The golden light glowing in Nolan's eyes radiated a powerful illusion effect—one capable of trapping even elite Nen users if they made direct eye contact.
But Feng Yu gave him no opportunity.
Thanks to his Danger Sense, Feng Yu instinctively avoided Nolan's gaze. Instead of retreating, he poured all his strength into a head-on counter.
"Art of War: Moves Like Thunder!"
His Nen surged, burning with intensity. In return, it granted him overwhelming power.
A spiral of mental energy coiled around his arm, crackling with lightning. Feng Yu's punch, like a thunderbolt from the heavens, shattered Nolan's incoming slash and drove straight through his chest.
Boom!!!
A violent shockwave exploded outward, cracking the earth within tens of meters like a plow tearing through soil.
Feng Yu's fist tore straight through Nolan's body, bursting from his back, carrying enough spiral energy to crush every organ in its path.
"You were a worthy opponent… but you chose the wrong enemy."
Feng Yu withdrew his arm, stepped back, and calmly watched as Nolan collapsed to his knees—then face-first into the dirt, lifeless.
"Wings of Thread!"
Without wasting a moment, Feng Yu turned toward the battlefield behind him. From his back, silver-white wings unfurled and he launched into the air like a shining comet, racing to rejoin his allies.
"Sacred Tree: Wall Break!"
Meanwhile, a thick wooden wall sprouted from the earth, blocking a hail of incoming fire.
Ratatatatatatata… BOOM!
The sound of heavy metal slugs pounding the wall echoed violently as bullets ripped into the barrier, chewing craters into the thick wood.
Despite the defense, the wooden wall was already trembling—on the verge of collapse.
But it bought just enough time.
Natalie (formerly No. 3) leapt from the side of the crumbling barrier, sprinting to reposition. As she darted, she shot a glance toward Shiba—who was not far away.
"Thorn Lash!"
She activated her Nen.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Shiba erupted with long, sharp vines that cracked like whips, trying to entangle her.
But Shiba reacted instantly, leaping backward to dodge the attack. Before she even landed, the Gatling gun formed from her left arm was already firing, tearing the thorns to shreds.
And she wasn't done—her right arm's Gatling gun pivoted midair and began tracking Natalie, spraying fire across her path. The very ground behind Natalie exploded with every impact, forming a trail of craters.
While Feng Yu had been locked in his deadly duel, the rest of the battlefield was equally intense.
Shiba vs. Natalie
Mia vs. Tyler (formerly No. 7)
Gatomon vs. Rachel (No. 4) and Sasha (No. 10)
Evenly matched at first—now things were shifting.
Among elite Nen users, there were still different tiers: ordinary, advanced, and top-tier.
With the exception of Nolan, most Meteor Pursuit Team members ranked between average and advanced.
For example, Gatomon, a top-tier combatant, was fighting a two-on-one against Rachel (ordinary-tier) and Sasha (advanced-tier). While the odds weren't overwhelming, it still made the fight a deadlock.
Time passed.
The longer the battle dragged on, the more stamina and Nen energy were drained.
Shiba and Mia both had Yin Seals that allowed them to store extra Nen, and while their reserves weren't on Feng Yu's level, they were still far above the norm.
Even so, as the fight wore on, fatigue began to tilt the balance.
Natalie gritted her teeth, zipping between cover as Shiba's relentless bullets tore apart the terrain behind her.
"How the hell does she still have this much energy left?!"
Natalie's plan had been simple—drag the fight out and wait for Shiba to run out of Nen. After all, that Gatling barrage had to cost a massive amount of energy.
But the moment never came.
Instead, it was her reserves that were nearly gone, pushed to the edge by continuous evasive maneuvers and bursts of thorns.
Meanwhile, Shiba kept firing with the precision and intensity of a machine.
She had no choice.
Another burst of real bullets chased her down. Natalie barely threw up another wooden wall in time, using it as a shield.
"…You really think that'll work again?"
Shiba narrowed her eyes at the crumbling barrier ahead.
Suddenly, she stopped firing.
Then—she raised her right leg. It transformed.
The limb morphed into a sleek, metallic cannon barrel, glowing with internal heat.
"Deadly Cannon!"
FWOOSH!!!
A fiery shell roared from the cannon.
BOOM!!!
It hit the wooden wall like a meteor. The explosion that followed ripped the landscape apart. Flames surged outward. Shockwaves rippled across the terrain, shattering the entire barricade in a blinding flash of destruction.
"AAAAHHH!!!"
Natalie didn't even have time to escape.
She was still behind the wall when it detonated. The flames swallowed her whole, and the shockwave hurled her through the air, her body burning, bleeding, and limp.
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 advance chapter in PATREON
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