge that an elite assassin was watching them 24/7 had ground the security team's morale into the dirt.
The exhaustion was palpable. Because Ronin's strength was proven, every time the sensor felt the "Gaze," the entire unit had to prepare for a Tier-S engagement.
Is he actually looking for an opening? Or is he just trying to make us snap? the driver wondered.
Suddenly, the brake lights of the lead escort vehicle flared.
The driver felt a surge of adrenaline and slammed on his own brakes.
Ryde dropped his phone, his body tensing into a combat-ready coil.
The Fourth Prince sensed the shift in the air. But before he could demand an explanation, the car lurched violently. It wasn't a crash; the vehicle was being hoisted into the air.
"CONTACT!"
Screams erupted from the shattered windows. Tserriednich grabbed the overhead handle, trying to stabilize himself as the world tilted. Shards of glass sliced his cheek and arm. Through the broken window, he saw the source of the lifting force.
A massive Earth Dragon.
A construct of rock and soil had erupted from the street, its head wedged under the car's chassis, lifting it several meters off the pavement.
What the hell is that? the Prince thought, his mind racing to find a logical explanation. Am I dreaming?
But Ryde wasn't confused. As the car shook, he remained as steady as a mountain. He reached back toward Tserriednich.
As his hand moved, the geometric tattoos on his forearms began to undulate.
The ink rose off his skin, manifesting into a withered, skeletal limb made of dark aura. The spectral arm lunged, grabbing Tserriednich by the waist to anchor him.
Just then, a heavy THUD echoed from the roof.
The reinforced steel ceiling caved in. Tserriednich shrieked, completely lost in the chaos. But Ryde reacted instantly. The moment the skeletal arm secured the Prince, Ryde vaulted from the passenger seat into the rear.
The driver, meanwhile, let go of the steering wheel. Under the Prince's horrified gaze, the man drew a handgun, pointed it at his own bicep, and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
As blood sprayed, a second aura-limb manifested outside the vehicle. It was a massive, clawed hand that lunged for the head of the Earth Dragon.
CRUNCH!
The Earth Dragon shattered under the Nen Beast's grip. Freed from the lift, the sedan began its free-fall back to the street.
But out of the dark sky, a figure plummeted toward the falling car.
It was Ronin's Shadow Clone.
From the moment the Prince left the palace, his every move had been tracked via the Telescope Technique.
The operative carrying Ronin's scroll had been in position for hours. The moment the convoy entered the kill zone, he bit his thumb and smeared blood across the paper.
The Shadow Clone had been released with 50% of Ronin's total POP—more than enough to dismantle a standard guard unit.
As the car fell, the clone completed a sequence of seals.
Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!
A fresh dragon erupted from the soil, but this one didn't lift the car—it opened its maw to swallow it.
Before the car could land, a second Jutsu followed.
Earth Style: Sticky Earth Drop!
Suspended in the air using Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique, the clone watched the driver perform his self-mutilation to summon the Nen Beast.
The clone noted the movements of the guards in the secondary vehicles. At least five were Nen users. They had spotted him in the air and were already preparing a counter-offensive.
One guard drew a katana and performed Seppuku, plunging the blade into his own stomach.
Behind the clone, space rippled. A spectral claw emerged from a rift, reaching for the clone's spine.
But the clone's arm was already encased in stone.
Earth Style: Rock Fist!
Combining the mass of the rock with the Weighted Boulder Jutsu, the clone delivered a back-fist to the rift.
The spatial claw was pulverized mid-air.
Below, the guard who had stabbed himself geysered blood from his mouth and collapsed, dead before he could even register the failure of his Hatsu.
In the heartbeat that the first clone was occupied, two figures burst from the wreckage of the Prince's car: Tserriednich and the tattooed enforcer, Ryde.
But as they hit the pavement, a third figure erupted from the street.
It was a man cloaked in a blinding shroud of blue electricity. He didn't aim for the Prince. He aimed for the surviving Nen users in the guard squad.
This was a second Shadow Clone, released with Lightning Style Chakra Mode already active.
He was a blue streak of absolute destruction. His job was the "Clearance"—neutralizing the Empire's specialists to ensure the Prince couldn't be teleported away.
While the lightning-clone decimated the guards, a hand burst from the asphalt directly beneath Tserriednich's feet.
Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!
The Prince never saw it coming. The hand clamped onto his ankle with a grip of iron.
Ryde, however, was a veteran. His tattoos writhed again. A massive ink-black hand manifested from his shoulder and slammed down toward the arm grabbing his master.
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you