The Troupe's momentum was unstoppable. The armed personnel deployed by the Mafia were almost completely wiped out.
At the critical moment, the Shadow Beasts and assassins arrived, halting the Troupe's advance.
There were six remaining Shadow Beast members: Bat, Mule, Frog, Hedgehog, Fish, and Owl...
Their actions differed from the lone-wolf assassins. Like the Phantom Troupe, they operated in pairs of two.
Law had stealthily made his way over and saw the Shadow Beast members Bat and Hedgehog launch an attack on Hisoka and Kortopi.
Bat, true to his name, possessed a pair of bat wings spanning over two meters when fully extended, achieved through some unknown method.
These wings weren't for show, and they allowed him to fly at night like a real bat.
He was the first to attack, assaulting Kortopi with the sharp claws on his slender lower limbs.
Kortopi was short in stature with dense, long hair that covered his features, revealing only one eye.
When Bat attacked, Kortopi heard the wind and dodged immediately, but his movement was slightly too broad, causing his long hair to flutter.
The spreading hair was caught by Bat's claws, who then carried him into the air.
Seeing this, Hisoka raised his hand, about to use his Bungee Gum, but the next second, he decisively leaped backward.
A cluster of faint green Aura Needles struck the ground where he had just been standing, causing a localized explosion that sent dust billowing out.
Hisoka narrowed his eyes and created distance with another backward leap.
This move wasn't in response to a second attack from the enemy, but because he suspected the cluster of faint green Aura Needles that caused the explosion might be poisoned.
Just in case, keeping his distance was beneficial.
The one who had launched the Aura Needles was Hedgehog, who had arrived with Bat. He emerged from the trees in the green area.
When he saw Hisoka's second backward leap, a look of seriousness flashed in his narrow eyes.
'Was I seen through, or was this person simply a seasoned fighter?'
Meanwhile, Kortopi severed the strand of hair that was caught, falling straight down from the air towards the ground.
The moment the battle began, the battlefield was split.
Hisoka faced Hedgehog, while Kortopi faced Bat.
A ferocious smile appeared on Bat's face, which seemed to be set directly on his chest. Surrounded by Aura, he dove down to attack Kortopi.
Kortopi, unable to change direction mid-air, could only concentrate his Aura in front of his body, preparing to withstand the damage.
"Die."
Bat let out a hoarse voice, his aura-clad lower limb claws stabbing fiercely at Kortopi's arms.
Upon violent impact, Bat halted in the air, while Kortopi, like a meteor, crashed heavily into the grassy area of the green zone. A dull thud echoed as dust billowed out.
Bat hovered in the air, flapping his wings to slowly disperse the surrounding dust. Moments later, he saw Kortopi lying in the crater. The sleeves on his arms were shattered, and the skin beneath was red and swollen.
A single glance was enough to determine that the arms were certainly fractured.
Shifting his gaze, he saw that Kortopi's exposed eyes were tightly shut, as if he had lost consciousness from the heavy blow.
"A tactic to lure the enemy when at a disadvantage? Hmph, I'm an Enhancer."
Bat sneered inwardly. He could accept the reality that one strike had fractured Kortopi's arms, but he couldn't accept that Kortopi would lose consciousness from this one blow.
Therefore, he believed Kortopi might be feigning unconsciousness.
Whether he was or not, Bat, being an Enhancer, had superior Aura Effects in close combat compared to Kortopi. This was evident from Kortopi's fractured arms.
From this, it could also be directly inferred that Kortopi was not an Enhancer, otherwise, he wouldn't have sustained such severe injuries.
So, there was no need to overthink things. Just deliver the final blow to Kortopi.
With this thought, Bat dove down from the sky, controlling the claws on his lower limbs to descend from above and stab fiercely into Kortopi's heart.
The claws pierced through the chest, reaching the heart.
From beginning to end, Kortopi showed no signs of resistance.
This felt somewhat strange to Bat, but the familiar sensation transmitted through his claws confirmed that this strike had indeed pierced the heart.
"Misjudged? So he really was that weak. I don't know how Rabid Dog and the others were defeated."
Bat snorted coldly. He initially thought Kortopi was implementing a lure tactic, but it turned out he was genuinely knocked out. It didn't matter now, as he was already dealt with.
Thinking this, Bat's nerves, tense from battle, relaxed. He then pulled out the claws embedded in the chest, bringing forth gushes of blood and mangled flesh.
The next moment, a chill ran down his neck, and his vision suddenly shook and flew forward.
"Huh?"
Bat was stunned. As his vision tumbled, he saw his own headless body, and next to it stood Kortopi, whom he had clearly stabbed through the heart.
"What's going on?"
His eyes widened suddenly. Then, he saw the Kortopi lying in the crater.
"There are two..."
Before his realizing thoughts could fully form, his consciousness was swallowed by darkness.
Bat's head fell to the ground, rolling several times, his expression one of dying with wide-open eyes.
Kortopi stood beside Bat's headless body, silently retracting his hand. At this moment, his sleeves were gone, and his arms were only slightly reddened, not to the point of fracture.
Thud.
Bat's corpse collapsed limply to the ground, a large amount of blood flowing from the smoothly cut neck.
"Franklin and Shalnark shouldn't have lost to this kind of trash," Kortopi muttered to himself.
He was a member with lower combat prowess within the Troupe. If an opponent he could kill so easily could take down Franklin and Shalnark...
[Gallery Fake]
This was Kortopi's Conjuration-type ability. By touching an object with his left hand, his right hand could create an identical copy.
Although he couldn't copy living beings, he could replicate the fixed form of a creature, including humans, with 100% accuracy.
When he was struck down by Bat, he used the billowing dust to instantly create a copy of his own body, fabricating the illusion of severe fractures to lure Bat into attacking his replica.
After creating the illusion, he hid in a nearby low bush under the cover of In, which was possible thanks to his short stature.
Otherwise, he would have had to hide behind a tree further away, which might have exposed him.
Kortopi's every move, from creating the illusion to the one-hit kill, was observed by Law.
Thus, with Bat dead, Law, who had been waiting, made his move.
Holding the antenna of [Black Voice] between the fingers of his right hand, he circled around to Kortopi's back.
"Huh?"
Kortopi's alertness was far greater than Bat's. Perhaps Law's handling of the antenna wasn't skilled enough, his movement a moment too slow, allowing Kortopi to dodge in time and turn around, adjusting his stance.
Then, Kortopi saw Law, and that familiar antenna, his eyes showing shock. "This is..."
"Dodged, huh."
Law stepped forward, pressing his advantage, and launched a flying kick.
Bang!
Kortopi crossed his arms, blocking the kick.
"Such strong force."
Kortopi's expression changed slightly. The kick sent him flying backward through the air.
Through the gap in his crossed arms, he saw Law standing still after delivering the kick and relaxed slightly.
As the force dissipated, his body fell from the air, his feet scraping backward along the ground.
Kortopi didn't notice a tree not far behind him. On that tree, a spot gleamed… upon closer inspection, it was an antenna with its needle point facing outward.
And so, completely unaware, Kortopi backed into that tree, fully dissipating the force from Law's kick.
Immediately after, a chill pierced the area below the nape of his neck, as if a needle had been inserted.
"What...?"
Kortopi was stunned. His body instantly became immobile, and his five senses were being rapidly stripped away.
Law looked at the stunned Kortopi, then picked up Shalnark's phone, saying flatly, "Did you know the antenna comes in two pieces?"