There were times when Arwin knew holding back was important. Times where he kept the full extent of his abilities hidden so nobody would ever have so much as a reason to connect him with his former life.
This wasn’t one of those times. Revealing his strength was only an issue when someone lived to spread the tale. And, today, Arwin didn’t plan on leaving any witnesses. He heard the rest of the Menagerie pouring out of the door behind him, but he didn’t wait on their arrival.
He exploded into motion. [Scourge] pumped energy into his legs as he burst forward, Verdant Blaze’s head streaking through the air like a falling comet toward the nearest assassin. The man’s eyes — the only visible part of his face — widened, but he was well trained.
Leaning back, the assassin just barely managed to move out of the way of the hammer. He moved with blinding speed as he grabbed a dagger from his waist and drove it up for Arwin, aiming for his exposed palm.
Arwin’s gauntlets slammed into place around his arms. The assassin’s dagger rang off them with a resounding clang and he dismissed Verdant Blaze, plunging his right hand straight into the assassin’s chest and using [Scourge] to accelerate his movements.
The claws on his fingertips ripped through the man’s light clothes and into his flesh. Hissing in pain, the assassin arched back and vaulted off his hands, landing several feet away. Streams of twisting red and black energy swirled from the wounds and into Arwin’s left gauntlet, vanishing into the gem in its back.
One of the assassins hurled what looked to be a small stone. It flashed through the air before striking Arwin in the side of his helm. The purple gemstone in the center of his armor flared as a brilliant flash lit the street, momentarily blinding him.
Several feet scuffed on the ground beside Arwin. Thick white spots still danced in his vision, but he’d fought Lillia’s armies in the dark more times than he could count. It had been a long time since he’d relied on just a single sense to fight.
Arwin leapt to the side, driving his shoulder into an unsuspecting assassin’s chest with a snarl. He felt the bone in their chest crunch under his weight and he threw himself forward, slamming the man to the ground.
Melissa’s fists tightened and she nodded. “Yes. It might be.”
“Then I suppose we don’t have any time to waste,” Arwin said. “Let’s go see what these assassins Continue reading more chapters on NovelHub for the best experience. There’s a whole week to get you outfitted.”
“Can you really do that much in just a week?” Melissa asked, doubt and worry dripping from her words. “All the best artificers and smiths I’ve known took weeks just to make a single item, and it wouldn’t be anywhere near strong enough to help me fight anyone this talented.”
“There’s your problem,” Arwin said. He put a hand on Melissa’s shoulder and crouched to be at her eye level. “I am not most smiths.”