Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

Fatima wasn't some pampered princess who couldn't handle the sight of blood. She had a decent tolerance for gore, but even she couldn't stomach the scene before her, as nearly a hundred sand bandits had their heads blown apart.

The sand bandits were no weaklings. Physically, they were strong, and their killing skills were honed to perfection.

In Heavens Arena, they'd easily rank at least above the 50th floor, with some even reaching past the 100th.

Yet, they knew nothing of Nen.

Nen was the insurmountable wall between ordinary humans and Nen Users. So, when Law focused solely on slaughter, the bandits couldn't even get close.

They didn't even understand what was happening before their lives were snuffed out.

At this moment, the stench of blood hung thick in the air.

Both the sand bandits and the soldiers of the Goro Kingdom froze simultaneously, their gazes locked onto the sudden, godlike executioner in their midst.

Superpowers, witchcraft, divine arts, magic…

To ordinary people, even if they didn't know of Nen's existence, they'd find some way to rationalize what they'd just witnessed.

And right now, as Law stepped over the sea of corpses, the bandits and soldiers alike could feel nothing but reverence and terror.

In the long history of the Kandhia Desert, the position of high priest had always existed. But it wasn't the title that the common folk feared… it was the divine arts the high priest wielded!

To them, Law's ability to slaughter a hundred bandits in moments was no different from those legendary divine arts.

Geralt didn't believe this was any divine art, because he knew Nen. But even then, while Nen was an impassable barrier for ordinary humans, it wasn't supposed to be this overwhelming.

Just now, Law had effortlessly crushed a hundred of his elite men.

The result of sending a hundred men to test Law had been disastrous. Geralt still couldn't gauge Law's depth, but the fate of his subordinates made one thing clear: this man was dangerous.

So without hesitation, he barked, "Retreat."

The moment the order left his lips, he yanked the reins of his armored bull, turning it around and fleeing without a second thought.

The remaining bandits didn't hesitate either. Raising the flintlock rifles strapped to their bulls, they fired a volley into the Goro Kingdom's soldiers' formation. Gunshots rang out, and the soldiers at the front collapsed, blood pooling beneath them.

Flintlocks were inefficient, with maybe one shot per minute at best. Normally, they were fired before closing in for melee combat. The Goro Kingdom's soldiers had done exactly that.

But the sand bandits turned the tactic on its head, holding their fire until their retreat, using it as a parting gift.

In the end, sand bandits, who lived by the blade, preferred the visceral thrill of steel sinking into flesh over the clunky lethality of guns.

About a hundred flintlocks fired at the same time, causing about fifty soldiers to fall in a pool of blood.

With that final shot, the sand bandits controlled their mounts and chased after Geralt's fleeing figure.

The surviving soldiers could only glare in hatred at the retreating sand bandits, without any joy at all for having survived.

The Goro Kingdom's Sixth Prince, who had been on the verge of a breakdown, slumped onto the scorching sand, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly. All he felt was the dizzying euphoria of having narrowly escaped death.

Geralt's retreat had been ruthlessly efficient. He hadn't even bothered taking any of the plundered treasures or supplies.

And his men, despite the mountains of wealth left behind, hadn't faltered. There's no greed, no hesitation… A disciplined, terrifying force.

How could Law easily let go of such a cruel and brutal sand bandit? He immediately chased after them on foot.

During the ten-kilometer-long chase, Law successively killed more than a hundred sand bandits who fell behind before finally stopping.

If the sand bandits had not retreated so decisively at the beginning, he was confident he could've slaughtered them all.

Watching the remaining bandits vanish into the heat-distorted horizon, Law turned and headed back.

After this encounter, there were less than seventy elite soldiers left of the Goro Kingdom. They were grateful for Law's intervention, and even more so that the Sixth Prince had survived. Had the prince died, their own lives would've been forfeit regardless.

When Law returned, William was speaking with a young man while Buhara and Fatima stood silently nearby.

The soldiers were busy regrouping, scrambling to recover supplies and the few armored bulls that hadn't ran in panic.

Law's arrival immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.

The soldiers paused in their work, their gazes a mix of reverence and gratitude.

The young man who was talking to William also looked at Law, then, without ceremony, he dismissed William entirely and hurried over to Law.

"I am the Sixth Prince of the Goro Kingdom. From this moment, you are my personal bodyguard. I'll pay you five million… no, ten million a month!" The young man spread his arms, his smile oozing privilege, as if he were bestowing some grand favor upon Law.

His tone made it clear this wasn't a request, but a decree. In his mind, he was handing Law an opportunity of a lifetime.

Not far away, William watched the exchange and sighed inwardly. Seeing the prince's behavior, he couldn't blame Fatima for fleeing her arranged marriage.

Fatima, who had finally recovered, rode on the armored bull and looked at the Sixth Prince with disdain. She'd seen how this guy had nearly wet himself during the sand bandit attack.

Had he so much as swung his sword once at the enemy, she might've respected him. But no… her decision to run had been the right one.

Law looked at the young man in front of him who was wearing a golden robe and knew that he was the Sixth Prince of Goro and also Fatima's would-be husband. He also saw the inherent superiority of royal family in him.

Such a sharp contrast made Law appreciate William and Fatima even more.

Facing the unilateral hiring of the Sixth Prince, Law smiled and said, "I'm currently William's personal bodyguard."

Instead of refusing directly, he deftly passed the dilemma to William.

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, the Sixth Prince looked at William not far away and suddenly felt that the situation was difficult.

He was about to marry the Twelfth Princess of Elba, William's biological sister. That made them family soon, so snatching away his future brother-in-law's bodyguard seemed… improper.

From the beginning to the end, the Sixth Prince had never considered that Law would refuse, and he didn't know that the princess he was going to marry was sitting on the back of an armored bull not far away, watching him with undisguised scorn.

When William saw Law pass the ball to him, he accepted it gracefully. Not wanting to delay any longer, he exchanged a few polite words with the Sixth Prince before decisively leading Law and the others away.

The Sixth Prince was very unwilling, but he had no choice but to let Law, who seemed to possess divine arts, leave with William.

After William and his group left, the bearded general came over and said, "Sixth Prince, we must leave immediately. The blood will attract dangerous creatures."

"Did you recover the escaped armored bulls?" The Sixth Prince said impatiently.

The bearded general stood there awkwardly and sighed in his heart, 'If only Sixth Prince had even half of Prince William's bearing…'

By helping the Sixth Prince and his entourage, Law had obtained sixty-eight pages, which is a considerable gain.

"How did you do that?" Fatima came closer and asked curiously.

"Want to know? Beg me." Law teased her.

"…"

Fatima gritted her teeth.

On the side, William frowned slightly, thinking ahead to their arrival in Goro.

It was only two hours' journey from here to Elba. It was foreseeable that once the Sixth Prince arrived in Elba, the fact that he and Fatima had left without permission would be exposed.

'However, with Fatima's disguise skills, it shouldn't be a big deal.'

The real reward for saving the prince had been witnessing Law's terrifying power.

'Really… I should thank Zeras and his group for this!'