Path To Godhood Begins With Marrying Wife And Gaining SSS Rank Skill

Chapter 261: 261: Waiting For The Right Time

“Go. …Fly.”He spoke, throwing the vulture.

The vulture spread its heavy wings and jumped from the open hatch. It dipped once and was about to rise into the night sky when…

SWOOOSH!

An arrow cut through the air with terrifying force.

The vulture dropped instantly. Its wings collapsed mid flight as blood sprayed, and its body hit the ground with a dull thud.

“Haaaah!”

“It has been shot down!”

“What? Damned… Who did it?”

The men stood in panic. They reached for weapons and scanned the darkness through the window cracks. Their hearts thumped like war drums. Not even one could speak clearly.

Before the man near the hatch could step back, something small and silent flashed through the air. A dart struck the side of his skull and he collapsed without a sound.

….

Inside the relay room others paced around nervously. They did not know death was already walking among them.

The door creaked open. A hooded figure stepped inside.

“Huh? Are you back so quickly?” one of them asked, confused by the sudden return.

The hooded man did not speak.

Instead he rolled three small spheres across the floor.

“Huh? What are these?”

Boom!

The smoke bombs burst, flooding the room with thick choking fog. Vision turned white, lungs stung, eyes watered. The men coughed, stumbled, and reached blindly for each other.

“Haahh!”

Shadows moved fast within the fog. Blades flashed like silent lightning. One man felt cold metal slice his throat. Another gasped but a sword pierced his chest before he could scream. A third tried to run but the hooded figure grabbed him by the hair and slit across the neck in one smooth stroke.

Bodies fell one after another. The sound of choking, gurgling, and flesh tearing echoed softly behind the smoke. Blood spread across the wooden floor, warm and dark.

Only one man survived, trembling in the corner. He raised his dagger and rushed forward with desperate rage.

But the assassin spun aside effortlessly and slammed a fist into his temple.

The man collapsed unconscious.

When silence returned, the intruder moved quickly. He gathered every parchment, every map, every hidden cipher and stuffed them into his storage ring. He slung the unconscious man over his shoulder. Then he lit a match and threw it onto the floor.

Flames crawled over the spilled oil and wood. The relay point crackled as fire swallowed the walls.

Outside, under the moonlight, the assassin took out a small communication crystal and pressed it to his lips.

“I have captured one and destroyed the relay points.”

On the other side a masked face appeared through the crystal’s glow.

“Good job.”

“Now bring that guy back.”

“We need to cover the entire Western region and cut all the roots of Adventure Guild so that no information travels.”

“Yes Sir.”

He disappeared into the forest shadows, flames roaring behind him like the death of secrets.

……..

While the hands and legs of the Adventure Guild were being cut apart and dismantled across the Western region, the man behind it all sat leisurely on a sofa. He rested back with calm eyes, sipping warm coffee. A faint steam curled near his face. Before him stood a polished table with a chessboard set perfectly at center. He was playing without rush, his expression relaxed, almost bored.

His fingers moved across the board with confidence.

Black Knight jumped forward from Ng4 to e3.

It forked two pieces at once. Clean, sharp, merciless.

Ethan leaned slightly, eyes half hazy with thought, yet every move he made was precise. Across him, the man on the white side stared in frustration, sweat at his temple.

“What the hell?” Duke Phillips muttered, grabbing his hair lightly. He looked lost like a man thrown into a battlefield without a weapon.

“What am I even doing here?”

The man opposite Ethan was none other than his father-in-law, Duke Phillips. The past few days had been hell for him. He was scared to death hearing Ethan’s name whisper like a rumor of a storm. He had avoided returning to his Duchy because he did not want to face the pile of complaints waiting for him.

He moved a piece quickly.

White piece Rf1 to f3.

A desperate defense.

“Ethan, you are blowing this out of proportion!” Phillips said, voice shaking but trying to sound firm.

Ethan lifted his bishop, eyes cold but calm.

Black Bishop moved from Bc5 to g1.Threatening the rook and tightening the net.

“I am not,” Ethan said calmly. He took another sip of coffee before placing the bishop down. His voice is steady. “I am just taking appropriate action.”

The Duke moved again, clearly struggling.

White: Qd1 to e2.

Trying to protect, trying to slow down the pressure.

“Is that really the appropriate action?” Duke Phillips asked. His fingers trembled as he touched the pieces. He remembered that Ethan hadn’t killed most mercenaries disguised as bandits. Instead they were broken, imprisoned, crippled. His stomach turned thinking about it.

“Do you know what is the similarity between life and chess?” Ethan asked next as he slowly pushed a piece.

Black took moved from Re8 to E3.

The rook swept in from the side. A brutal infiltration. White’s defenses seemed to crack like glass.

The Duke looked confused. Nervousness leaking from his expression. “What is it?”

Ethan did not answer immediately. He made one more move slowly, cornering the king.

Black Queen from h4 to e1.

The queen glided like a silent blade.

White’s king stood trapped, boxed in by pressure on every square.Black bishop on g1 cut escape.Black rook on e3 strangled the center.Black knight coiled near like a predator waiting to bite.

Even pawns stood like walls denying movement.

Ethan leaned back and whispered.

“It is checkmate.”

Duke Phillips froze. His pupils shook as he stared at the board. He followed the lines in panic.

The king cannot go to f2 because the knight was blocked.

The king cannot move to d2 because the rook is controlled.

The king cannot take the queen because the bishop is pinned.

No piece could block nor he had any chance to escape.

He lost it pure and simple.

“I lost…” he breathed slowly, voice cracking. “For real… I lost to a kid half my age.”

Shame washed through him. His pride shattered like stone.

“You mean!” Phillips raised his brows, heart pounding.

“Yes,” Ethan said with a calm steady gaze. “I will checkmate that monster.”

“How… When?” Duke Phillips whispered. His hands tightened on the board. He could not understand Ethan’s confidence. “When will you do it?”

“I am just waiting.”

“For what?”

As if timed by fate, two notifications chimed inside Ethan’s mind.

[Detected the Birth of Host Children.]

Ethan’s lips curved slightly.

“It is here,” he said.

Duke Phillips frowned, confused, almost alarmed as he stared at him.

“What is here?” his voice trembled.

Ethan looked straight into the distance as if he saw the future already unfolding.

“The opportunity.”

….

[If you are a chess lover and have high elo,I am sure the addition of the chess part might feel disgusting because there was no substance in it.]

[It’s just for fun so ignore it.]