Chapter 72: Reactions
Within the Wargrave estate, the family members watched in absolute silence. They watched as five assassins encircled Asher. They didn’t blink, they simply observed with calm eyes and steady breaths.
Then it began. They saw how Asher was gradually being pushed back, further and further. His mind was able to keep up with the situation, calculating every motion and strike, but his stamina did not allow his body to follow through. They watched as attacks rained in from all directions, left, right, above, from every possible angle.
Hammer. Axe. Whip. Dagger.
They watched his movements closely. They could see the fluidity, the calmness, and the efficiency in each step and swing, like he had been training in the art of battle for decades. But it wasn’t long before Asher’s chest was torn open, right in front of their eyes.
Still, none of them reacted. Many of them had suffered worse injuries in the past, had lost limbs, had endured horrors far worse than a torn chest. To them, a wound like that was barely worth mentioning.
Deep down, none of them wanted Asher to die, simply because he was their family member. Yet even if he were to perish, none of them could intervene. The law of the family forbade it.
They watched as the hammer crashed against his rapier with crushing force and weight, before a whip lashed viciously across his chest. The soft smiles that had graced their faces when Asher fought earlier had long since vanished, as if they were never there to begin with.
Their cold, neutral expressions returned. They watched as Asher ricocheted from one tree to another, as if he were a mere bouncing ball with no will of his own.
They could see his injuries now. The bruises. The torn flesh. The broken bones on his right hand that no longer looked like a hand, it resembled pulp, mangled and useless.
The glowing blue orb on the table displayed everything with chilling clarity, as though they themselves were right there in the forest beside him. They watched as the youngest Wargrave’s body tore a trench into the ground and remained there, unmoving, as though he were dead.
But with their keen, experienced eyes, they could see the subtle rise and fall of his chest. He was still breathing.