The Strongest Assassin of the Zoldyck Family!

Hi I have another fanfic on my profile now. it is called "Naruto: The Flame That Reshapes Fate" I hope you will check it out!

Anyway enjoy the chapter ;) 

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The crowd continued pressing deeper into the desert. So far, Ron hadn't noticed anything suspicious. Ponzu's bees hadn't found anything unusual either.

Most of the people were in high spirits, and their pace was quick.

The legend of the Desert Bandit King's treasure stirred intense desire.

Some wanted to find the treasure and exchange it for Kroll's bounty.

Others wanted to keep it for themselves.

The brown-haired woman hadn't said exactly what the treasure was,

but many had their own speculations.

"Big brother..."

Nina came up to Ron.

"Nina, what is it?"

"There's something strange about this Desert Bandit King legend."

"What do you mean?"

"There was talk of a Desert Bandit King here before, but the part about a hidden treasure— that only started showing up in the last few months."

Ron thought for a moment.

"If that's the case, then there are two possibilities."

"One: no one had discovered any clues about the treasure before, and someone only recently stumbled upon them."

"Two: this story was deliberately planted."

Ron instinctively leaned toward the second possibility.

Gradually, as people glanced back, all they could see was yellow sand in every direction.

It was everywhere. They had now truly entered the heart of the desert.

But still, no one had found a single clue related to the so-called treasure. Under normal circumstances, if a treasure existed, it would typically be tied to some kind of ruins.

So that's what everyone was searching for— but all they saw was sand. At this point, walking out of the desert would take quite a bit of time. With normal travel, it would take no less than two days to completely get out.

Unless someone started running— but after being in the desert for days, there were very few who still had the strength to run.

Food and water were becoming serious problems. Those who accepted the commission were all competent individuals and had prepared well for the desert environment.

They brought supplies, but too much time had passed. The brown-haired woman had promised to handle resupply— but when it came time to deliver, she fell far short.

Many participants were now in poor condition. Some were even starting to consider turning back.

Just then, a rumor spread about a possible lead to some ancient ruins.

The crowd immediately became excited again.

"Ruins! If the ruins are here, then the treasure must be close!"

"It's definitely up ahead!"

"Where is it? I'm going to look!"

They rushed forward in droves— only to find nothing. The entire rumor had been a false lead.

One or two days later, another rumor about ruins emerged—this time, it sounded more believable.

The crowd was drawn in once again.

Ron observed quietly. These rumors were always released at the perfect moment— just when morale was at its lowest, when people were about to give up.

Then, suddenly, something would reignite their hopes and keep them moving.

This had happened repeatedly, and as a result, a lot of time had been wasted. Now, most of the participants were in extremely poor condition.

Ron didn't believe for a second that this was all coincidence. And at this point, he wasn't the only one who sensed something was wrong.

Some people began sneaking toward the outer edge, hoping to leave.

But entering was easy, leaving wasn't.

*Buzz... buzz...*

A bee returned, landing on the pendant at Ponzu's chest, then flew into the hive space within her Nen gear.

"Captain."

Ponzu immediately sought out Ron.

"Ponzu, what is it?"

"Someone's gone missing."

She continued, "My bee saw it. Someone was walking near the edge of the desert and suddenly, they just disappeared. After that, there was no sign of them."

"How exactly did they disappear?"

Ron's expression turned serious.

"They sank into the sand."

"What's the exact location?"

Ponzu pointed in a direction.

"Over there."

Ron nodded.

"Let's go check it out."

It wasn't long before Ron and Ponzu arrived. One bee was still circling overhead.

But now, the place it hovered over was full of people. What had once been an outer area was no longer on the edge. And the people standing there were fine—no one had sunk into the sand.

At the very least, this proved one thing: The missing person hadn't vanished into quicksand.

They had been attacked.

"Spread this news around."

Ron didn't linger. He quickly returned to Shizuku and the others.

Having ruled out natural causes like quicksand, Ron now believed there was a strong possibility this was a trap.

And the way it was being carried out made one thing clear: the people behind it didn't want this discovery exposed— at least, not yet.

So Ron couldn't let them have their way. He had to spread the word as fast as possible.

"Nina, use your ability."

Someone was likely watching from the shadows. Ron knew something was wrong, but he didn't want to reveal himself too early.

Nina's ability could spread the message without exposing them directly. She could control others to pass along the news.

"Something's underground. People have been attacked and dragged below."

Many of the participants were already exhausted. Once they heard this rumor, even more wanted to flee.

The number of people panicking increased rapidly.

*In the shadows*

Kroll observed the situation with a darkened expression.

"What the hell is this?"

He shot a cold glare at the brown-haired woman in front of him.

"How did they find out so quickly?"

She lowered her head.

"I'm sorry, Lord Kroll. It's my fault. I was careless. I'll find a way to fix it."

"Fix it? What can you possibly do?"

"..."

Though she seemed apologetic, she clearly hadn't come up with a solution.

Kroll's tone grew heavier.

"Lord Rosgell's body has yet to be fully recovered. To revive Lord Rosgell, we must sacrifice a sufficient number of lives."

"Only then can we generate enough life energy."

"These people—barely make up the minimum. If even one escapes, Lord Rosgell's revival will fail."

"We have no choice. We'll attack now, in full force."

"But their current condition... they're not as weak as we had hoped. Killing them won't be easy."

"This will be a brutal battle. Everyone must be prepared to die."

"Even me."

"All for Lord Rosgell!"