Kaze quickly picked up his phone to check the call history. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw May’s name. “This is the mother of my assistant in Lilyrose. I wonder why she’s calling me.” He was baffled too. Why would Snow’s mother call him out of the blue? He went back to his room to call back. “Aunt May, I’m Kaze…” The call got through but he was rudely cut off before he could finish. “Don’t call me Aunt May!” May scoffed. “Kaze Lee, you abandoned my daughter and had a woman in Riverbank? What’s the matter? My daughter is not beautiful and not good enough for you? Or is it because of our family? Are the Frosts not up to your standard, Mr. Big Shot?” A while back, Kaze called Venom Kanon, the killer ranked second on the Killer Leaderboard, and helped the Frosts deal with Midas King. Since then, May saw him as her future son-in-law albeit knowing he was married. She encouraged her daughter to snatch Kaze away. To her surprise, Snow made no progress at all, and
Bass and Dove were with May when she visited Lilyrose. Kaze met them before. Both of them were experts in their own field, yet they were sent together to protect Snow. It seemed like things had gotten out of control in their family. Kaze said, “Sure. When you meet up with them, come to Riverbank immediately. I’ll protect you.” Snow was a smart girl. She knew something serious must have happened back home. She quickly said, “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We will arrive at Riverbank later around 4:00 PM.” After the call, Kaze pondered for a moment and decided to pick up Snow himself. May was likely under surveillance or house arrest, completely cut off from the outside world, forcing her to make the call in secret. In addition, if she had to send Bass and Dove together, Snow must be in grave danger. Kaze knew how strong Bass and Dove were. They were experts but if someone meticulously targeted Snow, the duo might not be able to fully protect her. Snow had been working for
“Casius, you really don’t need to. You are going to be one of us soon and I see you as my own son,” Faith said as she widened her smile. Her fondness of Casius grew by the minute. However, as her lips curled into a smile, the muscles in her cheek tugged painfully, a stark reminder of Kaze's slap. She gasped from the sudden ache. The smile disappeared immediately as she clenched her teeth tightly. “Aunt Faith, what’s the matter? Are you feeling alright?” Casius asked out of concern. A hint of ridicule glimmered in his eyes. Faith might have covered her face with a thick layer of concealer but he still saw the vague slap mark on her face the moment he met her. He did not want to embarrass Faith, so he did not ask about it. “It’s fine. I got slapped by some rube from a small city and my face still hurts.” Faith sighed deeply. She no longer cared about her face anymore and chose to be honest. “Casius, you knew I’d prepare a feast to welcome you back from Westeros and Bu
Casius simply smiled it off and was not overly concerned. “Don’t worry, Aunt Faith. I like Buffy a lot and I am doing the best for her. I believe she will understand.” He then raised his hand without looking around. Further away, a young woman in uniform came over by request. She bowed and said, “Master.” “Veron, tell them to bring Buffy back safely, and only her,” Casius said to his assistant casually. With just a short sentence, he literally handed a verdict on Kaze’s fate. “Yes, sir.” Veron nodded and then returned to her original spot to make a call. “Aunt Faith, have some tea too.” Casius took the role of the host and started pouring tea for Faith. “Judging from your confident look, I know I got the right guy. Casius, only an elite like you deserves to marry our daughter.” Faith felt relieved and started to flatter Casius. Casius smiled casually. On the other hand, Veron could not get through to the first number she dialed, which surprised her. She quic
Casius looked surprised when he heard the update from Veron but he managed to keep calm. A quick thought later, he said, “Aunt Faith, it seems like Buffy is prepared to elope with this guy. She never wanted to marry me from the start.” Faith immediately knew what he was referring to. Casius must have assumed that Buffy expected a pursuit and decided to resist, which explained why all his men drowned in the dam. Faith went blank for a moment before she clenched her teeth and said, “That fool! She used our family’s influence to defy my arrangements?! Who does she think she is?” She, too, believed Casius’ assumption. Buffy must have foreseen this and arranged for her men to fight back, which explained why Casius’ men were defeated. At least it was more acceptable than Kaze beating up and killing Casius’ men single-handedly. Both Faith and Casius tended to believe Buffy was the one who resisted, not Kaze. “Casius, I’ll call her father immediately. I can’t control her now,
Veron said, “Sir, Kaze Lee then said if you don’t want to die, keep your hands away from the Viper's Den affair…” “Keep my hands away from the Viper’s Den’s affair? Is that what he said?” Casius asked. “Yes, sir!” Veron answered as she lowered her head. The atmosphere in the car felt intense and pressuring. A while later, Casius chuckled. “Interesting. Kaze’s first message makes me feel like he’s just a clown; his second message makes me realize he’s not that simple.” Kaze was anything but simple. As an outsider, Casius had long harbored a plan to infiltrate the Viper’s Den South River Branch and ultimately take it over. To keep his plan inconspicuous, he even had to come up with another plan to achieve his goal. Marrying Buffy and helping Jude to become the deputy chief were parts of his grand plan, and he eventually would take over. He was confident that not more than a handful of people knew his true goal. Yet a rube from a small city saw through him easily. Ho
“You lured Casius out?” Hannah was struck with sudden realization and her admiration for Kaze grew. As expected of the man the Viper Queen made the branch leader and was tasked to cleanse the Viper’s Den. With just a few words, he was able to lure the mastermind behind Jude out to the front and force him to enter the fray. To Hannah, Jude was not much of a competition. After all, manpower and resources were limited and no matter how ambitious Jude was, he was just the deputy chief of the South River Branch, which was the same position as Hannah. The people that he could use and the allies that he could gather were all laid out on the table. However, Casius was different because he had been hiding in the dark, supporting Jude to seize the position of chief. He was one of the Riverbank Seven. Aside from being rich and resourceful, he was also connected to the prominent figures in Westeros. With his support, Jude became so powerful that even Collier and Hannah felt press
The South River was an important waterway for transportation, and traffic was always heavy. The Four Ocean Commerce Guild who crossed paths with Kaze before relied on monopolizing the South River and Butterworth's waterway transport to become a titan in the industry. If there were people who rose to prominence relying on waterway transportation, then there would be people living the life of a pirate, robbing cargo ships that passed through a certain checkpoint on the sea. Leron was a captain who reigned the waters of the South River and the pirates who worked under him were ferocious and ruthless. Their gang was notorious in the waters and on shore. Hannah continued, “Kaze, I also heard that Casius had sent Leron after you, so you better be careful. Do you need me to arrange for bodyguards to keep you safe?” Kaze looked surprised. “It’s just a pirate, what’s the big deal?” Hannah knew her own strength. Leron was a target that even she had to be cautious of, so Kaze’s words