“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,
“Don’t stress yourself. Joel deserved to die. We have nothing to do with his death anyway.” Rose nodded. “That’s true. Just be careful, Kaze.” Kaze smiled and shuffled her hair. “Don’t worry about me. Conan will take you home.” Soon, Conan arrived and said, “The people assigned to protect Rose haven’t made it here yet, Kaze. Um…” “It’s fine. All eyes are on Joel’s case now that he is dead. No one will get any ideas about Rose. Just assign a couple of your men to watch over her,” Kaze waved his arm and said indifferently. Hannah and Collier stood by Jude on Kaze’s instruction. Kaze suspected that the Gwakes and possibly Bronze Sparrow along with Casius had their hidden agenda regarding the Viper’s Den South River State Branch. He would not allow things to go their way. Kaze pitted the united South River branch against Bronze Sparrow to see if Zoro could take the heat. If Casius had other plans in mind for the South River branch, he would reveal himself when Bronze Spar
The Viper’s Den members, dressed in mourning, were either aloof or angry. Some of them were driven by the desire to kill when they saw Kaze. They were the Viper’s Den members present at the gym when Joel died. These people knew Kaze. Kaze came with Luis before and started the fight by slapping Joel in the face. They took a step forward, ready to attack Kaze. There was chatter among the crowd. The other members of the Viper’s Den were eager to hurt Kaze when they learned the truth. Their intention was either to assess Kaze’s skills or just to pick a fight with him. Instead of keeping the members in check, Serene stepped back without a word. Kaze was met with aloofness and malice. Anyone would cower or break out in a cold sweat when faced with such hostility. Nevertheless, Kaze simply walked ahead, brushing off the looks. His disregard only infuriated the Viper’s Den members further. “Kaze?” Before the members could strike Kaze, a pretty face showed up. The be
Sure enough, Buffy’s remark only egged hundreds of the Viper’s Den members on. Kaze grinned faintly. “We can talk about any issues in private. It’s not proper of you to threaten me in front of outsiders.” Tsk! Outsiders?Kaze acted like he was Buffy’s husband. Buffy heaved heavily, her cheeks flushed. The Viper’s Den members were livid. Kaze managed to ruin the somber mood. Unable to take it anymore, Serene said icily, “Mr. Gwake is waiting for you inside, Mr. Lee.” “Oh. Just lead the way.” With his hand under his chin, Kaze asked Buffy with a smile, “Are you coming with me? I’m a little intimidated by your dad.” Kaze’s expression of meeting the father-in-law nearly drove Buffy crazy. Nevertheless, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. She said curtly, “I am here because of you. I am worried that my dad will kill you.“I can give you a chance to walk away now since you are still somewhat useful to me.” Seeing that Buffy was trying to get under his skin
“Kaze…” Buffy tipped Kaze the wink, hoping he could do her a favor and put up with her father. Kaze brushed Buffy off and did not even bother to greet Jude. Standing there, he said indifferently, “I guess you must be Mr. Gwake. “Didn’t you send for me? What’s with this expectation from me? “Well, this is certainly a warm welcome. “In that case, I should get going.” Kaze turned on his heel to leave. He was expected to roll the red carpet out for Jude. To be honest, Jude was unworthy. Kaze was the branch leader of the Viper’s Den West State Branch. If they were to go by the rules, Jude should be greeting him on his knees. “Hmph!”Surprised by Kaze’s behavior, Jude let out an angry scoff. Serene narrowed her eyes, her red-manicured hand reaching into her pocket. Jude quickly turned back around and waved at Serene. “Never mind. Kids can be rash. “You must be Kaze. Please sit. Ha. You’re just like me when I was your age.”Serene kept her head down.Buffy let ou
No one cared about the thoughts in Collier’s head. Rory looked at Hannah and said heavily, “I wonder what you mean by that, Chief Delmore.” Hannah nodded at Kaze and then said coldly, “Cut the crap. Take your men and leave!” Rory furrowed his brows, his lips still curled. “Chief Delmore, that doesn’t sound right. I am here on legal Execution Hall’s business. Even if you are the chief of the South River Branch, you have no right to stop me. Or is the South River Branch no longer under the West State Viper’s Den jurisdiction?” Hannah did not even flinch when Rory tried to accuse her. She said, “I said, cut the crap. Come on, show me what you got. I’ll let you go first.” Rory’s lips twitched helplessly. He knew Hannah was known for her quick sword stance in the West State Viper’s Den. According to the agents who once went on a mission with her, many experienced fighters and experts could not even see her moves before they were killed on the spot. Now that Hannah had recove
“Swoosh!” The knife hit Collier in the shoulder, pushing him back against the wall. He tried to move his body but when he felt the pain in his shoulder, his face paled. He was shocked that the knife perforated his shoulder and pinned him onto the wall, like how Kaze pinned the Execution Hall’s agent to the wall earlier. Rory did it as payback to Kaze for what he had done earlier. Collier did not want to look bad in front of Kaze. He steeled himself up as he held the knife. With his teeth clenched, he pulled it out from his shoulder, drawing an arch of blood in the air. “Deputy Chief!” It was only then Collier’s men reacted to the situation and drew their weapons. “Hmph!” Collier grunted without looking at his men. “Clank!” The agents from the Execution Hall armed themselves as well and dashed forward. “Thump! Thud! Sheen!” The two groups of agents engaged in a fight with cries and clanks sounding ceaseless. Amid the painful cries, Collier’s men were struck
Once again, Rory looked at Kaze with surprise. “Young Man, I must admit that I’ve underestimated you again.” The deputy chief of the Viper’s Den South River Branch was certainly an officer with a higher rank than him. However, Rory was merely surprised, not deterred or scared as if he was not afraid of Kaze who brought Collier into the conflict. Kaze smiled. “You’ve underestimated a whole bunch as well.” Rory grunted heavily and then turned to Collier and his men walking into the lobby. Without even standing up, he curled his lips into a fake smile and said, “Mr. Ettinger, of what do I owe the visit? You and your men are here to see the doctor? Too bad. You are one step late. Scorpion and his men had already thrashed the…” Scorpion simply smiled awkwardly, afraid to make a noise. He could not afford to mess with the deputy chief. ‘I’ll thrash your skull if I can!’—if it was some other time, Collier would certainly argue with Rory and scold him in the face. However, his
“Kaze.” The call got through and Collier’s voice came from the phone. “Herbal Spring. Rory Conroy of the Viper’s Den West State Branch Execution Hall is here.” Kaze then hung up the phone. He was discussing with Collier about the support from the Viper’s Den West State Branch behind Rhys earlier. He just did not expect Rhys to call for help so quickly, seemingly trying to seize the advantage. However, Kaze was not afraid. He put his phone away after the call and sat down on the couch. “How dare you sit in front of the captain?! You’re dead!” An agent held the sword at his waist and wanted to draw the blade. Kaze narrowed his eyes and slid his foot forward. “Clank!” The sword that was tossed in front of him earlier was kicked forward. “Thump!” Before the agent could draw his sword, his hand was perforated by the flying sword. Blood splattered upon impact and the momentum of the sword dragged the agent backward, ultimately pinning his wrist on the wall. Kaze
“Arrogant?” Rory gestured at his men behind him. His gaze was as sharp as a blade, scrutinizing Kaze. “You’re damn right. The Viper’s Den West State Branch Execution Hall is that arrogant. We have the right to be! We also have the right to execute first and ask questions later. Why wouldn’t we be arrogant with it?” The agents of the Viper’s Den West State Branch Execution Hall looked at Kaze as if he was a clown, wondering where the rural bumpkin was from and where did he get the confidence to question them. They found his ignorance laughable. Kaze said, “Even if you have the right, it is for you to execute your official business, not for you to use it on ordinary people.” “Hahaha!” Rory laughed hysterically, cocking his head back as if he heard the funniest joke. “Young Man, I don’t know where you are from but you are stupidly naїve and childish.” As he spoke, he glanced at Scorpion and asked, “Is it him who beat up Rhys?” “Yes! It’s him!” Scorpion glared at Kaze a
“Mr. Road once saved someone important in the Viper’s Den West State Branch. Mr. Road asked Captain Conroy to uphold justice for Rhys after the assault he endured. “You’re blind not to know who Captain Conroy is. You have some nerve to insult him.” Scorpion made a big fuss now that the Viper’s Den West State Branch had his ass covered. Thomas was going down. “What?“The Viper’s Den West State Branch Execution Hall?”Thomas turned pale. Fear washed over the other police officers. The Viper’s Den West State Branch’s reputation was enough to intimidate the police. The Execution Hall was basically the police’s worst nightmare. Even the members of the organization trembled at the mention of the Execution Hall. The Viper’s Den’s Execution Hall and the Tiger’s Cave’s prison gate were places of terror. Those who were unfortunate enough to be taken there rarely walked out alive. Even the rare survivors would not escape in one piece. A deputy chief of the South River S
Thomas glared at the two police officers and waved his arm curtly. “Don’t just stand there. Make the arrest!” He knew how Scorpion and his crew operated.Scorpion was not the type to give up on a fight easily. Thomas was the security captain of the Southgate Police Department. The supposed Captain Conroy would only rank slightly higher than him. Members of the criminal underworld often associate with people on the police force to seek favors in time of need. However, these favors should not be used lightly. It was common knowledge not to enlist the help of someone high up in the command chain right away. It would be a waste of resources. In a typical situation, Thomas might have trouble making the arrest. However, Thomas was taking Kaze’s side, so he had nothing to fear. With that in mind, Thomas said icily, “Captain Conroy? How many more captains are you going to call upon?“Even if you summon someone working for the state, you’re still coming with us.” “You’re ju
All these incidents put together suggested that Kaze was more than he seemed. Thomas focused the most on Kaze and the mayor’s relationship. The power of a local authority outweighed someone from out of state. Though the officials working in the state government were more powerful, they would have no bearing on the locals’ situation. Kent was the mayor of Riverbank, and his decision would change the course of the locals’ fate. Thomas understood his place in the matter. Boris may be badass, but Thomas could get nothing out of him. Thomas had to deal with Boris’ men frequently. These men would give the police gifts during the holidays as payment for turning a blind eye to certain things. He could fall out with Scorpion and his crew, but he could not cross Kaze when Scorpion’s people were clearly at fault. Kent could possibly intervene, and Thomas’ connections would not be able to bail him out.Thomas turned stern and said coldly, “It’s outrageous of you to trash a plac
Scorpion sat sprawled across the couch, his legs crossed. He lit a cigarette, took a drag, and said, “Oh, an old friend. It’s Captain Blunick from the Southgate Police Department.“I’m handling business today. I’d appreciate it if you could look the other way.” The person in charge was Thomas Blunick, security captain of the Southgate Police Department. Thomas frowned and said icily, “Is this your way of handling business, Scorpion? “Don’t you push it.” Scorpion grinned and said without any reservation, “Mr. Road’s son, Rhys, was beaten up by some riff-raff. Mr. Road sent me here for some unfinished business. “You should know that Mr. Road dotes on Rhys, and Rhys now suffers two broken legs. “This is not over until the culprit pays.” Thomas scoffed. “You can’t trash a medical center in broad daylight.” He asked curiously, “Who is Rhys’ attacker?” Even the other police officers were intrigued. To think someone would hurt Boris’ son in Riverbank. It was a death wis