Chapter 268: Sword Practice in rain??

The plane descended slowly through the thick grey clouds that hovered above Star Harbor, its wings cutting through mist and rain before finally touching the runway with a smooth yet firm landing. The city outside looked blurred under the constant drizzle, the glass windows of the terminal reflecting streaks of water as if the sky itself refused to clear.

Inside the airport, the atmosphere was calm and orderly, far removed from the storm outside.

Gordon, David, and Birdie walked steadily through the arrival lobby, their presence drawing subtle attention despite their composed demeanor. Behind them, a uniformed attendant pushed a luggage trolley carrying their belongings, moving with the quiet efficiency reserved for VVIP passengers.

Gordon adjusted his coat slightly as they walked.

“Should we call him?”

David shook his head lightly.

“The car from the office is already waiting. Miles told me he would send one, but I informed him that we would come by the office car.”

Gordon nodded.

“Alright.”

They continued walking until the automatic glass doors opened, and the damp air of Star Harbor greeted them instantly. The rain had softened, but the roads still shimmered with moisture, and the sky remained heavy.

A black luxury car rolled forward and stopped precisely in front of them.

The driver stepped out immediately, bowing slightly.

“Good afternoon sir. Welcome to Star Harbor.”

Gordon acknowledged him with a nod, his expression calm and unreadable.

The luggage was loaded into the trunk, and within moments, they were seated inside the car as it began moving smoothly toward the city.

David, sitting in the front passenger seat, pulled out his phone and dialed.

Miles answered almost instantly.

“Yes, uncle David.”

“We have left the airport. We are on the way to Pearl Villa.”

“Alright. You did not face any inconvenience, right?”

“It was a comfortable journey. The rain here is heavier than in Citadel. It is good that the flight was on time.”

Miles responded casually.

“It is a coastal city. The rainfall is always like this. I will meet you at home.”

“Alright.”

The call ended.

The car continued its journey, moving past the outskirts of the airport and gradually entering the main roads that led deeper into Star Harbor.

For a while, everything seemed normal.

Then, after some time, the car took a turn.

Not toward the busy parts of the city.

But toward a quieter road.

David glanced at the driver.

“Are you sure we are going the right way?”

Gordon leaned slightly forward.

“Is everything alright?”

The driver responded without hesitation, his tone confident.

“Yes sir. Pearl Villa is located in a rich neighborhood. It is slightly outside the city.”

Birdie nodded softly.

“Silvey mentioned the same.”

David relaxed slightly.

“Alright then.”

The car moved forward again.

But as minutes passed, the surroundings began to change.

The buildings became fewer.

The roads grew emptier.

The distance between street lights increased.

Rain tapped softly against the windows, but the silence inside the car began to feel heavier.

David looked out, then back at the driver.

“Is not the city too far behind now? How much more distance is left?”

This time…

The driver did not respond.

David’s eyes narrowed.

He turned slightly, glancing at Gordon and Birdie in the back seat, both now sensing the shift.

Then he looked forward again.

“I am asking you something.”

Suddenly,

The car came to a violent stop.

The brakes screeched sharply against the wet road, jolting all three passengers forward slightly.

“What is it?” David asked, his voice tightening.

The driver slowly turned his head, a smirk forming on his face.

“You are too late.”

Before David could react, the driver stepped out of the car, taking the keys with him as rain began to fall more heavily outside.

Almost immediately, two more vehicles arrived from behind, their engines roaring as they came to a halt.

Doors opened.

Men stepped out.

Armed.

Not with guns.

But with heavy melee weapons, rods, blades, and iron pipes that glinted under the dull light.

They surrounded the car completely.

David’s expression hardened instantly.

“We have been attacked.”

He reached for his phone.

“Damn… there is no signal here.”

His voice turned urgent.

“Make sure the doors are locked.”

Birdie and Gordon quickly checked the locks, their movements tense, their faces reflecting the rising fear.

Birdie’s hands trembled slightly as she pulled out her phone.

“There is… some signal on mine.”

She passed it forward.

David grabbed it immediately and dialed Miles.

But before the call could connect,

A loud crash shattered the silence.

The window beside the driver’s seat exploded inward as a heavy object smashed through it, sending shards of glass flying inside the car.

David instinctively raised his arm and covered himself with his coat, shielding his face.

Gordon leaned forward.

“Are you alright?”

“I am fine.”

Rainwater began to drip inside through the broken window.

Then,

A face appeared.

A man leaned in through the shattered glass, his expression twisted with amusement.

“Hello dear guests.”

His voice was mocking.

“Mr. Mordecai sends his greetings… all the way from Vespera.”

Gordon’s eyes darkened.

“Damn Mordecai…”

David reached back, holding Birdie’s hand firmly.

Gordon leaned forward slightly, his voice steady despite the situation.

“Tell Mordecai… that he is making a grave mistake.”

The man chuckled.

“Why do you not tell him yourself?”

His smile widened.

“He will be in Star Harbor soon anyway.”

David’s grip tightened.

“It will be alright. Do not worry.”

The man tilted his head slightly, his tone turning colder.

“Either you two step out quietly… which I prefer… especially in front of a woman…”

He tapped lightly on the broken frame of the window.

“Or I will make a mess of her husband right in front of her.”

Birdie shut her eyes tightly, her breath trembling.

The man continued.

“Mr. Mordecai gave clear instructions. We leave Mrs. Sterling… and take only the two of you.”

His voice dropped lower, more threatening.

“So it is your choice.”

A pause.

“We take you peacefully…”

His eyes flicked toward Birdie.

“Or we tear your limbs apart… and take her instead.”

The rain grew heavier.

The silence inside the car turned suffocating.

And fear…

Finally settled in.

Gordon’s heart tightened as he looked at Birdie, her hands trembling, her eyes shut in fear, while David tried to stay composed despite the danger pressing in from every direction. The situation was spiraling too fast, and the weight of responsibility pressed heavily on Gordon’s chest.

He could not let anything happen to them.

Not now.

Not after everything.

Gordon leaned forward slightly, his voice firm despite the storm inside him.

“I am coming out… do not hurt anyone. I will come with you. Leave them.”

The man outside tilted his head, a cruel smile spreading across his face.

“Do you not understand, old man?”

His voice turned colder.

“I meant both of you.”

The rain intensified, tapping harder against the car, as if even the sky held its breath.

And then,

A sharp honk cut through the tension.

Everyone turned.

A car had stopped in front of them.

The headlights pierced through the rain, creating a hazy silhouette.

The man outside signaled his group.

“Check it.”

But before anyone could move,

The car door opened.

A figure stepped out.

A man in a raincoat.

His face half hidden under the hood, blurred by the falling rain.

In his hand…

A wooden sword.

He rested it casually on his shoulder as he began walking forward, slow, unbothered, as if he had all the time in the world.

The men grew alert instantly.

“Well… well… well…”

His voice was calm, yet carried a sharp edge.

“What did you think?”

He stopped a few steps away.

“You attack one of my drivers by outnumbering him… and you will walk away freely?”

The man frowned.

“Is he from the ACE group? Or was that driver privately hired?”

Another replied.

“The driver was from Sterling Security. He was difficult to handle… we somehow managed him.”

The man with the sword clicked his tongue.

“Idiots.”

Inside the car, Gordon’s expression shifted.

Sterling Security.

David exhaled slowly.

“The help… has arrived.”

Gordon whispered.

The swordsman tilted his head slightly, adjusting his grip.

“When I was learning Katana in my early teenage years…”

He spoke as if recalling a distant memory.

“My sensei told me… practicing in the rain makes you a better swordsman.”

He looked up slightly, letting the rain fall over him.

“It has been a long time… since I practiced.”

The man outside laughed loudly.

“Who do you think you are?”

He gestured around.

“And what can a single man with a wooden sword do against all of us?”

Inside the car,

Gordon’s eyes narrowed.

“It is his voice…”

David nodded slowly.

“Yes… but why is he alone…”

The swordsman took a step forward.

“Confidence is good…”

His tone turned colder.

“But blind loyalty to people like Mordecai… makes you dirt.”

He lifted the wooden blade slightly.

“And I do not like dirt… in my city.”

A faint smirk appeared.

“So today… I will sweep you away like dust.”

The rain fell heavier.

And then,

He moved.

Fast.

Faster than anyone expected.

In one fluid motion, he pulled back his hood.

Miles.

His face was revealed.

Inside the car, relief washed over Gordon, David, and Birdie almost instantly.

It was him.

Before the men could even react,

Miles stepped in.

The wooden katana swung sharply.

A loud crack echoed as it struck the first man’s wrist, forcing the weapon out of his hand.

A second strike followed immediately, hitting the same man’s shoulder, sending him crashing to the ground.

Another rushed from the side,

Miles pivoted smoothly, his movements precise and controlled, and struck the man’s knee, dropping him instantly before finishing with a clean hit to the back of the neck.

The man collapsed.

Two more charged together.

Miles stepped back, letting one swing pass inches from him, then twisted his body, bringing the wooden blade across the attacker’s ribs with force.

A sharp cry escaped as the man staggered.

Without stopping, Miles spun the handle and drove the blunt end into the second attacker’s chest, knocking the air out of him completely.

Inside the car, David watched in disbelief.

“His movements…”

Gordon whispered softly.

“This is not just training…”

Birdie’s fear slowly turned into astonishment.

The rain soaked everything, yet Miles moved as if it did not exist, his footing steady, his strikes clean, his control absolute.

Another man came from behind.

Miles did not even turn fully.

He shifted slightly, raised the wooden sword backward, and blocked the strike, then drove his elbow into the man’s jaw, followed by a downward strike that dropped him instantly.

The remaining men hesitated now.

Fear had replaced confidence.

One tried to rush in desperation,

Miles stepped forward instead.

A sharp upward strike hit the man’s chin.

Then a follow up strike to the torso.

The man fell.

Hard.

Only one remained, the man who was talking big a moment ago.

He dropped his weapon immediately, stepping back, hands raised, panic in his eyes.

“Wait… wait… please…”

His voice trembled.

“Let me go… I was just following orders…”

Miles stood still.

Rain dripped from his hair, from the edge of the wooden blade, from his fingertips.

He walked slowly toward the man.

Each step heavy.

Measured.

The man stumbled backward.

“I… I will never come here again… I swear…”

Miles stopped in front of him.

For a moment,

Silence.

Then,

His phone rang.

The sound cut through the rain.

Miles glanced at it.

Then looked back at the man.

A faint smirk appeared.

“Give me the phone.”

The man fumbled instantly, pulling it out with shaking hands and offering it.

Miles took it.

Answered.

On the other side

Jax’s voice came.

“Did you get them?”

Miles’ smirk deepened.

“Oh… I did.”

To be continued….

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