Chapter 22: Your Turn

"Dutch! Dutch!"

"Swaddled Dog" Jesto heard a massive, dull explosion erupt from Dutch's direction. Sensing that the aura attached to the dog-head badge she carried was dissipating, she immediately knew something was wrong. Once a sniper's position is compromised and the enemy closes in, they are at an absolute disadvantage. Moreover, because this was a surprise raid, Dutch hadn't had time to lay traps or mines around his sniper nest.

After two unanswered calls over the comms, Jesto made a split-second decision. She flicked her red ponytail, curled her pinky finger against her lip, and let out a sharp, piercing whistle.

"Dazo! Nieslo! Pushuta! Saki! You four come with me. Pum贝尔, you take command here!"

"Understood!"

With concise orders, Jesto snatched the baseball cap from the head of the vice-captain, Pum贝尔, pulled it onto her own head, and led the team's four most elite Nen users toward Dutch's location at full speed.

As she sprinted, she shouted into her comms: "Calling Shepherd Dog! We have a situation at Search-and-Rescue Dog's position! High probability of an attack by an enemy Nen user. Swaddled Dog is leading the Hound Squad to provide support!"

"Copy! Hold him off, we're arriving immediately!"

An armored vehicle in motion screeched to a halt. The doors flew open, and the long-haired man, Kadola, and the burly, crew-cut man leaped out. The moment their feet hit the ground, their aura exploded, shattering the grass and soil beneath them. They surged forward toward Dutch's location at a speed far exceeding the armored vehicle.

Neither Kadola nor their leader, Babator, had anticipated that Rain Tiger Grand Fin would be so ferocious and bold. To launch a brazen assault while facing hundreds of elite mercenaries armed with firearms—they had truly underestimated him.

Swaddled Dog’s approach was correct; ordinary mercenaries were nothing but fodder for the Rain Tiger. Only Nen users could hope to stall him. With the strength of the Swaddled Dog and the Hound Squad, they could at least keep him occupied without casualties until Kadola and Babator arrived. Once they did, the Rain Tiger would regret not having killed himself sooner.

A minute of rapid running later, Swaddled Dog's group could see the situation on the slope through the flickering firelight.

There was a massive crater on the side of the steep incline. One could faintly see the torso of someone in camouflage protruding from the edge—it was undoubtedly the corpse of "Search-and-Rescue Dog" Dutch.

Jesto immediately raised her right fist, signaling a halt. The four Nen users behind her stopped as well, two raising their submachine guns to scan the perimeter while the other two aimed at the crater.

Two giant, half-human-sized hounds materialized beside the scouts: a black Doberman and a pale yellow Labrador. These were the Nen beasts of Dazo and Saki. The Doberman excelled in close-quarters combat, fearless and relentless; the Labrador could track enemies who utilized Nen-concealment through scent and subtle details.

"His entire spine is shattered in six places, ribs and right arm completely broken. The fatal wound is at the base of his neck, crushed by immense force," the bald mercenary Pushuta reported. His Nen ability, [Ghost-Eye Physician], allowed him to detect specific injury details of biological entities within his line of sight, though he had to focus on a specific target to do so.

"He's still nearby!" Saki said, relaying information from the Labrador.

Just then, the grass not far from the slope rustled slightly.

"There!"

Three submachine guns pivoted instantly, pouring a torrent of lead into the dense brush. Only when the magazines ran dry did Jesto raise a hand to signal a cease-fire. Under Dazo's command, the Doberman bolted into the grass like an arrow released from a bow.

The "grass" was thick enough to be considered a small forest. The three submachine guns had thoroughly raked the area; even if they had landed a single hit, the Doberman would be able to track the scent of blood and drag that damn Rain Tiger out.

*Bang—!*

The Doberman was sent flying high out of the brush, tracing a graceful arc through the smoke-filled night sky before slamming heavily to the ground in front of them.

Dazo was about to command the beast to rise when he noticed thick white smoke pouring from its mouth. He instantly dispelled the Nen beast, revealing a smoking smoke grenade that had been lodged in its jaws.

Jesto’s pupils contracted. The enemy must have scavenged this from Dutch and stuffed it into the Doberman’s mouth while the beast was distracted. He had anticipated they would shoot a thrown grenade out of the air, so he used their own Nen beast as a perfect delivery system. *Damn it!*

"Small—" Before she could finish her warning, a spray of warm blood drenched her, turning her red ponytail crimson.

Beside her, Saki was torn to shreds by tiger claws manifested within the smoke. The Labrador vanished instantly.

"Dammit... get out of the smoke! Reload!"

Jesto’s eyes turned bloodshot. She shouted the warning and sprinted to the left. Within two seconds, another scream pierced the smoky air. It was Pushuta. The bastard had killed the two men who still had ammunition!

She was the first to burst out of the smoke, pulling her pistol from her waist and firing blindly into the brush, trying to buy time for any surviving teammates.

"Boss! Magazine!"

The burly black man, Nieslo, reached the edge of the smoke, heading in the same direction as Jesto. He tossed her a magazine imbued with Nen, but as he leaned out, the smoke swirled, and the upper half of his body slammed onto the ground, blood and viscera soaking the soil.

"You son of a bitch!!!"

Jesto let out a gut-wrenching roar. Nieslo's death didn't disperse his aura; instead, it imbued the bullets in the magazine with even more potent power. She jammed the magazine into her submachine gun and unleashed a terrifying barrage of firepower toward the brush!

A series of dense explosions ripped through the area, the violent fire and shockwaves instantly leveling the dense vegetation.

Dazo, having barely escaped the smoke, roared, "Above!"

Jesto instinctively looked up. In the center of the bright, full moon, a silhouette was curled in the air. He held a dull-colored cross-sword, the tip pointing straight down at her!

Black clothes, black hair, a handsome face, and that cross-sword... *Not Rain Tiger Grand Fin?* Her mind raced at lightning speed. A veteran mercenary to the core, she rolled on the ground, narrowly dodging the plunging strike. The blade bit deep into the soil. Jesto braced her hands, stood on her hands, and whipped her long, powerful legs through the air, aiming for the attacker's head and joints.

Hather parried her heavy kicks and was about to tear her in half with a tiger-claw strike when he heard rapid footsteps behind him.

"Tch, annoying."

Hather shoved Jesto aside with a punch, then backhanded the cross-sword out of the mud and hurled it violently to the side!

The sword flew like a cannon shell, whistling through the air before slamming into Dazo’s chest. The force carried him backward, snapping several large trees before pinning him against a boulder by the pond. Deep cracks spiderwebbed across the rock, and Dazo, run through, twitched twice before he went limp.

The Doberman, mid-leap toward Hather, let out a howl and dissolved into thin air.

Hather straightened up, rolled his shoulders, and looked at Jesto as she scrambled to her feet, a cold, mocking smile playing on his lips.

"Now, it's your turn."