Chapter 204: If I Strike with This Blade, You Might Be Burned to Death
Facing the simultaneous, tide-like onslaught of dozens of attackers.
Mord smiled, his palm rotating as his Zanpakutō emitted a sudden tremolo.
Hum!!!
In the next moment, a sharp, brief blade howl pierced the air.
Then, an overwhelmingly brilliant sword light illuminated the entire banquet hall. The fierce assaults melted away upon encountering this radiance, like spring snow meeting warm sunlight.
Everyone instinctively halted in their tracks, rooted to the spot.
Confronted by this terrifying slash, they inexplicably felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness, as if resignation to death was their only option.
As the light faded.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The dozens who had launched the attack felt a sudden, searing pain in their throats, akin to tearing silk.
In the next instant, dozens of crimson blood streams gushed forth like fountains.
These well-trained private soldiers, some of whom were Nen users, were all slain by Mord with a single stroke—easier than slaughtering chickens.
The strongest among these private soldiers likely couldn't rival the Shadow Beasts.
If not for his desire to uncover Kakin's millennia-old secrets, Mord could have cut through them from the very beginning.
"Since you're already here, show yourselves," Mord called out toward a corner of the hall, ignoring the terrified and stunned Kakin princes.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In the next moment, several figures materialized before the crowd with swift, cutting sounds.
It was the Phantom Troupe, led by Chrollo.
Upon seeing the Phantom Troupe, the Third and Seventh Princes felt a measure of relief wash over their panicked hearts.
"Blood debts must be repaid. Let us settle our grudges once and for all today," Chrollo declared coldly, summoning his Bandit's Secret as he glared at Mord.
He had been preparing for this moment for a long time.
The others positioned themselves around Mord from various angles, ready to support and strike at any moment.
Mord looked up at Machi in the distance and waved casually. "Yo, we meet again."
"I told you I'd kill you!" Machi stared daggers at Mord, her entire body radiating a terrifying killing intent.
Mord chuckled, his gaze sweeping over each member of the Phantom Troupe before finally settling on Chrollo before him.
"It seems you've come fully prepared."
"In that case, let's begin. Show me the full strength of your Phantom Troupe."
The moment his words fell, Feitan's pupils in the distance contracted sharply. In an instant, he drew the hidden sword from his umbrella and slashed forward.
Clang!
A clear, metallic clang resounded.
"Pretty quick reflexes," Mord remarked with a slight curl of his lips, his empty left hand suddenly clenching into a fist aimed at Feitan's short stature.
The fist carried a terrifying pressure, tearing through the air, on the verge of obliterating Feitan's head.
At this life-or-death juncture, Feitan instinctively raised his left arm to block.
Crack!
Taking Mord's punch head-on, Feitan's left arm immediately went limp, as if the bones and tendons had snapped outright—and this was despite Feitan employing Ko.
Otherwise, his entire arm might have been blown away.
His body was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily onto the distant banquet stage.
The entire stage collapsed with a roar, burying him beneath the rubble.
Mord glanced in Feitan's direction. His strength likely ranked among the top three in the entire Troupe.
Franklin, Shalnark, and Machi quickly moved to shield the stage ruins.
"Feitan, are you okay?" Machi called out.
"...Won't die."
Amidst the clattering sound of falling wooden planks and rubble, Feitan staggered to his feet from the wreckage, his face ashen. He spat a mouthful of blood while glaring fixedly at Mord in the distance.
"I'll heal you right now!" Machi's expression turned extremely grim upon seeing Feitan's condition.
Feitan's entire left arm was twisted in a grotesque manner, with stark white bone exposed. Not only that, the left side of his body had also suffered impact damage.
Drip... drip...
Crimson blood dripped from his wounds onto the ground, quickly forming a pool of blood.
"Don't bother." Feitan didn't even glance at his injured arm, his eyes locked on Mord in the distance as he began chanting incomprehensible incantations.
"Damn it!"
"Really pushing his luck..."
While muttering these words, a terrifying aura began emanating from Feitan's body.
Shalnark, Machi and the others all paled upon seeing Feitan's current state, quickly moving away from him.
"Not good, Feitan's angry!" Shalnark exclaimed.
"Hmm, seems he's getting serious this time." Franklin nodded, watching Feitan in the distance. "The aura he's emitting now is stronger than any I've ever felt from him before."
"Leader, should we retreat further away?"
Shalnark continued: "When this guy gets angry, he unleashes his special ability without restraint. His ability already has a wide area of effect, and when used in a rage, it becomes completely uncontrollable. Someone like Shizuku might even be in mortal danger."
"The more pain Feitan's in, the more powerful his ability becomes." Chrollo stared intently at Mord standing in the distance. "The rest of you fall back. I'll stay here. Don't worry about me—everything is going according to plan."
The people from Kakin Kingdom completely failed to grasp the severity of the situation.
"When did that person change outfits?"
Seeing the strange clothing that had suddenly appeared on Feitan, the Kakin group showed curious expressions.
Feitan had materialized a large amount of emitted aura into a red-and-white fireproof suit that covered his entire body, leaving only his eyes exposed. The design resembled a Gothic-style executioner's outfit, with an inverted cross pattern printed on the hood.
But this wasn't the important part.
What mattered was that Feitan's aura had grown stronger!
"Quite interesting." Mord's lips curled slightly as he casually swung his Zanpakutō forward.
A lightning blade transformed into a thunderbird that shot toward Feitan.
Feitan remained motionless, still gathering energy for his upcoming attack, when a figure suddenly flashed in front of him, blocking Mord's strike.
The one who intervened was none other than Chrollo, leader of the Phantom Troupe.
Seeing Chrollo completely unharmed, Mord raised an eyebrow. Although he hadn't used his full power in that strike, there were definitely no more than ten people in the world who could block it.
Let alone emerge completely unscathed.
Mord glanced at the Bandit's Secret in Chrollo's hand and said, "It seems you've indeed made thorough preparations."
"The Insulator of Lightning." Chrollo looked at Mord and closed the book in his hand. "To find an ability that counters your lightning, I traveled across all six continents. Heaven rewards the diligent, and I finally found it. Now, even if you summon the heavenly thunder from that day, it won't harm me in the slightest."
"Feitan, I'll leave the rest to you."
Before the words fully faded, Chrollo vanished without hesitation.
Feitan, having gathered his energy, was now shrouded in a malevolent aura.
"I'll return the pain to you!"
"Burn in scorching agony, you unforgivable sinner! Suffer under the blazing sun!"
"Rising Sun!"
Feitan compressed all his Nen energy into a dark red Nen bullet in front of him. The bullet shot upward, shattering the ceiling, and then, to the horror of everyone present, rapidly expanded into a miniature sun.
Terrifying heat instantly engulfed the entire banquet hall.
Inside the hall, alcoholic drinks and beverages evaporated in an instant.
Gazing at the sun above, the princes of the Kakin Empire swallowed hard with difficulty.
Even before Feitan launched his real attack, the mere radiated heat was unbearable for the princes without Nen abilities. As their body fluids rapidly depleted, dizziness clouded their minds.
Momoze, Kacho, and the others were swiftly escorted out of the hall under Mord's protective Nen aura.
The Fourth Prince, Tserriednich, suddenly revealed a look of sheer terror. Through his momentary ten-second foresight, he had glimpsed the scene ten seconds into the future.
He didn't want to stay in this banquet hall for another moment.
Both his present self and his future self ten seconds later were frantically fleeing toward the exit.
But it was already too late.
The sun above blazed with intense light, unleashing a wave of unbearable heat upon everyone below in an indiscriminate assault.
Those without Nen abilities were instantly incinerated into charcoal, then reduced to ashes.
Not even their corpses remained.
The princes, protected by their Guardian Spirit Beasts, struggled desperately under the sun's scorching rays.
Even Feitan himself was somewhat astonished by the power of this ability. Though his manifested clothing shielded him from the temperature, he could still feel the intense heat outside.
All of this was because of that man.
The sun's destructive power depended on the extent of the injuries Feitan had previously suffered.
Feitan stared intently at Mord, who was engulfed in flames, and taunted, "Feeling hot, aren't you?"
"Why aren't you saying anything? Is your throat so burned that you can't even breathe?"
"If you want to run for your life, go ahead! If you can still move, that is!"
"Did you ever imagine this outcome when you killed Nobunaga, Uvogin, and Phinks that day?"
"Weren't you so proud of your lightning ability? Use your ultimate move, the heavenly thunder, and strike me down now!"
"Keke-keke—"
"You brought this upon yourself!"
Feitan watched as Mord, standing directly under the sun and surrounded by the sea of fire, gradually vanished. He let out a triumphant laugh, savoring the long-awaited revenge.
They had waited far too long for this day.
No one in this world can take anything from us, the Phantom Troupe, ever again!
"Is this the killing move you've been plotting for so long?"
Mord's voice suddenly echoed from within the flames.
The figure who had been about to turn away suddenly halted, then turned to gaze at the silhouette standing amidst the sea of flames.
"To be honest, I'm somewhat disappointed. I've waited so long on this ship, expecting to witness something extraordinary."
"Lightning immunity? Hah, do you think I'm some brainless fool who only knows how to discharge electricity before getting banished to the moon?"
"And Feitan, do you really think this deserves to be called a sun?"
"How dare a firefly's glow compete with the blazing sun's radiance!"
The moment these words fell, Mord standing beneath the miniature sun swept his Zanpakutō horizontally before him. An incredibly violent and terrifying power suddenly surged forth, accompanied by an emotionless voice:
"All creation turns to ashes—Ryūjin Jakka!"
After slaying the Royal Guards and the King of Ants, the soul energy absorbed by Mord's Zanpakutō had long become immeasurable. The strongest Zanpakutō from Soul Society had also been drawn by him.
Now, as the release incantation was chanted, the blade of Mord's Zanpakutō instantly transformed into flowing golden flames—completely different from the crimson fire of Feitan's blazing sun.
A terrifying wave of scorching heat abruptly swept through the surroundings!
The golden flames instantly devoured the previous crimson sea of fire!
The moment these flames appeared, the Phantom Troupe members outside the hall suddenly sensed an extremely terrifying presence.
"Logically, Feitan's ability should have ended by now. Why has the temperature in the banquet hall not only failed to drop but grown even hotter?!" Shalnark exclaimed in confusion.
The others shared the same thought.
Chrollo looked up, but the banquet hall was filled with flames, making it impossible to discern the specific situation inside.
The En formed from Nen energy was immediately burned away the moment it probed inside.
"Now we can only wait for the outcome from within," Chrollo said solemnly, feeling inexplicably uneasy for some reason.
Machi shared the same sentiment.
She had always trusted her intuition deeply, which was precisely why her expression was so grim.
Inside the banquet hall.
The Guardian Spirit Beasts of the princes had already been struggling to endure under the scorching heat of the blazing sun.
While they might withstand it, their parasitic princes were mostly ordinary humans—how could they possibly endure such an attack?
In just a brief moment, several princes had already met their demise.
As for Feitan, he stared in disbelief at Mord standing within the golden flames, who resembled an Emperor of Flame.
Wasn't his ability lightning? What was with these flames?!
Moreover, what was worse—these golden flames gave him a sense of dread, even though he was currently wearing fireproof gear.
Standing in the center, Mord looked at Feitan in the distance and said seriously, "Are you prepared? If I strike with this blade, you might be burned to death."
This was Mord's first time utilizing Ryūjin Jakka's power, and even he couldn't quite gauge the full extent of this strike's destructive force.
"My ability allows me to control the sun! What flame in this world could possibly surpass the fire of the sun?!" Feitan roared with a ferocious expression.
"Is that so?"
In that case, I'll just cut down the sun along with everything else.
Mord spoke calmly, gripping Ryūjin Jakka with one hand, and made a light, sweeping motion toward Feitan in the distance.
BOOM!!
A crimson-gold flame, with Mord's casual flick, surged directly toward the distant Feitan. The overwhelming blaze erupted instantly, engulfing Feitan in a flash.
Under Feitan's astonished gaze, his fireproof suit rapidly disintegrated into ashes before his very eyes.
Then came his body.
Throughout the entire process, he didn't even feel a trace of pain.
Like a drop of water evaporating instantly, he completely vanished between heaven and earth.
Simultaneously, a sharp cracking sound echoed through the air.
The "sun" above Mord's head suddenly developed a fissure. The crack spread like a spiderweb, growing wider until—with a thunderous crash—it shattered completely.