The Ambush

The Wing Guards weren't assassins. After all four appeared, none of them launched a sneak attack or even attacked together. They took up positions at the four corners, simply to keep the Dragon King from escaping.

Assassins were never ashamed to run. When the odds turned against them, they were experts at avoiding a fight.

Gu Shenwei was no exception. He owed at least half his survival to running away.

But this time, he couldn't run.

There were only four opponents, but each controlled an area large enough to hold more than ten ordinary saber fighters. They seemed to leave huge gaps between them, yet the encirclement was airtight. Before they had even made a move, Gu Shenwei already felt the pressure bearing down on him.

He didn't want to run, either.

He was trying to shed the identity of an assassin, and fighting opponents face-to-face was one of the habits he had to learn.

Five men, four curved sabers, one Narrow Saber. No one spoke. They only stared.

Silver Eagle struck first. He had lured the Dragon King here, and he alone had crossed blades with him before. He knew how formidable the young man was.

The blades no longer clashed again and again. Now they tested each other's footwork, darting forward and withdrawing, separating before they could make contact. Neither found an opening, and neither wanted to draw his blade too soon.

The eleventh time they broke apart, Gu Shenwei attacked a Wing Guard behind him. He wanted to erase the traces of the assassin within him, but that didn't mean he would abandon the art of surprise attack. It was a tactic he had honed for years, etched into his bones.

As a "surprise attack," the Dragon King's choice of target did catch the Wing Guards off