Chapter 72: Smoke and Steel
Chapter 72: Smoke and Steel
The three assassins froze for only the briefest instant.
Their surprise vanished just as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by cold resolve.
The mission had already failed.
Their target was far stronger than the information they had received.
That changed nothing.
It only meant they would have to kill him the hard way.
The leader, Kael Voss, slowly lowered his hands.
Dark mana gathered around his fingers like living mist.
"Activate your talents."
The two warriors answered without hesitation.
Mana erupted from their bodies.
The assassin on Andras’s left clenched both fists.
His skin gradually darkened before taking on the metallic sheen of forged steel.
Muscles expanded beneath his clothes, veins bulging with explosive strength.
Steel Body.
Every breath carried the weight of iron.
Beside him, the second warrior seemed to melt into the surrounding shadows.
His footsteps vanished.
His presence disappeared.
Even the faint rustle of his clothing ceased.
Only a vague silhouette remained.
Silent Fang.
Behind them, Kael completed another spell.
Shadows poured across the ground like ink spreading through water.
Walls, trees, and abandoned buildings blurred beneath the dark veil.
The battlefield dimmed.
Shadow Veil.
The spell swallowed colour itself.
Normal eyes would struggle to distinguish illusion from reality.
Andras merely took another slow draw from his pipe.
The fragrant smoke drifted lazily into the air.
"Hm."
"I was beginning to wonder if you’d forgotten that you can use telent."
The words earned no reply.
Kael’s expression remained hidden beneath his mask.
"Kill him."
The order had barely left his mouth before the two warriors vanished.
One charged openly.
The other disappeared completely.
Andras smiled faintly.
Echo Resonance expanded.
The world transformed.
Breathing.
Heartbeats.
Muscle tension.
Mana circulation.
Every minute vibration echoed through his perception.
Although Silent Fang concealed sound...
It could not conceal intent.
There.
Three metres behind him.
Left shoulder lowered.
Weight shifting forward.
Preparing to strike.
Without turning around, Andras tilted his head.
A dagger flashed past his cheek.
"So predictable."
He exhaled another stream of smoke.
The hidden assassin’s eyes widened.
How...?
Before he could recover, Andras’s elbow shot backwards.
Boom!
The strike crashed into the assassin’s ribs.
Several bones cracked simultaneously.
The warrior staggered backwards, coughing blood.
Steel Body roared.
His fist descended like a warhammer.
Andras calmly raised one arm.
Primal Tyrant Physique awakened.
Mana surged through every fibre of his body.
His muscles condensed with terrifying density.
Boom!
Fist met forearm.
A shockwave rippled across the street.
Stone beneath their feet fractured.
The Steel Body assassin blinked.
Impossible.
His strengthened punch...
Hadn’t moved Andras even a single step.
Andras looked thoughtfully at his own arm.
"I was expecting something harder."
He glanced back at the assassin.
"Perhaps call it Bronze Body instead."
The assassin growled and attacked again.
Punch after punch crashed toward Andras.
Each carried enough force to shatter stone.
Yet every strike met empty air.
Echo Resonance revealed each movement before it began.
The smallest twitch.
The slightest shift of weight.
Every attack had already happened inside Andras’s mind before it reached reality.
Behind him—
Silent Fang struck again.
Twin daggers lunged toward his spine.
Without looking, Andras stepped sideways.
The blades missed.
Steel Body’s fist continued forward instead.
Crunch!
The punch smashed directly into his ally’s chest.
Silent Fang flew backwards.
The larger assassin stared.
"...Idiot."
"I couldn’t stop!"
Andras chuckled.
"I appreciate the teamwork."
He calmly tapped ash from his pipe.
"You almost killed each other."
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
"Don’t lose focus!"
Mana circles formed before him.
Seven shadow spears condensed simultaneously.
They screamed through the air.
Echo Resonance pulsed again.
One high.
Two low.
Four from the right.
Andras walked forward.
Not hurriedly.
Not desperately.
Almost leisurely.
Each step avoided another spear.
One grazed the sleeve of his coat.
Another shattered the road behind him.
The remaining projectiles exploded against nearby buildings.
Dust filled the street.
When it settled...
Andras remained standing exactly where he intended.
His pipe was still lit.
He smiled.
"You’re damaging public property."
"I hope whoever hired you can afford the repairs."
Kael’s composure cracked slightly.
This...
This wasn’t normal.
The intelligence report described a talented young noble.
Not a monster.
The two warriors attacked together once more.
Steel Body charged from the front.
Silent Fang circled behind.
Perfect timing.
Perfect coordination.
Against anyone else...
It would have been flawless.
Shadow Venom Hunter awakened.
Dark violet patterns spread across Andras’s forearms before fading beneath his sleeves.
A faint venom coated his hands like invisible mist.
Steel Body threw everything into one devastating punch.
Andras answered with his own.
Boom!
Their fists collided.
For a heartbeat...
Everything became still.
Then—
Crack!
The assassin’s arm bent unnaturally.
His steel-like bones fractured from shoulder to wrist.
His scream echoed across the abandoned street.
"What...?"
Andras looked mildly disappointed.
"So Steel Body doesn’t protect your bones."
"Good to know."
He drove a knee into the assassin’s stomach.
The man folded instantly.
Before he could fall—
Andras’s venom-coated palm struck his chest.
A dark stain spread beneath the man’s skin.
The assassin stumbled backwards.
His breathing became ragged.
His vision blurred.
The venom wasn’t meant to kill immediately.
It weakened.
Corroded.
Destroyed from within.
At the same instant—
Silent Fang emerged from Andras’s blind spot.
Both daggers aimed directly at his throat.
Andras calmly turned.
"I’ve been waiting."
His hand shot forward.
He caught the assassin’s wrist.
The man struggled desperately.
It didn’t move.
Primal Tyrant Physique held him as though trapped in iron chains.
"You rely too much on hiding."
Andras sighed.
"It’s unhealthy."
He twisted.
Snap!
The assassin’s wrist shattered.
The dagger clattered onto the ground.
Before the scream could escape—
Andras drove the broken blade into the assassin’s heart.
The man’s body froze.
Blood stained his clothes.
His eyes slowly lost focus.
He collapsed without another sound.
Silence.
Only two remained.
Steel Body, now poisoned and barely standing...
And the mage.
The surviving warrior roared.
Ignoring the venom spreading through his body, he charged with reckless desperation.
His entire body glowed with metallic mana.
One final attack.
One final gamble.
Andras removed the pipe from his lips.
"You have spirit."
"I’ll give you that."
He took one final breath of fragrant smoke.
Then flicked the burning ash aside.
The pipe disappeared into his coat.
For the first time since the battle began...
He stepped forward.
Their fists met.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Every collision thundered across the empty street.
The assassin’s enhanced body cracked a little more with each exchange.
Steel.
Against something stronger than steel.
The fourth strike decided everything.
Boom!
Andras’s fist crashed into the assassin’s chest.
Ribs exploded inward.
The man staggered.
Before he could recover—
Shadow Venom Hunter surged completely.
Dark mana erupted around Andras’s hand.
His palm pierced through the assassin’s guard and struck directly over the heart.
The venom entered like liquid shadow.
The warrior’s body trembled violently.
His metallic skin rapidly lost its lustre.
Cracks spread across it.
Then the enhancement collapsed.
The assassin fell to his knees.
"...Impossible..."
Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
He looked up at Andras.
"...Monster..."
Andras smiled faintly.
"I prefer ’Young Master.’"
The assassin laughed weakly.
Then collapsed face-first onto the broken street.
Dead.
Silence reclaimed the battlefield.
Only Kael remained.
The mage unconsciously stepped backwards.
His hands trembled.
Both elite warriors...
Dead.
Neither had forced Andras to take the battle seriously.
The young noble calmly retrieved his ebony pipe.
After relighting it with a small spark of mana, he inhaled deeply.
A thin ribbon of fragrant smoke drifted skyward.
Much better.
He glanced at the two corpses.
"System."
A familiar mechanical voice echoed within his mind.
[Ding!]