Malova shook at Kaze’s offhanded remark. Her eyes burned with rage. “You’re asking for it, bastard! You’re asking for it! Ah!” Malova looked up, her vicious eyes meeting Kaze’s as she let out a deranged scream. Brad’s death propelled her into a breakdown. “Kill him!“Cut him to pieces!“I don’t care how you do it. I want him dead in a minute.” Malova screamed manically while pointing at Kaze. Gun was not the choice of weapon since Malova wanted Kaze chopped up. Malova’s confidantes pulled out their blades and charged toward Kaze. “Swish!” A flurry of deadly swords rained down on Kaze. The blades sliced through the air. The Ettingers’ minions backed away, the horror evident in their pale faces. Even they had to keep their distance from the conflict, let alone Kaze and Conan who were in the thick of it.“Watch out, Kaze!” Conan reminded Kaze, nearly falling to the ground on his bottom. However, Kaze kept a blank face. Instead of moving back, he advanced
“Argh! Ah!”The Ettingers’ followers, who stood in defense of Malova, let out terrified cries and collapsed to the ground. The door to the chalet was so near in sight when the commotion in the back caught Malova’s attention. She looked back, only to shriek in horror. “You’re a monster!“Help me, Newell!” Malova picked up the pace to get inside the chalet. A towering figure showed up at the door. “Newell!” Malova had one foot through the door when Newell came in the nick of time. The terror dissipated in her face. Newell narrowed his eyes at Kaze, who was in pursuit of Malova, and yelled angrily, “Stop, asshole! You have no business here.” “Kill him, Newell! He killed Brad!” now that she was safe, Newell shouted in relief. Furious, Newell glared at Kaze. “How dare you kill my son. I’m going to get you!” Kaze eyed Newell with a blank face and hurled the sword. “Urgh!” The sword pierced through the air and plunged into Malova’s back as she tried to turn around.
“Newell Ettinger, your son and your sister had it coming, you have no one to blame for their deaths. So who are you trying to fool by crying and acting like the victim? “If it’s Scarlet, then you might be disappointed. Not only her, but even if the Viper Queen is here, your family will perish today. By family, I mean you as well!” Kaze finally revealed his murderous intent at the end of his sentence. Brad and Malova died because of him and there was no way to dissolve the conflict between him and the Ettingers anymore. Therefore, Kaze did not plan to let Newell live as well. Newell’s eyelid twitched when he heard Kaze. The sorrow on his face faded and was replaced by a frighteningly calm look. Too calm, actually. “Kaze Lee, you are much smarter than I thought.” His voice sounded frosty and could send chills down one’s spine. Even the other family members were surprised, their jaws dropped. The branch leader calmed down a little too quickly. Was the sorrow all an act?
As his words subsided, Newell raised his hand. Shoo! A sword from one of the agent’s waist flew out from its sheath and landed in his hand. A heaven-shattering murderous intent erupted from him. He no longer bothered to cover his true intentions. So what if the Viper Queen invited Kaze to be the branch leader? Newell still could kill Kaze and snatch the position from him. “Everything is destined? Survival of the fittest?” Kaze showed a ridiculing smile. “Not a bad idea. Let’s put it to the test. I also need to make an example of someone so that I can solidify my position as a branch leader. “Newell Ettinger, you are the South River Branch Leader so you are qualified to be my stepping stone.” Make an example? A stepping stone? The other members of the Ettingers were astonished by Kaze’s outrageous remark. Newell was able to strengthen his position as a branch leader, not because his sister married a good husband and secured many valuable connections and resourc
There was no fancy technique or skill involved in the slash, just a simple battle of strength between the two. Anyone could see that Kaze got the upper hand. Newell was completely outmatched in the battle of strength, which was surprising. The man was in his prime. He was overflowing with energy and vitality, not dying and old, yet Kaze was able to overpower him. It was unbelievable not only to others but also to himself. Newell’s expression turned bitter. He finally realized how ridiculously powerful Kaze was. The brief impact hurt him internally, and he could feel his organs and legs shaking to varying degrees. Newell understood that if he had been a different person, he would have been a corpse by now. After a deep breath, he said coldly, “Kaze Lee, you are indeed very strong. I have underestimated you, but you killed my son and my sister. You will not live to see tomorrow’s sun!” As soon as his words subsided, he pulled out a gun from his waist. He unlocked th
Delighted as if he saw the beacon of hope, Newell said, “Thank you, Chief Delegate…” Thump! Before he could finish, Kaze flung the broken sword at him, stabbing into his chest and pinning him against the door of the courtyard. “Ugh…” Newell groaned in pain. He looked at Kaze in disbelief. “H-How dare you attack me!” He never expected Kaze to attack him without a second of hesitation in Scarlet’s presence. “I said, from the moment you set this all up to kill me, you should have expected me to retaliate and eventually take your life. Not even Autumn, the Viper Queen, can save you today.” Kaze walked closer. “No! Chief Delegate, please save me!” Newell begged for mercy as he continued to bleed, but his plea did not work at all. Kaze flicked the hilt of the sword, sending a powerful vibration into Newell’s body. Buzz! The broken blade vibrated violently, ripping the remaining life force away from Newell’s body. Everyone in the Ettinger family was shocked by the un
“Kaze Lee, you!” The other elite agents of the Viper’s Den were infuriated but scared as well. They did not expect Kaze to strike one of them. Even Newell would have to be humble and respectful to them when he was alive. However, Kaze slapped one of them without any solid reason, treating them similarly to the Ettingers. His arrogance was intolerable to some of the elite agents. “Chief Delegate, please do something!” “He’s going out of control! He must be punished!” Everyone looked at Scarlet, hoping that she would intervene. “That’s enough.” Scarlet, who had been quiet since the rampage started, suddenly bellowed, “Bunch of useless fools. You think you are the elite agents from headquarters and that gives you the right to be arrogant? “I shall let Branch Leader Lee teach you guys a lesson so that you know your place.” The elite agents of Viper’s Den flushed with emotions but none of them dared to argue. They looked at Kaze with utmost resentment. To them, K
Kaze’s tone grew colder as he asked. When he finally voiced his questions, the other Viper’s Den agents were shocked and looked at him with disbelief. Who exactly was Kaze Lee? How dare he call the Viper Queen by her name and demand an explanation? “Branch Leader Lee, you said the Ettingers colluded with ninjas from Ryokan. Are you sure about that?” Scarlet asked. Kaze said indifferently, “Last night, a ninja from Ryokan tried to assassinate me at Lilyrose Funeral Home. I managed to seize the ninja’s body from Newell’s son.” Scarlet frowned. A moment of silence later, she said, “Branch Leader Lee, if your words are true, then as an agent of the Viper’s Den colluding with foreign forces, Newell Ettinger must be punished. “I will investigate this matter. If it’s true, I will arrest the entire Ettinger family and let you decide their fate. What do you say about that?” She did not simply believe Kaze’s words because it was a serious crime to collude with foreign forces. S
“How dare those men hijack the plane and take Kaze. They must be punished…” Despite her grumbles, Snow grew anxious. “Given Mr. Lee’s capabilities, he won’t be hurt.” The agents around her tried to comfort her. They believed she was being too nervous. “I know, but we as subordinates have failed him by allowing this to happen. We have to do our best to make up for the mistake, and not rely on Mr. Lee to get out because he can.” Snow drowned in self-blame and regretted not being able to help. It was her negligence that allowed the hijacking to happen. “But there’s nothing you can do now. It’s late. Even the hijackers need to rest. They won’t do anything yet.” “It’s because the hijackers need to rest that we have to hurry and beat them to it. That’s the only way to solve this matter!” “But we’ve searched high and low and didn’t find anything. No one knows where they have gone. Even if they transported the passengers via buses, we didn’t see any tracks.” The agents discu
Kaze breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly went over to Miguel and pressed his hands with the gun down so that it would not misfire. “Good job.” “Thanks.” Miguel curled his lips into a nervous smile. He frequently trained in the gym and mixed martial arts but had never encountered any real-life incident before, thus being inexperienced. Fortunately, his mentality was stronger than the others and allowed him to act accordingly. “I’ll be taking the gun. This is self-defense, you won’t be charged and you won’t need to take responsibility,” Kaze said. Miguel’s pale face looked relieved. “What should we do now? Are there more of them?” Miguel dared not let go of the gun, worried there might be more enemies. “I’ve counted the numbers and this guy here should be the last one.” He then took the gun from Miguel’s hands. “Really? Gosh! That was crazy! I was so terrified!” Miguel finally loosened up and let his instinct take over. His heart was pounding so fast that it
Manson came over and saw the mercenaries lying in their own puddle of blood. The gore shocked him and made him sick. He tried his best to hold back the urge to throw up as it would attract attention. “Don’t look if you can’t take it! Don’t make things worse!” “Yeah! Professor! Grow a pair of balls!” “I have never seen dead bodies like this before!” he explained with a flush of embarrassment on his face. “Can we go out now and run away?” The hostages were eager to leave as things had settled down outside. They thought the danger was over. A dead mercenary was inside the container with them and they were still horrified. Once the others found out about this, the hostages would be shot to death. “If you want to die, be my guest. The moment you step out, you’ll be shot!” Callahan said as he looked at the others scornfully. One of the hostages had already put his hand on the handle of the door and was ready to dash out, but he quickly pulled his hand back after listening
“Tsk. Hold on.” Vexed, the man clicked his tongue and then waved at his colleague. “Come here. Someone fainted. Help me get him out.” The man wanted to take the professor out of the container. Manson’s heart pounded as he listened to the man. He was afraid he might be exposed, but there was no turning back now—he had to play along. Kaze stood behind the door, calming his breath down to lower his presence. “Get back. Stay away from the door. If anyone gets close, don’t blame me for being rough,” said the man as he unlocked the container. He opened the door and saw a number of hostages still sleeping. He then looked at the professor on the floor. He went closer to nudge him but did not get a response. It seemed like the professor needed medical attention. “Come on. Help me get him out.” The other man outside the container was on edge, looking as if he would pull the trigger at the slightest movement. “Why don’t we do it?” Callahan and Miguel volunteered. “You two
“It’s freaking troublesome.” “Boss, don’t worry about it. We’ll get an update tomorrow.” “Yeah. It’s late. Get some rest.” Tiguan’s men told him to get some rest and not worry so much. A few of them were already snoring on the chair. Tiguan sighed and killed the cigarette. He then closed his eyes to get some rest, too. The container that Kaze was in fell into silence once more. No one dared to make any noise but they all looked at Kaze, hoping to find out about his plans. Kaze’s eyes remained fixed on the window and showed no intention of revealing his thoughts. Miguel and Callahan were annoyed by the other hostages. “If you people want to get out of here alive, you better cooperate or come up with your own idea. No one is responsible for saving you.”“Yeah. I don’t want you guys to turn on us after we do all the heavy lifting. It will cost us our lives and you people won’t even be grateful.” Miguel’s tone was sarcastic because he disliked how the others looked at t
Kaze read the hostages’ minds and refused to be used. He wanted to leave but not under such circumstances. “That’s not true. We just don’t have the skills for this kind of situation. You guys are stronger, of course, you should be in the front,” said the man in glasses and a suit. A hint of sharpness gleamed in his eyes. Miguel knew what the man was planning, either. “That’s some plan you have there. You are just trying to use us to escape this place and no matter what happens, you’ll win.” “That’s not it! I just want everyone to stand together and get out of this place. I’ve never thought of using anyone!” the man argued, trying to look innocent. Even a monkey knew what he was planning, yet no one dared to speak up because they would benefit from it too. “Why don’t you guys think of something? If you need our help, we’ll help,” said another middle-aged gentleman who looked more just and fair, as if he could lead the group. “Then what is your plan?” Kaze suddenly wante
The hostages were locked up in the containers. Some of them were elites in their own field while some were ordinary people with average income, yet all of them got into trouble when they boarded the plane. Most of them could not accept their fate. Yet they dared not defy or resist the mercenaries. When things started to calm down, they broke down in tears, weeping in silence as resentment consumed them. Kaze sat down at a clean corner that allowed him to look outside the window. The window was dirty but at least he could see outside. The space inside the container was filled with people sitting closely, offering comfort to one another. They were aware they were just temporarily safe in this container. No one knew what the mercenaries would do to them at the next moment. “My parents must be worried. I said I would call them when I land but now I can’t even get in touch,” Barney muttered as he sat beside Kaze. He too looked outside the window, his feelings mixed. He watc
Kaze thought of what he had overheard in the toilet. If he told the hostages about that, they would probably panic. “It’s nothing. They are just going to separate us into different rooms or containers. They said the buses would be disposed of,” he said. He did not want to reveal too much because it would cause panic. Once the hostages knew their lives were on the line, things might spiral out of control. The mercenaries could kill a few of them to make an example, and none of the hostages would dare to cause problems anymore. Kaze kept it a secret because he wanted to protect the people. “That’s it?” “Is there anything else? How many men are there? What is their plan? Who are they looking for?” “We want to know because we want to survive. This isn't our problem—we just got caught up in it.” The hostages looked at Kaze, their eyes filled with worry. They felt aggrieved because they should not be caught in such a huge problem. “I don’t know either.” No matter how m
“There’s a room there. Get in.” The mercenary pointed his gun at the mother and son, which led them to look at Kaze nervously, seemingly asking for help. “What do you want?” The mother was nervous. She clutched her son’s hand tightly, nearly making him cry, but she reacted quickly enough to cover her son’s mouth to prevent him from doing so. “All women must go into that room. You go in now,” the mercenary explained. He did not want the woman to get the wrong idea. “You people won’t hurt me, right?” the mother asked, worried that she might be ravaged. “We are not into MILF,” said the other mercenary who was escorting Kaze, indirectly assuring the mother. Kaze shot a glance at the mother and nodded at her. “They told us they were going to separate us, so there’s nothing to worry about,” he said, worried that the mother and son would not cooperate. The mother then carried her son and followed the other mercenary into the room. It was called a room but it was actually ju