The Strongest Assassin of the Zoldyck Family!

Ron noticed that the corpses lying in the desert were gradually becoming shriveled, and the life energy within them was draining—not at a normal rate, but as if it were being drawn out by some force, as though, under usual circumstances, the life energy would be consumed through a thin straw, yet now it was as if the lid had been removed and the energy was being guzzled straight from the bottle.

"The real goal is the life force?"

To be honest, Ron had already grown accustomed to such things, as he had seen many similar events in his experiences with Nen users: the KUTE thief group had created disasters using the lives of the people from Meteor City, and the Nen users of the Kingdom of Talis had treated the lives of ordinary people like playthings. Since Nen originates from life energy, even ordinary people, if numerous enough, could collectively provide a substantial amount of life force.

"So now it's confirmed."

"The so-called treasure of the Desert Bandit King is definitely fake."

"Kroll's true purpose is to lure this many people into the desert and kill them, then use their life force to do something."

Ron's eyes flickered.

"Disaster?"

"Monster?"

"Nen tool?"

"Or something else?"

Ron tried to sense the direction in which the life energy was flowing, but the pattern was too chaotic, and for the time being, he could not determine it.

Not long after, the B-rank Nen user on the southern side was also killed by Misty, who seized the opportunity during her coordination with Sally and Nina's influence.

Seeing this, Kroll quickly moved in this direction.

Ron looked to the west, where a massive wall of sand had already been built, with a height of several dozen meters, steep and imposing, under which ordinary people had no way of crossing.

"Go east."

Under Ron's command, Misty and the others quickly relocated and continued to attack Kroll's subordinates on the eastern front.

This time again, Kroll did not pursue, leading to a rather strange situation: Kroll's team was killing civilians, while Ron's team was killing Kroll's subordinates, yet Kroll showed no intention of attacking Ron's group, creating a dynamic where each side was focused on its own targets without direct confrontation, not like enemies, but more like they were cooperating.

However, the A-rank Nen user stationed to the north came to provide support, seemingly unwilling to watch more comrades die, and unlike Kroll, chose to intervene.

"Captain, I want to try."

Misty took the initiative to request action from Ron.

Ron hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Misty charged forward, and during the rush, she transformed into her most powerful combat form: a blue battle robe appeared on her body, horns and a tail emerged, and her aura underwent a dramatic shift.

Ron looked toward the enemy.

One A-rank Nen user, one B-rank Nen user, and two C-rank Nen users—four people in total.

The A-rank Nen user had large blade-like arms, slashing at Misty at high speed. This opponent was completely different from anyone Misty had fought before. Though Misty was not weak, she was still at a disadvantage and could only do her best to dodge, with almost no chance to counterattack falling into a passive state immediately.

But because she was only at a disadvantage and not in critical danger, Ron chose not to act immediately and instead continued to observe.

The B-rank Nen user waved his hand, and a massive wave of wax appeared, spreading toward Sally's direction. At that moment, Shizuku stepped forward.

"Blinky!"

A massive vacuum cleaner appeared in Shizuku's hand, and as she injected her aura into it, an intense suction force burst from its mouth, targeting the wax released by the B-rank Nen user. When Shizuku had developed Blinky's ability, she had set its parameters to only absorb non-living objects. However, this determination was subjective rather than objective; as long as Shizuku perceived the substance as non-living, it could be absorbed. In her eyes, the wax created by the B-rank Nen user was not a life form, so Blinky inhaled all of it in an instant.

The B-rank Nen user on the opposing side stiffened.

"What's going on?"

Without the wax, he could no longer display his true strength.

Shizuku was not a combat-type Nen user, but her ability completely restrained the opponent, leaving him extremely frustrated.

"This woman's ability is disgusting."

The B-rank Nen user showed an ugly expression.

Meanwhile, Sally was locked in a fierce battle with a young man with explosive hair. One used a conjured gun, while the other transformed aura into bombs; both followed the path of firepower, and both were C-rank Nen users. With their strength being roughly equal, the fight reached a stalemate.

Another Enhancement-type Nen user, wielding a massive club, charged toward Sally's location. However, over a dozen bees suddenly appeared, flying at the large man, distracting his vision and looking for an opportunity to inject their poison into his body.

At the same time, a number of ordinary people, controlled by Nina's Manipulation-type ability, rushed toward the target. Nina's second ability functioned similarly to Illumi's needlemen. Although both Ponzu and Nina were not combat-type Nen users, when facing an opponent like the large man, who excelled in power but lacked speed and flexibility, the two of them were fully capable of restraining him.

By this point, over three-quarters of those who had accepted Kroll's commission had already been killed or injured.

Kroll fell into a state of busy manoeuvring because the other A-rank Nen user's actions to support his comrades had forced Kroll to manage both fronts. In this divided focus, the A-rank Nen user began to reveal more of his abilities, which Ron carefully analyzed.

"This A-rank fighter's ability is either Enhancement or Transmutation," Ron evaluated.

"His ability allows any part of his body to transform into blade-like structures—tough and sharp—his entire body is weaponized. Close-range combat must be avoided at all costs; it must be mid- or long-range engagement instead. His close combat capability is likely even stronger than Sasuke or Natsu."

"However, Natsu has ranged attacks, and his flames will definitely deal damage. And Uchiha Sasuke has not only Fire Style, but also Lightning Style."

"So, it's not a big problem."

Ron withdrew his gaze from the strong man and turned his attention back to Kroll.