“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
Bang! A deafening blast went off, followed by a burst of smoke that concealed Leron from sight. The MPV that Hannah and her men arrived in was instantly covered with countless black holes. The tires were also punctured, causing one side of the car to sink. The two agents, who had turned to open the door and exposed their backs, suddenly groaned in pain as they were slammed against the car by a powerful force, sliding down onto the ground. Both were riddled with numerous bleeding holes in their backs from gunfire. Hannah and the others were shocked to see that their colleagues had been shot. The human body was no match for a shotgun. Leron must have anticipated that they would use the car as a cover or even as an escape route, so he aimed at the vehicle first instead of targeting the individuals directly. “Take cover!” Kaze quickly grabbed one of the fallen agents in front of him and tossed him behind the damaged car. His words were not just meant for the fallen ag
“So you are Leron, a.k.a the Hydro Dragon?” Kaze did not mind Leron reloading his shotgun and simply stared at him while standing still in an open area. “You know me?” Leron raised his brows, speaking in a rather hoarse voice. “It seemed like you were not a rube whom Mr. Weather claimed you to be.” He did not expect Kaze to know his name at the first meeting. Knowing his name indicated that Kaze was already well aware of his background and capabilities yet was not hung up on it. If Kaze were not at least this capable, Casius would not have sent him. Staring at Kaze further away with narrowed eyes, Leron asked, “So my brothers died at your hands?” “You meant those two idiots who fell into South Hill Dam?” Kaze smirked. “That’s not my fault. They were the ones who couldn’t drive properly, thinking they were Dom Toretto, but this ain’t Fast and Furious, and they don’t get to live past the sixth movie.” While he was distracting Leron, Hannah and the other two agents h