Under the violent impact, the car's front end was severely dented, almost merging with the roadside tree trunk.
Thick white smoke billowed from the twisted and deformed hood, with faint wisps of flames visible.
One thousand two hundred meters away, on a slope beside the driveway.
A man in camouflage lay prone behind the slope, a sniper rifle propped in front of him.
"Continue."
A cold voice came through the sniper's earpiece.
Hearing the command, the sniper aimed at the deformed car, half-obscured by thick smoke, instinctively locking onto the approximate location of the driver's seat, then pulled the trigger.
A sharp crack.
A long, pointed bullet shot from the silenced barrel, trailing a fleeting fiery streak, tearing through the night and accurately hitting the car shrouded in white smoke.
Then another shot, two shots, three shots...
The sniper cycled the bolt and fired, quickly emptying his magazine.
With the white smoke providing cover, each of his shots was aimed by instinct.
But as long as the target was trapped in the driver's seat, he was extremely confident in his previous shots.
After firing all the bullets, the sniper immediately reloaded.
However, he didn't fire again; instead, he waited for the next command while observing the wrecked, burning car and any movement in the surroundings through his scope.
Boom—
Suddenly, the car exploded in a fiery burst.
Flames shot skyward, pushing the billowing smoke even higher.
The heat-laden airflow instantly flattened the surrounding green grass.
And behind a large tree a few meters away.
Moro leaned against the tree trunk, a hint of coldness in his eyes.
His body was stained in many places.
Fortunately, thanks to the defensive effect of his Nen, when he forcibly burst through the passenger side door amidst the thick smoke, he wasn't scratched by sharp objects or glass fragments.
Afterward, he took advantage of the night to rush into the roadside woods, using one of the nearby large trees as cover, waiting for the sniper's next move.
The sniper's continuous firing at the car allowed Moro to confirm that his current cover was temporarily safe.
However, he dared not move rashly, lest he be immediately targeted by the sniper.
Moro calmed the rapid beating in his heart.
"What just happened?"
Recalling the split-second between life and death, a flicker of surprise and doubt crossed Moro's eyes.
When the bullet tore through the night and struck, he felt as if he had smelled the scent of death, and a flash of intuition burst in his mind, an alertness, even before the windshield shattered.
So, in that state, he instinctively tilted his head, dodging what would have been a fatal shot.
It should be known that, with his current Nen level, even if he could use "Gyo" in time to enhance local defense, he wouldn't be able to withstand an attack from a sniper rifle.
Moreover, when suddenly attacked, the speed of using "Gyo" for defense would definitely not be faster than a bullet.
In such a situation, only by accurately dodging the bullet could he survive.
But the root cause was still a hardware issue (referring to his Nen capabilities).
At this stage, his maximum visible aura and the intensity of "Ren" were insufficient for him to face a high-powered firearm like a sniper rifle.
If his "hardware" (Nen abilities) were strong enough, even without using Gyo to enhance local defense, he could block a sniper rifle.
So, for the current Moro, compared to the long-range threat of a sniper rifle, he would rather face a Nen user up close.
Because in a sense, a sniper rifle was harder to deal with than a Nen user like Zazan.
It was frustrating, but it was reality.
Moro reached up and touched his earlobe; there was blood.
If it weren't for that momentary danger perception...
Moro exhaled slowly, suppressing the surprise in his heart, and a look of solemnity gradually appeared in his eyes.
"If I don't deal with that sniper..."
The constant threat of being targeted by a sniper would severely limit his mobility.
In this situation, if there were other enemies, he would be even more in danger.
The relatively good news for now was that there was only one sniper.
If there were another sniper, even if he didn't die now, he'd be severely injured.
"At least a thousand meters away..."
The sniper's continuous firing just now, seemingly unconcerned with exposing his position, also presented Moro with an opportunity.
However, even with the location confirmed, how to advance on it remained a difficult problem to solve.
It could be said that the longer this distance, the greater the inherent risk.
If he chose to avoid battle and move away from the sniper's direction, without knowing the opponent's maximum range, it would be equivalent to exposing his back.
If there was more than one attacker, then no matter which choice he made, his situation could become even more dangerous.
This was the trickiest part.
And compared to dealing with the sniper as quickly as possible, the more important thing right now was to confirm the number of attackers.
If conditions allowed, confirming their positions would be even better.
This way, whether to advance or retreat, he could do so much more calmly.
Under normal circumstances, this would be the thought process—
But Moro had another choice.
Confirming the number of attackers, and subsequent positioning...
All of this would take time.
And in his current situation, every second that passed would increase the unknown risks he faced.
The worst outcome would be for the sniper to relocate, silently putting pressure on him.
So, rather than confirming information during a stalemate, Moro was more willing to try and quickly kill the sniper.
And this decision could not have the slightest hesitation.
He had to use the confirmed location information to swiftly eliminate the sniper, before that "confidence" of the sniper, who dared to expose his position by continuously firing, disappeared.
"There's only one chance."
Moro closed his eyes, constructing linear diagrams one after another in his mind.
The distribution of surrounding trees, the burning car, the slightly undulating road, and the distant hillside ahead...
All obstacles in the direct trajectory were eliminated one by one by Moro, to find an alternative suitable trajectory.
A few seconds later.
Moro opened his eyes, a glint of Nen shining within them.
"Deceitful Flying Star"
He raised his hand, adjusting the angle.
Bright Nen gathered in his palm, condensing into a fist-sized flying star.
Whoosh—
The flying star shot forth like an arrow from a bowstring, passing through the tree branches and leaves, hovering in mid-air a hundred meters away.
At the same time.
Moro suddenly darted out from behind the large tree, stood in his pre-planned position, and then watched as the flying star, after expanding, shot back towards him.
As the flying star approached his face, Moro turned sideways at the last second.
The light emitted by the flying star thus flashed past Moro's eyes, then, like a meteor, it shot through the gaps in the nearby trees, flying towards the distant sniper.
Deceitful Flying Star's second stage, Swallow's Return—
While enjoying the effect of doubled firing speed and power from the Vow, it also brought a Restriction that would inflict equal damage upon Moro.
With this as a premise, when Moro seized the opportune moment to avoid the returning flying star...
Then, under the influence of the Restriction, the Swallow's Return flying star would break free from the limitation of "flight distance," and its power would not diminish with distance until it hit an obstacle.
Moro utilized the mechanism of the Restriction to make the flying star's range break through its original hundred-meter limit.
In an instant—
Like a meteor streaking through the sky, it aimed directly a thousand meters away.
At the same time.
On the distant hillside, the sniper noticed Moro, who had suddenly revealed himself.
Quickly locked on, controlled his breath, finger pressed the trigger.
"Hm!?"
Just as the sniper was about to fire, his scope was suddenly filled with a blinding flash of light.
"What...?!"
The sniper abruptly looked up.
The next instant, the hillside in front of him exploded.
A violent impact, carrying gravel and shattered rocks, engulfed the sniper.
In but a glance, the sniper was thrown backward, his body riddled with holes like a tattered sack, undeniably dead.
In another direction.
A sinister-looking young man stared intently at the explosion site, his face filled with disbelief.
He had just witnessed the Nen bullet, like a meteor, flying over a thousand meters.
"Such a great distance... and it still has such powerful force?"
Taking off his static-filled earpiece, the sinister young man, still in shock, turned his gaze towards Moro's location.
Emitters are better at projecting Nen outwards, but even so, it's by no means easy to simultaneously maintain the power and stability of a Nen bullet over long distances.
For a moment, the sinister young man hesitated whether to continue approaching.
(End of Chapter)
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