Chapter 2275 Chess, Calligraphy, Painting, And Dance!
Impressive! Aora was surprised and dodged the attack.
Gautier claimed that Ezra couldn’t punch his way out of a paper bag, but he was not accurate! Mr. Tannerdefinitely sees his true colors!
Finished
Aora recalled that Teddy had been close with Ezra thirty years ago–so close that he had even addressed him as an elder brother. He might have even arranged Teddy’s marriage to Catherine.
Aora had never seen him in action before, but he had never imagined that Ezra would be anything other than a frail intellectual. And yet–his martial prowess was beyond belief!
“Gautier sent you to kill me, didn’t he?”
Ezra took a step back, holding a book and a calligraphy brush from the Chapel of Oros in each of his hands. His gaze remained locked on Aora as he asked the question.
“You don’t deserve to know!” Aora snarled. “You shall die because of killing Mr. Tanner!”
With a furious shout, he attacked Ezra once more.
He had surpassed the SS combat ranking for now, reaching SS–Level and nearly achieving the threshold of the Sage level. Every move he made was ruthless, fueled by his thirst for vengeance.
Yet, Ezra’s movements were astonishing–his technique was dissolving moves, conquering the unyielding with yielding. Even more baffling, he wielded nothing but a calligraphy brush and a book, employing a fighting style Aora had never encountered in all his years of bloodshed. He couldn’t gain the upper hand.
-Magnus arrived outside the door. Witnessing the battle, his eyes widened in shock. His assumption had
been proved–Ezra Zelinsky was one of the martial arts masters!
As Aora swiped at Ezra with his clawed strike, Ezra flicked his brush and sketched a turtle on his face.
It did no physical harm but with it came extreme humiliation.
However, Ezra hadn’t reached the level where he could tease Aora. Aora slashed across Ezra’s chest, leaving a deep bloody gash.
“Stay away from my father!” Magnus seized the opportunity and rushed forward to shield Ezra with his outstretched arms.
Aora froze in shock. This was not the plan! Magnus should be helping me kill him in order to gain control over Ezra and us; why is he interfering?
Still, he was full of rage. The killing intent in his eyes returned as he roared, “Move aside, or I’ll kill you too!”
Magnus refused.
Aora’s eyes burned with fire as he struck toward him.
Magnus bet that Ezra wouldn’t let him die this soon and he was right.
Ezra pulled Magnus aside and intercepted Aora’s strike. He propelled himself backward, dragged Magnus with him, and escaped.
d
As Aora moved to chase, Ezra flicked his brush. A streak of ink surged like a black dragon, hurtling toward his face with terrifying precision.
Aora recoiled, taken aback. He had never seen someone draw out such a deadly weapon! By the time he regained his footing, Ezra and Magnus had vanished. I’ve finally seen you for who you are!
Aora gritted his teeth, clenching his fists as he glared.
He had always wondered which martial art Teddy learned when he found that his martial prowess was similar to his.
He once asked Teddy about it and Teddy answered, “I do not belong to any group of people. But there were five disciples and five of us, each mastering a different martial art: music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and dance. People called us the Five Sages.”
Teddy’s passion was painting, so he must have been the master of this art.
How about Ezra Zelinsky? He mastered calligraphy. His techniques were bizarrely odd, using the brush as a weapon of might
power.
Though the mission had failed, Aora was frustrated but not ashamed, so he retreated.
Meanwhile, Ezra and Magnus returned to the study.
“Are you alright, Father?”
Magnus was concerned and moved closer to Ezra.
Ezra pushed him away with a cold chuckle. “You should be hoping that I won’t live long, isn’t that so?”
“Father, how would I?” Magnus looked innocent with his wide eyes and puzzled expression.
Ezra wasn’t in the mood to act with him and simply sighed. “Magnus… What a pity.”
After Maxwell’s death, he had considered grooming Magnus as his successor–as long as Magnus remained
under his control.
However, geniuses were always bound by their ambition.
The day he dreaded the most had arrived.
Magnus refused to be a pawn and remained silent.
“Sometimes, being too smart for your own good is a fatal flaw. If you were to kneel now and beg for forgiveness, it would serve you better,” Ezra continued with a calm but heavy tone.
“Yes, but I would rather choose to be myself,” Magnus said with a smirk, his expression surprisingly relaxed.
Ezra’s lips curled into a cryptic smile. “In this family, being yourself is never that simple.”
Just then, the guards began returning.
Rudy entered and hesitated for a moment before he spoke.
“Sir, I didn’t manage to find Ms. Hattie.”
Ezra hinted at Rudy as he turned to Magnus.
“See? This is what happens when you’re too clever.”
“Intelligence isn’t my weakness.” Magnus let out a small chuckle. “It’s because of having you as my father
Ezra smiled and turned to Rudy again. “Bring me some wine. I’ll drink with Magnus tonight.”
Rudy nodded and left to make the arrangements.
Magnus knew that this would be the consequence of the failed assassination attempt. The wine was meant for his sister, but he had hidden her. For now, he would have to drink it himself as a way for Ezra to control him.
Rather than saying Gautier betrayed him, he had lost to his father again.
He had drawn the short straw by leaving himself with only two choices–die or a puppet of others.
On the other hand, Aora met up with Gautier.
“So that’s how it is… Ezra truly is a cunning old fox!” Gautier smiled knowingly.
Certainly, Magnus was in for a tough time though he hadn’t planned to deceive him.
“Aora,” Gautier continued. “Another matter requires your assistance.”
“Please advise, Mr. Verkade!” Aora agreed without hesitation.
Gautier was already the rightful successor to Teddy for him. Failing to assassinate Ezra left him with a sense of guilt, he was eager to prove his worth now.
Gautier smirked. “Since we’ve spread the rumor that Emmanuel is coming to kill, we must make it more convincing. If everyone had believed the rumor, he’d be surrounded. Leaving him no chance of escape
tomorrow!”
Hearing this, Aora grew even more excited.
Nothing was more satisfying than going up against Emmanuel!
