Chapter 120: Reinforcement Arrives
"..."
Hearing Kurapika's question, Raymond turned his gaze to Kurapika briefly before returning his focus to the chessboard as a smile playing on his lips.
"When you play chess alone, do you know which side would prevail?"
His voice was calm, almost contemplative.
But Kurapika suddenly felt a surge of unease at the implications.
Still...
Kurapika was unable to comprehend the question, his mind racing as he tried to understand why Raymond would go to such lengths.
His eyes widened as realization struck, "That means... He has a conflict with the Ten Dons!"
"Which side?"
On the side, Sin muttered out loud while furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
"..."
Sakujiro remained silent, but it was evident from his thoughtful expression that he, too, was lost in contemplation.
Then, Sin shook his head, honestly confessing, "...I don't know, Master. Does it even matter which side wins?"
After all, Raymond playing chess on his own, the outcome didn't truly matter, did it?
However...
The moment those words were uttered, everyone suddenly widened their eyes in realization.
"...!"
Raymond smirked even wider as he nodded, "You're right, it doesn't matter which side wins, because in the end, I'll still come out on top..."
"..."
Kurapika's heart grew cold at this as he felt shiver ran down his spine as he looked out the window.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
He watched as the mafia mobs fired at Uvogin, who had a faint red aura surrounding his body.
"...That hurts him," Kurapika silently thought. He had already suppressed Uvogin's Nen to a level where some slightly stronger individuals would be able to kill him.
However...
"This won't be enough..."
Furrowing his eyebrows, Kurapika felt his Nen surge outward. He turned to look at Raymond, contemplating, "He didn't seem to be bothered by this..."
"Let's wait and see then..."
Considering that Raymond might have already foreseen this, Kurapika tried to calm his raging Nen as he turned back to the battlefield outside.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
The sound of gunfire echoed through the air as the mafia mobs unleashed a barrage of bullets at Uvogin, their desperation palpable as sweat trickled down their foreheads and their hearts raced in fear.
"That tickles, you bastards!"
Uvogin bellowed, undeterred by the onslaught.
With lightning speed, he charged toward a nearby mafia mobster, seizing him by the neck and snapping it with a brutal twist of his hand.
As chaos erupted, the remaining mobsters grew frantic, their shots becoming more erratic.
"Damn it! Bring out the heavy artillery!"
One of them shouted as his men immediately brandished a bazooka and aiming it at Uvogin, who swiftly bring more death to their fellow mafia mobs!.
"Look out!"
The warning caught everyone's attention just as the trigger was pulled.
With a sharp click and a swoosh, a larger projectile hurtled toward Uvogin, catching him by surprise.
"Huh?"
Uvogin's reaction was swift.
"What the hell is that? Whatever..."
With a confident grin, he lunged forward, meeting the incoming bullet with a powerful punch.
BOOM!
The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air, engulfing the scene in a cloud of dark smoke as the force of Uvogin's punch collided with the bazooka's projectile.
"Hahaha, now this kind of hurts!"
He laughed out loud, his figure emerged from the smoke before sharply moved toward the rest despite his unused right arm.
"Fuck fuck fuck!"
"Where's our reinforcement!"
These mafia mobs were practically just dead meat in front of his might.
"..."
Kurapika's fist clenched tightly as he witnessed the unfolding massacre before him, a surge of frustration and determination welling up within him.
However...
Just as he was on the brink of stepping out to intervene, his attention was caught by the arrival of another vehicle pulling up nearby.
He blinked in surprise, murmuring to himself, "They're..."
"It appears they've arrived at last," Sakujiro remarked quietly, his gaze fixed on the newcomers while Raymond calmly moved another piece on the chessboard.
"Do you recognize them?"
Kurapika inquired, turning to Sakujiro, who seemed to have some familiarity with the individuals in question.
Sakujiro nodded in response, "These individuals are professional assassins. They should be hired by the Ten Dons themselves..."
"Huh?"
Kurapika's brows furrowed in confusion.
He hadn't expected the mafia to mobilize their men so quickly.
Unbeknownst to him, the Ten Dons were already aware of the Phantom Troupe's presence.
This made them to swiftly enlist skilled people to bolster their forces since they were also had to worry about their undercover feud against the Celestia Consortium.
However...
With just a glance, Kurapika could see that these people were definitely somewhat professional.
He could feel a threatening aura around them, especially emanating from the man in military-like attire with a combat army shirt and a military-style beret, and another man with long crimson hair, shaved on the left side to display a bird-like tattoo.
"Those two are definitely not your average professionals..."
Kurapika finally felt slightly relieved.
With these people, Uvogin's demise was practically assured.
Looking at the unfolding scene, Sin couldn't help but nod as he was thoroughly impressed with Raymond's calculated moves and schemes.
Still...
"Master, what should we do with the mole?"
"The mole?"
Kurapika frowned, feeling left out of the conversation, as Raymond chuckled in response before answering, "They've done us quite a favor by siding with these scums..."
"Let them live a little longer..."
Raymond spoke casually, without any change in tone.
However, Kurapika somehow felt slightly tense at those words.
In the span of a day, he had seen a new side of someone he had met at the Hunter Exam, someone who had seemed quite reasonable back then...
...turned out to be someone who even made him feel slightly terrified.
"Whoever that is, he's an unlucky fellow..."
Kurapika thought silently, feeling sweat trickle down his back as he shifted his focus back outside.
"Hmm, so how do we divide the bounty this time?"
One of the assassins with a wooden mask asked.
The man with military attire scoffed as he took out his military knife and spoke, "Obviously, whoever killed him first takes everything."
"Kukuku... I agree with this old man..."
The crimson-haired assassin with bird tattoo on his head nodded, smiling while licking his lips.
He was calmly observing the enraged Uvogin swiftly butchering the mafia mobs.
The screams of the mobs didn't even faze any of them; they truly couldn't care less about their deaths since they had nothing to do with them.
They were hired to kill not to protect!
"...I suppose that's how it should be in the first place."
"Sigh..."
"I guess it's going to be a competition, huh?"
The assassins looked at each other, seeming to be in favor of the notion that whoever dealt the finishing blow would reap all the benefits.
Each one of them appeared confident.
"Then..."
They all smirked before their figures disappeared, exclaiming altogether, "...let's see who's the best among us, shall we?"
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