Among these fighting schools, the most prominent dojo was Drake Gym. Though Drake Gym was linked to the Viperโs Den South River Branch, the school was run by the Gwake family. Kaze parked the car. While walking with Rose to Drake Gym, he came across a Ryokanian-inspired building across from the gym. โRefined Blade Dojo!โ Kaze narrowed his eyes at the signboard hanging on top of the door. Only Kaze could pick up on the killing intent surging from the signboard. The Refined Blade was consistently ranked among the top three swordsmanship styles in Ryokan, with a long history of producing renowned masters.Kaze was aware that the ninjas of the Kailan Clan were taught in the ways of the Refined Blade. Daiso, who died at the hands of Kaze, was also a master in the Refined Blade. In other words, Kazeโs long-standing nemesis, the Kailan Clan was connected to the Refined Blade. Having spotted the Refined Blade Dojo, Kaze needed to keep an eye on them. His biggest enemy in Ri
Luis lowered his head humbly in Kazeโs presence. Zenika and the others said ingratiatingly, โPlease give us a chance to redeem ourselves, Kaze.โโAdversities bring us together. Kaze, youโre a big brother to us!โ Rose was confused. Since she knew Luis and his friends were bad news, she prepared herself for some nasty stuff they would do to Kaze. To her surprise, they apologized to Kaze. What was going on? โAt least you can recognize your mistake. Iโm not a petty person.โ Kaze said indifferently, โIn that case, we can forget about last night. We can still be friends.โ โYouโre such a generous man, Kaze. Had I known, I wouldnโt have crossed you in the first place.โ Luis was overjoyed by Kazeโs cordiality. He drew close, put his arm around Kazeโs shoulder, and said with a smile, โThough youโre younger than me, you are stronger than all of us. โI think Zenika is right. You are a big brother to us.โYou heard me. He will be our big brother. โJust address him as such
Joel reigned supreme as the top fighter in his age group at the Viper's Den South River Branch.He had proven his worth to Jude through his contributions. There had been whispers that Joel was a protรฉgรฉ of a senior in the West State. Apparently, Joel was with the South River Branch to hone his skills to be the next branch leader. Joelโs competence even rivaled Hannah, the top ten most promising members of the Viperโs Den West State. That was only a year ago. Joel would have become stronger by now. Rumors went around, saying that Joel would represent Jude in fighting Hannah and Collier in the ring. Joel rose to be a hot commodity in the Riverbank higher society. The feud between Joel and Luis started six months ago. Luis came to Drake Gym and took a fancy to a female student. He started feeling her up. For the first time, Luis met his match. The female student was involved with Joel. Joel was not going to stand by as his woman was harassed. He showed up, beat the
Joelโs crew were Judeโs core members in the Viperโs Den South River Branch, and they were skilled fighters. However, Luisโ socialite group was no pushovers. They did not just rely on their familyโs connections. They had equipped themselves with skills to go against Joelโs party. It did not take long for both parties to engage in a fierce brawl. Nevertheless, they kept things physical without involving weapons. Both parties were rooted in powerful organizations or families. One was affiliated to the Viperโs Den South River Branch while the other had the backing of Zoro, Casiusโ right-hand man. Injuries were to be expected in fights. However, the trouble was when fatality was involved.Still, the fight quickly got out of hand. โThese clowns have the nerve to show their faces at Drake Gym. Did they forget the time we threw them out?โ โIโd kill you if we werenโt here at the gym!โ โBastard!โ The fight got serious really quickly. Luis was beside himself with rage,
Reality hit Rose. โSo you stirred the pot. Youโre not in it to help them, right?โ It nearly slipped her mind that Luis and his friends did not call Kaze to Drake Gym with good intentions. Kaze did not owe them anything. He was doing Luis and his friends a favor by not making things worse for them. โLetโs get further away from them. If anything happens, we can make our escape.โ Rose pulled Kaze to the door and watched the drama from afar. โBastard!โ Catching Rose and Kaze from the corner of his eye, Luis, who was beaten black and blue, made a sour face. Kaze started the fight, and yet he fled far away. Luis had never met anyone as shameless as Kaze. Dismissing the evil look from Luis, Kaze watched the fight and gave pointers. With Kazeโs help, Luis and his friends rose and fought back. Luisโ party was on the losing end at first. They would probably last three minutes against Joelโs crew. Thanks to Kazeโs guidance, the fight went on for ten minutes with no end i
โGo to hell!โ Joel yelled angrily while pouncing on Luis. He pulled a punch, smashing Luis right in the face. The intensity hit Luis before Joelโs fist touched him. Scared stiff, Luis tried to dodge. Kazeโs voice boomed in Luisโ ear. โStep back on your right foot and punch his ribs.โ Luis got the message loud and clear. As if a lightbulb went off in his head, Luis followed Kazeโs instructions. โSmack!โ Luis stepped back to the left and dodged Joelโs punch. At the same time, he threw his fist and struck Joel on his unprotected ribs. โUgh!โ Joel staggered back and spat out blood. โThis isnโt possible.โ Barely finding his balance, Joel looked at Luis in disbelief. Luisโ sidekicks paused and stared at him, dumbstruck. Zenika and the other socialites looked up in surprise. What was going on? Luis made Joel bleed. Just six months ago, Joel beat Luis to a pulp. This was beyond anyoneโs imagination. โUmโฆโ Luis stared at his hands in a daze, wondering whe
Gritting his teeth, Joel struggled to get off the ground. His expression was menacing. His ribs were his weak spot from a past injury.He had always been cautious to protect his ribs when fighting. However, he underestimated Luis and paid for it. Joel dismissed Luisโ first attack on his ribs as a fluke. However, Luis went for his weak spot the second time due to Kazeโs guidance. โShut up, bastard! Once Iโm done with Luis, Iโm going after you!โ Joel was out for Luisโ blood. He would not rest until Luis was defeated. โDie!โ Joel screamed and jumped on Luis. This time, Joel shielded his ribs with one arm to prevent another attack from Luis. โWhat an idiot!โ Kaze called Joel out before saying indifferently, โDrop your head to the left, jab his right shin, and for added measure, palm strike his left armpit.โLuis followed the instructions to a tee. As the crowd watched on with dropped jaws, Luis swept Joelโs shin and struck Joelโs armpit. Since Joel was occupied
Luis felt like a God. He was all puffed up. The crowd was too distracted by his authority to put a stop to things. โUgh!โ Joelโs throat was slit, and blood quickly spilled.Blood gushed out of his throat. โUhโฆ Youโฆโ Joel let out an inaudible grunt, his half-raised arm going limp. Throwing his head to the back, he breathed his last. Even to his death, he could not believe he lost to Luis. โArgh! Murder!โ Zenika and the other women shrieked. Kaze buried Roseโs face in his chest to shield her from the gruesome scene. โClang!โ Luis dropped the knife as he regained composure from his manic episode. He retracted his foot from Joelโs chest and backed away, his eyes fixating on Joelโs dead body. โI-I didnโt kill him.โI didnโt mean to kill you!โ Luis raised his trembling hands, his body shaking. He was done for. Luis killed Joel. His plan was to get rid of Joel through Kaze. How did he end up killing Joel instead?Luis turned to Kaze and yelled angrily,
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. โMy parents must be worried. I said I would call them when I land but now I canโt even get in touch,โ 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. โItโs nothing. They are just going to separate us into different rooms or containers. They said the buses would be disposed of,โ 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. โThatโs it?โ โIs there anything else? How many men are there? What is their plan? Who are they looking for?โ โWe want to know because we want to survive. This isn't our problemโwe just got caught up in it.โ The hostages looked at Kaze, their eyes filled with worry. They felt aggrieved because they should not be caught in such a huge problem. โI donโt know either.โ No matter how m
โThereโs a room there. Get in.โ The mercenary pointed his gun at the mother and son, which led them to look at Kaze nervously, seemingly asking for help. โWhat do you want?โ The mother was nervous. She clutched her sonโs hand tightly, nearly making him cry, but she reacted quickly enough to cover her sonโs mouth to prevent him from doing so. โAll women must go into that room. You go in now,โ the mercenary explained. He did not want the woman to get the wrong idea. โYou people wonโt hurt me, right?โ the mother asked, worried that she might be ravaged. โWe are not into MILF,โ said the other mercenary who was escorting Kaze, indirectly assuring the mother. Kaze shot a glance at the mother and nodded at her. โThey told us they were going to separate us, so thereโs nothing to worry about,โ 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
โCan you make him stop? If the man comes back, weโll be done for,โ someone said. The kidโs crying made everyone anxious. โWhat can I do? Heโs crying because heโs scared. I canโt just stop him.โ The mother was afraid as well, and she did not want her son to be taken advantage of. โCalm down. Just donโt alert the men and weโll be fine,โ Miguel said, hoping to ease the situation. โIโll fight him if he comes in. I believe I can make it,โ someone said. Those with an impulsive nature grew restless from being kept on the bus for too long, feeling like livestock being kept in cages. โShut it. They are coming,โ Barney said after a glance outside the window. The other passengers fell silent, sat back down, lowered their heads, and tried their best not to look out the window. The mother quickly hugged her son and covered his mouth to prevent him from crying. Kaze felt peace and quiet once more, even the air felt smoother. He knew the passengers were merely ordinary people and
Unfortunately, Leah knew she would not get an answer out of Snow since she was refusing to help. Everything seemed to have changed following her motherโs disappearance. She tried to stay for answers but when security came in, she could not resist them anymore. It was the first time she was escorted out by security guards and it impacted her. She used to be the daughter of the CEO of Northborn Groupโeveryone respected her. She used to enjoy a privileged status. No matter where she went, she was the star of the event. Yet when her mother disappeared, everything changed. She wanted to look for Kaze but she had just lost the chance. Snow turned her down and gazed at her with contempt and irritation. Leah could not accept the changes but some things felt like they were destined to change. She was forced to leave the branch office but then had no idea where else to go. She felt abandoned by the world. Before this, she could still hope for Kazeโs help, but now she had no
Leah went to her motherโs company but did not find her anywhere. Joey was busy working in the CEOโs office. Leah went over and asked, โJoey, whereโs my mother? I canโt reach her.โ She wanted to know what happened to her mother. โI donโt know about your mother either. We went out together earlier in the day but I donโt know where she went. I canโt get in touch with her.โ Joey was so busy that she could not even free herself from the desk to explain to the girl. โWhere did she go? How am I supposed to find her?โ Leah panicked. If even Joey did not know where her mother went, then something must have happened. A bad feeling rose from her heart. Things just got serious. โI donโt know. Why donโt you ask someone else?โ Joey did not have time to deal with the girl. Leah was unfamiliar with Joeyโs coldness. Joey had always treated her with kindness and flattery, so the sudden coldness caught her off guard. She felt like something had changed. โWho should I be looking f
โNo! My daughter is still in the hospital!โ Katie refused to accept her punishment. She started to regret her decision but it was too late. โNow only you think about your daughter? I guess you are not that foolish, but have you thought about her when you betrayed Chairman Lee? โDonโt worry. Leah knew Chairman Lee personally and we wonโt hurt her, but she might not live a good life anymore,โ Snow said coldly. She did not want to put the girl in a difficult situation but her life as a princess would come to an end. โYou canโt do that!โ Katie could not believe Snow would do that. โI bet you never thought of the consequences when you leaked the information. Too bad. Youโve lost.โ Snow revealed the truth because she wanted Katie to suffer for the decision she made. Katie would now regret every decision she made because she knew she had jeopardized her daughterโs life. She would feel like a fool. She devoted her life to climbing higher to gain more power but she ignored the
โI went to a bar to have a drink and I bumped into an informant of the Viperโs Den.โ Katie looked helpless as she explained as if everything that had happened was planned out for her, pushing her to the edge step by step. It was a lively night at the bar. The atmosphere was pleasant and most of the guests were having a good time. Katie was a single woman. She needed care and love at times. She was alone when she visited the bar. She started off by ordering some drinks at the counter, waiting for a chance to meet a man who shared the same ideals. A drink or two later, maybe she could get herself a company for the night. As a grown-up woman, she had her desires. It was a way to release her stress. Katie entered the bar in a casual outfit but it did not diminish her elegant demeanor. When she sat down at the counter, a few young men approached her but she was not interested in immature boys. She continued drinking. She looked at the dance floor occasionally, searching for a
โWho do you think will believe you?โ Arthur frowned. There were too many coincidences that it felt like a giant setup. โIโve explained what I need to. Donโt interrogate me like Iโm a criminal. I am the CEO of the Northborn Group.โ Katie left them speechless. She had said the necessary and it was up to them whether they wanted to believe it or not. They did not have the evidence to charge her anyway. โYou really think we canโt hold you responsible?โ Snow was not really looking for a definite answer. The moment she suspected Katie, whether or not she was truly the traitor, Snow already had the right to hold her accountable. It was necessary to make things clear and it was to find out who Katie leaked Kazeโs information to. โIt has come down to this. No matter how you deny it, itโs useless. We already know what you have done and you canโt escape. Even if you donโt want to confess, we can continue the investigation, and weโll eventually find out the truth. โIf you come clean