A massive amount of Nen converged on both of Silva's hands as he plummeted toward the street where Isley had just escaped the water, a spot not yet completely engulfed by the flooding.
Isley also sensed the impending danger.
He held his revolvers, which were coated in Nen, ensuring they would not misfire despite the drenching water. He pulled the triggers repeatedly, the bangs echoing as he emptied his cylinders directly upward.
But the moment the bullets left the muzzles, a dragon's head surged out from nearby, snapping its jaws and swallowing every single bullet in an instant. The bullets exploded under Isley's control, yet they could not tear through the head formed entirely of Nen.
Alarm bells rang in Isley's mind, but his body refused to move. If that dragon's head had been aimed at him instead of the bullets, he might have been bitten into three pieces in a heartbeat!
Isley exerted every ounce of strength, yet he couldn't budge an inch. He felt the space around him become viscous and solid, as if he were frozen within the air itself; he couldn't even twitch his pinky finger.
From above, Silva descended.
In Isley's field of vision, besides Silva, there was also Zeno standing nearby, his hands held in a specific gesture to control the dragon. Having swallowed the explosions, the dragon's head turned back to face him. It seemed that if Silva's attack failed to kill him, the dragon would swallow him whole to join the detonating bullets.
However, none of this was what truly drove Isley to despair. What brought him to the brink of hopelessness was the realization that his sensation was correct.
The space had indeed been imprisoned.
And the one responsible for all of this was Luo Ning, who was watching him from a short distance away.
[AME-NO-TOKOTACHI]
This was the name of Luo Ning's left eye ability. Its effect was the power to freely imprison a section of space within his line of sight!
The reason Isley could no longer even pull his triggers was that Luo Ning had activated [AME-NO-TOKOTACHI] to lock down the space where Isley stood. However, the range seemed a bit too large; Luo Ning felt a warmth at the corner of his eye, likely a trail of blood.
He wasn't entirely sure if this was because the imprisoned area was too wide, or because Silva had also been momentarily suspended in mid-air the moment he entered that space during his descent. But he knew that as long as he canceled [AME-NO-TOKOTACHI] now, Silva's attack would inevitably land on Isley.
The falling Silva felt a flicker of disbelief. He was suspended less than half a meter above Isley, and he could feel the Nen on his fists being rapidly consumed while his body continued to descend toward Isley at an extremely slow pace.
This state lasted for less than a second.
Silva instantly identified the person responsible. Simultaneously, his movements returned to normal. His fists, wrapped in an immense amount of Nen, smashed into Isley under the man's despairing gaze.
Boom!
Amidst a thunderous explosion, a deep crater appeared where Isley had been. Blood splattered within the pit, and only two revolvers, still gripped by severed hands, were sent flying from the bottom.
Silva didn't bother looking at the meat paste that used to be Isley. He stood up and turned his gaze toward Luo Ning. However, at that moment, two figures appeared near the crater.
They were Nobunaga and Phinks of the Phantom Troupe.
Acting in unison, they launched an attack on Silva in the pit. Meanwhile, two other figures appeared elsewhere, rushing toward Luo Ning in a pincer movement.
[DRAGON HEAD SIGN] had not yet dissipated. With a flick of Zeno's hands, the dragon's head swiveled and crashed toward Nobunaga and Phinks at an even greater speed.
A long blade slashed into the dragon's head. Though it cut deep, it could not sever it, as the wound simply sealed itself back together the moment the blade passed through. Nobunaga, who had initiated the attack, was sent flying by the impact in the next heartbeat.
Phinks's attack reached Silva just as Nobunaga was knocked away, but Silva's movements matched his perfectly. Raising his fist, an explosion of Nen collided directly with Phinks's fist. Both men retreated simultaneously, but Silva remained completely composed.
Considering he had just unleashed an attack to kill Isley and could still match Phinks's charged blow, it was clear his strength was at least two or three levels above Phinks!
On the other side, a skeleton wrapped in red energy appeared around Luo Ning's body. Although it was only a half-body, its massive raised hand and the ribs protecting Luo Ning easily blocked the incoming Nen bullets while the other hand grabbed at the small figure attacking him.
The small figure was Feitan. Having seen the power of that skeletal hand from a distance before, Feitan didn't dare make contact. He retreated repeatedly, managing to dodge the skeletal hand which wasn't particularly fast. However, this forced him to distance himself from Luo Ning.
Seeing that [DOUBLE MACHINE GUN] posed no threat to [SUSANOO], Franklin simply grabbed his left wrist and pulled his hand off. A dark cannon muzzle was revealed, and even more Nen began to converge within it.
[SINGLE WRIST CANNON]
Before he could fire, a bullet struck him directly in the forehead. Sparks flew as Franklin staggered backward. The Nen gathered in his left wrist exploded outward, but the shot veered off course. A Nen orb the size of a volleyball grazed past [SUSANOO] and struck a nearby building. An explosion rang out as a hole several meters wide appeared in the skyscraper.
Franklin looked up toward another direction where a sniper rifle was positioned. Behind the shooter stood a red-eyed youth.
It was Kurapika and the mercenary Muherr!
"Withdraw!"
Chrollo's voice drifted from a distance. It seemed something had happened there that forced him to issue such an order.
The members of the Phantom Troupe looked at each other, seeing the unwillingness in their comrades' eyes. But at that moment, several armed mercenaries appeared on the street. These mercenaries didn't hold back, exposing their Nen, and in the center of their squad stood a metal mecha over four meters tall!
The Troupe members felt a chill in their hearts and quickly gathered to retreat. When the mercenaries appeared, they knew the tide had turned. The mercenaries did not pursue the retreating Phantom Troupe but instead rushed to Luo Ning's side to form a protective perimeter.
Zeno and Silva also had no intention of continuing the fight. Their target was Isley. Now that the target was a pile of mush, they had fulfilled their employer's mission; there was no need to keep fighting the Troupe. Killing outside of a contract was not what assassins did. If they were to kill more, the employer would have to pay extra; otherwise, Zeno would feel like he was losing out.
And Zeno hated losing out more than anything.
As for Silva, he wasn't the type to kill indiscriminately either. His gaze instead fell upon Luo Ning. Luo Ning's strength concerned him slightly, especially given the bizarre and versatile nature of the youth's abilities. However, he had no intention of striking up a conversation. He simply nodded to Luo Ning as a gesture of thanks for the spatial imprisonment that had saved him time in killing Isley.
Zeno and Silva then turned and left.
"The young people nowadays are truly formidable."
Zeno's voice wasn't loud as he walked away, but the sharp-eared Luo Ning heard it clearly. A slight smile played at the corner of Luo Ning's mouth.
'I suppose that counts as recognition and a compliment!'
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