He slashed through one assassin’s guard, twisted, and kicked off a trunk to evade a counter, but then he paused, sword halfway raised.

  The remaining assassins suddenly retreated, melting into the forest like smoke slipping through cracks.

  Jin Yu was just about to pursue when...

  Rustle.

  Crunch.

  Another set of footsteps. Quieter. Heavier.

  From the treeline, new figures emerged.

  Same black robes. Same smoke-laced skin.

  But this group didn’t flicker in and out like illusions.

  They strode forward steadily, coordinated and unhurried. Each movement tight and deliberate.

  Jin Yu stopped mid-step. His instincts screamed.

  These weren’t the same level. These were trained.

  His eyes narrowed as one of them appeared directly behind a tree and vanished again.

  Fast!.

  He blocked a strike from the side, but the clash rattled his arm harder than expected.

  This ones are not the same as before.

  He thought.

  The earlier wave had been reckless, throwaways, perhaps. These new attackers were calculating, Measured and Trained.

  And they were using the terrain.

  One flicked their wrist, branches snapped, dropping decoy leaves. Another stepped onto an overhanging log, vanishing into the canopy. Shadows blended with roots. Footfalls came from places no one stood.

  Jin Yu parried a blow aimed at his ribs and stepped back, only for the ground beneath him to give slightly. A camouflaged pit?

  He leapt aside in time, but the sudden motion broke his flow.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Shhhft!

  A dagger grazed his cheek. Another swiped at his thigh.

  He rolled to his left, using a tree for cover, but the bark exploded behind him from a hidden strike.

  They’re distracting me. Making me chase ghosts.

  He spun his sword in one hand, slowed his breathing.

  Inhale.

  Exhale.

  Then they struck again.

  This time, they didn’t come head-on.

  One assassin tossed a sharp rock at his foot, another darted from the left with a silent blade. From the trees above, smoke drifted downward, veiling the real attacker that landed just behind him.

  Jin Yu twisted and parried, barely. The assassin’s blade skimmed past his waist, drawing a line of blood.

  Fuck this damn bitches!. He cursed in his mind.

  They were cutting at his awareness. Making him fight the forest, not just the people.

  His jaw clenched.

  Another dart flew, he deflected it, but not before the attacker vanished again, slipping behind a tree like a ghost.

  He took one step forward, only to be blinded for a heartbeat by a sudden burst of fine dust thrown from the shadows.

  His vision blurred.

  He ducked on instinct, barely dodging the swipe of a blade meant for his throat.

  Grunt.

  He slid backward, eyes narrowing, blood dripping slowly from his arm.

  Still not enough to slow him, but he was beginning to see the shape of their plan.

  They don’t want to win with force. They want to break my focus.

  But I am not so easily broken.

  “Alright, “Let’s change the rhythm.”

  Jin Yu’s voice was quiet, but something shifted in his tone. It was calmer, colder.

  The moment he moved, the assassins adjusted.

  They came in waves—one feinting high, another slipping low, others flickering past in arcs of smoke.

  It was like fighting shadows in a hall of mirrors. Their presence felt blurred, smoke trailing from their bodies like serpents in the fog, masking intent, hiding edge.

  Jin Yu blocked one, sidestepped a second, but the third nearly cut through his side.

  Only a twist of instinct and momentum saved him. Sparks flared from his bracers. The ground beneath his feet cracked as he caught himself.

  A blade brushed his arm. Another grazed his cheek.

  Jin Yu couldn't help but groan in frustration.

  How did I offend this fast and furious bitches!

  They aren't even trying to kill me with power, they are trying to wear me down.

  Death by a thousand cuts.

  He grit his teeth, spinning to counter, but one disappeared before contact. Another leapt from the trees behind him. Jin Yu barely parried, stumbling a step.

  Fuck!

  He cursed beneath his breath.

  The attack and counter was still ongoing when something tugged at his senses.

  A smell of smoke. But this time not the mist-like, scented smoke of the assassins.

  What's burning?

  His gaze flicked up, and his heart nearly siezed.

  In the distance, beyond the treetops, a dark column of smoke coiled into the sky accompanied by oppressive waves of heat

  FIRE!

  His blood ran cold.

  The village!

  They even set the village on fire?!

  His pulse spiked. Not with panic but with fury, and for a split second, a crimson hue covered his eyes.

  The sword in his hand vibrated faintly as his grip tightened. His foot slid back into stance, his eyes sharpening.

  “...You’re not just here to kill me,” he muttered.

  A blade flew toward him.

  He caught it mid-air with two fingers, twisted it, and flung it back. A muffled scream came from the forest.

  Another flickered toward him, but he didn’t dodge.

  Instead, he stepped into the attack, let the blade graze his shoulder and used the momentum to bring his own sword upward in a brutal arc.

  Shunk!

  Blood sprayed.

  They'd made a mistake.

  He wasn’t confused anymore.

  They were trying to keep him here.

  The real damage was behind him.

  They’d come to delay him.

  A growl rippled from his chest.

  “You shouldn’t have touched the village.”

  His aura surged.

  This time, he didn’t just block.

  He pushed forward.

  One, two—down. Another tried to disappear into smoke—

  Too slow.

  Jin Yu lunged, grabbing the attacker by the wrist before slamming him headfirst into the ground.

  The forest trembled.

  The smoke twisted again, but this time, it wasn't confusing him.

  It recoiled around his blade, seared by his intent.

  The assassins faltered.

  Jin Yu could feel their rhythm breaking.

  And he wasn't done.

  Ding!

  Next breakthrough available!