Chapter 326: ASSASSINS.

Noah.

I held the reins of my horse tightly, my grip so firm that my knuckles turned pale beneath the strain, as I found myself completely surrounded by several men dressed in black clothing, each of them wearing a mask that concealed every trace of identity on their faces.

They stood in a tight formation around me, silent and threatening, their presence heavy and suffocating as if the very air had thickened around us. Each of them was armed with different weapons, blades and firearms glinting faintly under whatever dim light filtered into the sudden created battlefield. I could feel their intent even without hearing a single word—kill or be killed. That was the unspoken rule of the moment.

I took a slow, controlled breath, forcing my chest to rise steadily despite the pressure building within it. My eyes scanned the circle of enemies around me as my mind briefly wandered, trying to calculate, trying to understand how I was meant to take on all of them at once. The thought lingered like a weight I could not easily discard. There was no easy path out of this. No clear escape route. Only confrontation.

I closed my eyes slowly for a brief moment, shutting out the sight of steel and death that surrounded me. In that silence, the image of my parents and my brother immediately flashed across my mind with painful clarity. It was not a distant memory—it was sharp, vivid, and almost real enough to make my chest tighten.

We had once been surrounded like this before. I could still remember it as though it had happened only yesterday. Back then, my family had not hesitated. They had shielded me with their own lives, standing between me and death without a second thought, all just to ensure that I survived that day. Their sacrifice was not something I could ever forget, no matter how much time passed.

I wouldn’t have survived at all... if the quadruplets hadn’t stepped in when they did. That truth settled heavily in my mind, as undeniable as the ground beneath my horse’s hooves. It was not pride that kept me alive until this moment—it was sacrifice, timing, and fate intertwined in ways I still could not fully comprehend.

I took another deep breath, slower this time, deeper, grounding myself in the present. Then I opened my eyes again.

The world returned in sharper focus—the masked men, the weapons, the tension that hung between us like a drawn blade. But something inside me had shifted. The hesitation was gone. The uncertainty had been pushed aside. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

I was ready to face my enemies on this battlefield, no matter how many stood against me.

But one thing remained certain, burning in my chest with more intensity than fear or anger—I needed to stay alive. I needed to survive this, not for myself, but to bring my wife back home.

That thought alone anchored me more firmly than any sword or shield ever could.

"You all get ready to die!" I declared, my voice cutting through the tension like a whip in the air.

The words were not a question, nor a threat left hanging—they were a promise.

A final warning before chaos.

My horse neighed loudly at my side, almost as though it understood the weight of my words and stood in silent support of my resolve. Its body tensed beneath me, responding to the shift in energy, ready to move with me into whatever came next.

Without hesitation, I charged forward toward them, the world narrowing into motion and instinct. The wind rushed past me, the ground pounding beneath my horse’s hooves as we surged ahead into the circle of enemies.

But I did not remain on my horse for long. The chaos of impact, the strain of the battlefield, and the injury sustained by my horse made it impossible to continue mounted. There was no choice left for either of us. I had to come down.

I hit the ground hard the moment I dismounted, boots skidding slightly against the rough terrain as I steadied myself. There was no time to regain full balance, no time to think. The moment my feet touched the earth, they moved.

The masked men closed in at once.

Steel flashed toward me from multiple directions, a coordinated strike meant to overwhelm me instantly. I twisted my body just in time, feeling the rush of air as a blade sliced past my shoulder. Another came from the side, and I blocked it with my forearm guard, the impact vibrating through my arm like a shockwave.

I exhaled sharply and drove forward instead of backward.

Distance was death here. Standing still meant being surrounded, and being surrounded meant being finished.

I stepped into the gap between two of them, forcing one back with a sharp elbow strike to the chest. He staggered, and in that same movement I caught the wrist of another attacker, twisting violently until the weapon slipped from his grip.

The sword dropped into my hand.

For a brief moment, I felt the shift.

Now I was not empty-handed.

Now I could fight back properly.

I gripped the sword tightly and swung immediately, forcing them to hesitate. The blade cut through the air with precision, meeting the next incoming strike and sending sparks as metal clashed against metal. I pushed forward again, stepping into their formation, breaking their rhythm before they could rebuild it.

One of them lunged, and I parried, then struck back quickly, forcing him to retreat. Another came from behind, but I pivoted just in time, the blade grazing my side clothes, instead of piercing it. I responded with a fast horizontal slash that made him stumble backward.

For a few minutes, it was controlled chaos—but I was holding my ground.

Breathing steady. Eyes sharp. Movements precise.

They were many, but I was not slowing down.

I blocked another strike, spun, and kicked one of them hard in the chest, sending him crashing into another attacker. I used the opening to advance again, my sword moving like an extension of my arm. Every strike I made was deliberate, every movement calculated. I refused to let them surround me again.

But then the pressure began to change.

They adjusted.

More of them came at once, no longer attacking one by one but in pairs, then groups. I deflected one blade, but another immediately followed. I managed to block it, but the force behind it pushed me back half a step. That half step was all they needed to tighten the circle again.

I gritted my teeth.

I forced myself forward again, cutting through another attacker’s guard, but I could feel it now—the strain building in my body. The weight of the fight was no longer evenly distributed.

A blade slipped through my defense.

Pain flashed across my upper arm.

I didn’t have time to react fully before another strike followed, grazing my side. I twisted away, but not cleanly enough. The edge caught me, tearing through part of my clothe and skin beneath.

My breath hitched for the first time.

Still, I did not stop.

I swung again, harder this time, forcing space between us. But there were too many angles, too many movements converging at once. I blocked one strike, only to feel another graze my leg, slowing my stance slightly.

Blood warmed my skin beneath the fabric.

They were closing in again.

And for the first time since the fight began, I realized I was no longer just holding my ground—I was beginning to lose it.

And I could die!