Negation Field.
Kyle lunged for the lady as the twelve guards tried to fire their repeaters. However, their repeaters failed to fire, to their surprise.
The lady, however, was also well prepared and battle-trained, immediately clambering over the sofa and kicking the sofa towards Kyle.
Kyle leapt over the moving sofa, landing between the two guards and throwing snap punches at them, knocking them out instantly.
The ten guards behind him rushed at him in synchronisation, forcing Kyle to grab the sofa and swing it around, smashing it into the first guard while he positioned his foot right over a fallen guard’s neck and stomped hard.
[System Message]
Killed [Tiger-level Nest Hitman], +500 EXP
Kyle’s eyes lit up from the message, grinning to himself as he threw the sofa into another guard and fended off melee attacks from the guards in sequence, parrying and counterattacking. Each blow he dealt was devastating and lightning quick, the guards unable to react in time.
Suddenly, alarm bells rang in his head, prompting him to dodge as fast as he could quickly. A crossbow bolt flew across the room and lodged itself in the opposite wall, with the lady smirking as she aimed an ornate crossbow at him.
“I know all about your skills, fool. You’re not the only transcendent!”
Kyle suddenly sped up his movements, no longer pulling punches. He threw out a right hook as hard as he could, breaking the guard’s jaw instantly before following up with an uppercut, the sheer force killing him instantly.
[System Message]
Killed [Tiger-level Nest Hitman], +500 EXP
“Surround and attack him in sequence!”
“I’ll get him from the front, you two – guhh!”
Kyle did not give them time to organise, overpowering them in an instant with a flurry of jabs and elbow strikes while still avoiding crossbow bolts. The lady’s eyes darted all over the place as she tried to track the fast motions of Kyle, but she did not panic and calmly fired as many bolts as she could.
Kyle used everything he could grab onto and slammed them into the incoming guards, causing them to topple over one another. Kyle delivered a punch to the guts of a guard before hoisting him as a shield, a crossbow bolt piercing the guard’s heart before Kyle dealt the finishing blow to secure the EXP.
[System Message]
Killed [Tiger-level Nest Hitman], +500 EXP
Within a short two minutes, Kyle had already killed the guards barehanded, now taking cover behind a sofa as yet another crossbow bolt swished past his head.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Level Up!
Level 27 ---> Level 28
[Stats Increase]
All Stats Increase
Bonus Free Points Granted
Kyle patiently waited for an opportunity, glancing around him and grabbing a nearby knife from a dead guard. As soon as he heard the click of the mechanism on the crossbow bolt, he rolled out and charged at the lady, slamming right into her in two long leaps.
He pinned her down with his knees, resting on top of her body and preventing her from moving. Kyle instantly grabbed her mouth open and stuffed his hand inside, checking for any suicide pills. He also began to strip her clothes, noticing a large engraving on her chest that was beginning to combust.
It’s the same as the client who tried to kidnap Reese!
Due to the negation field, the engraving failed to activate, with the flames sputtering out as the arcia energy began to backlash into the lady’s body, apparently triggered by Kyle’s contact with her. He quickly grabbed his knife and lightly carved the engraving, breaking it apart. The engraving continued to be powered by the ambient arcia energy in her body despite Kyle cutting across the tattoo.
Shit! The engraving is made up of multiple backup traces – cut one, and the rest will implode. Kyle quickly slashed away at every trace of the engraving. He reached into his belt and grabbed multiple health potion vials, forcing it into her convulsing mouth.
Her chest was reduced to a bloodied mess, with nearly all of the skin being ripped out as new skin healed back. The pain and shock had completely knocked her out, prompting Kyle to get off her and restrain her with belts from a few dead guards.
Grabbing the crossbow, he began to walk towards the door, only for three Nest guards to barge in, obviously called over by the sounds of fighting. They aimed their arctech guns at him, earning a crossbow bolt to their head immediately as the negation field was still in effect.
With the negation field, I may find some time to make my own version of a handgun that does not rely on arctech. Kyle would have to make do with the crossbow for now, reloading the bolt before stepping out into the corridor.
His blooded figure and face sent waves of panic through the corridor as the couple screamed and ran away from him. Every subsequent Nest guard fell like dominoes, unable to fight back against the Negation Field.
Before one of the couples could run away, he grabbed them and glared at them, the copious amount of blood splattered across his face making him look like a monster. “Tell them – the Ghost of Tenar has come for all who betray the people.”
“ARGGHHHH!”
“The Ghost of Tenar is here, now!” Kyle roared at the corridor before letting go of the couple. He walked into the main stage area of the strip club, where the busy crowd and lights still masked the sounds of fighting. As he moved through the crowd, the customers slowly began to panic and scream in horror, fleeing away from him. Nest guards immediately moved forward to attack him, with him easily crushing their limbs and heads.
[System Message]
Killed [Wolf-level Nest Hitman], +100 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Level Up!
Level 28 ---> Level 29
[Stats Increase]
All Stats Increase
Bonus Free Points Granted
“THE GHOST OF TENAR HAS COME!” Kyle bellowed with all his might, his voice resounding over the music. The crowd began to scatter, running out in all directions.
The slave dancers were confused as to what to do, with the Nest Guards dying one by one in front of them as Kyle brutally ripped them to pieces. One of the slaves suddenly noticed that another’s collar was not working any longer, its distinct hue no longer shining.
“Your collar, it’s not active anymore!”
“Yours too! What’s going on!”
“Break free!” Kyle yelled. “Fight for your freedom! The Ghost of Tenar wants its people to be free!”
The slaves were confused, but they quickly helped each other to break the collars, picking up the repeaters from the fallen guards and arming themselves. “Where are the rest of the slaves?”
“Down here!” The freed slaves did not question their saviour, taking their chance at freedom immediately. Who among them wanted to dance forever?
Kyle headed down, clearing the entire hideout of Nest Guards, including the slave holding cells. Weapons were distributed and given to even more of them as more and more were freed.
He grabbed one of the slaves, whispering to him. “Lead the Slaves to the Clouds; they will help you.”
“Huh? The Clouds?” The slave was confused, but he turned around to only see Kyle gone from sight, disappearing like a ghost. “What the?”
Back at the Clouds headquarters, the old man was waiting impatiently, his men already gathered in front of him, numbering nearly three hundred.
Suddenly, a clerk got a call on an arctech radio. “Sir Tian, there’s something weird happening at one of the Nest’s hideouts, but I’m not sure if it is the sign.”
“What’s going on there?”
“There’s screaming in the streets now. Some are saying that the ‘Ghost of Tenar’ is killing the guards inside.”
“That’s it! That’s the signal! Move! Move!”
The armed men of the Clouds moved towards the business, the streets filled with panicking citizens, some drenched in blood. “The Ghost of Tenar! The Ghost of Tenar!” Some of the more traumatised ones muttered to themselves, having seen the sheer brutality of Kyle upfront.
Sir Tian led the contingent, entering the strip club, which was filled to the brim with Nest guard corpses numbering in the dozens. A few slaves were still scavenging equipment from the dead guards, spotting the Clouds and quickly readying their repeaters.
“Wait! We come in peace! We are with the Ghost of Tenar!” Sir Tian quickly explained. “We’re here to help you!”
“He’s right! The Ghost of Tenar told me so!” One of the slaves quickly explained to the slaves, diffusing the tension. “He told me to let the Clouds help us!”
“Yes, indeed. We can keep you safe and train you!” Sir Tian nodded vigorously. The armed men of the Clouds quickly escorted the slaves out of the building, heading back to the headquarters before Nest was to strike back. Internally, Sir Tian was ecstatic, having gained so much manpower for free, including the weapons and equipment of the fallen Nest hideout.
Sir Tian headed to the VIP room, looking to see if the lady was dead. But instead, he only saw the bodies of dead Nest Guards, with both Kyle and the lady missing. What? Where did he go?
Dekar was startled as Kyle barged into the safehouse before tossing a lady onto the slimy mattress. Belts bound her arms and legs, and Dekar noticed the top part of the lady’s dress ripped to shreds, his face turning furious. “You’re fucking joking, right? Does your two-month plan involve shagging random ladies off the street? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Look carefully at her shoulder. She is one of the leaders of Nest in Tenar.”
Dekar took a closer look, realising he was right. “What the fuck did you do? I thought you were just going to send a message?”
“I did—two messages, in fact. Hopefully, the recipients will be receptive. I need you to get out of this room for an hour or two.”
“So you’re still going to rape her?”
“If I am, what are you going to do about it?” Kyle glared at Dekar, obviously not in a joking mood.
Dekar left the room silently. It was the first time in the past few days that he had seen Kyle that agitated. Granted, he had only been with him for a few days at most, but even when Kyle was negotiating for the deal, Kyle had a semblance of total control of his emotions. Even he knew the speech given to the homeless people was of a fake persona.
This time, Kyle was extremely agitated, barely able to reign in his raging emotions. He placed his hand on the lady, using the Necklace of Healing to heal the lady slightly before slapping her awake. The lady groaned as she stirred from her concussion, her head still spinning. As she locked eyes with Kyle, her eyes widened as she bolted straight up, quickly trying to move to a corner. However, her limbs were restrained by belts, making it hard for her to move as Kyle squatted in front of her.
“Don’t come any closer – or else I’ll kill myself!” The lady threatened, her gaze furious as her eyes darted around the safehouse, looking for an exit point.
“I already removed your engraving.”
The lady was confused, finally noticing that the top half of her dress had been shredded apart. Instead of the engraving that had plagued her for her entire life, only red sore skin that was newly grown could be seen. The skin felt like a foreign part, as though a large wound had been healed over rapidly.
“How did you-“
“I’ve met your kind before. Though I never expected it to be a Nest speciality.”
“Why would you-“
Instead of replying, Kyle brandished a knife, holding it against the lady’s neck. “I’m the one asking questions here. You’re no longer tied to Nest since I destroyed your engraving. Am I wrong? Or would you like to die here for an organisation that will clearly murder you on sight?”
The lady pondered her options while still observing the room. Naturally, she treasured life a lot more than death; she had no loyalty to the Nest, so she decided to act her way out.
“Thank you for removing the engraving!” The lady put on her most desperate pleading face, crawling up to Kyle and accentuating her sexiness, trying to soften Kyle up.
However, a sharp flaring pain suddenly burst from her thigh as she winced, with Kyle stabbing a knife right through and slowly moving it, sending waves of pain through her body. “Please stop! It hurts! Why are you doing this!” The lady begged.
“Don’t bother acting. I’ve heard all about who you are. Lady Yona, one of the main people in charge of Nest in Versia.”
The lady stopped acting, her former haughty demeanour returning. The pain of the knife seemed to barely bother her, as though it was like a tickle. She had been through worse. “Fine. What the fuck do you want?”
“I want a list of all the industrialists who are infiltrating the government, and I want all active Nest hitmen locations. But more importantly, how do you know about transcendents?”
