Re-Awakening: Cannon Fodder With Strongest Talent-Chapter 45: Unscathed

"WE GOT HIM!"

A roaring inferno engulfed the target from the front. The collision of opposing elements created a deafening explosion and a cloud of billowing steam.

Ethan’s Protective Shield flared briefly, just long enough to weather the initial barrage. Then Enhanced Speed activated, and he simply... vanished.

The area where he had stood became an elemental battlefield—water hissing against fire.

Steam obscured everything, a miniature storm contained within the narrow street.

"I can’t even see his shadow. He evaporated! Hahaha!" One assassin laughed nervously, peering into the churning mist. His voice carried a brittle edge, relieved that the monster who killed his teammates was dead.

The leader’s eyes darted frantically, scanning the battlefield. "Keep your guard u—"

A sound cut through the chaos—the unmistakable whisper of a blade displacing air.

Thud.

The leader’s sentence ended abruptly as a head separated from someone’s shoulders, expression still frozen in relief. The severed head hit the cobblestones with a wet sound, rolling to a stop at the feet of his stunned teammates.

Blood fountained from the neck stump for one heartbeat, two, before the body toppled forward.

Silence fell, broken only by the soft hiss of steam.

As one, the remaining assassins turned toward the source of the sound. The blood fountain parted like a theater curtain to reveal Ethan standing motionless, sword extended in the finishing position of a perfect strike. Blood dripped steadily from the blade, each crimson drop striking the street with rhythm.

His eyes held no emotion—not anger, not satisfaction, not even exertion.

"Impossible..." whispered one of the water talents, his confidence evaporating faster than the mist around them. "No Low-Bronze could—"

"I’m not Low-Bronze," Ethan interrupted, his voice carrying easily despite its softness. "Not anymore."

One assassin broke, turning to flee. Ethan didn’t even move. He simply pulled out his bow, nocked an arrow, and activated Accuracy Enhancement in one fluid motion.

WHOOSH!

The arrow cut through the air with perfect precision. The fleeing assassin glanced back to check if Ethan was pursuing him.

Relief flashed across his face when he saw Ethan standing still in the distance. A smile began to form on his lips—the brief, desperate hope of someone who thinks they might survive after all.

Then he saw the arrow.

It was already there, seemingly suspended in the air directly in front of his face, its trajectory perfectly calculated to intercept his escape path.

His eyes had just enough time to widen in realization.

SPLRTCH!

The assassin’s head exploded like a watermelon, bone fragments and brain matter spattering the nearby wall. His body continued running for two more steps before collapsing in a heap.

The remaining assassins froze, weapons half-raised in suddenly trembling hands.

"We surrender!" their leader immediately shouted, dropping his weapon and raising his hands high. "We surrender!"

The others quickly followed suit, weapons clattering against cobblestones as terror overtook them.

Ethan studied them dispassionately, weighing his options.

"On your knees," he ordered, his voice cold. "Face the wall. If any of you moves, you’re dead."

They complied instantly, scrambling to press their foreheads against the rough stone wall, hands behind their heads.

Ethan approached slowly, sword hanging casually at his side. His footsteps echoed in the sudden silence.

’You think I’m going to let you off? Dream on.’

In one fluid motion too fast for human eyes to track, his blade swept horizontally through the air.

Five heads separated from bodies simultaneously, blood fountaining in perfect arcs as the corpses slumped forward against the wall.

All except the leader, who remained frozen, eyes wide as his subordinates’ bodies twitched in death beside him.

"Calm down," Ethan said, cleaning his blade methodically. "I didn’t kill you for a reason. I have a few questions for you."

The leader nodded frantically, sweat pouring down his face. "Anything! I’ll tell you anything!"

"Will you let me go afterward?" he added, voice barely above a whisper.

Ethan nodded once. "I will." freewēbnoveℓ.com

Relief washed over the man’s features. "Thank you, thank you—"

"Where is General Han?" Ethan interrupted.

"General Han?" The leader swallowed hard. "He’s been absent from the mansion recently. The city leader put him in charge of defending the north side of the city against the beast tide, just like the other generals."

Ethan’s senses detected no fluctuation in heartbeat or breathing to indicate a lie. He nodded slowly.

"And Han Wei? Where would he be right now?"

"The summer pavilion in Second District, as I said before! He’s waiting for us to bring you there. It’s a trap, but you already know that..."

"Lead me there," Ethan commanded, gesturing with his sword. "If you do anything suspicious, your head will roll like theirs. Don’t ruin your only chance."

"Yes!" The man scrambled to his feet, careful to make no sudden movements. "I’ll take you the safe way, through service alleys. No guards."

Hong Wei stepped forward from his hiding place. "I’m coming too."

"You are still here?"

"Forget it. No, you are not coming" Ethan replied firmly. "Too dangerous."

"But I can—"

"No buts. Do you know Lin’s restaurant?"

Hong Wei nodded.

"Yes. I know it."

"Good. Take these keys and hide inside the basement, do not come out until I come to you. Understood?"

Hong Wei hesitated, but seeing his older brother’s face he nodded.

"Alright, brother."

Ethan’s face softened slightly. He obviously wasn’t his real brother, but the little kid treated him like one.

"Good,"

Hong Wei headed toward Lin’s restaurant, glancing back once before disappearing around the corner.

The street fell silent but for the leader’s panicked breathing. Ethan scanned the area, finding it suspiciously deserted.

"By the way. Why are the military not coming at all?" he asked.

The leader swallowed hard. "We told them we had orders. So they don’t get in the way."

"I see." Ethan nodded, approaching the nearest corpse.

He knelt beside the body, placing his palm against the still-warm forehead. The leader watched with growing unease

To the leader, it looked like some bizarre ritual—touching up corpses after death. He didn’t dare utter a word, terrified he might be "touched" after his own death too.

Ethan’s status vision activated, revealing the corpse’s information:

<Human: Jason Mart> <Rank: Low-Bronze> <Water Talent: E- Grade> <Skills: Water Shield (Novice)>

Without hesitation, Ethan activated Devour.