MTLNOVEL Chapter 165
Old master Silver dismissed Noah to his room .
He stalked through the mansion's dark corridors, his footsteps echoing with violent purpose. His fingers kept tracing the rope burns on his wrists, each touch feeding his rage.
" I will allow the assassin weaken him"
he thought, his reflection in passing mirrors showing a twisted version of his once-handsome face.
"But I'll deliver the final blow myself."
In his room, he pulled out his phone, staring at old photos from school - him at the center of every group, the unquestioned king of campus. His fingers clenched around the device until the screen almost cracked.
"I'll take it all back,"
he whispered to the darkness. A cruel smile spread across his face as he found a photo of Serenity.
"And you..."
He traced her image with a trembling finger.
"You'll learn what happens when you choose the wrong side."
His laughter echoed through the room, carrying notes of madness born from humiliation and revenge. "First Ethan falls, then everyone who supported him pays the price." His eyes gleamed with dark anticipation.
"Starting with precious Serenity."
*
It was the next day whispers followed Ethan through the campus corridors. Students huddled in groups, voices dropping as he passed, eyes wide with a mixture of fear and awe.
"He got them into the Grand King mansion..."
"Did you hear what happened after?"
"They had to crawl out on their knees..."
"The video's been circulating..."
His enhanced hearing caught every murmur, every gasp. The story had spread like wildfire, transforming overnight into campus legend.
As he approached his department building, he sensed the ambush before he saw it. Marcus stood there, his usual designer clothes replaced by something darker, more militant. Around him clustered his inner circle, their faces bearing makeup-covered bruises from their crawling ordeal.
Behind them loomed a wall of muscle - local thugs in leather jackets, brass knuckles glinting in the morning sun. Twenty pairs of eyes locked onto Ethan, their intentions clear in their aggressive stances.
"Trying to reclaim lost dignity with borrowed muscle"
Ethan said to herself, noting how Marcus's hands trembled despite his attempt at intimidation.
"Well, well,"
Marcus's voice carried false bravado despite his trembling hands.
"I warned you there would be consequences, Ethan. Time for a new kind of humiliation."
His designer shoes scraped against concrete as he stepped back, gesturing to the thugs.
"Teach him what real pain feels like."
The twenty attackers surged forward, brass knuckles gleaming. But Ethan moved with inhuman grace, his enhanced strength making each casual slap seem effortless. Bodies flew through the air like autumn leaves, each impact punctuated by gasps from watching students.
Within seconds, twenty groaning forms littered the ground.
immediately Marcus's face had drained of all color, his earlier confidence evaporating like morning dew.
Ethan straightened his tie, not a hair out of place.
"You should be more careful,"
His voice carried lethal precision as he stepped over unconscious bodies.
"I have a particular fondness for revenge. And unlike you,"
his eyes locked onto Marcus's trembling form.
"I know how to make it last."
The gathered crowd watched in stunned silence as their understanding of power dynamics shifted permanently.
Marcus stumbled backward, his expensive shoes catching on one of the unconscious thugs. His face had turned the color of sour milk, choking sounds escaping his throat as the full implications of his failed revenge settled in.
Ethan left him there, surrounded by groaning bodies, walking into the school building with measured steps. Every head turned to follow his movement, conversations dying mid-sentence. His enhanced hearing caught the whispers:
"Did you see...?"
"One slap each..."
"Twenty guys just..."
"Who is he really?"
Then he saw her - Serenity, standing frozen in the classroom doorway. Her eyes were wide with disbelief, textbooks clutched tightly to her chest. She'd heard the stories, but seeing him now, completely unruffled after disposing of twenty attackers...
"Ethan, take your seat,"
the teacher called out, gesturing to the empty chair beside Serenity. "Next to Miss Chen."
The classroom held its collective breath as he moved toward her, everyone watching this intersection of campus legend and the girl who'd known him before.
Ethan settled into his seat, the entire class watching their interaction with barely concealed fascination. His enhanced senses picked up her elevated heartbeat, the slight tremor in her hands.
"How's your aunt?"
he asked softly, deliberately steering away from the morning's violence.
"She's... better,"
Serenity whispered, relief flickering across her face at the normal question.
Then her expression clouded.
"Ethan, about Noah... I was wrong. He's not what I thought. He's..."
Her voice caught, fear evident in her eyes.
"I'm sorry for defending him,"
she continued, her fingers nervously twisting a ring - an engagement ring, Ethan noticed. His enhanced vision caught the slight bruising around her wrist, carefully concealed by her sleeve.
"So that's the hold he has over her" Ethan thought, pieces clicking into place. He already knew about the arranged engagement, but seeing the physical evidence of Noah's true nature made his power stir beneath his skin.
"You can tell me,"
he said quietly, watching her internal struggle.
"Whatever mess he's created, whatever he's threatening... I can help."
The classroom's ambient noise faded away as she wrestled with the decision to trust him with her secret.
The teacher finished her lecture, bringing out a large glass jug filled with folded papers.
"Partner up and choose your company assignment,"
she announced.
Before anyone else could move, Serenity turned to Ethan. "Partners?"
she asked softly, still clearly wanting to continue their earlier conversation.
The class watched with intense interest as she approached the jug, her hand disappearing among the white slips.
The paper she drew trembled slightly in her fingers as she unfolded it.
"Carson Automotive Industries,and Ethan is my partner"
she read aloud, not noticing how Ethan's lips curved slightly.
"We're supposed to interview management about their success strategies and—"
She paused, seeing the knowing look in Ethan's eyes. The company name stirred something in her memory - hadn't there been news about the Godly Investor acquiring it recently?
"That's one of his companies, isn't it?"