The air was thick with tension.
Inside the grand Zhao estate, where nobility feasted and whispered secrets, a different game was being played in the shadows.
A game of life and death.
Ochieng stood by the large window, his gaze locked onto the city below.
He could sense them.
The assassins.
Like wolves in the night, their presence was almost imperceptible.
But he had been hunted before.
And unlike before…
He was ready.
---
The first assassin moved without a sound.
A ghost in human form, slipping past security, slithering through the shadows.
His dagger gleamed under the moonlight—
Aimed straight at Ochieng's throat.
A perfect strike.
But too slow.
In an instant—
Ochieng shifted.
A single step. A slight tilt of his head.
And the blade missed.
Before the assassin could react, Ochieng's hand shot forward—
CRACK.
The sound of bones snapping echoed in the silent room.
The assassin staggered back, his wrist twisted at an unnatural angle.
His mind barely had time to register the pain before—
THUD.
Ochieng's knee slammed into his gut, sending him crashing against the wall.
Silence.
The assassin slumped forward, unconscious.
Ochieng didn't even glance at him.
Instead, he turned to the window once more.
"One down."
He could feel the others.
And they wouldn't be so careless.
---
In an abandoned warehouse at the edge of the city, Bai Sheng sat on a leather chair, his fingers tapping against the armrest.
His expression was unreadable as he listened to the reports.
"The first one failed."
A silence followed.
A deep, suffocating silence.
Then—
SMASH.
The glass of wine in Bai Sheng's hand shattered.
His subordinates tensed.
"This Ochieng…" Bai Sheng murmured.
His gaze darkened.
"He's not just some arrogant fool. He's a problem."
A new figure stepped forward, cloaked in black.
His presence alone sent shivers through the room.
"Then allow me," he said.
Bai Sheng's lips curled into a smirk.
"Very well. Show him what true fear feels like."
The figure vanished into the darkness.
Ochieng stood at the edge of the rooftop, his coat billowing in the night wind.
His sharp gaze swept across the cityscape.
Then—
A movement.
A flicker in the darkness.
There.
The second assassin.
But this one was different.
Ochieng could feel it—
A presence that sent a ripple through the air.
A killer born of shadows.
Without hesitation, the assassin attacked.
His blade was like lightning, striking at impossible angles, faster than the eye could follow.
But Ochieng was faster.
A sidestep.
A twist.
A block.
CLANG.
Metal met metal as Ochieng drew his own dagger at the last second.
The assassin's eyes widened slightly.
He hadn't expected resistance.
He hadn't expected a monster.
Ochieng smirked.
"You'll have to do better than that."
The assassin exhaled.
And then—
The real fight began.
---