Chapter 23: Testing the Blade

The Swaddled Dog slowly climbed to its feet, its eyes fixed on Hather with a gaze brimming with deep-seated hatred.

"Still unwilling to give up? I’ll give you another chance at revenge~"

With the *Superman’s Invisibility Glasses* gone, Hather’s incomparably handsome face wore a nonchalant smile, indifferent to the sanctity of life.

The Swaddled Dog spat out through gritted teeth, "Don't regret this."

She lowered her body, slowly backing away to create distance, while using her thumb to wipe blood from the corner of her mouth. She smeared a streak of blood across her forehead and onto the backs of both her hands.

Suddenly, the Swaddled Dog sank into the soil beneath her feet, as if dropping into a bottomless pool, without even a single splash.

What on earth? The stand *Oasis* from JoJo?

Before Hather could ponder further, a sense of crisis surged within him.

He immediately pushed off with his legs, intending to leap away, but the ground beneath him turned incredibly soft, rapidly transitioning into a liquid state. The Swaddled Dog’s hands erupted from the mud, clamping firmly onto Hather’s ankles to prevent his escape.

Simultaneously, a long-haired man in camouflage appeared silently behind Hather, his hands morphed into mantis-like blades, slicing toward Hather’s neck from both sides!

A lethal trap!

Yet, Hather remained unperturbed. A surge of brilliant flames manifested in his right palm, from which a magnificent golden cruciform sword emerged. Hather gripped the hilt firmly.

*Mythological Weapon Catalog* activated. Registering [Sword] — [Cruciform Sword: Absolute Sovereignty]!

The blade swept in a beautiful arc from bottom to top. The tip, wreathed in golden flame, brushed against the mud at his feet. The soil, which had been liquefying, instantly reverted to its solid physical state, and the hands gripping Hather’s ankles froze mid-motion.

The Sheepdog, Kadola, saw only a flash of intense golden radiance. The black-haired young man, mere moments away from having his throat slit, had ducked with impossible speed, evading the killing blow. The golden cross-sword in his hand then surged upward over his shoulder, lunging toward him.

Kadola kicked off the ground, barely managing to dodge the thrust.

Hather rested the cruciform sword on his shoulder, standing casually on the re-solidified earth. He nudged the hands embedded in the ground with his shoe and hummed a tune no one could understand:

"The light of justice... shines upon the land..."

Why had the Swaddled Dog’s Nen ability suddenly failed? There should have been at least twenty seconds left for her to "swim." How could it suddenly—wait, that black-haired bastard scraped the ground with that sword. It’s the sword!

Kadola felt a chill. This black-haired youth was not in any of their files; he seemed to have popped out of thin air within the Roda Kingdom Manor. Yet, one look at the blood and carnage littering the scene was enough to gauge his terrifying strength.

Just then, a figure emerged from the burning, smoke-filled brush in the distance. The man was burly and tall, his muscles bulging as if to burst through his camouflage uniform, his hair cropped short and standing on end like steel needles. It was the leader of the Mercenary Group *Giant Hyena*, the *Bulldog* Babator Ansu!

"Sorry, Sir. The Swaddled Dog has been neutralized," the Sheepdog Kadola said, sounding ashamed.

Babator remained grave, rubbing his hands together, his finger joints popping with crisp cracks. "It’s fine. We haven’t found any trace of Rain Tiger, so he’s likely fled. This brat has become a discarded pawn. Finish him off quickly, save the Swaddled Dog, and regroup with the main force."

The Sheepdog Kadola and the Bulldog Babator closed in on Hather from front and back. Hather, however, remained indifferent, even yawning.

Now!

Though they didn't know how Hather dared to yawn while facing the two strongest members of the *Giant Hyena* mercenary group, both men were top-tier experts and would never pass up such an opening.

Babator’s Nen surged violently, coating his entire body in a thick, dense aura. With a flicker, he vanished from his spot.

Hather immediately drove the cruciform sword into the ground and used the hilt as a pivot, vaulting into mid-air. He perfectly evaded Babator’s cannon-like punch from above and the mantis-blade strike from behind aimed at severing his legs.

Suspended in the air, Hather kicked backward with all his might. Kadola, struck in the shoulder, went spinning backward amidst the muffled roar of an explosive shockwave. Almost simultaneously, Hather’s free left hand curled into a claw; covered in Nen, the tiger-claw tore through the air and firmly intercepted Babator’s downward-crashing heavy fist.

*BOOM—!!*

Hather and his sword were driven downward by the immense force, but his feet found the ground just in time, creating a crater in the earth as dust billowed everywhere!

The Swaddled Dog, still underground, had her spine severed by the cruciform sword Hather had driven into the earth, and then her buried body was crushed by the sheer impact of that heavy blow. Blood began to seep out from the churning soil.

"Hey, are you saving her or killing her?" Hather asked with a mocking smile. But the sensation coming through his hand told him that this guy’s raw strength absolutely exceeded Gryffindor’s, and his speed was off the charts. An Enhancer using Nen to bolster speed, strength, and defense?

Babator’s expression didn't change. With even greater force than before, he hammered his fist into Hather’s arms, which were braced in front of his chest, blasting the latter into the air. Babator’s own feet then exploded the mud as he vanished from the spot.

A series of violent roars erupted in mid-air!

Babator caught up to Hather in an instant; their fists and claws collided, triggering shockwaves that tore through the air.

Kadola, clutching his left shoulder, stared in disbelief at the two figures battling intensely above the ground. The lawn and earth beneath them were being torn apart by the residual shockwaves.

*The Captain has already used his Nen ability, "Blood-Red Blitz," and at the level-two enhancement state at that. How is this black-haired brat managing to hold his own in close-quarters combat against the Captain?*

Now wasn't the time for such thoughts. He had to find an opening to help his Captain win, using his own Nen ability, *Chainsaw Fingers*, which could cut through anything!

He suddenly noticed the cruciform sword stuck in the ground had vanished. A Conjuration-type weapon with a range limit... Wait, he’s a Conjurer? A Conjurer going toe-to-toe with an Enhancer master in melee combat?

In the distance, the battle between Hather and Babator had plowed through the surrounding land, leaving the air thick with smoke and dust.

"Hey, you look quite pale. Is this the type of ability that consumes your own blood to maintain its activation?"

Hather parried another cannon-punch. He noticed the opponent’s strength and Nen were growing, but his complexion was becoming deathly pale.

Babator remained silent. Realizing he couldn't take Hather down in close combat quickly, he used the force of Hather’s strike to leap backward. A massive hyena, wreathed in flames, sprang from behind him, roaring as it lunged at Hather.

*Oh? Not just Enhancer combat skills, but a Nen beast too? A rare dual-ability user. I wonder if this beast is a product of Conjuration or Emission.*

Golden flames manifested in Hather’s hand once more, and the cruciform sword quietly coalesced into shape.

I'll use you two to test the power of this *Absolute Sovereignty*.

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Name: [Swaddled Dog] Jesto Armadillo
Profession: Mercenary
Attribute: Specialist
Nen Ability:
[Freestyle Girl] — By smearing her own blood on her forehead and the backs of both hands, she can influence solids within a five-meter radius, turning them into a liquid state. She can swim and travel through earth, rock, and steel. She cannot affect living organisms. The effect lasts for a duration equal to her own age, with one year equating to one second. She must return to the surface to reapply blood before the time expires, or she will be trapped and suffocate to death.