Reality hit Rose. “So you stirred the pot. You’re not in it to help them, right?” 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. “Let’s get further away from them. If anything happens, we can make our escape.” Rose pulled Kaze to the door and watched the drama from afar. “Bastard!” 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 Kaze’s help, Luis and his friends rose and fought back. Luis’ party was on the losing end at first. They would probably last three minutes against Joel’s crew. Thanks to Kaze’s guidance, the fight went on for ten minutes with no end i
“Go to hell!” Joel yelled angrily while pouncing on Luis. He pulled a punch, smashing Luis right in the face. The intensity hit Luis before Joel’s fist touched him. Scared stiff, Luis tried to dodge. Kaze’s voice boomed in Luis’ ear. “Step back on your right foot and punch his ribs.” Luis got the message loud and clear. As if a lightbulb went off in his head, Luis followed Kaze’s instructions. “Smack!” Luis stepped back to the left and dodged Joel’s punch. At the same time, he threw his fist and struck Joel on his unprotected ribs. “Ugh!” Joel staggered back and spat out blood. “This isn’t possible.” Barely finding his balance, Joel looked at Luis in disbelief. Luis’ 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 anyone’s imagination. “Um…” 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 Luis’ first attack on his ribs as a fluke. However, Luis went for his weak spot the second time due to Kaze’s guidance. “Shut up, bastard! Once I’m done with Luis, I’m going after you!” Joel was out for Luis’ blood. He would not rest until Luis was defeated. “Die!” Joel screamed and jumped on Luis. This time, Joel shielded his ribs with one arm to prevent another attack from Luis. “What an idiot!” Kaze called Joel out before saying indifferently, “Drop your head to the left, jab his right shin, and for added measure, palm strike his left armpit.”Luis followed the instructions to a tee. As the crowd watched on with dropped jaws, Luis swept Joel’s shin and struck Joel’s 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. “Ugh!” Joel’s throat was slit, and blood quickly spilled.Blood gushed out of his throat. “Uh… You…” 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. “Argh! Murder!” Zenika and the other women shrieked. Kaze buried Rose’s face in his chest to shield her from the gruesome scene. “Clang!” Luis dropped the knife as he regained composure from his manic episode. He retracted his foot from Joel’s chest and backed away, his eyes fixating on Joel’s dead body. “I-I didn’t kill him.“I didn’t mean to kill you!” 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,
“Thud!”Luis slammed into the corner of the wall, feeling the pain in every inch of his body. The physical pain, however bad, was nothing compared to the fear of death that gripped him.Fighting back the agony, he raised his arms and crawled his way back to Zoro. Luis coughed out copious amounts of blood, his insides churning violently as he stayed on all fours.However, he did not care one bit. Luis understood that he would not live to see another day without Zoro’s help. “I didn’t mean to kill Joel, Zoro. “I was only following through with your plan, but Kaze somehow walked up to Joel and slapped him in the face. “Most importantly, Joel wasn’t as great as rumored. He got upset and swung a knife at me after I beat him down to the ground multiple times. I was only defending myself. “Tell him, guys. That was what happened, right?” Luis snapped an angry look at Zenika and the others. They were all in the same boat now, so they were in it together. Zenika and the ot
“It’s all my fault, Zoro. I’m a fool! I’m a loser!“But Joel is dead, and nothing can change that. Yelling at me won’t solve anything. “Please help me, Zoro!” Luis got down on his knees, his back hunched over. “Given our years of brotherhood, I’m begging you for one last favor.”He was freaked out. It was a good thing Luis rushed to Bronze Sparrow when things went awry. Otherwise, he would be stuck at Drake Gym and killed by the people of the Viper’s Den. Even now, the Viper’s Den members were scattered outside Bronze Sparrow. If Luis were to step outside Bronze Sparrow, he would be drowned in the deep ocean. “Help you? “Are you expecting me to risk my life to save yours?” With a callous look, Zoro kicked Luis away. “Jude called me just now. I should hand over the killer by tonight, or he’ll come straight to Bronze Sparrow for you. “Do you know what that means? “It means he has the means to carry out his promise. “Don’t forget that Joel trained under a senior me
Gillian, a fearsome man in Riverbank, lost his spine in the presence of Zoro. “What now?” Zoro furrowed his brows in annoyance. Despite the fear in his eyes, Gillian got his act together and said solemnly, “I found the diamond seller. “Bring him in.” Gillian turned back to wave at several members of his crew. They escorted a man and a woman into the office. “You are scammers!” Luis sprung to his feet when he saw the man and the woman. He had been cursing them all day. The man was the diamond seller while the older woman with glasses was a renowned diamond appraiser in Riverbank City. They worked together to sell a fake diamond to Luis, embarrassing him at Bronze Sparrow last night. “Thump!” The man and woman fell to their knees before Luis. “That’s not true, Mr. Presley! I would never sell a fake diamond to you. I bought the diamond from a prince of Sandia.” “You know me, Mr. Presley. I’ve been in the jewelry appraisal business for decades. I have never been
Gillian was not quite done with Kaze. He dreamed of the day he would become strong enough to kill Kaze. After learning that Kaze had crushed a real diamond, Gillian gave up on that thought. Gillian knew that not a single bone in his body was more solid than a diamond. “Mr. Weather’s calling, Zoro.” While Zoro was lost in his thoughts, a pretty woman approached and whispered in his ear. Zoro waved his arm for silence in the room before taking the phone from the woman. He put the phone against his ear. “This is Zoro. What can I do for you, sir?” The air hung heavy with tension. Apart from a selected few, Luis and the others never witnessed Zoro behaving so respectfully on the phone. It was Casius, one of the Riverbank Seven. The name struck terror in everybody’s heart. “I heard that Jude is out to get you.” Moments later, a flat tone boomed from the other end of the line. His voice was unreadable. Everybody held their breath and made no sound. “Here’s the thing,