Kroll's order was issued.
Almost immediately, a number of figures emerged from the outskirts of the battlefield.
A brown-haired woman returned to the sand dunes.
The moment her feet touched the sand, her body began to change—transforming into a humanoid mole.
She picked her target, tunneling quickly beneath the sand to the spot where the enemy stood. Without warning, a hand shot up from below and yanked the person down into the sand.
The dunes quickly collapsed over them.
Even without a second strike, her prey would be suffocated and buried alive.
Her ability resembled that of the earthworm-like member of the Shadow Beasts—but this wasn't soil, it was sand.
One.
Two.
Three.
The brown-haired woman kept picking off targets until—
"She's a monster!"
"Help! Somebody!"
Screams broke out, finally catching people's attention.
But no one moved to help.
They just stood there and watched as the monster dragged another victim beneath the surface.
"What the hell is that thing?"
"Looks like a giant rat!"
"Since when do rats live in the desert?"
"How many of them are there?!"
Panic broke out.
"Run!"
The reward for completing this job was one million Jenny—
But what's a million Jenny worth compared to your life?
The crowd scattered in a frenzy, trying to escape the dunes.
Kroll picked up his walkie-talkie.
"Begin."
...
At his command, the operatives hidden on the outskirts stepped out of the shadows and launched their attack.
One of them—a hulking man—had transformed his arm into a massive blade and was charging headlong into the fleeing crowd.
Anyone who got in his way was slashed down like grass.
He didn't need to follow up. His aura-coated blade-arm was sharp enough to tear through multiple people at once.
A true human wrecking ball.
"Nen ability: A-rank," Kaizen muttered, calmly observing from a distance with his team.
Another attacker—a tall woman with long blue hair and spike-like growths jutting out of her body—resembled a humanoid hedgehog.
Whip! Whip! Whip!
With each flick of her wrist, a spike shot outward like a hidden weapon.
Her aim was deadly.
"B-rank," Kaizen assessed.
Then came a young man with black hair. His body morphed into a wax-like form.
"A Nen user from the Republic of Mimbo," Kaizen noted. "That's typical of their enhancement faction."
The wax form was slow but capable of inflicting widespread damage over time. It reminded Kaizen of the flame-type Nen user from the Kingdom of Fiora, and the frost-type Nen user once rumored to belong to a hidden Kurta clan.
And this one?
A wax-type emitter.
"Another B-rank."
Next, a massive man—easily over two meters tall—wielded an enormous club. He swung it in wide arcs like a golfer teeing off.
Whoever was hit flew like a ball.
Each swing took down at least two or three victims.
"C-rank. Likely an Enhancer," Kaizen remarked.
Another enemy—this one a curly-haired young man—hurled something into the crowd.
Boom!
An explosion followed on impact.
Nine attackers had appeared at once. They wasted no time, hitting the crowd with coordinated, full-force strikes.
Already disoriented from the mole-woman's ambush, the crowd was completely unprepared.
It wasn't until hundreds were dead that the survivors realized what was happening.
"Are you with Kroll?!"
"Why are you doing this?!"
"What do you want?!"
No answers came.
Kroll's people just kept slaughtering—focused on maximum kills in the shortest amount of time.
"Not enough," Kroll muttered.
"Too slow."
He shook his head and moved into the crowd himself.
Sand surged under his feet as he raised a hand, manipulating the terrain.
A wave of sand rose up and crashed into the fleeing masses, burying them alive.
Kaizen's eyes narrowed.
"Kroll. Nen ability: A-rank," he confirmed.
"That's our target."
He reviewed the intelligence gathered by Ponzu and Nina.
"Eleven confirmed operatives," Kaizen summarized. "Ten aboveground, one underground."
"Two are A-rank. Three are B-rank. The rest are C-rank."
...
Tessia was getting impatient.
"Captain, when can we move?"
Kaizen's expression remained calm. "As soon as the main target is confirmed, we go."
Acting early had its benefits—plenty of survivors still around for cover, making it harder for Kroll's team to pinpoint them.
Waiting had advantages too—Kroll's forces would be more depleted.
"We'll move in from the west. That group's the weakest."
Kaizen started issuing orders.
"Ponzu, use your bee radar to monitor the movements of all eleven targets. If anyone else tries to approach, alert me immediately. Stay sharp."
"Tessia, you'll handle the main assault."
"Siper, Sally—you're on support."
"Nina, hold until the moment's right. Use your ability to create an opening for Tessia to finish the enemy off."
Everyone nodded sharply.
"Yes!"
...
There were three enemies to the west.
One B-rank. Two C-rank.
Sally already had her sniper rifle in hand.
She took aim.
No hesitation.
Bang!
The shot tore through the air with deadly precision.
The B-rank enemy twitched—he must've sensed something—and instinctively turned toward the sound.
"What—?!"
His pupils shrank as he spotted Sally's sniper rifle.
He dodged—but his focus was now entirely on her.
Too late.
Tessia's figure appeared behind him like a phantom.
A single step.
A fist clenched.
Boom!
The punch landed with devastating force.
Crack!
Bones shattered audibly as his back caved inward.
Tessia's strength was overwhelming.
And this opponent clearly wasn't a defensive type.
One hit—lethal.
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)