“Grandmaster Hornberg, is this the legendary Cotton Palm?” Looking at the grin on Kaze’s face, Gareth got furious. He further pushed his palm into Kaze’s chest. Kaze simply stood still and allowed the man to hit him. There was no way a palm strike, as soft as cotton, could hurt him. It was just slightly stronger than a tickle. However, because of the picture of Darcy being held captive, Kaze played along and took a few steps back and even feigned a painful look. “Huh!?” The scene left everyone in awe. The crowd cheered and grew tumultuous. Since Kaze crippled the four titans, they thought Kaze was able to last more than a few rounds or a dozen moves in the ring. Even if he lost then, the crowd would be more accepting of the outcome. To everyone’s surprise, Kaze could not even take one attack from Gareth. “Kaze Lee is weak! Did he really cripple the four titans?” “It’s not that Kaze Lee is weak, it’s Grandmaster Hornberg! He’s too powerful! This is how experts figh
“Still being stubborn, aren’t you? You really think you lost because you are unlucky?” Gareth turned around to the audience and said, “Is it really luck that he lost and I won?” “Hahaha!” The audience cackled. “Kaze Lee, you can’t even take one hit from the grandmaster, what are you talking about now?” “You challenged the grandmaster, beat up his disciples. If I were the grandmaster, I would have crushed you in the ring!” “The grandmaster is simply being kind for not taking your life!” “You lost the match and also the respect people have for you. Why are you still being so stubborn? What an embarrassment!” Those who sided with Gareth continued to mock Kaze. Caleb and the other Kaze’s followers reacted bitterly. They did not expect Kaze to lose so quickly. The heads of the Vikrom, Logman, and Joestar families were petrified. Their faces looked pale and their hands turned cold as if their souls left their bodies. Kaze’s loss was not only embarrassing, but it also
Gareth had the strongest urge to kill Kaze and put this matter to rest once and for all but he knew it was impossible. Others thought Kaze was simply bluffing or refusing to admit his defeat. “Kaze Lee, the grandmaster spared your life and you still disrespect him? You are shameless!” “You are the embarrassment of Lilyrose!” An increasing number of the audience started to berate Kaze. Most of them were the investors under Dakota’s lead, Trent’s men, and Syed’s family. Gareth had finally defeated Kaze, which was their desired outcome. It felt like Christmas. They mocked and berated Kaze to vent their emotions. Gareth said coldly, “Kaze Lee, you have one last chance to kneel and apologize and I will forgive you!” He really wanted to step on Kaze and break him physically and mentally. However, Kaze did not even answer. He picked up his phone and wanted to walk out. “Kaze Lee, who allowed you to leave? Can’t you hear our master? Kneel and apologize!” One of Gareth
Conan then realized why Kaze lost to Gareth. Darcy was abducted, so Kaze was forced into a passive position. Due to that, Kaze was laughed at, disrespected, and criticized by many as the laughingstock of the city.Conan felt terrible after learning the truth. His forehead glistened with sweat as he asked, “The men I sent to protect Darcy update me every five minutes. Three minutes ago, I got their update and there was nothing wrong with the Quint family.” Judging from Conan’s reaction, Kaze knew he was not lying. “I’ll call them!” Conan quickly pulled his phone out. Kaze said, “There’s no point calling your men now. Tell Miru to send her men out and search for Darcy.” “Right! Miru! I’ll call her right away!” Conan immediately did so. Kaze called Draco and Don, and told them to send their men out to search for Darcy as well. In order to locate Darcy as soon as possible, Kaze used all his resources from the underworld and the authorities. Miru arrived at the gym
Kaze was not completely in the dark about the situation with Gareth. Following Nevan’s crippling fall, Gareth did not have a subordinate who could handle jobs independently. Out of alternatives, Gareth had to toss a few crumbs and use Mary Sue even though she was the one who drugged Stone into a coma. Hence Kaze could confirm that the mastermind behind Darcy’s abduction was Mary Sue. Gareth, on the other hand, was not the type to get his hands dirty. Even if he were involved in the kidnapping, he would instruct others to do the dirty job. He might not be aware of the details. That was the reason Kaze chose not to waste time on Gareth right from the start. Kaze was not a stranger to Mary Sue’s malicious ways. Once his fight with Gareth was over, Darcy would come to no use. There was no telling whether Mary Sue would take drastic measures against Darcy. After all, Kaze was feuding with Mary Sue’s master, Madam Hacks. Amid Kaze’s anxiety, a phone call came in. Kaze’s
Kailan knew this was the opportunity to turn his life around. Hence, he took the job without hesitation. Since his employers were so quick to dump him the last time, Kailan no longer pinned his entire hope on them. At the time, Deborah approached him with the intention of asking Kaze for a ransom. The couple hit it off right away. “Thank you, Ms. Quint. Thanks to you, I get to relieve myself with this woman and get cash for it. Haha!” Kailan handed Deborah a bottle of water and laughed. “Have fun, Mr. Skyfort. Even better if you enjoy her thoroughly so that everybody in the city knows that Kaze’s wife is well used,” Deborah said wickedly. She did not drink from the bottle. She was no longer the same person she used to be. Though Deborah was on the same side as Kailan, she kept her guard up. Deborah knew she was playing with fire by working with someone like Kailan. The pair’s conversation sent chills down Darcy’s spine. Still, she held herself together and said cu
The Quints were frightened, thinking it was another debt collector knocking on their door. The debt collectors had broken down the Quints’ gates before, and the shameful past still haunted them to this day. “Kaze!” Nevertheless, the Quints saw red when they saw who it was. They quickly tucked their emotions away, though. Kaze was no longer a man they could afford to cross. He was the chairman of Shangrila Group and the CEO of Hudson Investment Firm. Those titles alone lifted Kaze out of the loser status.At least, no one in the Quint family had the right to call him a loser. By the look on Kaze’s face, he was not here for the party. The Quints felt unsettled and confused by his aggressive approach. “Agnes, um…” Without the nerve to question Kaze, Logan turned to Agnes in distress. Agnes slammed the table and rose to her feet before uttering peevishly, “What the hell, Kaze? Why did you kick the door down? Hurry up and apologize.” “Darcy is abducted.” Kaze’s re
Samus could finally catch his breath. He held his neck and coughed in agony. Rudy grimaced hard. Between his son and daughter, he chose the former without hesitation. “Call Deborah now.” Rudy told his wife before saying with an ashen face, “Deborah told us that Madam Hacks bailed her out of jail. Ms. Roberts, a servant of Madam Hacks, came to her last night, but I don’t know the details of their conversation.” “No need to dive into the details.” Since Kaze already had his suspicions, he cut Rudy off. “So you don’t know where Deborah is now?” “We have no idea. It’s true, Kaze. Please believe us,” Rudy pleaded. As Rudy did not look like he was lying, Kaze nodded and turned to Whitney. “Did you get through to her?” “She’s not answering.” Whitney stared at him fearfully. Kaze frowned and replied, “Give me her phone number.” The earlier call from Deborah was through a satellite phone, so the call could not be tracked. After acquiring the phone number, Kaze turned to
It took a lot of effort for Agnes to break her daughter up with Kaze. There was no way she would allow Kaze to have a second shot with Darcy. The way Agnes saw it, her daughter was the head of the Quints in the South River State and the chairwoman of Sky Ocean Corporation. Darcy was beautiful and a great catch. Kaze did not mean squat. While Agnes danced with joy, several vehicles turned up outside the villa. These cars belonged to two different parties. The first group was in fancy cars while the other group was much more discreet. Still, nobody would dismiss government vehicles. Though surprised, Darcy quickly went up to greet the people. “Chief Yaphet, Mr. Jayne, what brings you here?” The alphas of both groups were not some big VIP to Darcy’s family. However, they had control over Sky Ocean Corporation’s future. More accurately, the entities that these people worked for held the fate of Sky Ocean Corporation in their hands. Welson, a middle-ranking official in the
“No way! Madam Quint had no reason to kill Madam Dark.” There was a bustle at Villa No. 1. Despite the statement coming from the police, the crowd was skeptical that Phoenix would kill anyone. Agnes and Darcy found the truth hard to swallow. If Phoenix were behind the evil assassination, they would be wrong about Kaze. The police officer said, “We learned that the dump truck driver received 1.2 million dollars before the accident. We tracked the money to one of Phoenix’s people in Ridgesouth. “We looked into Phoenix’s phone records and discovered that she contacted the Steelclaw Guild through the dark web. “She had no idea that we have eyes on the dark web. Though we don’t know the specifics of her deal with the Steelclaw Guild, she would only have one reason to contact an assassination organization.“The Steelclaw Guild’s killer then showed up at the funeral parlor.“We are linking these two incidents, and our prime suspect is Phoenix, who is now deceased.“We didn’t de
“Kaze, do you know how unfamiliar and frightened you’re making me feel right now?“Why was the Steelclaw Guild’s killer after you? If today didn’t happen, I wouldn’t know that you had gotten yourself in deep trouble. “I don’t know what else you are hiding from me. I even wonder if you were behind Madam Dark’s car accident. “My feelings toward you have been true, but family is equally important to me. “I’m afraid that one day, you will get my parents and brother killed.” Darcy let everything out. The storm in Kaze’s eyes quelled.He grabbed a pen and signed his name before taking his copy. Kaze placed the other copy on the table before walking away. As the people in the villa watched on in shock, Agnes dropped her jaw in joy. Agnes thought that it would take a lot of talking and crying to push Darcy in the right direction. To her surprise, Darcy filed for divorce right away. Nevertheless, she was quick to complain. “You are silly, Darcy. You should have asked for V
“Oh, don’t give me that!” Agnes said without a care, “All I know is that you stood by and got Madam Quint killed. “Why can’t you think before you act, Kaze? What are you going to do when the Quints hold you responsible?“Do you think this is the end of the matter? With Madam Quint dead, the Quints would demand answers.“Here you are, saying that you weren’t trying to get us killed. “You should set my daughter free now! I demand a divorce.” Agnes clamored. “I can’t sleep well at night, thinking I have to spend another day with a snake. “The ball is in your court, Darcy. Either he stays, or I go.” Agnes was determined to force her daughter into dumping Kaze’s sorry ass. Kaze turned to Darcy. “Let’s move out, babe. We can buy another house to live in.” He looked weary for once. Kaze felt drained. There was never a moment of peace whenever he was at home. Agnes would push Darcy into getting a divorce every time Kaze showed his face. Kaze had tried addressing the iss
Kaze said indifferently, “I don’t want to talk to you about this. Just carry on living in their own world.” “What? You have nothing to say for yourself, so you shut up?” Agnes was on full steam ahead. “Why didn’t you kneel when we were on our knees? Don’t you care whether we die?“Are you wishing we were dead?” Despite the grilling, Kaze remained indifferent. Agnes took things far and pressed on. “Were you trying to egg the killer into killing Madam Quint and Joan?“You were afraid of Madam Quint’s retaliation once the word about Madam Dark and Shadow’s accident got out, so you wanted to silence her.” Sky could not stand by anymore. “That’s extreme, Mom. K-Kaze—” “Was what?” Agnes glared at him. “The killer broke Madam Quint’s fingers, fractured her leg, and killed her and Joan. It’s clear that she was triggered by Kaze. “Once or twice might be a coincidence, but we’re talking about this happening multiple times. Isn’t it a deliberate act?” Agnes was witty to make
It had only been an hour since Phoenix met her demise. Yet the Ridgesouth Quints had already come to a decision. Even Kaze had to admit that the Ridgesouth Quints were highly efficient. The Quints’ approach was simple but highly effective. With Phoenix dead, the Quint family members in the South River State were without a leader. As the situation remained unclear and loomed with potential threats, it was best to put Darcy in charge of picking up the pieces. One thing stood out when the Quints handled business. It showed the Quints prioritized their own interest above all else. The Quints were not in a rush to investigate Phoenix’s death, avenge her, or question Hector’s family. Their aim was to cut their losses and reassure the family. The Ridgesouth Quints did not even mention Phoenix’s funeral. Different from Hector’s family’s joy, the other family members were horrified. “I’m sorry to upset you before, Darcy. Please forgive us.” “We were wrong. We are terribly so
“The head honcho made a wise choice.” South talked as if the plan benefited them all. The Steelclaw Guild did not consider the risk of sending Anzu after Kaze and his loved ones. Kaze survived the assassination and proved to the Steelclaw Guild that he was worth the risk. However, what if he had died? The Steelclaw Guild would let Phoenix know that she owed them one. Either way, the Steelclaw Guild would not be losing out on anything. The Steelclaw Guild had a collaboration with Kaze, but they were not in on it together. Kaze shook his head. The Steelclaw Guild was an assassination organization for a reason. They only worked for themselves and were not worth Kaze’s trust. He said curtly, “Tell your head honcho that I don’t owe your people anything anymore. “But you owe me one.” No one else but Kaze would demand something from the Steelclaw Guild. Anyone else in Kaze’s place would swallow the bitter pill and move on. Not Kaze, though. He was not scared of the
With Anzu dead, Kaze got rid of one major problem. Since the police would tie up loose ends at the funeral parlor, Kaze and Darcy’s family were free to leave under the escort of police officers. Other Quint family members in the South River State departed alongside Kaze and Darcy’s family. These people feared for their lives. It dawned on them that they were safe with Darcy’s family, especially since the police were determined to keep Darcy’s family safe and sound before. They followed Darcy’s family, not leaving them out of their sight. Dozens of members swarmed into Villa No. 1, leaving the residence rather cramped. “It’s such a waste of space for a small family to live in a big, luxurious place.” “I guess there are perks to kissing up to the mayor.” The Quint family members, making themselves too at home, occupied the space and made snide remarks. Darcy did not possess power or influence after losing Sky Ocean Corporation. They did not care what Darcy’s family t
Like Joan, Phoenix never would have imagined that she would die in such a humiliating way. Kaze did not even move his hands. He simply said a few words and Anzu killed her. Phoenix died with her eyes wide open, but the light quickly faded. The last image reflected upon her eyes was Kaze grinning brightly with his teeth gleaming under the light. “Bastard…” That was Phoenix’s last word. In just the blink of an eye, the respected elder of the Quint family had turned into a lifeless corpse. Every other family member at the scene gasped in shock. “Die, Kaze Lee!” Anzu’s killing spree did not stop with just two deaths. She shouted at Kaze but she dashed toward Darcy. Swoosh! Kaze had anticipated this. With a swift movement, he shifted sideways to position himself in front of Anzu, blocking her. Anzu swung her arms forward, launching multiple poisoned shurikens at him. Darcy was right behind him, so Kaze dared not dodge the shurikens. It was either him or Darcy. Howe