Novel Full Chapter 455: Assassination During Party
Chapter 455: Assassination During Party
The celebration inside Frostvele continued to grow louder as the night deepened.
Large bonfires burned across the courtyard, and their orange flames danced against the stone walls of the fortress. The smell of roasted meat mixed with spilled beer and smoke filled the cold air.
Ethan had long since stepped down from the wall and joined the soldiers in the courtyard.
Unlike many nobles who preferred distance, he moved easily among the crowd. One moment he stood beside a group of young soldiers who were arguing loudly about whose spear had struck the first demon. The next moment he was laughing with a group of veterans who had survived three campaigns together.
Someone shoved another mug of beer into his hand.
“Lord Ethan! You owe us a drink after that speech!”
Ethan raised the mug without hesitation.
“Fine. But if you pass out before midnight, I’m not carrying you back to the barracks.”
The soldiers burst into laughter.
Another man slapped his shoulder heavily.
“You say that now, but you carried Captain Joran last time!”
“That was different,” Ethan replied while taking a deep drink. “He owed me money.”
The men roared with laughter again.
There was no stiffness in the way Ethan moved. He spoke casually, laughed openly, and even joined a few rough drinking contests. The soldiers felt comfortable around him because he treated them like comrades rather than distant subordinates.
A few musicians had started playing rough battle songs near one of the bonfires. Several soldiers stomped their boots to the rhythm while others clapped loudly.
For a brief moment, the war felt far away.
Ethan lowered his mug and wiped the foam from his lips while scanning the lively courtyard.
Everything looked normal.
Even during celebration his senses continued observing the surroundings out of habit.
Still, the next moment happened so suddenly that even he was caught off guard.
From behind one of the large supply carts near the edge of the courtyard, a shadow moved silently.
The figure had blended perfectly with the darkness between the stacked barrels and wooden crates. The figure had been hiding there for several minutes, patiently waiting for the right moment and stood completely still, breathing slowly, allowing the noise of the celebration to hide even the smallest movement.
Even Ethan’s sharp senses had failed to detect him clearly.
The music.
The shouting.
The drunken laughter.
All of it created the perfect cover.
The figure moved fast.
In two silent steps he slipped through the crowd. Drunken soldiers blocked the view while loud singing covered the sound of his footsteps.
The blade in his hand was narrow and dark. Its surface had been treated to absorb light so it barely reflected the fire.
The figure closed the distance.
One step.
Two step..
His arm shot forward.The dagger aimed directly toward Ethan’s exposed side just below the ribs.
It was a professional strike meant to pierce upward into the heart.But just before the blade touched him, Ethan’s instincts suddenly screamed.
SHHK!
His body reacted before his mind fully processed the danger.
He twisted sideways sharply.
The dagger missed its intended path by a fraction.
Instead of piercing deep into his chest, the blade scraped across his armor and cut into the side of his coat.
SHHK!
The sharp sound of metal sliding across leather broke through the noise of the celebration.
“What?”
A chaos erupted.
Amidst this,Ethan’s eyes widened slightly and his left hand moved instantly.
He grabbed the assassin’s wrist before the attacker could pull the blade back and shouted loudly.
“Who are you?”
His grip was as strong as iron pincers clawing down a prisoner.
The assassin’s eyes widened in shock as he realized he had been caught.
Ethan’s mug slipped from his right hand and shattered against the stone ground.
“What the hell?” one soldier shouted nearby as the celebration suddenly stopped.
But Ethan did not look away from the attacker.The assassin tried to twist free and strike again with his other hand.
But it was too slow.
Ethan stepped forward and slammed his elbow directly into the man’s chest.
BOOM!
The impact knocked the air out of the attacker’s lungs.
The assassin staggered backward while Ethan still held his wrist tightly.
“Tell me who you are and what is your purpose,” Ethan demanded coldly.
Ethan was about to move and restrain him completely when the assassin suddenly pulled out another hidden knife from his sleeve.
The blade flashed under the firelight.
“Its your death… Ethan…” the man hissed.
Ethan turned around to dodge another strike and snorted.
“Futile attempt!”
He then moved to attack but what happened next was completely unexpected.The blade curved through the air quickly.
But it did not aim for his heart rather.
SLASH!
Blood splattered into the air and drops of it spurted on his face.
Ethan’s eyes widened in surprise.
Instead of missing, the blade had cut across the shoulder.
Not his but the assassin cut his own shoulder cutting down his arm
Pain shot through his arm as the sharp edge tore through the cloth and skin beneath.
“The fuckk?”
For a brief moment his grip loosened and the hand of the assassin came out leaving the assassin free.
That single moment was enough.
The assassin wrenched his arm free leaving it with Ethan and stepped back rapidly.
Then he turned and dashed away like a shadow escaping into darkness.In a flash his figure shot upward and leaped across the courtyard wall.
The sudden turns of events really left him a bit bewildered.
This was the first time he came across an assassin and didn’t know they were so decisive to the point that this was inspirational.
At the same time several soldiers shouted loudly.
“ETHAN! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!”
“LORD!”
“LORD ETHAN!”
Some guards rushed toward him while others pointed toward the fleeing figure.
Ethan quickly pressed his hand and threw the scraps while shaking his head.
“I am alright,” he said firmly.
Then his eyes turned toward the direction where the assassin had escaped.
His expression hardened.
“But I need to chase him.”
Before anyone could respond, Ethan’s figure blurred.
The next moment he shot into the air like a streak of shadow and vanished over the fortress wall in pursuit of the fleeing assassin.