Path To Godhood Begins With Marrying Wife And Gaining SSS Rank Skill Chapter 456:Another One
Previously on Path To Godhood Begins With Marrying Wife And Gaining SSS Rank Skill...
Frigid night winds lashed across Ethan's face as he vaulted over Frostvele's walls.
The revelry's clamor behind him rapidly diminished to faint echoes.
In front, the assassin's shadowy form glided over the snow-covered earth like a specter evading the moon's glow.
The fellow moved with incredible swiftness.
"That must be a Legendary Realm powerhouse," Ethan mused, a icy shiver racing down his back at the thought.
Worsening his dread, the man abruptly shook his arms with resolve.
Had that assassin targeted anyone else within the stronghold rather than him, catastrophe could have ensued.
Fortunately, Kassandra was there to handle it.
Astonishingly, he couldn't sense the intruder at all.
"I've got to improve my perception… It's been utterly worthless against stealthy killers."
Ethan's gaze sharpened as he propelled himself onward through the sky.
That velocity…
The assassin had already pulled ahead by hundreds of meters, bounding over the icy wasteland beyond the fortress. Every leap propelled him far over the drifts, and he astutely exploited boulders, uneven terrain, and gloom to obscure his path.
Still, Ethan refused to slacken.
His silhouette flickered once more, reappearing dozens of meters closer in a burst of speed.
The gap between pursuer and prey steadily narrowed.
Beneath, vast frozen fields extended without end. Snow compacted under the assassin's feet as he dashed toward the shadowy woods past the recent battleground.
The very site where demons had perished just days prior.
The assassin shot a quick glance over his shoulder.
His eyes bulged faintly upon spotting Ethan gaining ground so rapidly.
"Damn…" he grumbled softly.
He urged his form to greater efforts and abruptly leaped toward a row of crumbled stone columns from a ruined lookout.
Upon landing, he pivoted sharply and melted into the debris' cover.
Ethan reached the spot mere moments after.
He eased his pace and touched down on the iced-over soil.
His boots pressed lightly into the powder.
For an instant, he remained still.
A hush fell over the plain as gusts whispered by, with fractured rocks throwing elongated shades in the lunar light.
Ethan's vision swept methodically over the area.
Vanished?
No…
His awareness extended outward with caution.
Something felt off. The assassin's presence remained elusive to him.
It resembled grasping at mist amid a gale.
Ethan's brow furrowed.
"What trick is he employing?" he pondered.
Maybe an advanced artifact.
That idea honed his focus. If such a killer wielded a tool potent enough to fully conceal his aura, his backer was no common foe.
Even elite assassins betrayed traces of intent. Yet this one seemed eerily void.
Nearly as if he didn't exist.
Suddenly, Ethan spotted it.
A subtle ripple in the snow.
Minuscule.
Barely noticeable.
A partial print veiled by swirling rime.
A faint smile tugged at Ethan's mouth.
"Found you," he whispered.
Rather than charge, he advanced with measured steps.
The assassin lurked close by, evidently.
Rushing headlong would merely offer another opening for attack.
Ethan's detection honed in precisely.
One stride.
Two.
Three.
Abruptly—
Gleaming steel erupted from the obscurity amid the shattered boulders.
The assassin lunged once more.
The dagger hurtled at Ethan's throat with horrifying velocity. But now, Ethan anticipated it.
His palm whipped out in response.
CLANG!
His blade unsheathed to parry the edge mere inches from his neck. Showers of sparks flew into the darkness from the ferocious clash.
The assassin's gaze flared wide.
Ethan surged ahead without pause, driving his shoulder into the foe's torso.
BOOM!
The collision hurled the assailant tumbling back over the snow.
The assassin cartwheeled wildly over the frozen turf yet scrambled upright swiftly.
For the first time, Ethan beheld him distinctly.
Clad in shadowy stealth armor, a slim fabric mask shrouded most of his features. Beneath the cowl, only piercing eyes gleamed.
They fixed on Ethan with icy resolve.
Ethan cocked his head faintly.
"You traveled all this distance merely to perish?" he remarked coolly.
The assassin offered no reply.
Instead, he brandished his dagger and charged anew.
The edge slashed ahead.
Ethan twisted aside effortlessly, evading the blow. Simultaneously, his fist rocketed forth like thunder.
BOOM!
The strike hammered straight into the assassin's gut.
The man's frame doubled over from the force, a guttural cry bursting free.
"AAAGHH!"
His form nearly soared away from the punch's power, but Ethan reacted swifter.
Mid-flight, he seized the assassin's leg.
With savage might, Ethan smashed him earthward.
CRASH!
The assassin's body cratered into the iced ground with ferocity. Snow erupted skyward as fissures raced through the soil.
"Kyaaaaaa!"
Once more, the man howled in agony as the force jarred his bones and blood gushed from his mouth.
Ethan showed no mercy.
He hauled the assassin over the terrain and hoisted him up anew like a limp rag doll before pounding him down again.
BOOOOM!
A fresh deep crater gouged into the icy earth.
Blood splashed over the snow while the assassin's frame convulsed wildly from the relentless pummeling.
05:53
Ethan raised him once more, set to smash him down yet again.
But in a flash, his instincts blared a warning.
A piercing alert raced through his thoughts.
"BARRIER!" Ethan bellowed without delay.
Multiple magical barriers exploded into existence around him instantly. Sheer shields stacked up layer by layer, forming walls of glowing light.
Yet it fell short.
An invisible strike hammered into them.
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!
The initial barrier splintered like brittle glass.
CRASH!
The next layer fractured right on its heels.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The rest of the shields crumbled in succession like glass under the horrifying power that shredded through them with ease, sliced by some unseen blade.
The last shockwave crashed head-on into Ethan, who twisted his body just in time while scales emerged across his chest.
BOOOOM!
The blast ripped across the battlefield, flinging Ethan backward over the frozen ground as fragments of light flew apart in the air like shattered mirrors.
...
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