Chapter 21: The Dominant Hyena (Combined Chapter)

Boom—!!

A grenade was lobbed into the middle of the Rodakingdom defense force as they returned fire, detonating with a thunderous roar!

Severed limbs and blood danced through the air, and the entire estate was choked with thick, acrid smoke. The animals kept on the grounds either died or fled in terror, their screams drowned out by the cacophony of gunfire and explosions.

"These bastards have too much firepower! Fall back! Retreat to the mansion gates!"

A Nen user hired by the Rodakingdom discarded his empty pistol and roared at his comrades. But before the words had even left his lips, his head exploded like a water-filled balloon, leaving only an involuntarily twitching jaw and a severed tongue dangling from a mangled neck.

On a high slope somewhere within the estate, a bearded man in camouflage and a beanie chewed his gum, slightly elevating his sniper rifle. "Number seven."

Chief sniper and leader of the Third Squad of the mercenary group "Giant Hyenas"—"Search Dog" Dutch!

Rat-tat-tat-tat!!!

Violent machine gun fire mowed down a large swathe of the defense force like wheat. Every bullet carried an explosive effect and immense piercing power; even Enhancer-type Nen users could barely protect their vital organs with *Ken*, let alone those not specialized in combat or ordinary people.

A large number of "Giant Hyena" mercenaries charged through the first line of defense. Among them, a thick-lipped woman with red hair tied in a short ponytail looked visibly impatient. She held a submachine gun adorned with hyena stickers in one hand, striding forward with long legs while waving her other arm and shouting, "Hurry it up, all of you! Once you secure this line, set up immediately! Good, you’re all Mommy’s little darlings!"

She then picked up her walkie-talkie and said, "Perimeter of the mansion, clear."

Leader of the Second Squad of the mercenary group "Giant Hyenas"—"Swaddle Dog" Gestalt!

"Copy that."

Outside the estate gates, the long-haired man, Kadola, who was holding a walkie-talkie, looked at the burly man with a crew cut beside him. "Shall we move?"

"Let's begin."

The burly man twisted his neck, which emitted a dull, cracking sound.

At that moment, a figure suddenly lunged from the fence. Using the cover of the darkness and the roaring explosions, he remained completely undetected by the surrounding mercenaries!

Intense aura surged over his palms. This was a sturdy man wearing a tight tank top and loose trousers—the strongest Enhancer Nen user hired by the Rodakingdom, the bounty hunter Bakuzan.

His right hand's fingers were held together like a blade, the aura forming a razor-sharp edge as he slashed horizontally toward the crew-cut man's neck!

Capture the leader first! If he killed the head of the mercenary group, the enemy would surely fall into chaos.

It all happened in a split second. Bakuzan felt his hand-blade pass effortlessly through the man’s neck, meeting no resistance at all. This was his Nen ability, "Hell’s Funeral Hand-Blade," which turned his palm into an unparalleled sharp edge, combined with his exquisite martial arts—no matter how powerful the enemy, they would... they would...

Where is my hand?

He raised his right arm; there was nothing left above the wrist. Blood gushed out like a fountain, and only then did the agony begin to flood his entire body.

"Aaaaaah!" Bakuzan clutched his wrist, trying to flee, but the surrounding mercenaries, now alerted, raised their guns and began firing at him.

With every gunshot, Bakuzan’s body convulsed. Within seconds, the renowned bounty hunter was riddled with holes, collapsing into a pool of blood like a tattered leather sack.

"Fool! Once your aura is in disarray, you can't even maintain basic defense. Can this really be called an Enhancer?"

The long-haired man, Kadola, tossed aside the severed hand he was holding, took a towel handed over by a mercenary to wipe his hands, and picked up his walkie-talkie to issue orders:

"Going loud!"

Leader of the First Squad of the mercenary group "Giant Hyenas"—"Sheepdog" Kadola!

The main gate of the estate was blown to pieces, armored vehicles poured in, and a large number of heavily armed mercenaries stormed into the Rodakingdom estate with submachine guns.

It was an irresistible force, sweeping away all resistance.

***

The Rodakingdom estate was now shrouded in smoke, the sound of gunfire growing more intense, and fires could be seen burning everywhere.

The "Giant Hyenas" were founded in 1988 by their leader, Barbator, and his three closest comrades. All four were top-tier special forces veterans and Nen users. Through constant talent recruitment and an unscrupulous style of operation, the group rose rapidly.

In 1991, a brutal civil war broke out between the government and rebel forces of the Lubo Federation, leading to the collapse of the nation—an event known in history as the "Lubo Civil War."

During the war, both sides fought without restraint, deploying their entire armies and hiring large numbers of mercenaries. The conflict lasted for seven months. Many mercenary organizations were wiped out, while others gained global fame; "Stone Wall" and "Giant Hyenas" were prime examples.

In truth, as the Rodakingdom had suspected, the "Giant Hyenas" were actually a dark asset of the Saherta Union, one of the V5 nations, dispatched to handle dirty work. Sometimes they acted as paid mercenaries, but more often, they were an armed gang of bandits.

The Rodakingdom possessed items that even the V5 coveted. Considering the cost of official channels was too high and success unlikely, they simply sent the "Giant Hyenas" to ambush the city of Romin, ordering them to create a disturbance, capture the Rodakingdom leader, and coerce him into handing over what the V5 wanted. As for other assets, the "Giant Hyenas" were free to do as they pleased.

After two months of ambushing and surveillance, leader Barbator had intended to wait for the large festival in Romin next month to strike. However, three hours ago, scouts reported a massive pillar of Nen aura appearing in the Rodakingdom estate.

Barbator, a man of vast experience, immediately recognized the signs of an A-rank Nen artifact manifesting. He immediately made the decision: the entire mercenary group would assault the estate to seize the artifact!

On a slope within the estate, "Search Dog" Dutch lay on the ground with his sniper rifle, squinting through the scope to observe the mansion while speaking through a short-range communication headset immune to signal interference: "Kick up more dust to obscure their vision!"

He was a master of *En*, capable of extending it to a range of 200 meters. Combined with his ability, "Red Noise," he could easily achieve friend-or-foe identification. The visual obstruction caused by the dust was no issue for him, and with his superb sniping skills, he ranked among the top five snipers in the world.

Hm?

In his field of vision, the smoke near the mansion twisted, and several members of the Hyena group were shredded as if by a giant tiger's claw, causing their nearby teammates to shriek in terror.

"What the hell!?" Dutch frantically scanned the bio-signatures within his *En* range, but no new enemies appeared.

Was it beyond-visual-range combat? Dammit, the enemy had a sniper-type Nen user too! And a very powerful, high-output Nen ability!

He hurriedly reported the situation to Barbator. In that brief moment, four more mercenaries died to the enemy's long-range Nen strike.

"Shit! Looks like it's the Nen ability of 'Rain Tiger' Grinfield."

Inside the armored vehicle, the long-haired Kadola put down his walkie-talkie and turned to the burly man beside him: "That guy is a mercenary who only cares about money. If he was hired by the Rodakingdom, I wouldn't be surprised. The problem is, how did he bypass our surveillance and arrive at the estate early?"

"Doesn't matter. Kill him too."

The burly man sneered. "When it comes to one-on-one combat or assassination, Rain Tiger is indeed a difficult opponent, but this is a *war*! Tell the little puppies to stop the bombing, avoid the smoke, and let the First Squad drag him out. Then, I’ll go meet this treasure hunter myself."

Back at the mansion, the ornate fountain had been blown to pieces; only half of the intricately carved stone statue remained lying on the lawn. Bullets whistled through the air every second, as if enemies were everywhere.

The defense force and Nen users retreating to the mansion entrance were on the verge of despair, but screams kept echoing from the thick smoke that obscured their vision—and they didn't sound like their own people.

"Rain Tiger? When did the boss hire Rain Tiger Grinfield to help?"

A knowledgeable Nen user was overjoyed, feeling the pain in his arm where he'd been shot diminish. "We're saved! Grinfield is a famously powerful combat veteran. With him here, these invaders will definitely be purged!"

It was easy to kick up dust, but it would only dissipate naturally. The smoke kept condensing into the shape of tiger claws, tearing the invading mercenaries apart. The spray of blood only made the smoke thicker, tinged with an eerie, blood-red hue.

"Where... where are you... come out... come out..."

"Search Dog" Dutch changed positions again, nervously searching for the hidden Nen user through his scope. The ones dying were elite mercenaries trained for a long time; even with the "Giant Hyenas'" vast resources, they couldn't afford this kind of attrition.

Another heart-wrenching scream!

A young mercenary watched as his teammate was torn into a dozen pieces by an invisible force. The sensation of blood spraying onto his face caused him to break down, and he began firing his machine gun wildly into the smoke.

Perhaps because he started it, several other terrified mercenaries began screaming and firing blindly into the thick cloud.

Dutch had forgotten to chew his gum, sweat pouring down his forehead as he scanned the movement in the smoke through his scope.

Hm? A new target appeared—it wasn't "Red"!

His ability, "Red Noise," was a Manipulation-type Nen ability. By attaching his aura to special small items and giving them simple feedback instructions, he could distribute these items to all the Hyena group members. After activating *En*, he could display a search map in his mind, marking allies in "Red" to distinguish them from enemies.

All "Red Noise" items would resonate when close to each other, virtually eliminating the possibility of enemies disguising themselves as Hyena members to launch a surprise attack.

Furthermore, he replaced the items with a new type every month, requiring every member to hide them in their clothing. On a chaotic battlefield, this was an extremely practical Nen ability.

Non-red, newly appeared—it had to be the hidden Nen user.

"Search Dog" Dutch locked onto the enemy instantly, and a shot rang out!

The bullet hit the enemy's head with precision, causing it to explode like a water balloon!

"Heh... easy."

Dutch looked up, but the smile on his face froze. As the smoke cleared, he clearly saw that the person he had shot in the head was a member of the Hyena group wearing camouflage!

How is this possible? There was no "Red Noise" signal. It’s impossible...

A whistling sound came from above. He looked up instinctively.

Half of the fountain statue was falling from the sky, hurtling toward his position!

Dammit, he had already used "White Noise" to hide his tracks; how did the opponent find him!?

Lying on the slope, Dutch gripped his rifle and lunged forward, narrowly avoiding a direct hit from the statue. The multi-ton stone crashed into the lawn, instantly kicking up a massive cloud of soil and dust.

This bastard... wants to create artificial dust?

Dutch wasn't stupid; he instantly realized the opponent's intention. But before he could get up, the attack arrived.

The dust swirled and distorted, rapidly transforming into five sharp blades that slashed down at him! Too late to get up and dodge, Dutch channeled his aura into his sniper rifle, attempting to block the strike.

It was like a hot knife through butter. The sniper rifle, along with the aura covering it, was cleanly severed without even holding for a second. However, it bought Dutch a fleeting moment of respite.

Lying on the middle of the slope, he leaned back and kicked off the ground with all his might, launching himself into the air and leaping far away from the smoke.

In mid-air, Dutch confirmed he was out of the smoke's range. He had chosen to flee this way because he felt a "Red Noise" signal approaching rapidly from behind to provide cover. Now he was safe... Hm? Why did that signal suddenly accelerate?

Before he could process it, a powerful, whistling force struck his back!

Accompanied by a series of dull bone-cracking sounds, Dutch was slammed back into the ground, creating a massive crater!

Who? Buried halfway in the dirt, Dutch tried to move his body with a stiff neck, but a red sneaker descending from the sky stepped on the back of his neck, crushing the last of his life force.

Hale, dressed in a black tracksuit, stood by the pit, fished a small dog-head badge—its aura slowly dissipating—from his pocket, and tossed it aside.

Cause of death: too stupid.

***

Name: "Search Dog" Dutch Van der Linde

Profession: Mercenary

Attribute: Manipulation

Nen Ability:

"Red Noise"—Capable of attaching aura to individual objects weighing no more than 300g to form a "Red Noise" signal. This signal is naturally under *In*, making it difficult for even Nen users to detect without *Gyo*. The total weight of all objects with aura attached cannot exceed 100kg. All "Red Noise" signals can sense each other within a 10-meter radius, while Dutch can sense them within 30 meters. Additionally, Dutch can use *En* to pinpoint the location of all "Red Noise" signals within his surveillance range. This month's "Red Noise" items are small dog-head badges.

"White Noise"—Attaches aura to his long-worn military dog tags, achieving an effect similar to *Zetsu*, which can be used to isolate himself from Nen user detection. Wearing the tags consumes his aura continuously.