The sudden appearance of people not in their intel made the woman exceedingly cautious. If she got pinned down, Tuck would be free to aid Karu. That would make it nearly impossible for her two partners to kill Karu under Tuck's protection.
"Damn it!" she spat, biting her lip. "I can't afford to waste time here. But this guy's stronger than I am."
Her gaze flicked to Ron, indecision flickering in her eyes. The next moment—
She suddenly lunged toward Natsu.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Natsu's fist barreled toward her. As soon as she got close, she assumed a posture that defied normal human limits—more like a cat, a big cat. This abrupt shift allowed her to evade Natsu's punch. Both hands then lashed out at Natsu's throat, claws gleaming coldly.
She raked her claws across Natsu's neck, but only grazed it slightly. More importantly, Natsu was a Nen Beast. Even a deeper wound would be far from fatal for him.
Natsu slammed a knee into her midsection.
She hurtled backward. Yet it seemed as though she'd done that on purpose, using the impact to catapult herself through the air—straight toward Ron and Ponzu.
"Captain!" Ponzu gasped, alarmed.
Ron remained calm. He'd predicted her strategy from the start. Natsu's power was clearly greater than hers, plus he was a Nen Beast. The woman had no chance if she kept targeting Natsu, so it was inevitable she'd try to go for Ron or Ponzu instead. Ron and Ponzu were giving off weaker auras than Natsu, and once upon a time, that might have worked—Ron would have had to rely on his position-swapping ability to dodge.
But now, Ron's own strength had reached A-level, bolstered by assassination techniques and the Rotten Life Blade.
He was no longer a weak point.
This time, he didn't even need to spring any traps. Though her skill was decent, she wasn't close to Ron's level. Just as she was about to close in on him, she locked eyes with Ron. Natsu's flames flared, and in a burst of speed, he streaked across the battlefield. In an instant, he had gone from behind her to right between her and Ron, blocking her path—without even using Ron's position-swapping ability. Speed alone was enough to overpower her.
Natsu inhaled sharply.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
A huge wave of flame surged over the woman, and with no room to dodge midair, she took the full brunt of it. Flames licked across her body, sending her crashing backward.
She slammed into a nearby wall, which collapsed with a roar, burying her under rubble. At that moment, a number of the estate's guards rushed over, eager to kill her. Earlier, none had dared to approach, but now, believing she was wounded, they thought they could finish her off and earn a grand reward.
Yet the instant they drew near the debris—
The woman burst free. With a single blow, she snapped one guard's neck.
Then, her claws slashed another guard's throat.
Within moments, all ten-odd guards who'd charged in fell at her feet. The rest fled in terror. One guard ran straight to Ron and Ponzu.
"Hurry, attack her! Aren't you the ones Tuck hired?" he shouted. "Do it already—kill her! Why haven't you made a move? Are you in league with her?"
Ponzu's brow furrowed at the accusation. These guards had charged in recklessly and gotten themselves killed; now they turned around and dumped the blame on someone else? If Ron had been hired by Baron Karu, they wouldn't have dared. But because Tuck was the one who hired him, and Tuck was merely on polite terms with these people, they saw Ron—an outsider with no aristocratic background—as fair game for their outrage. Tuck was just some nobody who had lucked into his position, or so they assumed.
"Captain?" Ponzu asked, uncertain.
"Pay him no mind," Ron replied. "He's like a barking dog on the side of the road. Our payment comes from Tuck, not him."
Seeing Ron and Ponzu ignore him, the guard grew more brazen, moving closer.
"Do you know who I am? I'm the son of Viscount Xikar! In name, Tuck may be my superior, but in reality, I outrank him. Cross me, and you'll regret it!"
Ponzu hesitated. Growing up in the Saheerta Federation, she understood the power nobles wielded. Even killing innocent commoners wouldn't incur severe punishment—at worst, a small fine. A viscount was already quite a respectable rank, higher than Baron Karu.
"Annoying," Ron muttered. With a flick of his wrist—
A stone hit the guard square in the throat. He froze, slowly clutched his neck in disbelief, and crumpled to the ground.
Across the way, the woman blinked, startled. She noticed something odd: Natsu, who blocked her path before, wasn't attacking now. Instead, as she tried to edge away, Natsu moved to intercept her if she ventured too far—but didn't otherwise strike.
"What's going on?" she murmured to herself, eyes darting as she tried to figure out this strange behavior.
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