The Strongest Assassin of the Zoldyck Family!

Dominica's eyes flashed.

"En!"

Centered on Dominica, his En expanded outward, enveloping the surrounding area. The entire region was now under his perception, allowing him to sense everything within.

Ron returned to the group.

"They're alive. Definitely alive."

"But they're also clearly NPCs."

"These people are no longer normal humans—they're absolutely being controlled."

Wendy raised her doubts.

"But if they're being controlled, why can't we see anything unusual with Gyo? Not even Uncle Dominica could detect anything."

This was the very question that had puzzled Ron and the group earlier.

The trio had noticed something off about the townspeople. However, without clear anomalies, they couldn't determine if the townsfolk were alive or merely puppets. That was why they decided to act today.

"I thought about it carefully. It's not that we didn't see anything unusual," Ron said.

"What do you mean?" Dominica asked, intrigued.

"I think we fell into a mental trap. Senior Dominica's abilities and knowledge of the Nen users in Taris are exceptional."

"When we entered the town, we saw the aura of death surrounding it."

"The entire town was shrouded in an ominous, deathly *aura*."

"The people's behavior seemed strange, but we didn't detect anything unusual about them. In reality, there *was* something abnormal about them. We just overlooked it."

"We ignored it because the surrounding environment was so overwhelmingly eerie."

"It's like trying to find a few grains of ordinary sand on a beach."

Dominica's pupils narrowed sharply.

Ron continued, "We'd only need to take one person out of the town to confirm it."

"No need."

Dominica's gaze locked onto the shopkeeper.

"Boom!"

With a deafening roar, the shop collapsed. Dirt surged up from the ground, and Ron, Wendy, Dominica, and the shopkeeper found themselves standing on fresh soil.

Walls of earth rose around them, enclosing the group.

The shopkeeper's expression remained unchanged, a smile still plastered on his face.

The drastic changes in their surroundings didn't faze him at all.

Dominica made a move.

Massive amounts of dirt surged toward the shopkeeper, wrapping around him completely. Moments later, a black thread emerged from the soil—a single strand of black hair.

As soon as the hair was severed, the shopkeeper's life force plummeted and quickly faded away entirely.

"No!"

Ron thought he heard a heart-wrenching scream.

The voice was filled with pure rage.

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Why?"

Dominica snapped his fingers.

The earthen walls crumbled.

All three turned toward the direction of the voice—it wasn't an illusion but a real sound coming from the very center of the town.

Simultaneously, the trio sensed an oncoming surge of life forms heading their way.

"No surprise, it's the townspeople," Dominica said.

"They've truly become puppets."

"We're their targets. Don't hesitate. Don't hold back. They've already become monsters. If we don't kill them, they won't survive anyway."

"Killing them will be their salvation."

The ground trembled as a large crowd of people charged toward them.

"I'll take this side. The two of you handle the other direction," Dominica instructed.

"Yes, Uncle Dominica."

"Understood, Senior Dominica."

The townspeople came into view.

Their appearances had drastically changed. Their bodies had swollen grotesquely, tearing through their clothing. Their expressions were feral, and their eyes seemed ready to bulge out of their sockets.

"Roar!"

Beast-like howls filled the air.

Ron glanced toward Dominica.

The ground beneath Dominica rippled, forming sharp earthen blades that pierced through the oncoming monsters.

"Splurt!"

"Splurt!"

"Splurt!"

Crimson blood sprayed everywhere.

Yet even with critical injuries, the monsters didn't die. They continued to claw and charge at Dominica, their focus solely on attacking him.

Dominica made another move.

The earthen spikes embedded in the monsters shifted and reshaped.

Instead of simply piercing them, the earth now restrained the monsters, immobilizing them one by one like zombies bound by chains.

---

On the other side, Wendy raised her hand.

"Swish!"

A sharp slicing sound echoed, as though invisible blades were flying through the air.

"Splurt!"

A monster's arm was severed, falling to the ground.

However, compared to Dominica, Wendy's efficiency was much lower. As several monsters closed in on Ron, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Akutagawa Ryuunosuke!"

The figure of Akutagawa Ryuunosuke emerged.

"Arts!"

The ends of Akutagawa's cloak began to morph, forming dark red blades. He slashed through the approaching monsters, the blade sweeping across them in a wide arc.

The blade was so sharp it seemed to cut through space itself.

The monsters stood no chance.

They fell one by one, like dominoes.

Wendy glanced over, unable to hide her amazement.

"What a ferocious attack. So this is the skill of the Zoldyck family's assassins?"

Previously, the three of them had only briefly described their abilities to one another. Seeing them in action was an entirely different matter.

"But I won't lose. I'm the most talented of my generation in the Fiora Royal Family!" Wendy thought.

Wendy held pride in her heart.

Recognized as a prodigy from a young age, she had undergone rigorous training far beyond her peers. While others played, she trained. While others rested, she honed her skills.

Though she sometimes envied the carefree lives of her peers, Wendy never regretted her path.

She believed that she would one day become the strongest in the Fiora Royal Family—and perhaps even across the entire human continent.

When Wendy learned that Ron would be accompanying her on this mission, she couldn't help but feel competitive.

After all, Ron was from the Zoldyck family—the world's most infamous assassin family.

Even Maha Zoldyck was a name that commanded the respect of the Fiora Royal Family.

---

In an instant, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke killed over a dozen monsters.

"Blade Storm!"

A sphere materialized in Wendy's hand. To the naked eye, it appeared empty, but under Ron's Gyo, he could see it was concentrated with immense aura.

"Go!"

Wendy hurled the sphere at the monsters.

As it landed—

"Boom!"

A massive explosion erupted.

Countless invisible blades burst forth, slicing indiscriminately in all directions. The sound of blades tearing through flesh echoed as the monsters fell, one after another.

Dozens of monsters were taken down in a single attack.

Ron raised an eyebrow.

"A Hunter World version of the Rasenshuriken?"

He couldn't deny it. Wendy's technique bore an uncanny resemblance to Naruto Uzumaki's Wind Release: Rasenshuriken—though the process of condensing the sphere was slightly different.

But then—

Black threads began emerging from the corpses of the fallen monsters.

The threads, as if alive, pulled the bodies together, forming a massive mound.

The once-dead corpses regained vitality, their auras now even stronger.

Even the severed bodies Ron had cut earlier began moving again. Severed limbs dragged themselves toward Ron and Wendy.

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