Chapter 236: Physical Immunity [Deflect] x A Family Goes to Their Death
Andrew Cooper didn't want to, and was unwilling to, live those past days filled with suffering everywhere.
He was terrified of being poor and terrified of being hungry... For this, he didn't hesitate to offer his childhood sweetheart, his wife Miranda, to the esteemed Lord Knight in exchange for an "Admission Pass" to Bandle City... Facts proved his decision back then was correct... His wife Miranda was living very well, and it was said she had now become the Lord Knight's most favored concubine...
A while ago, Lord Edmund even rewarded him with a small pouch of gold coins, telling him Miranda was doing great. Because of her, other Lord Knights of the security force had a "deep and thorough" exchange with her and unanimously agreed... her skills were not inferior to those succubi who always "served others with their beauty"...
Andrew Cooper naturally understood this. He was both gratified and excited. Relying on Miranda constantly moving between the beds of the various lords of the security force finally brought him an opportunity to change his life's trajectory. Not long ago, Lord Edmund found him and told him the news of the bizarre death of Frank Bege... that fat man from the 4K Gang, exclusively responsible for providing services to a certain big shot in the Principality of Samer... Andrew Cooper immediately realized that the opportunity he had waited left and right, suffering for over ten years, had arrived!
He immediately knelt down, held up Lord Edmund's right foot, kissed his shoe, and swore he would do everything in his power to take over Frank Bege's responsibilities, gather the remnants of the 4K Gang, handle the connection between Bandle City and the Principality of Samer, and become an... inconspicuous bridge for the security force attempting to regularize under the [Storm], shed their outcast status, and return to the [Storm]'s command...
Of course, the prerequisite was—
He had to abide by Bandle City's rules and first handle the matter of [Soul Placement] properly!
[Soul Placement] was said to be the "Nen ability" of a certain Vice Commander of the security force. The prerequisites for activation were: first, it must be voluntary; second, they must be eaten by a magical beast... As for "voluntary," according to something Lord Edmund said once after drinking, it seemed to be to avoid a [Backlash] from something... Being eaten by a magical beast, Lord Edmund didn't elaborate, but according to Andrew Cooper's observation, it might be related to a secret deal reached between the security force and a certain [Magical Beast Lord].
After all, magical beasts eat humans too, especially... fresh and delicious food like "Nen users"!
Andrew Cooper stood on the thick trunk of a towering tree, holding an exquisite "Nen Tool Hand Crossbow". Beside him stood a tall bald man completely covered in heavy armor, carrying a massive round shield on his shoulder. A sudden sneak attack arrow was unexpectedly cleaved in two by the seemingly unremarkable boy in front of him with a backhanded slash of his sword...
He looked down from his high vantage point, his gaze passing right over Roy and fixing on Old Mark. He said faintly, "Old man, you don't want your precious granddaughter to not be able to enter the city, do you?"
Old Mark's body trembled. He tremblingly picked up a rock from the ground, aimed it at his own head, and smashed it hard. "Bang!"
Suddenly, a snow-white sword light flashed... Old Mark only felt his palm empty. The rock he held in his hand seemed to encounter a blade storm halfway and was instantly cut into hundreds of tiny fragments, pattering to the ground!
"Young man," Old Mark was stunned at first, then exchanged a glance with his wife, Nora, who had already become a dead soul, and pleaded almost beggingly, "Please do not stop me... You know everything... My worthless life, if it ends, it ends. But... my Little Maddie must live..."
"Mark..." Mrs. Nora gently stroked Old Mark's face, turned, floated to Roy's feet, prostrated on the ground, and pleaded with him together, "For the sake of the [Storm], please do not stop him..."
Roy's gaze wavered. A huge, absurd feeling that "saving someone is also a mistake" rarely arose in his heart. He looked up at Andrew Cooper in the tree, understanding the source of the absurdity. His gaze then moved down, aiming at the small leather flask tucked in the other's waist. [En] released, he faintly heard a "sorrowful" call, seemingly crying... "Grandpa..." "Grandma..."
Grandpa... Grandma... Whose grandpa, whose grandma?!
The boy involuntarily closed his eyes, held his sword horizontally, turned his back to Old Mark, brushed past Mrs. Nora's head bowed on the ground, stepped forward, and said coldly, "Mr. Mark, I must emphasize," "My stopping you earlier was merely out of my morality as a [Human], unwilling to associate with beasts."
The sword in his hand turned red, ignited, and then with a fwoosh, erupted with surging flames, reflecting a part of the forest, bright as day...
Roy held the sword in one hand, the tip pointing diagonally. Under the stunned gazes of Old Mark and Mrs. Nora, he looked coldly at Andrew Cooper. "As for now, I have done what I should. Since you are set on dying, then please suit yourself. I will no longer stop you."
While speaking, another sharp sword cry sounded. The surging flames abruptly retracted, all pouring back into the sword, instantly painting [Solar Eclipse] with a black that exuded the "embers of a dying fire"!
With his back to the two, Roy slowly walked forward: "But, there is one more thing I think I must tell you both..."
"Dying might be right, so that,"
"You can reunite with your precious granddaughter, Little Maddie!"
"Re... reunite..." Old Mark and his wife Nora were both stunned. The former seemed to realize something, struggled fiercely to stand up, and shouted at the boy, "What... what do you mean?"
"Exactly what it means." Whoosh, a slash that crossed nearly a hundred meters tore through the air, slashing towards Andrew Cooper... Roy pointed the sword tip diagonally upward. "Instead of asking me, why don't you ask him where the flask at his waist came from!"
Sizzle~ The sword aura flew over in an instant!
But unexpectedly, it was firmly blocked by an opened giant round shield that moved later but arrived first... In a split second, it was deflected back, slicing towards Roy's neck at an even faster speed!
"It's that bald guy holding the shield!"
[En] released, Roy delivered another backhanded slash, knocking away the deflected sword aura... letting it launch into the air, slicing apart large swathes of clouds...
In the tree, Andrew Cooper stood calmly behind the bald man, squinting at Roy. He also released [En], mercilessly expelling the Heart Worm that attempted to invade his heart along the karmic thread...
He said expressionlessly, "Be careful, Rungon... this guy's [En] can read minds. Back then... Frank Bege probably fell to him because he got hit by his mind-reading and was put on the defensive..."
[Bunker] Frank Bege, known as a "One-Man Army", was absolutely not weak... At first, Andrew Cooper didn't notice. At the moment Roy suddenly called out the flask at his waist, he took another look, looking in surprise, and suddenly realized that this person in front of him actually resembled the "Blasphemer" on the security force's internal wanted list by eighty percent... Clearly, the opponent was exactly that wanted criminal named by that lord... Archbishop Benjamin!
"I know, that sword... isn't bad..." The bald, burly man in heavy armor heavily planted his large round shield against the tree trunk, staring confidently at Roy. "It's a pity for Bege. If I had been with him back then, he absolutely wouldn't have died."
[Deflect] Rungon, name matches the person..." Another Heart Worm was mercilessly expelled by the bald man releasing [En]...
Taking advantage of the brief moment he glimpsed into the opponent's heart, Roy seized the opportunity to capture the bald man's intelligence. Like him, the opponent was a [Conjurer]. He could conjure a round shield at any time, focusing on [Deflect]. When the shield is out, it can instantly deflect any physical attack coming at him, without limitation to swords, spears, halberds, Taijutsu, or Kenjutsu, sending it flying back at twice its previous speed... No wonder he was confident. With him around, Frank Bege wouldn't have died back then...
"Lord Andrew, may I ask... my Little Maddie, is she okay?"
The slash that shot straight into the sky finally exhausted its power after shattering several layers of white clouds. Welcomed by the sun, it vanished in the high heavens... After the momentary exchange of blows, Old Mark finally seemed to react. Forcing a smile, he looked at Andrew Cooper, at the leather flask... tucked in his waist. Andrew Cooper cursed "Bad luck" under his breath and grinned broadly...
"Good, of course she's good... Didn't I bring her to see you~"
The man lightly patted his waist, and the flask flew out, firmly grasped in his hand. Just like stroking his former lover Miranda, he gently stroked the flask and said infatuatedly, "Her skin is really smooth and white. Look, the flask made from it is so exquisite. Old Mark... you raised a good granddaughter... Outcasts rarely get to see such 'good goods'!"
"You... you lied to me!" Old Mark swayed, almost falling to the ground... The old man's chest heaved violently. Pointing at Andrew Cooper, he only felt the world spin. His knees went weak, and he sat heavily on the ground... He was lost in despair. At this moment, he was like a living corpse. Clearly still alive, but his soul was dead. Beside him...
A sudden gust of yin wind blew up. It was the red-eyed Mrs. Nora, who, due to receiving a massive stimulus, had skyrocketing resentment. In an instant...
Darkened into [Post-Mortem Nen]!
[Post-Mortem Nen]: Forcing oneself to linger in the human world due to intense obsession... without exception, they are all ruthless characters... For example, Neferpitou in the future, who, despite clearly being dead, still used [Post-Mortem Nen] to embrace the desire to protect Meruem, forcibly driving [Terpsichora] to attack adult Gon. Or Hisoka, who, during his duel with Chrollo, forcibly resurrected himself in the Heavens Arena via [Post-Mortem Nen]...
The deeper the obsession, the stronger the [Post-Mortem Nen]. Among them, the most terrifying and despairing is... [Post-Mortem Nen] devoid of hope. Just like... Mrs. Nora, madly rushing towards Andrew Cooper right now. Just a moment ago, she was an ordinary spirit without the strength to truss a chicken. The next moment, upon learning of her granddaughter's death, her hope rapidly shattered, plunging straight into darkness!
Roy watched as she turned into a yin wind, baring fangs and claws in mid-air, her nails elongating to half a meter, pouncing straight at Andrew Cooper... A faint sadness permeated his heart, and even [Solar Eclipse] in his hand grew quiet...
Great-Grandfather had warned him that day, people cannot be without hope, otherwise... they completely lose the meaning of "existence". Looking at it now...
Mrs. Nora clearly wanted to die. After truly dying, she still unwillingly dragged Andrew Cooper into self-destruction!
Unfortunately... since the opponent came, he was never unprepared... Facing the yin wind Mrs. Nora had become, Andrew Cooper showed no fear, and even... wanted to laugh... His face was cold and gloomy. Calmly playing with the flask sewn from Little Maddie's scalp in his hand, he sneered and said, "Absorb."
The cap of the flask opened. A sudden suction force came from within, instantly condensing into a storm, unceremoniously sweeping the attacking Mrs. Nora inside!
Pop— The cap fell and was re-stoppered. Andrew Cooper smiled and glanced at Old Mark. "Hey, old thing, why aren't you dead yet?"
The man shook the flask in his hand, making a Clank sound. He winked at the despairing Old Mark and said, "Your wife and granddaughter are both here, we're just missing you..."
Old Mark turned his head stiffly. He silently got up from the ground, took a few quick steps, accelerated, and crashed into a large tree beside him!
Bang~
The sound of a skull shattering echoed...
Red, white, yellow... exploded together...
On the border of this dense Uzuki Great Forest... Roy suppressed his twitching heart, took a deep breath, and silently closed his eyes.
Some people are alive, but they are already dead. Some people are dead, but they are still alive.
Some people ride on the heads of the people: "Ah, how great am I!"
Some people bow down to serve the people like cattle and horses.
Some people carve their names into stone, wishing for "immortality"; some people are willing to be wild grass, waiting for the underground fire to burn.
Specks of fluorescent light bloomed... Old Mark slid to the ground against the towering giant tree. With his last breath gone, his soul extracted, popping its head out to look at everything around in confusion. The familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings. The surroundings that nurtured him, exploited him, and forced him to lose all hope of survival... With no lingering attachment, he plunged headlong towards Andrew Cooper, whose flask was open, and with a suction, collected him inside.
"This order is finally done." Andrew beamed with joy. Shaking the flask made of Little Maddie, he crouched down and pouted at Roy. "Hey~ Blasphemer, how do you want to die next?"
"Be killed... or suicide?"
The man spread his hands: "Let me state beforehand, I wouldn't dare let you live. After all, you're even fiercer than us outcasts. Spurned by [God] right from the start... It's probably hard even if you don't want to die..."
Those watched by God will ultimately have nowhere to hide... Although this is the Uzuki Great Forest, not controlled by the Seven Gods, last time when killing Frank Bege, he encountered his father's old friend, that [Storm] Archbishop, Benjamin Frederick... who saw through the clues using [Faith Power]... Roy opened his eyes again, looking indifferently at Andrew Cooper. At least he figured out one thing... The "Colorless Home" claiming to protect outcasts had already secretly colluded with the Principality of Samer...
Which means, continuing to use this face and seeking refuge with the Colorless Home would undoubtedly be like a sheep entering a tiger's den, no different from courting death. Therefore...
Roy simply "concealed" his original appearance. Using [Deceit], he transformed in an instant, taking on Andrew Cooper's exact likeness. Looking at him faintly, he said, "Who are you asking?"
A hint of scarlet quietly crept into the depths of the boy's eyes...
Showing neither joy nor sorrow, he said, "If I kill you, who will know I am a Blasphemer?"
Sharingan... Open!
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