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"What do you think are you doing?"
Right after those cold words reverberated in the whole place, a sudden chill ran through Ghost Chopper's spine, making him unable to move for a brief moment.
Then he quickly let go of Cloe and swiftly retracted his arm because of the sharp sensation that he felt in the air. It was trying to cut his extended arm.
Swoosh!
He also jumped away right after his actions. At the same, he was spreading his Spiritual Sense in every direction, trying to find the other person. He always kept his Spiritual Sense active, so he should be able to feel if someone entered his perception range. But given that he did not sense anyone invading his range of perception, it was clear that the other party was better than him or had a stealth technique that was much stronger than his Spiritual Sense.
The chill that he just felt earlier was further intensified when he looked over the place where he was located earlier. There, he saw a young man facing his back toward him while catching Cloe's falling body.
"Since when?!" his mind turned blank when he saw that young man. Not only his Spiritual Sense had been breached, but he also could not feel the presence of this particular young man.
"You're late," said Cloe weakly as he stared at Shin's face.
Shin smiled apologetically before replying. "Sorry, I am late."
He then disappeared from his current position and reappeared in another place while carrying Cloe. In that place, Alice, Lorraine, and the female guard were currently gathered, unknowingly. He then gently put Cloe down beside the three before doing a series of hand gestures while releasing his mental energy.
A gentle flame suddenly fell on the girls' bodies right after his Mental Energy touched them. But instead of burning them alive, a warm and comforting feeling enveloped them as their wounds and injuries started to heal at an astonishing rate.
"Stay here for now. I'll take care of the rest," said Shin gently as he slowly stood up.
"I trust you," said Cloe softly which was immediately followed by Lorraine. "Hey! Give him an extra beating for me as well."
Shin slightly nodded his head before turning around to face Ghost Chopper, who was standing in the distance. He started walking forward with calm yet aggressive steps. At the same time, his left hand was currently resting on the hilt of his sheathed swords that he just took from their villa nearby.
He could promise that he could win given that the opposing party was currently exhausted. But was not sure about the extra beating since he could not suppress the rage that he was currently feeling.
Ghost Chopper did not know why, but his entire body was getting tensed with every step Shin took toward him. He could feel the heavy pressure coming from the young man that he was supposed to feel from top-rank experts.
"This kid-… He is not that simple. The information that we received about him is definitely not accurate," muttered Ghost Chopper as he prepared himself for the battle.
But the moment he stared at Shin, he found that he could not feel anything from the young man despite utilizing his Spiritual Sense to its maximum potential. Aside from the powerful pressure that he was feeling, it seemed like he was staring at an empty space. It was as if Shin had become a part of nature himself.
"This!?" Ghost Chopper could not help but become shocked at the current situation. This kind of technique could only be found in the family of ancient assassins or from the experts who became an integral part of nature. Either way, both of those cases were not something that he could face in his current state.
This was one of the Mentalism Techniques that Shin had learned from David. It was a trick to erase his presence with the help of his Mental Energy. He could not use it in his previous battle due to his injured state at that time. But now that he had fully recovered, he could not use it without from problem.
Moreover, he could also use this particular technique alongside the other Mentalism Techniques under the Four Symbol Scripture. For example, he would be able to produce a surprising technique that could fool the senses of his opponent.
Bang!
Shin released the suppressed energies within his body while also removing the Mental Energy that shrouded his presence. This resulted in everything charging toward his opponent.
And since Ghost Chopper was using his Spiritual Sense to the limit, Shin's actions created an illusion. From his perspective, Shin suddenly kicked the ground and charged at him at an insane speed while releasing his killing intent.
Ghost Chopper could not help but panic a little because of the suffocation from the heavy pressure pressing on him and the killing intent that was coming from his incoming opponent. His back was drenched with sweat while his forehead was sweating bullets.
Following his instincts, he quickly took a couple of steps backward, creating more space between him and his opponent. He then poured out his remaining Mental Energy toward his daggers before swinging them toward his incoming opponent.
His actions were swift, sharp, and decisive. Despite the initial panic, he was still able to properly respond to the current situation and even counterattacked before his opponent could even respond. His arms moved and turned into blurs as he cut Shin into multiple pieces.
He was taken aback at first as he could not believe that he had 'killed' his opponent within an instant. He then became overjoyed and mocked Shin for his foolish actions. Though, he had to admit that he was almost fooled by the young man.
Ghost Chopper laughed and relaxed. He just expended quite a lot of Mental Energy from that 'exchange', so he barely had anything left in his tank.
Fortunately, the girls were severely injured earlier, so he should still be able to take care of them. He did not believe that Shin could heal their wounds and injuries with his 'lousy' Mentalism.
Satisfied, he raised his head and looked in front of him, planning to see the current state of his targets. But the moment he did that, his eyes suddenly contracted as a blank look washed over his face.
In the same spot as earlier, he saw the young man that he just killed – completely fine and did not have any injury.
Confusion was the first thing that entered Ghost Chopper's mind, then it was immediately replaced by a sudden realization as he immediately understood what just happened. He was a Mentalist as well, so he was naturally able to realize that he had been tricked by an illusion.
How could Shin waste such a perfect opportunity to strike? This was the very reason why he used that technique just now, so he naturally took advantage of his opponent's confusion to make his move.
Bang!
This time, he kicked the ground for real and propelled himself toward his opponent. His speed and timing were much between compared to the attack that Ghost Chopper saw in the illusion earlier.
The mercenary saw Shin zoomed in from his vision and arrived right in front of him almost in an instant. He wanted to dodge but his body refused to move no matter how hard he urged it with his command. It seemed like his legs were rooted on the ground.
"F*ck!" he could only curse out loud as he watched his opponent briefly pause in front of him with a ducking motion. He also saw the latter pulling out the white katana from its sheath with swift and precise movements.
In that desperate moment, his only saving grace was to put up the sturdiest wall made of Mental Energy as fast as he could. He also crossed his daggers in front of him, hoping that it was enough to save his life.
Unfortunately, he already spent most of his remaining Mental Energy when taking down the 'Shin' that he saw earlier – which was a total waste of energy. At the same time, his body was already been exhausted from fighting the girls earlier, so it could no longer able to keep up with the speed of his opponent.
Click!
First, he heard a subtle clicking sound of the sword when its guard was separated from its sheath. Then it was quickly followed by the grinding sound of the metal when the blade was being pulled out by the sheath.
Shing!
While swinging the sword at his opponent, Shin suddenly stomped on the ground and accelerated forward, leaving a flash of light as he brushed past the mercenary.
When he stopped a few meters away, he flipped his wrist to turn the katana before putting it gently on its sheath. And when the sheath and the guard were about to join together, he paused for a moment before pushing them against each other.
Click!
When that sound reverberated, multiple lines suddenly appeared on Ghost Chopper's body. Those thin lines turned darker for a moment before blood started squirting out from them. It was at that moment when the mercenary fell on the ground and landed in his pool of blood.
Not long after that, his body was suddenly lit ablaze by a raging fire which burned his body alongside his blood.
The famous mercenary died in an anticlimactic manner but Shin did not even bother to look at Ghost Chopper's corpse. He knew that this was far from over, so he turned his attention toward the black dome in the distance as he could feel powerful auras continuously clashing inside it.
He knew that a more powerful opponent was currently in there, fighting the powerful guards that were tasked to protect this area.
He walked toward it before stopping when he reached a certain distance. He then closed his eyes and gathered his Mental Energy while taking a sword-drawing stance. At the same time, he spread his Spiritual Sense and focused it on the auras within the black dome, trying to feel their movements.
He maintained that posture and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike. He only had a single chance and he would not waste it when the opportunity arrived.
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Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om