Reborn as the Last van Ambrose-Chapter 86: Uninvited Geusts

Grim moved silently through the garden, keeping to the shadows cast by the tall hedges. Luna remained on his back, but Echo was drawn and ready in his hand. Chen Xing followed behind him. His curved blade gleaming faintly in the dying light. Huangyan took the center path, seemingly unconcerned about stealth, her own sword still sheathed.

The eastern wall of the Ambrose estate was problematic. It was too close to a large tree whose branches provided an easy path over the twelve-foot stone barrier.

The intruders were moving like a well piled machine. They were in unison as the made theyre way to the manor. Professionals, not common thugs. Four figures dressed in dark clothing, their faces obscured by cloth masks that revealed only their eyes. They carried an assortment of weapons: short blades, a crossbow, and what appeared to be throwing knives.

"Assassins," Chen Xing whispered.

Grim nodded grimly.

The lead assassin spotted them and signaled to his companions. Rather than retreating, they spread out into an attack formation. The message was clear: they hadn’t come to observe but to eliminate.

"Remember," Grim called out, loud enough for the intruders to hear, "I want one alive."

The assassin with the crossbow fired first, the bolt whistling through the air directly at Grim’s chest. He deflected it with Echo, the metal singing as the bolt ricocheted into a nearby tree trunk.

Huangyan finally drew her blade. She rushed foward as she turned into a blur.

The assassin parried her first strike but was unprepared for the second, which came from behind him. Her blade sliced through his throat in a clean arc. The only sound you could hear was the thud as his body hit the ground.

Chen Xing engaged two assassins simultaneously, he swing his curved blade so fast, it sang in the air with each strike. He moved with the calm efficiency of someone who was accustomed to battle.

The fourth assassin, larger than the others. Carried a heavy sword and armored bracers. He went straight for Grim. His technique was polished, his strikes powerful and precise. Not just an assassin, then, but a warrior.

"House Ambrose dies today," the man growled, his voice muffled by his mask.

The impact sent shockwaves up his arm, aggravating his still-recovering body. Echo absorbed much of the force, but Grim could feel his depleted mana struggling to support the blade’s power.

[You need to end this quickly,] the voice cautioned. [Your reserves are dangerously low.]

The assassin pressed his advantage, driving Grim back with a series of powerful blows. Each impact was precisely aimed to weaken Grim’s guard, a professional seeking to exploit his opponent’s weakness.

Chen Xing dispatched one of his opponents with a quick thrust to the heart, but the remaining assassin proved more elusive, dancing away from the curved blade. The crossbowman, having reloaded, took aim at Chen Xing’s exposed back.

Huangyan saw the danger and reacted instantly.

Grim continued his defensive battle with the leader, biding his time. The assassin was good, but predictable. He favored his right side and overcommitted to his strikes, counting on power rather than finesse.

When the moment came, Grim stepped inside a wide swing, bringing Echo up in a lethal counter-strike. But instead of completing the killing blow, he diverted at the last moment, slamming the pommel of his sword into the man’s temple.

The assassin collapsed, unconscious but alive.

Chen Xing finished his remaining opponent with a swift slash across the abdomen, ending the fight as quickly as it had begun. The garden was suddenly quiet again.

Before the conversation could continue, Grim gestured to the unconscious assassin. "If you want to convince me you’re who you claim to be, prove your usefulness. I need information from this one."

Huangyan’s expression hardened slightly. "It won’t take that long."

Grim was surprised by how casually she said those words.

"Chen Xing" Grim called. "Remove these bodies. Discreetly."

Together, they dragged the unconscious assassin through the garden and into the house. The basement of the Ambrose estate was a utilitarian space, with stone walls and few windows. It’s thick walls ensured no sounds would carry to the upper floors.

Once the assassin was secured to a chair, Huangyan drew a small knife from her boot. Her amber eyes had taken on a cold, detached quality that reminded Grim uncomfortably of himself.

"You should wait outside," she suggested. "This won’t be pleasant."

"I’ve seen torture before," Grim replied flatly. freёwebnoѵel.com

"Not like this." She turned to the assassin, who was beginning to stir. "I learned these techniques from your great-grandfather, who learned them from elves during the first Demon War. They’re... effective."

Grim left the basement, climbing the stone steps slowly. Despite his bravado, the fight had drained some of the mana he’d managed to recover since yesterday. He slumped into a chair in the study, allowing himself a moment of weakness while no one was watching.

Five minutes later, far quicker than he’d expected, Huangyan returned. Her hands were covered in crimson, blood splattered across her sleeves and even a few droplets on her face. She carried a small metal bucket, which she set on the floor with a metallic clank.

"That was fast," Grim remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"I told you it would be," she replied, wiping her hands on a cloth. "Efficiency was always Caius’s first lesson."

"What did you learn?"

"Julius Luminaris hired them, as I suspected." She dropped something small and pale into the bucket. Grim realized with a jolt that it was a fingernail. "They were ordered to eliminate you and anyone else in the house. No witnesses."

"And what exactly did you do to him?" Grim asked, eyeing the bucket with a mixture of disgust and grudging respect.

"Only what was necessary." Huangyan’s expression was unreadable. "He’s still alive. You said you wanted to send a message."

Curious despite himself, Grim descended back into the basement. The smell hit him first. Copper, a pungent combination that clung to the back of his throat. The assassin was still strapped to the chair, but barely recognizable as the professional killer who had attacked him minutes earlier.

Blood ran from his fingertips where the nails had been removed. His eyelids were gone, forcing him to stare unblinkingly at the dim light of the basement. Various other small but excruciating mutilations covered his body, each one precisely executed to cause maximum pain without risking death.

"Please," the assassin croaked when he saw Grim. "Kill me. Just kill me."

Grim stared at the broken man, feeling a complicated mixture of emotions. Part of him was horrified at what Huangyan had done in such a short time. Another part of him felt a grim satisfaction.