Secret Scion

"The master wants to take it slow with you, but I can't afford to keep you around any longer, Asher Crawford. Your hour of death has come." Rodrick was dressed in a gray suit with his hair cropped short. He looked spry.

Rodrick would usually not have gone against Garrett's wishes, but after learning that his master had raped Mikaela Leonard, he was more than a little unsettled.

Two years ago, the eldest master Sam Schmidt and Asher had gone toe to toe. Almost everyone was optimistic that Sam would triumph, but who would have thought that Asher's insignificant plot would put Sam in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Everyone had assumed that it was Sam who underestimated his opponent which led to such a big mistake. Rodrick, however, discovered that it was not Sam who underestimated his enemy at all. It was Asher who stayed concealed. He had deliberately pretended to be arrogant and a bully. All of that was to give his opponents the illusion that he was contemptible. People like him were a risk to keep around.

Rodrick had assumed that Xavier would send Rose to deal with Asher but he never expected the opportunity to fall on Garrett instead. In his opinion, Garrett's ability should be on the same level as Sam, and Garrett had a fatal weakness. He liked beautiful women. To put it bluntly, he was lustful.

Rodrick could tell that Asher knew about Garrett's weakness. It would not be difficult to deal with him. What's more, Garrett, like Sam in the past, did not take Asher seriously.

After thinking it through, Rodrick decided to get rid of Asher in private to eliminate any future problems.

"You're free to do so. Just let her leave first," Asher bargained with a grave expression. Noelle's grip on his hand tightened. "I'm not leaving. I want to be with you!"

Rodrick hummed. "You seem to be looking down on me. The only person I want killed is you. I have no interest in the woman. Come, Asher. Two years ago you were one of the most skilled among your peers. You must've grown stronger now that two years have gone by. Let me see just how capable the scion of the Crawfords is."

"We should leave, Asher. Don't fight him." Noelle surmised that this man was powerful and was worried that Asher would not be able to match up to him. She wanted to drag him away. Noelle was, however, far too simple-minded. Since Rodrick had personally approached him despite Garrett's disapproval, he would never allow Asher an easy escape.

In that regard, Asher was also well aware that this battle was inevitable.

There were ten individuals on the Capital City's Elite Ranking. All ten of them were masters at their craft and Rodrick ranked ninth. His strength was unfathomable.

Asher had been trained to fight even as a child. He was far from weak, but he had no chance of winning against someone on Rodrick's level.

Since there was a huge disparity in strength, he could not sit back and await death. He had to take the initiative to strike first.

The gentle breeze in the air ruffled Asher's hair. Noelle could not help but shut her eyes. When she reopened them, Asher was already standing before Rodrick. It was not a stretch to say that he was as quick as lightning.

Noelle had never considered that someone could be this quick on their feet in real life. Asher had once again brushed up her understanding of him.

Rodrick did not have the slightest intention of dodging the blow. When he noticed Asher swinging a hook at him, he raised his right hand and grabbed onto the younger's fist tightly before violently twisting it. It seemed unremarkable but it was anything but. A huge force rushed through his body along his arm.

Before he could think about it, Asher hurriedly whirled himself in a circle, which relieved most of the pressure. But even so, he was shaking slightly as he landed.

Even Noelle who did not know how to fight could tell in an instant that Asher was no match for Rodrick.

Noelle grew anxious for fear of Asher being injured. She would have been able to lend a hand should it have been anything else but this was something she could not intervene. She hastily took out her phone to dial a friend who was a cop in her state of restlessness.

This was a flourishing area, especially at night with the constant flow of passers-by. Pedestrians who were passing through were soon attracted to the sight of the battle between Asher and Rodrick.

"Are they shooting a movie? This is quite exciting. But these actors are unfamiliar to me. I've never seen them before," a young girl exclaimed in surprise.

"What movie? They're obviously fighting for real!"

"Fighting?" The girl had a hard time believing that a fight could be so exciting. "But I've never seen a fight like this before."

"If my guess is right, these two should be masters of combat," a teenager chimed in.

The girl marveled, "That's way too cool. Hurry and film this!"

More and more passers-by gathered around, and in the end they stood in a circle, surrounding Asher and Rodrick.

Asher was eager for the crowd to gather. The more people there were, the more fearful Rodrick got.

Rodrick, on the other hand, did not want to appear too conspicuous and wanted to end the fight immediately. However, Asher switched up his approach this time and did not confront him head on. He was instead jumping about in a manner quicker than a monkey.

Rodrick exasperatedly barked, "Stop dodging if you've got the guts, Asher!"

"I would be stupid not to!"

"You're getting it from me now!" Rodrick originally thought that he would be able to get rid of Asher in a relatively brief period of time based on his strength but the facts had backhanded him instead. Irritated, a commanding presence unleashed around him, enveloping Asher. Rodrick did not want to delay the matter any longer and immediately raised his strength by fifty percent. Falcon-like eyes locked onto Asher. Then, he moved. His feet shifted as he crossed the distance so quickly that he only left an afterimage behind.

None present could catch his form with their naked eye. Everyone's jaws dropped and their tongues tied.

Bang!

A dull thud could be heard before Asher was hit in the chest. The massive force sent him hurtling back like a leaf. His back hit the guardrail of the sidewalk and broke it. The taste of metal gurgled in his throat as he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Asher!" Noelle hurried over. It was obvious that Asher's injury was not minor from how pale his face had become. Her eyes grew bloodshot as she fervently asked, "Are you alright, Asher? Don't scare me. Talk to me."

How could Asher possibly speak with blood in his throat?

Rodrick sneered. "Die, Asher!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Rodrick rushed up toward Asher again as a gesture to get rid of him.

In an impulsive maneuver, Noelle hurriedly used her body to protect Asher as she shut her eyes tightly.

Noelle had no idea where this burst of courage had come from. All she knew was that nothing could happen to Asher even at the cost of herself.

But at this precise moment, the sharp sound of a siren blared.

Even Rodrick could not help but frown. He clenched his teeth. He had not expected for the police to show up quite so quickly.

"You're dead meat the next time we meet, Asher!" After speaking, Rodrick rushed out of the crowd and disappeared into the darkness.

"I called the cops. I'll get you to the hospital." Noelle could finally heave a sigh of relief after

seeing Rodrick's departure. Just as she was about to get off of Asher, an additional pair of robust

and strong arms were pressed on her back, firmly pinning her into his arms.

Noelle froze in that instant, a hint of shyness in her bright eyes. She felt as if she had eaten honey that was unspeakably sweet.

"Are you alright, Noelle? Was anyone hurt?"

Just when she was left in a daze, a woman's voice from behind her broke her out of her stupor, startling her like she was a spooked rabbit as she hurriedly helped Asher to his feet.

"Asher's injured," Noelle muttered with her cheeks tinted a faint pink.

"Come with me. I'll drive you two to the hospital," the female officer said.

Asher instead waved her off. "There's no need for the hassle. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" The officer asked once more.

Asher nodded. "Thank you for coming all this way."

"Noelle is my friend. You're very welcome." She then looked at Noelle. "I think his injuries are quite serious. It's better to go to the hospital to do a once-over. I'll be off if there's nothing else you need help with."

Noelle thanked her once more, and the female officer left the scene.

"The guardrail was knocked down. There's no way you're fine. Let's go to the hospital to get you checked out." Noelle was still worried.

Asher was clear about the severity of his injuries. The serious injury was not on his back but his chest. Rodrick's punch was far too formidable. It felt as if his ribs were about to collapse. It was extremely difficult for him to breathe.

But injury of this sort could not be cured in the hospital. He could only recuperate slowly. "You must put your safety above all else no matter what happens from now on. I'm no match for Rodrick, and neither are you." Although Asher sounded harsh, he was touched. Noelle's willingness to protect him proved to him that his position in her heart was special.