Chapter 15: All Must Die!
The sand bandit leader caught the thrown money bag and opened it to find only 500-jenni coins inside, totaling about 50,000 jenni in the entire bag.
Seeing this, the bandit leader's expression darkened: "This little? Are you treating us like beggars?"
"Please, consider my face—"
"What face do you have, Abel? I've never even heard of you!" The bandit leader's impatience grew. "I'll say it again—leave everything behind and get lost before I change my mind."
It seemed reconciliation was impossible.
Abel sighed inwardly, raising his eyes to assess the strength gap between both sides.
This could be considered part of his training on the path to becoming a Hunter.
Just as Abel prepared to act, a figure had already stepped past him, continuing toward the sand bandits.
When he recognized who it was, he couldn't help but shout, "Danger, Mord! Come back!"
Not just Abel, but the rest of the Black Rose Trading Company and the sand bandits also noticed Mord.
Under everyone's gaze, Mord walked to the center, picked up the severed head of Lot from the sand, and gently closed its eyes.
"He was so young. His life had only just begun."
An eerily calm voice came from Mord—so calm it felt out of place in this situation. Only a few could detect the terrifying killing intent beneath that tranquility.
The bandit leader stared at Mord. "What did you say?"
The Black Rose merchants watched Mord anxiously, while Abel looked at him with the expression of someone watching a foolish teammate. The bandits had guns—at this distance, even he wouldn't be able to save Mord if they decided to act.
"He said his dream was to open a trade route across this endless desert. A path that could connect the northern mountains of the Yorbian Continent."
"A lifeline that could change the backwardness of the northern cities."
"So what? What are you trying to say?" The bandit leader sneered, looking at Mord as if he were an idiot.
In his eyes, it was just one person—killed and done with.
This guy who came out of nowhere was insane, rambling on and on about a single death.
Mord suddenly raised his head. "Today, all of you will die!"
"Hahahaha!"
"This kid's lost his mind!"
...
The sand bandits burst into laughter as if they'd heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Idiot!" Abel cursed inwardly, his mind racing as he weighed his options.
Perhaps letting this guy distract them while he waited for an opening wasn't a bad idea.
But as Mord took step after step toward them...
The bandits' laughter gradually faded.
They realized this guy might actually be serious.
The bandit leader narrowed his eyes and waved a hand to the side.
One of his men understood, raising his rifle to shoot at Mord.
Boom!
The next moment, a deafening explosion rang out.
But it wasn't the sound of a rifle—it was the sickening crunch of a fist smashing into flesh.
The sand bandit remained seated on his sand horse, hands still gripping his rifle in firing position, yet his head had been completely obliterated, spraying chunks of flesh and blood mist in all directions.
The raucous laughter died instantly.
The bandits' eyes widened in disbelief at the scene before them.
A single punch had exploded a man's skull.
Was this something a human could possibly do?!
Channeling nen into his fist with the technique of Ren, even solid rock would shatter effortlessly.
The members of the Black Rose Trading Company reacted similarly, their gazes at Mord now filled with reverence as if beholding a deity.
Even Abel, who had been preparing to strike at an opportune moment, froze mid-step, stunned by what he'd just witnessed.
"This..."
"Shoot! Shoot now!"
"Kill him!"
The sand bandit leader finally snapped out of his shock and bellowed the order.
His men, jolted back to awareness, unleashed a furious barrage of gunfire at the figure on the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots echoed across the desert night.
But when the smoke cleared, Mord was gone.
The next instant, several crimson arcs of blood sprayed through the air.
Four bandits clutched their gushing throats, screaming as they toppled from their sand horses.
The blood soaked into the yellow sand, vanishing without a trace.
One after another.
Watching his men fall before him, the bandit leader's bravado crumbled into terror—Mord had become a demon in his eyes.
Firearms seemed utterly useless against this monster.
Driven by primal fear, he scrambled on hands and knees to the black-cloaked figure at the rear of their group, kowtowing desperately. "Save me, my lord! Please save me!"
Mord withdrew his hand from another bandit's chest, the killing blow delivered with knifehand precision. His cold gaze locked onto the groveling leader as he advanced step by step.
He'd said they would all die.
Then not a single one will be spared!
"Seems fate really ties us together. Long time no see, Mord!"
A familiar voice came from the black-cloaked man standing behind the sand bandit leader.
Mord halted and looked up, letting out a soft sound of surprise before speaking, "You?"
"That's right. It's me."
The black-cloaked man reached up and pulled off his hood, revealing his true appearance—a signature mohawk. It was Domen, a cadre of the Inverted Cross Legion from Meteor City.
Back then, the Inverted Cross Legion had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Elder Council. Their leader, Noah, had died on the spot, and it was said that one or two cadres had escaped, their fates unknown.
No one expected Domen to be among them—and now, he had become a sand bandit in this endless desert. As a Nen user, controlling this small band of outlaws was child's play for him.
"I didn't expect to run into you here either," Domen grinned, baring his teeth in a savage smile. "Seems the heavens want us to finish that unfinished duel."
Even now, Domen still couldn't let go of Noah's assessment of his fight with Mord that day. He wanted to prove Noah wrong.
The one who would win in the end—was him, Domen!
Even though Noah was no longer around.
As for Mord, since Domen was part of the sand bandits, the outcome was obvious.
"We settle both victory and life," Mord said calmly.
"'We settle both victory and life'—well said!" Domen let out a wild laugh before suddenly kicking the sand bandit leader kneeling before him.
His Nen-infused right foot struck the bandit leader square in the chest, sending him flying backward until he crashed heavily into the distant sands, lifeless.
After all this time, that unfinished battle in Meteor City…
Would finally reach its conclusion in this endless desert.
Amid his mad laughter, Domen charged toward Mord, his right fist hurtling forward like a cannonball!