Killing the Third Princess...
The Prince whom Mull served only required them to complete the mission as much as possible while preserving their lives.
If the deed could not be done, the primary objective was to save their own lives.
Mull wouldn't try to guess the Prince's psychological thoughts.
He would only interpret the Prince's instructions from his own perspective as—
He could better maximize his value as a chess piece only if he remained alive.
Mull was willing to be a chess piece that could bring more value to the Prince.
However, as his partner Aida said, the Prince didn't want to see the two of them lose their lives for a mission, but neither of them wanted to disappoint the Prince.
Killing the Third Princess was crucial.
For this purpose, Mull had already decided to offer his heart when drawing the Shenzi.
If they didn't have to die, then he and his partner certainly wouldn't want to.
They still wanted to follow the Prince and watch him ascend the steps to the throne.
But there was no other way...
The obstacle standing in front of them was a member of the Hunter Association's Twelve Zodiacs, whose specialty was combat.
Without the resolve to stake their lives, how could they overcome this obstacle and complete the mission?
So, after "The Time of Cicada Shedding" was activated, whether it was feigned politeness or outright bluster...
Mull's actions were merely to interfere with or mislead Kanzai's judgment, causing Kanzai to waver in the murky waters he had stirred up, thereby extending the time he was tied down.
Unfortunately, things backfired, and Kanzai even gave a precise guessed duration.
Even an extra few tens of seconds would have helped, but instead, the time was accurately guessed.
So, after 60 seconds are up, he would live for as many extra seconds as possible...
The longer he survived, the higher the success rate for his partner to complete the task.
If there was any regret, it was that he failed to induce Kanzai to inflict more serious damage on him before activating the ability.
This, too, was an act of helplessness.
If he didn't use basic Nen for defense when attacked, he couldn't meet the ability's condition.
But most critically, Kanzai had taken precautions beforehand, suppressing his instincts during the hasty counterattack and avoiding Mull's vitals.
If he hadn't set up the secondary guarantee for his partner to violently attack the room, thereby compressing Kanzai's reaction time, he truly wouldn't have been able to drag Kanzai into the Nen space immediately.
Truly worthy of the Twelve Zodiacs—
Mull's compliment was heartfelt, and at the same time, he apologized to his partner in his mind.
Sorry, Aida... if I could have shared more damage with this guy, your survival rate after completing the mission would have been much higher.
While Mull braced himself for sacrifice, he was also confident that his partner could complete the mission.
He lowered his eyelids, then looked up at Kanzai.
"Yín-Tiger of the Twelve Zodiacs, the intelligence I currently have indicates you should be an Enhancer, but fighting you is completely different from what I imagined."
"Look at you talking. Do you think all Enhancers are just a bunch of reckless fools who only charge straight ahead?"
Kanzai spoke with an expressionless face, mentally counting the time.
Mull countered,
"Aren't they?"
The few Enhancers he had encountered were all fearless, relying on their advantage of high attack and high defense.
Therefore, when working with his partner, his favorite opponents were Enhancers—he could always catch them right where he wanted them.
"Did Enhancers eat your family's rice?"
Kanzai heard the contempt for Enhancers in Mull's words, and his eyes widened slightly, mentally concluding the 60-second count.
The Nen space did not disappear...
So, at least he didn't have to worry about the counter-type ability effect of "damage sharing."
Kanzai ended the 60-second talking phase, then decisively acted upon his judgment, abruptly charging at Mull.
The moment he initiated the attack.
Kanzai's not-so-muscular physique erupted with the momentum of a fierce tiger descending a mountain.
Mull, who was bearing the brunt of the attack, finally saw the expected characteristics of an Enhancer in Kanzai.
"Even if he hadn't diverted his visible aura to the Shenzi, I definitely wouldn't be able to block it..."
With just one look, Mull felt the gap in "head-on combat," which was the most troublesome aspect of Enhancers.
However, he hadn't planned to confront Kanzai head-on.
He gathered Nen in his feet, turned, and sprinted away, immediately increasing the distance Kanzai would have to cover to attack.
Unfortunately, the Nen space mechanism fixed the range of activity...
He couldn't jump off the airship, nor could he play hide-and-seek.
"I can hold out for a minute or two!"
Mull ran frantically, trying to avoid combat.
Because of the ability trait of "The Time of Cicada Shedding," which required him to inflict damage on the enemy within 60 seconds, he had put a lot of effort into his mobility.
By desperately avoiding combat now, Kanzai couldn't catch him immediately, but if he were caught, he would likely be killed with a single blow.
Thus, a chase began between Mull and Kanzai on the airship's upper deck.
With the intervention of Nen factors, the psychological states of both parties gradually switched.
The one who should be anxious now was no longer Mull, but Kanzai.
Although Kanzai's victory was a foregone conclusion, he still had to consider the safety of his client, Saffu.
"Does this guy's Nen ability... really have such a powerful effect?"
As he pursued Mull, time flowed by, and Kanzai realized that Mull's ability mechanism was exceeding his expectations.
At 60 seconds, since the Nen space didn't disappear, it was largely certain that the "damage sharing" mechanism had vanished.
The Nen space should have disappeared within a maximum of 30 seconds after that.
However, the expected phenomenon did not occur.
Kanzai couldn't help but furrow his brow.
He didn't know that Mull was delaying time with the resolve to die.
38 seconds after the chase began.
Kanzai finally found an opportunity to attack, throwing a punch heavily laced with Nen at Mull's back.
Facing Kanzai's attack, Mull suddenly turned and braced his left arm, mobilizing almost all his visible aura to construct a defense.
Boom.
Crack!
The punch landed on Mull's left arm.
The powerful destructive force sent his body rapidly flying backward, and his entire left arm suffered a comminuted fracture on the spot.
"Do you want to know how long this Nen space will last?"
Using Kanzai's punch to temporarily increase the distance, Mull's body dropped from mid-air. Ignoring the injury to his left arm, he answered his own question:
"A full 300 seconds. You understand now, don't you? From the moment you entered here, you couldn't save that esteemed Princess."
"..."
Kanzai was alarmed. Ignoring Mull's words, he once again burst out with the speed of a tiger descending a mountain, charging directly at Mull.
Mull's face regained its flippant smile.
Even though both his arms were broken, he could probably hold out for a minute at most.
That's enough!
Just as Mull was thinking this, the yellow color surrounding them suddenly receded like a tide.
"Hmm!?" x2.
The sudden change astonished both Mull and Kanzai.
As the yellow color fully receded, both men were still in their original positions, but there was an extra person in the area leading from the lounge to the entrance corridor.
"It's him!"
Kanzai looked at the person, recognizing the young man who had concealed his identity as a Nen user during boarding.
This young man was, naturally, Moro, who had come to check the situation.
Watching Kanzai's and Mull's bodies materialize out of thin air, Moro glanced at the Shenzi on the corridor wall behind him, which had lost its Nen glow.
A painting had originally hung in that spot.
"It seems my judgment was correct..."
Moro's gaze shifted to Mull, whose Nen was gradually receding inward. He said calmly:
"Destroying Shenzi, even if it doesn't benefit me, can at least bring harm to the 'agitator.'"
"You...!"
Mull stared in disbelief at the variable that had appeared out of nowhere—Moro.
Moro gently raised his hand, glanced at Kanzai, and said earnestly:
"I hate terrorists and all that stuff the most. Leave him to me."
"!"
Kanzai shouted:
"You're a damn genius."
Having said that, he turned and rushed into the room without hesitation.
The large lounge area was instantly left with only Moro and Mull.
(End of this Chapter)
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