Chapter 2
1167 Words
Night, Eagle's Fortress
As the bright moonlight bathed the entire castle, everyone had fallen into a deep slumber, except for the patrolling soldiers who held oil lamps and made their rounds.
At this moment, a shadow, seizing the opportunity between patrols, swiftly slipped into the castle. He looked up at the bedroom where Kane was staying and began to climb up.
Inside the bedroom, Kane seemed to be asleep, with a faint sound of breathing escaping from his lips.
Suddenly, a faint noise came from the window.
“Creeeak.”
Followed by a soft thud
“Thump...”
A shadow quietly approached Kane's bedside.
Looking at the deeply sleeping Kane, the shadow felt considerable confusion.
The night before, he had shot a crossbow bolt into Kane's heart and even watched him die.
How could he be alive and training near the castle the next day? If it weren't for his vigilance, he wouldn't know how to explain this to his superior.
Fortunately, it seemed that Kane did not wish to make a fuss about the matter, which gave the shadow another chance to attempt an assassination.
This time, the shadow was determined to make sure the target died thoroughly.
With that in mind, the shadow drew a long knife from his back.
He didn't believe that even if he severed the head, the target would still be alive and kicking.
Without hesitation, the long knife was swung toward Kane, who was supposed to be asleep. However, Kane suddenly opened his eyes, rolled away with great effort, causing the knife to strike the pillow behind him.
“Puff....”
“How could this...” The shadow muttered in disbelief.
“Wondering how I woke up?” Kane, rolling off the bed, had already picked up his longsword and stood up.
Noticing something was wrong, the shadow stopped speaking and started swinging his knife again at Kane.
“Action!” Kane shouted loudly.
He then raised his longsword and engaged in combat with the shadow's long knife.
“Clang.”
Kane, unable to match the shadow's strength, was soon overwhelmed by his attacks.
More and more cuts appeared on his body.
But instead of feeling frightened, Kane's inner beast was awakened.
He let out an angry roar.
“Roar!!”
Gradually, he matched the shadow's strength.
Just then, the bedroom door was burst open.
Two figures clad in leather armor rushed in and quickly coordinated with Kane to subdue the shadow.
In less than half a minute, the situation completely reversed. By this time, even the shadow's last hopes of escape were dashed.
Kane knocked the shadow's long knife away and immediately ordered the others to restrain him.
After retrieving a thick rope from the room and with the help of the two, Kane bound the shadow tightly.
It was only then that Kane noticed something odd about his body. He walked to the window to examine himself in the moonlight.
He found that his arms had grown a lot of white hair, his fingernails had become longer and more slender, and two canine teeth were sharp and exposed.
Just as Kane was astonished by this phenomenon, the changes he had experienced quickly receded, returning to his original state, including the wounds on his body.
“Speak! Who sent you, the assassin, daring to attack Lord Kane?”
As Kane was examining his body, the woman in leather armor next to him began the interrogation.
Her name was Katherine Thorne, born in the baronial territory of Kane, from the village of Mako.
From a young age, she exhibited exceptional talent as a swordswoman and was thus favored and trained by the former baron, Rachel Gerald.
Katherine did not disappoint the baron’s expectations. At the age of 16, she broke through to the rank of apprentice swordswoman and advanced to the first tier. After another two years, she advanced to the intermediate first tier. It was anticipated that in the coming years, she would break through to the second tier, and even the third tier might be possible.
Unlike Katherine's impatient approach to the interrogation, the other man in leather armor, after binding the shadow, came to Kane's side and witnessed the entire process of Kane's transformation.
However, he did not speak and silently stood by until Kane returned to his normal state, then he spoke.
“Lord Kane, are you alright?”
Coming to his senses, Kane gave the man a deep look. “Marcus, I'm fine. You and Katherine should handle the assassin.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Watching Marcus leave, Kane’s mind drifted to his memories of Marcus.
Marcus Emmel was the third son of Opeid Emmel. As the third son of the baronial family, he did not have inheritance rights. His future was either to hold a clerical position in the family or leave to become a wandering knight.
Coincidentally, Baron Opeid and Kane’s father, Rachel Gerald, were friends. So he entrusted his son to Kane’s father, hoping he would gain a knight's title.
Marcus proved himself capable, quickly obtaining a knight’s title with the help of his loyal lord, Rachel Gerald, and repeatedly earned achievements that secured his lifetime knight title with inheritance rights.
Suppressing his curiosity about his body, Kane knew that now was not the time for investigation.
He left the room and followed Marcus and Katherine to escort the shadow to the castle's dungeon.
Outside the bedroom, the earlier commotion had gathered servants and guards at the door. The butler, Jess, was doing his best to calm them down.
As one of the few who knew Kane’s plan, Jess's duty was to explain the situation and reassure everyone.
The three who were escorting the shadow ignored the onlookers and walked through the crowd to the castle’s dungeon.
Marcus lit a torch on the wall, and the dim dungeon was illuminated slightly. They placed the shadow in a cell, binding his hands behind a chair.
Once they ensured the shadow could not escape, Katherine tore off the shadow’s face mask.
A young Ososian face appeared before them, with green-blue eyes and yellow short hair.
Looking at the face, Kane said with some confusion, “An unfamiliar face... I don’t recognize you.”
The shadow, however, did not respond, merely staring at the three.
Seeing the shadow's uncooperative attitude, Katherine punched him in the stomach, causing him to shiver in pain, but the shadow remained silent.
“You’re not talking, huh? I have my methods.” Katherine turned and went to get the interrogation tools.
At this moment, the composed Marcus spoke up. “From what I know, Ososians typically live in the northwest region of the kingdom, not too far but not too close either.”
“And Ososians who possess knightly supernatural abilities are generally nobles, but common noble offspring disdain being assassins. So, it must be a wandering knight or a fallen noble.”
A slight change appeared in the shadow's otherwise unmoved eyes, proving Marcus's statement to be accurate.
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