Shizuku looked ready and eager to act.
Just as the three were about to make their move, a loud explosion erupted nearby. A cloud of dust rose, and a giant tree came crashing down.
A long-simmering conflict had finally exploded into action.
The ones clashing were the "Barbarian Warrior" Hart and the "Shield Breaker" Sigman.
The two women clashed with a polearm and a spear, then quickly broke apart and took opposite sides.
The "Crusader" Reynard and the "Gem Hunter" Bisky rushed between them, trying to stop the fight and calm them down.
The "Curse-Bound" Leonardo stood silently in the shadows, cold and motionless, showing no intention of helping either side.
"She's obviously a damn impostor mutt!"
Hart pointed at Sigman, shouting angrily.
"Her Nen ability has to do with snakes. 'Twin-Tailed Serpent: Hellbell' is snake-based too. What are the odds that's just a coincidence?"
Sigman stared at Hart coldly and replied:
"You said I was losing my mind before. But looking at you now… the crazy one might be you after all."
Their Nen clashed as they squared off. Both women raised their weapons, ready to strike.
"Stop this!" Reynard shouted. "Don't fight anymore!"
He noticed Germain, Ging, and Shizuku approaching from behind and quickly turned around to say:
"Germain, say something too! Stop them! 'Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell' is definitely hoping we'll attack each other! We can't fall for it!"
Germain exchanged glances with Ging and Shizuku. They nodded, but their minds were focused on something else.
Based on previous deductions, Hart and Sigman were definitely the "fake people" who had infiltrated.
Now, they were causing this commotion in front of everyone, showing mutual hostility.
Was it an act to split the group into two factions?
Thinking that, Germain decided not to explain anything to Reynard and Bisky. He would proceed at his own pace.
He slapped Shizuku's arm and whispered:
"Hold one of them off. I'll help you in a bit."
Shizuku nodded in agreement.
Then, they split up. Germain walked toward Hart, and Shizuku headed toward Sigman.
Hart thought Germain was coming to mediate the conflict. With a vicious look on her face, she spat out:
"Germain, you don't need to say anything. I will never trust this woman…"
Before she could finish, there was a sharp crack, and her hands, still holding the long-bladed knife, flew out of her view.
Then, her vision spun wildly as her head began to spin!
In an instant, Hart was left only with half of her body, standing in place, blood spraying everywhere!
Germain, with cold eyes, looked down at her, holding the blood-dripping Cleaver.
She never expected Germain to suddenly lash out and slice her!
In fact, no one other than Ging and Shizuku saw it coming.
Reynard and Bisky were both stunned, their throats tight, unable to speak.
They stepped toward Hart's corpse, but suddenly felt a heavy weight on their shoulders.
Turning around, they saw Ging standing between them, his hand on their shoulders.
"Don't move," Ging said. "Just watch quietly. Don't do anything suspicious."
"Trust us, this is good for both of you."
Reynard and Bisky quickly realized that they were being threatened.
Both were somewhat annoyed, about to say something, when they saw Ging gesture towards Hart's dismembered corpse.
"See for yourselves."
They turned to look, and saw that the half-standing corpse could no longer hold itself up, crashing to the ground with a thud.
Hart's face was full of disbelief and fear.
Germain stood by with a bloody Cleaver in his hand.
The mutilated corpse suddenly began to emit black smoke, as if it were being burned. Soon, the body, clothing, weapons, and everything else vanished.
Along with it, the belief that Hart had been one of their comrades, and the distorted reality they had been living, faded away.
After a brief moment of confusion, Germain and the others recalled and confirmed that Hart had never been one of them.
Everyone had the same thought:
"Why did we trust Hart so much before? Why did we think she was one of us? There were so many flaws..."
It seemed like the "Twin-Tailed Snake, Hell Bell" and the influence of the entire rainforest terrain were behind this confusion.
Germain turned around, first observing the expressions on Reynard and Bisky's faces, then exchanging a glance with Ging.
Then, he quickly walked toward the other battlefield.
Sigman, equally shocked by Germain's sudden move, didn't respond to Shizuku's approach in time.
By the time she realized what was happening, the shield she had been holding with her severed arm had already been sucked away by Shizuku's "Blinky," and was tossed to the ground.
Shizuku, looking smug, said to her:
"You're fake, I'm real."
"Huh? Shizuku, you..."
Sigman was stunned for a moment, trying to recover, but noticed that Germain was already walking toward her, Cleaver in hand.
"You can't do this. I... I'm your comrade, don't you remember? All those memories of us fighting side by side—do you think they were all fake?"
At this moment, she could no longer maintain her previous silent and reserved persona.
Germain remained unfazed, walking quickly and suddenly transforming into an instant flash, breaking through to Sigman's front with lightning speed.
"Don't!"
Sigman's spear barely had time to be raised before it was chopped at her neck by a cleaver, severing her head in an instant!
A look of intense resentment spread across her chocolate-colored face.
A snake made of Nen energy shot out from her severed limb, swiftly biting toward Germain.
Germain calmly sidestepped, and with a casual swipe, he severed Sigman's remaining limb into two!
As blood splattered, Sigman fell to the ground, and in the blink of an eye, black smoke began rising from her body, like burning plastic.
Germain turned his attention to Leonardo, not far off.
Leonardo muttered a curse, seemingly realizing that any explanation was pointless, and immediately began to transform. His skin and muscles swelled up, morphing him into a tall werewolf, and he quickly turned to run!
The werewolf dropped to all fours, moving with incredible speed, darting through the branches and leaping several dozen meters away in an instant.
He still had a chance. Even though he wasn't near Germain and the others, he could still continue to breed "false humans," though it would take more time and present more flaws...
But at least he was alive. As long as he was alive, his lifespan was secure.
However, in the next moment, the sound of a piercing wind followed by a deadly strike reached him.
In a panic, he turned, only to meet a sharp spike directly to his head, exploding his skull!
With a sickening sound, the headless werewolf tumbled from the branches and fell into the mud. Soon, its body began to burn.
Germain put away his elongated staff, which had transformed into a spear, and turned back to the campfire.
At this point, only five people remained, including Germain himself.
Hart's entire body had been burned to ash, while Sigman's remains were half destroyed.
"Should be all corrected now, right?"
Germain looked at the group, and everyone nodded in agreement.
"Good."
As he spoke, he walked over to Reynard and Bisky.
Both of them tensed up, realizing that Germain was about to identify the last "false human" among them.
If they were caught, their fate would be the same as Hart, Sigman, and Leonardo!
Germain, still covered in the blood of Hart, Sigman, and Leonardo, saw the blood evaporate into black mist as they died.
He first explained his reasoning for identifying the "irreplaceability" of certain individuals, pointing out that he, Shizuku, and Ging were the real humans.
Now, there is only one real person left, right between Reynard and Bisky.
Both Reynard and Bisky exchanged grim looks.
Emotionally, they both shared memories as comrades, but logically, one of them had to be fake.
They both knew who the fake was, but how could they prove it and make Germain believe them?
Reynard quickly spoke first:
"Germain, Ging, Shizuku, think carefully about how I always stood at the front to protect you. After battles, I would..."
Before he could finish, a gust of wind suddenly came from beside him.
Reynard quickly raised his sword to block, but the force was easily swept away, and then a powerful punch rushed towards him!
"Bisky?!"
Reynard was shocked by the sudden attack from the person beside him!
But Bisky didn't explain anything. With a fierce killing intent, she attacked Reynard. This was her way of proving herself!
Only the "fake person" would try to keep stirring the waters.
The "real person," on the other hand, was essential to the team and would never fear death.
********
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