Child of Destiny

...…

Trio already finished their meal and was currently resting to digest everything. Despite the good and delicious meal, the three of them did not feel satisfied due to their current situation.

Shin checked his current condition and found that he was currently at 70% of his full power. It might not be the best, but it was better than his previous state. He could at least unleash enough power with this to protect himself.

When they were done resting, Shin quickly sent a message to the head of the unit sent by Nathan earlier. "We are ready."

The reply came quickly after that. "Roger that!"

After that, the trio exchanged glances before making standing up to leave. Of course, they did not forget to pay before leaving. They even left a good tip for the good service that they had received.

The three acted normal and headed to the Black Panther parked in the distance, quickly riding as if they had no idea about the enemies hiding in the dark. They had already confirmed that they were the target of these people since the gazes that they felt were directed at them. It might be brief and quickly disappeared after checking their movements, but it was more than enough for the trio to confirm their suspicion.

"Tsk! It looks like this car will not have a good end," commented Arthur after sitting in the passenger seat.

The corner of Shin's mouth suddenly twitched when he heard that. He might not like fancy things, but knowing that his car was going to be destroyed later was still not a good feeling. He had to make sure to protect it with his Mental Energy later.

After setting up the Mentalism Runes that could help him summon a sturdy barrier later, Shin finally started the car and quickly drove it away from the seafood restaurant.

He drove quite fast as he wanted to distance themselves away from the civilians. If a fight really broke out, then it was hard for their side to fight when there were innocent people around. They had to get away from the rest to make sure that there were no accidents would happen.

Arthur and Leonard also got ready while waiting patiently for the start of the upcoming battle. They just returned from the 'welcome party' of their department, so they still carrying their weapons in them.

Arthur held the silver cylindrical item in his hand. He could release both of its ends later to turn it into a silver spear. Leonard, on the other hand, put on his combat gloves before bumping his fists together, showing his eagerness to fight.

The two of them got beaten up by their seniors pretty badly earlier, so they were quite excited right now since they could vent out their frustrations to these guys targeting them. Unfortunately, Shin did not bring his dual katana with him this time. But it did not mean that he would be defenseless since he could just borrow some tools from the soldiers following after them.

When the black panther was already away from the restaurant, taking the road connecting it toward the city, Shin suddenly sensed an intense bloodlust coming from the front.

He quickly hit the break and turned the driving wheel, making the car drift as it drew arching tire marks on the ground.

Skrrt!

The screeching sounds of the wheels echoed as Shin summoned his Mental Energy and formed a barrier that coated the entire car.

Bang!

A powerful explosion suddenly erupted on the spot that the car was supposed to take if not for Shin's actions. If it hit them, then it would not be hard to imagine the outcome of the car, much less the trio riding it.

Fortunately, Shin's senses were sharp enough which help them avoid the disaster.

But that was only the beginning as a series of fireballs suddenly fell down from the sky and started bombarding them. There was also a series of gunshots coming from behind the trees on both sides of the road.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

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It was a clear ambush set specifically for the three. Unfortunately for them, Shin was already prepared and blocked all of the attacks with the mental energy barrier, blocking off the bullets and fireballs that he failed to dodge.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

It was at that moment when the soldiers protecting the trio revealed themselves and started attacking the people who were hiding in the dark.

An intense battle quickly broke out as the trio jumped out of the car right after Shin skillfully parked it on the side of the road. Then Arthur and Leonard quickly opened the car doors and swiftly headed to the woods and help the soldiers at taking down their assaulters.

Naturally, Shin did not forget to activate the strengthening runes he prepared earlier and threw a bunch of talismans above the car, creating a sturdy barrier that protected it.

This black panther was very expensive. Even if he already earned quite a lot from the game, it would still hurt his pocket if he wanted to buy another one. He really liked this car a lot, so he would spare some effort to protect it.

After that, he followed the two, planning to help them. But he just took a single step from his when he suddenly noticed that there was something wrong. Without any hint of hesitation, he summoned his Mental Energy and covered his entire body with it while preparing for the battle.

Swoosh!

It was at that moment that he noticed that the space within the 20-meter range radius seemed to have distorted. A screen of mental energy sealed off everything within it, trapping Shin completely.

He then realized that he was the main target. 'Who are these people? Are they another group of agents sent by the Shadow Alliance?'

While he was making a guess on who was targeting him, a person suddenly appeared a few distance ahead of him. It was a guy with a ghost mask that was normally worn by some of the special forces soldiers in the war zone. He was also wearing military pants and a combat vest over his sleeveless shirt.

'A mercenary,' Shin quickly came up with a conclusion after seeing the attire of the person slowly making his way toward him. He became more confident about it when he felt the bloodlust of that person. It was a unique feature for the people who survived in the war zones for a long time.

He also saw the demon's tattoo on the shoulder of that person and quickly recognized it. 'Oni Mercenary Group!'

As someone who used to train in the mafia training camp and grew up in a military family, Shin was naturally familiar with the famous groups from the war zones. And from what he could remember, these guys were notoriously famous for kidnapping and killing any targets as long as the offered price was alluring enough.

Of course, they would avoid targeting powerful people who had the strength to slaughter them. But they would not refuse the job if the target could be taken down with their current strength.

"Flame, we have five minutes! Finish it quickly before the Dragon King arrives! Our men cannot delay someone like him for long!" said a person on the radio of the mercenary.

"Don't worry, that is plenty enough," said the person who seemed to have the codename 'Flame'.

Shin also heard those words given his senses enhanced by mentalism techniques. He quickly assumed a battle position and got ready for the battle. He was quite injured but buying enough time with it would be more than enough.

Glowing runes suddenly appeared on the surface of his skin as he partially activated them. Once the opponent made their move, then he would immediately show this guy the might of the Mentalism Runes when it came to battle, especially when it was combined with orthodox methods of Mentalism.

At the same time, he spread his Spiritual Sense in every direction, establishing a partial connection with the surroundings. He was still not used to using this since he usually used it alongside his False Territory to create his self-created secret art, Zone.

But this did not mean that his sensing ability became weaker. In fact, it even became stronger as there was mixed energy within it. It became a weapon that made the Mentalists famous for their senses.

'I will not hold back!' thought Shin as he steeled his resolve before casting another mentalism technique. It was the ocular technique that he had developed with the inspiration of the one that he had the game, True Sight!

There was a pair of runes glowing on each of his eyes, giving him the ability to see everything in front of him. Whether it was an invisible force, a hidden weapon, or a secret technique – Shin could see through it. Even faint attacks and illusions would not work against him.

Flame, the mercenary, was suddenly taken aback at the series of changes that Shin had gone through. Whether it was the dense and pure Mental Energy, the strange Mentalism Runes, the sharp Spiritual Sense, or the pair of glowing eyes – every one of them was something that could be rarely seen by other Mentalists.

He knew from their captain that this operation was going to be very troublesome, but he was not expecting that it was 'this' troublesome. He was now starting to have doubts about whether the five minutes were enough to take down this kid.

'Well, the captain will always have a plan. And that scary guy is with us too, so all we have to do is to follow their arrangements,' he thought to himself as floating balls made of fire started to appear around him one after another.

"At most, I'll just have to give my all at facing this kid. This hurts my pride, but I don't have a choice since I am facing one of the blessed ones of heaven," he muttered as he made his way toward Shin.

He was an average person with a humble background – no, it couldn't even be called a humble background since he lived a life worse than a sewer rat. And after his family died in hunger one after another, he was discovered by the captain of the Oni Mercenary Group due to his special abilities.

He thought he had talent in martial arts due to the fire superpowers that he awakened before. But who would have thought that he was destined to be an average martial artist despite the advantage that he had compared to the others? He was already in his late thirties yet he was only at the early phase of the Ethereal Opening Stage.

He envied these young people who were called 'geniuses.' And now that one of them was currently standing right in front of him, he had to make sure to vent out all of his frustrations in life.

"You have to blame yourself for being too talented! We are going to cut you down before you can even grow further!" he said quietly as the bloodlust in his eyes became even more violent.

...…