Chapter 176: How Could Such a Monster Exist in This World?
Ding-dong!
The first floor, in the Fourteenth District where the Fourteenth Prince resided, suddenly rang with a doorbell chime.
"It must be the First Prince's guards," Kurapika said.
Adding new surveillance in this situation...
Kurapika rubbed his temples—the situation was getting worse and worse.
Just as Kurapika and the others were feeling troubled, a maid in the room had already walked to the entrance and answered the video call.
"I'm Vincent, subordinate of the First Prince who contacted you earlier, a royal guard."
A steady voice completely devoid of emotion came through the phone. Through the entrance video monitor, they could see the visitor was a burly man with a crew cut.
Simultaneously, the Fourteenth Prince in the room seemed to sense something and suddenly began crying loudly.
Seeing her child like this, Queen Oito clearly became flustered.
"What's wrong? I just fed him... Is he sleepy?"
While comforting the Fourteenth Prince, her peripheral gaze kept drifting toward the entrance, clearly showing her unease about the guard sent by the First Prince.
Mord was nowhere to be found at the moment—I could only rely on myself now.
Kurapika quickly assessed the situation and made a decision.
"Your Highness, please take the Prince to the bedroom to rest. Leave this to us."
At the same time, he turned to Bill, the Association Hunter with flame-shaped hair standing nearby, and said, "Maintain watch over the entrance area..."
Before he could finish speaking, Kurapika suddenly turned and looked sharply toward the main door.
"Bill, protect the Prince!"
With that, he rushed directly toward the entrance hallway.
"My, my, that was close..."
A casual voice came from the entrance direction as a tall figure entered, holding the maid who had earlier gone to answer the door.
But the maid who had been alive moments before now had a short knife embedded in her chest, crimson blood continuously dripping from the wound and staining the Fourteenth Prince's hall.
The newcomer was none other than Vincent, the First Prince's private soldier.
"She suddenly charged at me with a knife, so I had no choice but to exercise my right to self-defense. That's correct, isn't it?" Vincent looked at Kurapika and the others with an amused smile. "Moreover, she was carrying what appeared to be a vial of poison. Was she planning to murder someone by poisoning? How dangerous!"
This guy looked completely unruffled, practically saying outright, "I killed them, so what are you going to do about it?"
This brazen approach felt less like surveillance and more like a direct assassination attempt.
Facing the lethal blade unleashed by the First Prince Benjamin—
Should he block, evade, or break it?
Seeing Kurapika adopt a fighting stance, Vincent raised his pistol and teased, "Tsk tsk, that's a very dangerous move. Young man, think carefully before you act."
In an instant, Kurapika analyzed the current situation in his mind.
First, the enemy before him belonged to the First Prince's private army. They could easily twist their blatantly fabricated lies into accepted facts—this was beyond doubt and the very source of the First Prince's confidence.
Otherwise, Vincent wouldn't be so blatant, hardly even bothering to put on an act.
Thus, even if Kurapika defeated Vincent in front of him under the pretext of self-defense, he would undoubtedly be framed as an assassin, detained by the king's army, and immediately convicted.
This was the disadvantage of being a lower-ranking prince.
Especially the Fourteenth Prince, who had the least foundation—still an infant, with a mother of common birth. Their survival until now relied entirely on Kurapika's formidable strength.
Vincent aimed his gun at Kurapika and laughed, "If you take another step closer, I'll exercise my right to self-defense by declaring you an accomplice in the plot to assassinate the Fourteenth Prince."
Just as Kurapika was weighing the pros and cons to find the optimal solution—
A lazy voice cut through the air.
"Sometimes, there's no need to overthink. When there's no path ahead, carve one out with bloodshed."
"Who?!"
He hadn't sensed anyone approaching from behind at all—what a blunder!
Vincent swiftly swung his gun toward the figure who had suddenly appeared at the doorway, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. Had this person attacked directly earlier, he'd likely be a corpse by now.
The thought sent a chill down Vincent's spine.
But fortunately, the newcomer was a fool!
Vincent glared at the man leaning against the doorframe, a vicious grin spreading across his face. "You idiot, you've lost your only chance to kill me!"
"Unidentified intruder in the Fourteenth Prince's residence—I now judge you to be an accomplice of this maid, conspiring to assassinate the prince from within. By the order of the First Prince, I am here to protect the Fourteenth Prince and have the authority to execute any threats on the spot!"
The traitorous Vincent spoke like a loyal subject.
Without waiting for his impassioned words to fade, Vincent didn't hesitate—he fired three consecutive shots at the newcomer!
These were no ordinary bullets.
After all, conventional firearms were useless against even moderately skilled Nen users. As members of the First Prince's private army, all of them were Nen users and well aware of this fact.
The bullets Vincent fired were infused with Nen—Nen bullets!
By using a firearm as a medium, this method was far more efficient than simply projecting Nen bullets like an Emission-type Nen user.
[A/N: Think of it as similar to imbuing ranged weapons with Haki in the One Piece world—otherwise, it'd be absurd for high-level Nen users to fear handguns.]
"Die, brat!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Vincent fired three shots in rapid succession.
Three Nen bullets tore through the air toward Mord at an astonishing speed.
At such close range, ordinary Nen users would struggle to react in time, at most using their aura to envelop their bodies for defense.
Vincent clearly had great confidence in the power of his Nen bullets.
The moment he pulled the trigger, a victorious smile had already appeared on his face.
But the smile had barely bloomed before freezing in place.
Vincent stared wide-eyed at the scene before him, his expression a mix of shock, confusion, and bewilderment... all these emotions made his long face appear particularly strange.
Twisted beyond description.
Not just Vincent.
Even the cooperative hunter Bill behind him looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Only Kurapika, who had witnessed Mord's strength before, was mentally prepared, knowing Vincent's Nen bullets couldn't harm Mord.
But even he never expected Mord to intercept the attack in such a manner.
Mord opened his hand.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three bullets dropped from his palm to the ground, emitting three crisp sounds.
Each sound struck Vincent's chest like a heavy hammer.
"Impossible! Impossible! Impossible!"
"How could such a monster exist in this world!"