---- countered his every blow with mere skill and precision.


    You think you''re untouchable, don''t you? He taunted, pushing me back and I stagger back two steps.


    His fistes my way and I caught it to bring him off bnce: And then with a swift, silent pivot, I struck.


    My de shed in the dark, grazing his check, barely more than a paper cut, but enough to halt him in his tracks.


    A thin line of red appeared, a faint glint in the moonlight and I smirk.


    Take it! He froze, reaching up to touch his cheek, his fingersing away stained with a smear of blood.


    For a moment, surprise flickered in his eyes.


    He hadn''t expected thisthe precision, the speed.


    He''d thought me to be some amateur hiding behind a hood, too bad for him.


    Tle had underestimated his enemy.


    ---- ee = Feisty, he murmured, an edge of amusement mingles with his surprise.


    His gaze hardened, the smirk vanishing, and soon it got reced by something darker, almost sinister.


    He shifted his weight, calcting and I suddenly couldn''t guess his next step.


    Ts that all you''ve got! Before I could slip back into the shadows, unable to predict his next attack, he lunged, swift and ruthless.


    His hand caught my wrist, and he twisted it against me before I could retreat.


    My back mmed against the stone wall behind with a dull thud, and my de ttered from my hand, hitting the ground with a resonating echo.


    Damn it! ---- Chapter 273 His handsome face was hovering over me, that cut on his cheek a taunting reminder of how I had a momentary victory a few seconds ago.


    He has shifted tables so effortlessly.Like he was holding back earlier.


    "Not so fast, Robin Hood," he whispered, his voice low and dark as his gaze roamed over my maskden face, trying to read me through the mask.


    My heart drums rapidly in my chest.


    I was anxious.


    He could rip away my mask any second, but he didn''t.


    I could feel the cool press of the wall against my back, my pulse racing in my veins as I kept my gaze steady on him.


    My heavy breaths contrasting against his slow, steady ones.


    He didn''t even have a bead of sweat on his forehead.


    What is this man? ---- eee = Under this hood of yours?I bet you''re full of secrets, he whispers, his voice like a de drawn slow from its sheath, his eyes daring me to break my silence, to give him anything to go on.


    And Iugh internally.


    He has no idea.


    Indeed very much full of secrets.


    Istayed quiet, my eyes smoldering with defiance as I held his gaze.


    His jaw clenched, and for a heartbeat, it felt like a standoff between a predator and a prey, each waiting for the other to make the next move.


    And then suddenly, he retreats.


    Pulling back from the fight.


    He lets my locked hands go and I realised he was holding me up all this time.


    I drop down on my knees without his support, breathing heavily and he circles around me like a prey, tapping the tip of his sword against the floor, as