Chapter 154: Lightning Core: Heavenly Smite!
"Hold steady! Don't trust your eyes! Use 'En'! Use 'Gyo'!" Razor's roar seemed so powerless amidst the chaos.
Veins bulged on his forehead as he fully activated the light sphere in his hand, attempting to use the game core's rule power to interfere with and analyze this terrifying illusion. White light spread like water ripples, but upon touching the omnipresent power of "Kyōka Suigetsu," it was like a clay ox entering the sea—the effect was minimal!
"Bastards!"
Seeing the momentary chaos within the administrator team, a fierce light surged in Morton's eyes, mistaking this for a perfect opportunity. "Black Bee! Assault formation! Target the crystal! Charge with me!"
His massive body was like a starting tank, rumbling as he charged fiercely towards the seven-colored crystal in the center of the arena. His dark chitinous skin flashed with a metallic cold light under the activation of Nen, every step making the white floor tiles tremble slightly.
The mercenaries behind him were well-trained, immediately forming a tight triangular assault formation. Their Nen resonated with each other, like a single moving steel fortress, attempting to forcefully break through by exploiting the gap in the administrator team's chaos!
"Finger Demon" Aaron's eyes flashed with a hint of cunning, and the bizarre rings on his ten fingers lit up with a faint glow simultaneously. "Lilith, add some 'spice' to those Black Bee idiots, make them charge even fiercer!"
"Toxic Kiss" Lilith giggled softly. Her red lips parted slightly, and a nearly invisible wisp of pink aura shot silently like a spirit snake towards the rear of the "Black Bee" team. That was a neurotoxin capable of stimulating latent anger and desire to attack.
Soros, on the other hand, adjusted his glasses leisurely, instructing in a low voice, "Prepare to receive the crystal. Wait until both sides suffer heavy casualties..."
Just as the "Black Bee" team aggressively approached the chaotic administrator area, and Lilith's poisonous mist was about to taint the last mercenary—
"Tsk, in the way."
A cold, metallic, and impatient voice exploded like a thunderclap right in front of the "Black Bee" team!
Ulquiorra's figure materialized like a phantom, blocking Morton's charging path without any warning. He maintained that indifferent expression, his emerald green eyes like a frozen lake, reflecting Morton's ferocious face and that unstoppable charge.
He didn't even bother to reveal his Resurrección posture, merely raising his right index finger unremarkably. At his fingertip, a point of black light, profound to the extreme and seemingly capable of swallowing all light, rapidly condensed and compressed!
"Cero."
There was no earth-shattering charging process, no dazzling light and shadow effects. Only a black light beam, condensed to the extreme and moving faster than the visual capture limit, shot silently from Ulquiorra's fingertip!
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
Morton's charging roar caught in his throat. The dark chitinous layer covering his entire body, capable of withstanding rocket bombardments, disappeared silently like a hot knife cutting through butter the instant it came into contact with that black light beam!
No explosion, no impact, only the purest annihilation!
The light beam penetrated Morton's massive body without any hindrance, leaving a terrifying, bowl-sized, mirror-smooth hole in his chest!
Following closely, the light beam's momentum continued unabated. Like a grim reaper's scythe, it pierced through the entire "Black Bee" assault formation without obstruction!
Pfft!
Pfft!
Pfft!
Pfft!
Like threading candied haws!
The bodies of the five elite mercenaries charging at the forefront were pierced simultaneously by that condensed black light beam! Enhancer-type defenses, Transmuter-type shields, Manipulator-type Nen Beasts... all were as fragile as paper in the face of that annihilating power!
Their bodies froze in place, maintaining their charging postures. The ferocity on their faces was instantly replaced by extreme astonishment and bewilderment, and then the brilliance of life rapidly dimmed.
Morton's massive body crashed heavily to the ground, the heavy thud making the entire arena seem to shake. He couldn't comprehend until his dying breath why his proud defense was so vulnerable before that black light beam.
That Cero light beam, which had pierced through six people (including Morton), finally slammed fiercely into a giant, rune-carved stone pillar at the edge of the arena!
Buzz—!!!
Blinding white light erupted from the stone pillar's surface. Countless profound runes instantly lit up, circulating frantically to form an incredibly solid Nen barrier!
But holding on for less than half a second, the barrier shattered with a crash like fragile glass! The black light beam drilled fiercely into the interior of the stone pillar!
Rumble!!!
The earth-shattering sound of the explosion finally arrived belatedly!
The massive stone pillar, over three meters in diameter, began to crack and collapse inch by inch from the point of impact, like porcelain struck by a giant hammer! Countless shattered rocks, wrapped in black annihilating energy, shot out in all directions like a rainstorm!
A violent shockwave mixed with the aura of annihilation swept outwards!
"Argh—!"
"Help!"
"Defend quickly!"
The players close to the explosion area, whether they were lone Hunters hoping to pick up scraps or Soros's subordinates, instantly suffered collateral damage.
Screams, the sounds of Nen shields shattering, and the muffled thuds of flesh being pierced by shattered rocks rang out one after another! Severed limbs mixed with rubble and dust flew into the air, the scent of blood instantly filling the area!
Lilith's insidious poisonous mist was instantly blown away by this violent shockwave, blowing back toward the direction of her, Aaron, and Soros!
"Damn it!"
Aaron's expression changed drastically. The rings on his ten fingers flashed frantically, laying down overlapping invisible Nen webs in front of him, struggling to block the shockwave and the blowback of the poisonous mist.
Soros wretchedly grabbed a nearby subordinate and pulled him in front as a shield. That subordinate was instantly riddled with holes by several shattered rocks containing annihilating energy. His meticulously groomed hairstyle was completely messed up, his gold-rimmed glasses askew, and his face revealed a look of exasperation and terror for the first time.
Just one strike!
A casually fired Cero from Ulquiorra completely ended the ambitions of the "Black Bee" mercenary group, along with clearing out nearly a third of the players on the edge of the arena! Its cold, precise, and efficient killing, like a cold machine, sent a chill from the soles of all survivors' feet straight to the top of their heads!
The chaotic battlefield experienced a momentary dead silence due to this sudden, terrifying strike. The chaos within the administrator team also paused briefly because of this massive commotion. Everyone's face bore the palpitating fear and lingering dread of surviving a disaster.
Gulp.
Gon swallowed hard, his small face slightly pale as he looked at Ulquiorra's indifferent, retreating back, as well as the collapsed stone pillar and the devastation in the distance.
Killua, on the other hand, had sharp eyes, staring fixedly at Ulquiorra, his body trembling slightly with excitement and battle intent.
"Did you see that, Gon, Killua?" Riku's voice rang out calmly, breaking the suffocating silence. "This is the chasm of power difference. In the face of true power, numbers, formations, conspiracies... are all a joke."
His gaze swept over the still-terrified players, as if looking at ants. "Now, garbage time is over."
His sight finally landed on the administrator team, still under the influence of "Kyōka Suigetsu," their formation scattered, everyone injured, and on Razor, whose face was ashen as he fully activated the light sphere attempting to stabilize the situation.
"Mr. Razor," the corners of Riku's mouth curled up in a playful arc, "it seems your fifteen-person team is a bit unworthy of its name. The game rules don't seem very friendly to you? How about..." He paused, his voice carrying an unquestionable dominance, "...we play by my rules for a change?"
Right at this extremely tense moment, when all eyes were focused on Riku and Razor—
Boom! Crack!
The seven-colored Nen dome of the arena was torn open, without any warning, by an incredibly unreasonable force, creating a massive gap!
Two figures crashed down like meteors, carrying a palpitating, terrifying Nen pressure, landing heavily in the center of the arena, exactly between the hovering [Ruler's Blessing] crystal and Riku's group of four!
The incredibly hard white floor tiles cracked inch by inch, cobweb-like fissures instantly spreading dozens of meters outward!
Amidst the billowing dust and smoke, the two figures slowly stood up straight.
The person on the left had white hair and beard, wasn't tall, and wore a simple gray martial arts uniform, his hands tucked into wide sleeves. His face was archaic, his eyes weathered and profound, as if he had seen through all the worldly affairs. A deep and unfathomable Nen pressure, like the vast starry sky or a dormant volcano, silently spread out, instantly suppressing the auras of everyone present. Even Aizen's terrifying Spiritual Pressure and the fluctuations of the light sphere in Razor's hand were forcefully suppressed!
It was the previous head of the Zoldyck family, the legendary assassin—Zeno Zoldyck!
The person on the right was tall and slender, his long black hair cascading like satin. His face was handsome to the point of being almost demonic, yet devoid of any expression. His large, hollow eyes seemed to hold no human emotion, only a dead, silent darkness. He wore a simple black tight-fitting outfit, his entire being exuding a cold, viscous, and extremely uncomfortable Nen aura. His gaze pierced straight through the dust and smoke, like the most precise targeting system, locking firmly onto Killua behind Riku!
"Killua." Illumi Zoldyck's voice was flat and waveless, like an electronic synthesized sound, yet carrying a bone-piercing chill. "Father says your 'rebellious phase' should be over. The game ends here. Come home with me."
Killua's body stiffened instantly! His silver hair practically stood on end! A bone-deep, icy fear originating from the depths of his bloodline instantly gripped his heart, plunging him into an ice cavern!
Illumi! His most feared, nightmare-like older brother!
Zeno's gaze slowly swept across the arena, finally landing on Riku, who had slightly narrowed his eyes. On his unruffled face, a very faint smile appeared, as if seeing an interesting toy: "Young man, you have a heavy killing intent, and your power is also very interesting. However, when the Zoldyck family handles family affairs, we don't like outsiders... being an eyesore."
As the last word was spat out, a killing intent condensed as if substantive, like an invisible giant hammer, smashed violently towards Riku!
Zeno's killing intent was substantive, not an illusory aura oppression, but a terrifying power that could truly tear apart minds and freeze blood!
The air seemed to be sucked dry in that instant. The heavy pressure caused the eyes of several players standing slightly closer to bulge out, blood to spray from their mouths and noses, and they collapsed limply to the ground without even a groan, their lives or deaths unknown.
The target of this giant hammer of killing intent was only one—Riku!
"Riku!"
Gon was terrified out of his wits, his body instinctively wanting to charge forward, but he was suppressed by that terrifying killing intent to the point of immobility, even breathing becoming extremely difficult.
Killua's pupils shrank abruptly. The fear brought by Illumi intertwined with his grandfather's heaven-destroying killing intent, making his mind go completely blank and his body stiff as iron.
Biscuit's expression became solemn to the extreme. Pink Nen instantly erupted to protect herself, Gon, and Killua. But facing Zeno's Nen pressure and killing intent, which were as deep as the abyss, her defense was like a small boat in a raging sea, tottering unsteadily.
Facing this terrifying strike, sufficient to instantly crush the mind of an ordinary powerhouse, Riku merely narrowed his eyes slightly.
He didn't dodge, nor did he erupt with Nen to resist it forcefully.
Hum!
A layer of a pale golden force field, almost imperceptible to the naked eye and composed of countless minute lightning arcs, instantly surfaced on his body!
[AT Field - Modified]!
The concept of absolute defense from the Angels, reconstructed by him using Lightning Nen!
Boom—!
The invisible giant hammer of killing intent smashed fiercely onto the pale golden force field, erupting with a dull, thunderous roar!
Violent ripples cascaded across the surface of the force field. Countless fine lightning snakes darted frantically and annihilated, only to be instantly replenished by an endless stream of Nen.
The white floor tiles beneath Riku's feet shattered and caved in, forming a shallow pit, but he himself stood immovable, like a mountain rooted in the earth!
"Hm?"
For the first time, evident surprise appeared on Zeno's archaic face. Although this strike of his wasn't at full strength, it was absolutely not something an ordinary expert could easily withstand, let alone so effortlessly. The defensive method of this young man before him was bizarre and powerful.
"Old man, don't be so hot-tempered."
Riku dusted off non-existent dirt, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold arc. His gaze bypassed the murderous Zeno and locked directly onto Illumi. "Didn't you hear? Your family's brat is under my protection now."
"Under your protection?" Illumi's hollow large eyes turned towards Riku, his voice flat without the slightest fluctuation. "Those who hinder the Zoldycks from handling family affairs will be eliminated. That is the rule."
He slowly raised his right hand. Between his fingers, at some unknown point, three Nen needles flickering with a cold, gloomy light were held! The tips of the needles pointed distantly at Riku's heart, forehead, and throat! The Nen attached to those needles was cold, viscous, carrying an extreme malice of forced manipulation and erasing life force! Just a glance made one's soul feel a stinging pain.
"Rules?"
Riku felt as if he had heard a massive joke. He slowly raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers, palm facing up.
A point of blinding, incandescent white light began frantically condensing and compressing in his palm!
A terrifying, destructive energy fluctuation, like an impending volcanic eruption, instantly spread outwards! The temperature of the entire arena rose sharply, the air crackling under the overwhelming burden!
"In my territory..." Riku's voice suddenly turned fierce, exploding like a thunderclap from the highest heavens, drowning out the buzzing of the seven-colored Nen barrier dome of the arena, drowning out the heavy panting of all the players!
"My fists are the rules!"
In the instant his voice fell, the incandescent white Lightning Core in his palm, like a sun compressed to its absolute limit, was forcefully detonated!
"Lightning Core: Heavenly Smite!"