Still holding the card against her face, Fanny shuddered in rage, her face ashen. Kaze had a point. Fanny was dead set on setting Miru up with Jerome to secure the mayoral position for her husband. Her husband, Jared Styles, was third in command at a governor’s office in some state down south. Yet, Jared wanted to join the race to become Lilyrose’s mayor. By right, Jared could get the position through his marriage to a member of the Harrowdale Hidens. Reality was a slap in the face, though. There were too many eyeing the mayoral position. The other competitors had just as impressive a resume as Jared. They were well-established, having friends in high places. Even Jared could not secure the position of mayor for sure. Meanwhile, the Fowlers expressed interest in uniting with the Hidens through marriage. Isabelle was on board with the idea too. Hence, Fanny came up with a way to gain the Fowlers’ support through the marriage. She believed Miru and Jerome were mad
“My loyalty is with the Hidens. “I won’t tolerate you since you’re an enemy to the Hidens.” Agar took a step forward. “No!” Startled, Miru exclaimed. The Hidens hired the best of the best as protection. Miru was familiar with Agar’s strength. “Get out of the way, Miru.” Fanny yanked Miru back from getting any closer to the conflict and looked indifferently at Kaze. “Agar, killing him will make your hands dirty. Just give him something to think about.” The way Fanny saw it, Kaze was too tactless to interfere in the Hidens’ affairs. He deserved some punishment. Agar got close to Kaze in a blink of an eye. “Yes, ma’am,” Agar responded emotionlessly. From their first encounter at the auction, Agar never took Kaze seriously. If Kaze had not gotten involved in the Hidens’ affairs again, Agar would not have wasted his talent on the likes of him. Wham! At the fling of his arm, Agar delivered a tumultuous blow to Kaze’s chest. Kaze would need to be bedridde
The Hidens only hired the best of the best for their protection. Agar might be advanced in age, but he once ruled the streets of Harrowdale back in the day. He remained unchallenged. Yet, Kaze delivered a slap so powerful that Agar crashed into the filing cabinet. If the Hidens had not witnessed the incident with their eyes, they would not have believed it either. Fanny grimaced harder. Kaze’s snob comment was meant for Agar and her. She had just signed a 100-million-dollar check for Kaze, only for Kaze to throw a centurion card worth 10 billion dollars at her face. “I was wondering where you got your cocky attitude from. So you can fight. You have some nerve interfering in my family’s matters.” Fanny said menacingly, “Still, I need to ask. Who are you to fight back?” Kaze replied callously, “What? Are the Harrowdale Hidens so entitled that I’m not allowed to fight back?” “Kaze is right, Aunt Fanny. This is not a fair match.” Unable to stand by anymore, Miru we
Agar pulled a punch, the blow rolling in the wind, toward Kaze’s cheek. “It has been years since I was hit in the face. “For that reason, I’m going to pulverize yours!” “Oh, really?” Kaze chuckled and took a step forward while launching his hand. Agar’s eyes widened. He realized that Kaze’s attack came on stronger than before. More devastatingly, he could not dodge the attack either. “Smack!” Agar was dumbstruck. Without time to unpack, he flew back and crashed into the wall with a loud thud. “I guess you have not learned your lesson, old fart. You’re still not taking this fight seriously. “Maybe you should put more effort next time.” Looking at the handprint on Agar’s other cheek, Kaze said with a sarcastic smile. “You!” Agar struggled to get back on his feet, his hand reaching his hot cheek. Kaze’s taunting only turned the shock in Agar’s eyes into rage. Why? Why could he not evade Kaze’s blow? He was on the Hidens’ payroll, once undefeated on th
“Smack!” Agar was sent flying in less than three seconds. “Smack!” “Smack!” The scene was on repeat. Agar kept getting back on his feet and charging toward Kaze, only to be knocked back. He tried every angle possible and heightened his speed of attack. Kaze remained unchanged, always one step ahead at hitting Agar in the face. That one maneuver was all Kaze needed to defeat his rivals. Reuniting with the floor once more, Agar was bloodied all over. His white beard was stained in red. Even Miru had enough. She said, “Stop Agar, Aunt Fanny. If you keep sulking about it, Kaze might kill him.” Fanny was outraged. Sulking? The word struck a nerve in her. Embarrassed and furious, Agar wanted to sink into the ground. He knew that today’s incident would ruin him. “Kaze…” Agar struggled to get up, his expression complicated. Kaze raised his hand, ready to whip another slap. “Stop!” Agar shouted and put both hands up in surrender. “I won’t fight you anym
Fanny snapped a menacing look at Agar. The humiliation faced by Agar gave Fanny ammo to run her mouth. Agar expressed his shame without a word. Kaze beat him up to the point of doubting himself. After pouring out her grievance, Fanny finally settled down. She understood that Kaze beat Agar into submission. In other words, Fanny was unlikely to force Miru to go with her. “Do you have any idea what I am capable of now, lady?” Kaze’s words rang in Fanny’s ear. “Like I said, tell Isabelle that I will take the lives of a hundred Hiden members if Alan is harmed. “Miru is a friend. I won’t allow her to do anything against her wishes. “If she doesn’t wish to marry Jerome, no one can take her away from Lilyrose.” Kaze’s promise extended beyond the confines of the office and Lefteria Group. He would not allow Miru to be taken out of the city against her wish. His tone carried confidence. Even Miru gave Kaze a complicated look. For once, she noticed that there was an
Fanny could mean well, or her heart could be in the right place. Either way, her intentions meant nothing to Kaze. Kaze smiled indifferently and said, “Don’t get ahead of yourself, lady. “You took my poverty in contempt until I flashed a Dallas Centurion. “You told Agar to set me straight, but I beat him into submission. “These two incidents prove that I’m not as weak as you put me out to be. “Come to think of it, how can you be so sure that coming from a small city, I don’t have the means to crush the Harrowdale Hidens and the Westeros Fowlers?Kaze used the term “crush” instead of “challenge”. Everybody was surprised. They could not understand where Kaze’s confidence stemmed from. He made a bold claim to pulverize two elite families. Who did he think he was? It was not as if he was one of the five cabinet senior ministers. Even the veteran members of the military and the Ministry of Justice would not say that they could crush two elite families. Fanny smirk
Fanny scoffed and said grimly, “I have said everything that needs to be said. It’s clear that you’ve made up your mind. Suit yourself.” She then turned on her heel to leave. Before walking out the door, Fanny took another glance at Kaze and said curtly, “Miru is the only reason I’m dropping the whole matter. “But I’m warning you. Stay away from Miru. “She’s a member of the Harrowdale Hidens. Privilege is written in her stars, and she doesn’t mingle with the likes of you. “You can’t bridge the gap between you through your own efforts. “That’s all I have to say. Know your place.” No one in the family knew Miru better than Fanny. Miru was proud, never paying attention to ordinary men. However, the incident today blew Miru away. Kaze took her defense at the cost of upsetting both the Harrowdale Hidens and the Westeros Fowlers, and that left a huge impression on Miru. Fanny picked up on the shift in Miru’s facial expression. She was afraid Miru would get any ideas a
“Ugh!” The searing pain on Draig’s back felt like a bolt of lightning coursing through his body. It felt as if bones had shattered. He fell onto the ground with a heavy thud. Huh? The crowd was astonished. No one expected Juan to hit Draig. To their surprise, as the son of the grandmaster of Uleania, Draig could not even last one hit from Juan. He collapsed to the ground and could not get up. A single thought appeared in everyone’s mind while looking at him—weak! He was ridiculously weak, to the point that he could not even take one hit! “W-What? How did this happen?” Cyan looked at Draig on the ground with widened eyes filled with disbelief. She felt like her beliefs were crumbling. A moment ago, Draig bragged that he could take responsibility for everything, yet he was struck down by Juan with just one hit. He did not even stand a chance! Reality made his words sound like a joke. “Master Juan, what is the meaning of this?” Draig recovered his composure and
Juan was displeased by Draig’s pretentious manner. All his disciples clenched their fists and teeth, infuriated by Draig’s arrogant words, hoping that they could teach him a lesson. Draig might be physically powerful but they, too, were trained martial artists and they had the advantage of numbers. They were not afraid of him. One word from their master and they would all jump on Draig to rip him apart. Looking at how “responsible” Draig was, stepping up to deal with the matter, Cyan somehow felt bad for him. She looked at Kaze once more, who wore a nonchalant look as if he was not part of the situation. Her eyes at him filled with anger and contempt. She stepped up and humbly said, “Master Juan, I saw what happened. I think I should speak up for Draig. “It’s not Draig, it’s Kaze. The security guards and your disciples, it was all Kaze! Draig claimed that he did it because he was trying to protect me and Snow, but I believe Master Juan is a fair and just person. You shoul
“Master, that guy is being completely disrespectful of you…” The monks and the others knelt before Juan, crying and complaining about what Kaze had done to them. Seeing his disciples kneel in front of the public, speaking in an embarrassing way, Juan’s expression turned ashen. He wished he could slap them off the face of the earth to save himself from the humiliation. However, his reaction looked like anger to the others instead of embarrassment. His reaction made the atmosphere even more stiff and tense. No one dared to interrupt or make a noise, afraid of suffering the master’s wrath. Cyan carefully looked at Draig, hoping that he could step up and mitigate the problem. Otherwise, once Juan flew into a rage, punishing Kaze alone might not solve the problem. After all, the monks made it clear that Cyan and the others were with Kaze, so there was no way they could escape anymore. Draig looked at Kaze who remained calm and confident and Snow who was expressionless. He
“Master Juan is here!” Right after Cyan’s words subsided, Juan and his group of followers finally arrived. Juan wore a white religious attire. Albeit a straight face, he looked like a deity from heaven. Kaze remained calm and steady on the spot, saying nothing. He wanted to see how Juan would handle the situation and provide a satisfying explanation. Likewise, Draig remained silent. It was not that he was also waiting for an explanation from Juan—he was merely waiting for Juan to speak to him first so that he could maintain his appearance. Not only the two of them, but the others remained silent as well. In fact, most of them lowered their voices, some dared not even take heavy breaths, as they waited for Juan to handle the matter. Juan must have been aware of what happened earlier. Kaze was practically insulting Emerald Bull Palace. Even with Juan at the scene, the security guards, almost thirty of them, were still on their knees. The bigger the commotion, the more
Draig looked at Kaze scornfully, like he was an idiot out of place. “Kaze Lee, you are really a fool. You’ve gotten so used to bragging your way out of things. Master Juan had stepped in to deal with the Ryokanians and you assumed he was here to help you, trying to be your support? “The other funny thing is, you think that allows you to cause a scene here in Emerald Bull Palace? Where’s your brain? What makes you think you have the right?” He continued to mock Kaze, airing his grievances while at it. He even raised his voice because Albert was not around. “Is that so?” Kaze looked at Draig, who had returned to his boastful and arrogant self. He slightly shook his head and scoffed. Draig pursed his lips and said, “Am I wrong, Kaze? For Snow’s sake, I’ll give you one last piece of advice. “You should know your place and limits. Had I not held back the Ryokanians and Master Juan stepped in to deal with them, what would have happened to Snow? Have you thought about that? “A
They had no idea how Juan got the news so quickly and was able to gather a group of followers to the scene. Usually, such trivial matters would not even reach Juan at all as he was a busy and elusive man. Even within the Emerald Bull Palace, he rarely appeared in front of his followers or the worshippers. As the master of his art, he maintained a veil of mystery around him. However, it was not a question that they could answer. They only knew that Juan had come to do them justice. Kaze wiped his hands without even looking and said, “Don’t worry. I am not running away, I don’t need to. The Emerald Bull Palace and Juan will have to give me an explanation about this.” Since Juan had begged to be his disciple a while ago, Kaze had agreed to take him in, even if just nominally. Therefore, as a disciple, Juan must act like one in front of his master. Juan might be respectful and act humbly in front of Kaze but he should not allow his own disciples to bully others. Kaze did no
Looking at the astonishing scene, Cyan’s lips twitched, her eyes burned with flames of anger. She shouted, “Kaze, did you not hear what I just said? Are you deaf? You’ve already knocked out the security guards and now you are doing this to them? Do you know that they are Master Juan’s disciples? One of them is also Master Juan’s nephew! “How dare you! You are going to pay for it! If Master Juan finds out about this, this is going to get nasty!” Cyan was so upset that she wanted to slap Kaze in the face. The other worshippers already noticed the commotion and started to gather around them. When they saw Kaze teach the arrogant security guards a lesson, they felt a surge of satisfaction and relief. Emerald Bull Palace was huge and had a lot of parking spots, yet it was the biggest place of worship in Riverbank and a famous one among the worshippers. Therefore, the security guards took advantage of their positions by issuing unnecessary fines, harassing female visitors, and
Without looking at Cyan, Snow kept her face straight and her mouth shut. At first, Snow thought of telling Kaze to ignore these people. There was no need to make a big deal out of things. However, the security guards took things far, and Snow did not want to waste her breath anymore. Sometimes, it was best to fight fire with fire. The security officers and three monks needed to be taught a lesson. Cyan was furious that Snow paid her no heed. She uttered exasperatedly, “Can you handle the fallout, Kaze?” “Why can’t I?” without looking back, Kaze replied indifferently. He stepped on the young monk’s face, and the latter shrieked in agony. Everybody was dumbfounded. Kaze’s cruelty and audacity knew no bounds. Dozens of security officers on the floor stayed down. Since Kaze did not care that one of the monks was Juan’s nephew, he would have no qualms about killing the rest of them too. “Get up and keep your back straight on your knees, or I’ll break your arm.” K
During her last visit to Emerald Bull Palace, Cyan witnessed Jude and Alfonso chatting happily with Juan. Jude, Alfonso, and Juan were of a social standing beyond Cyan. Cyan’s family made their livelihood through the Viper’s Den South River State Branch. Alfonso was the former deputy chief and the longest-serving veteran. It was only right to suck up to a powerful figure like Juan. To think Kaze would start trouble on a foreign turf, disturb the peace at Emerald Bull Palace, and hurt the employees. Kaze was playing with fire.Cyan shouted frantically, “Kaze, stop! Stop right now!” Losing the fear, the three young monks looked smug and looked at Kaze in defiance. The monk in the middle sneered. “The lady is right. Juan is my uncle.“I dare you to hit us.“You won’t be walking out of here alive.“If you know any better, you should apologize to us on your knees and pay us eight to ten million dollars in medical fees. I might be happy to let you off the hook. “Otherwise