Renn glanced at the dagger in his hand.
Machi looked at it too.
Then, seeing the look in Renn’s eyes, she understood.
“Renn, you saw that person?”
Renn nodded.
“That’s right. He tried to kill me, so I killed him.”
“Good.”
“But…” Machi glanced outside.
“Johnson probably saw that dagger just now. He didn’t leave because he believed what I said. He went back to get more people.”
“We need to leave immediately.”
“How many people does he have?” Renn’s eyes flickered.
“At least a dozen.”
“Are they strong?”
Machi shook her head.
“Not particularly. Johnson himself is the strongest, but they have numbers on their side, while there are only two of us. We definitely can’t beat them.”
“Not necessarily.”
Renn shook his head.
“By the way, Machi, do you know about Nen?”
“Nen? I’ve heard of it.”
Only heard of it?
Renn raised an eyebrow.
That meant Machi probably hadn’t learned Nen yet.
Most of the Phantom Troupe’s Nen users were self-taught.
Their methods of learning and developing their abilities were highly unsystematic, so practitioners from established schools of Nen generally looked down on them.
But there was no denying that their talent was exceptional.
They had managed to reach such heights despite figuring everything out on their own.
“Does anyone in Johnson’s group know Nen?”
“No. Not even Johnson knows it. Anyone who could use Nen would never follow someone like him.”
“Then we probably don’t need to run.”
Renn took out a Clear Cube Fragment.
“The real purpose of this gemstone is to strengthen attacks.”
“If you put this gemstone in your mouth, bite down on it, and establish a Clear Cube Contract, your strength will increase tremendously in an instant. Even with just the two of us, defeating more than a dozen of them won’t be a problem.”
Since Johnson was the strongest among them and even he hadn’t learned Nen, Renn was confident they could handle the situation.
Machi’s eyes lit up.
“Is this gemstone your Nen ability, Renn?”
“Yes.”
It was the best explanation.
He could simply pretend the Disassembler was his Nen ability.
Nen abilities in this world came in all kinds of bizarre forms anyway.
Renn continued, “One gemstone only enhances you for thirty seconds, so you have to choose the right moment. We can’t waste even a second. I have three of them left.”
“You already have one. I’ll give you another.”
Machi nodded.
Renn glanced outside.
“This place isn’t suitable for fighting. Let’s head to the garbage heap.”
“Okay.”
Not long after Renn and Machi left the wooden hut, more than a dozen figures came running toward it.
Johnson’s expression was grim.
“You killed my brother and think you can run?”
“Not a chance!”
“Kill both of them!”
“Ten loaves of bread for each head!”
The dozen or so people behind Johnson immediately went wild.
Ten loaves of bread held an enormous attraction for them.
Renn glanced back.
“Head uphill. We split up and find good positions. When the time is right, use the gemstone.”
“Got it!”
The moment they started up the garbage heap, the two split off in different directions.
Johnson glared viciously at their retreating backs.
“Split up and chase them!”
The dozen pursuers divided into two groups.
Johnson led most of them after Renn.
The remaining few chased after Machi.
“Stop running!”
“You killed my brother and think you can escape? Impossible!”
“I won’t even leave you an intact corpse!”
“I’ll eat your flesh and drink your blood!”
Johnson’s eyes were bloodshot.
Johnson was by no means a good man.
But he had treated his younger brother well.
The two brothers had been extremely close.
Renn glanced toward Machi’s side.
Then he abruptly stopped.
He turned around and charged straight at Johnson’s group.
“Clear Cube Contract!”
A surge of energy poured into Renn’s body.
Renn raised his dagger and thrust it forward.
“Shhk!”
The blade pierced a man’s heart.
Renn yanked it free.
Blood sprayed into the air.
The man collapsed.
“Shhk!”
Another man fell.
Panic instantly appeared in the eyes of Johnson’s men.
When Johnson had brought them here, he had told them there were only two targets and neither was particularly strong.
But the strength Renn was displaying now could hardly be described as weak.
He had killed two of them in an instant.
He was obviously powerful.
Johnson had screwed them over.
They had been nothing more than a rabble to begin with.
At once, they scattered and fled in every direction.
What did ten loaves of bread matter compared to staying alive?
Renn froze for a moment.
These people were even more pathetic than he had expected.
“What are you running for?”
“There are more of us! We can definitely kill him!”
Johnson roared in fury, but beneath that fury was a trace of fear.
Even he hadn’t expected Renn to be this strong.
With a single step, Renn appeared in front of Johnson.
“Sorry, but now I’m the one who’s going to kill you.”
The next instant, Renn’s dagger swept across Johnson’s throat.
His windpipe and arteries were severed at once.
Johnson desperately clutched his throat.
“Thud!”
He collapsed to the ground, twitched twice, and went still.
His eyes remained wide open, filled with unwillingness even in death.
On the other side, Machi came over dragging a corpse behind her.
Of the dozen or so attackers, four were dead.
The rest had scattered and fled.
“Renn, should we chase them?”
“Forget it.”
Renn shook his head.
It wasn’t because he was being merciful.
They simply couldn’t catch them.
The only reason Renn and Machi had been able to display such overwhelming strength was because of the Clear Cube Fragments.
But the effects of a Clear Cube Fragment lasted only thirty seconds.
Once the effect wore off, their strength would drop sharply.
If they tried to pursue the survivors, they might fail to kill them and end up getting killed instead.
Besides, Johnson was already dead.
“Disassembler!”
Renn looked at the four corpses lying on the ground, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.