Picking up on Kaze’s intent to kill, Casius grimaced. In the end, Casius made an amused look. “I guess you’re out for my life today.“But I love life too much. I still have a lot to live for. “So I don’t want to die. “Besides, I don’t know what makes you think that I’d die at your hands—” “Swoosh!” Kaze got right in Casius’ face before the latter could finish his sentence. He got Casius by the throat right away. Hank and the other suited men could not react to the change in time. They raised their weapons and aimed at Kaze with grimaces. “Let Mr. Weather go.” Hank hissed through clenched teeth. Hannah clenched her sword and said to Hank, her eyes fixating on him, “You better not point that thing at the branch leader.” Hank had a flashback of Hannah hurling her sword just moments ago. Still, he pointed at Kaze firmly. “What do you think now, Mr. Weather?” Without looking at Hank and his party, Kaze fixed on Casius’ purple lips. He smiled pretentiously. “My han
“Thud!” Rio went for a downward blow, slicing down on Hannah. The sheer force of the attack enveloped Hannah. Faced with the magnitude of the impact, Hannah grimaced. Without time to think, she flinched back and thrust her sword forward. They were both trained in great swordsmanship. The blades met with a burst of intensity. “Clang!”Sparks exploded in the air, and the grating of metal could make anybody’s skin crawl. Hannah dropped back, nearly slamming her weight on the floor. She made a face, unable to shake the lingering impact from the slash of Rio’s blade. The sheer force hung heavily over Hannah, even bending her sword. While descending from mid-air, Rio sank his weight down. Hannah hunkered down, her back nearly touching the floor. Still, she stayed rooted to her feet. Rio remained indifferent. He pressed on, coming on with stronger force. Rio pinned Hannah to the ground with his sword. Hannah had been to hell and back many times before. She re
“Damn it!”With Hannah surviving the attack, Casius grimaced. Hannah was strong, but Casius could see that Rio had her cornered. Hannah was just one step away from death. Yet, she managed to turn things around. It was true that Hannah was most likely to succeed within the Viper’s Den West State Branch, but Rio was one of the elites of the Refined Blades. They ranked high in their field. Rio’s strong attack did not kill Hannah, making her a powerful opponent. That was not the point, though. Hannah’s death was beneficial to Casius’ situation and his upcoming plan. That was the problem. Hannah was not dead. Since the ambush did not work, Rio would find it harder to kill a potent fighter like Hannah. Nevertheless, Hannah seemed incapacitated, at least for now. She would not be able to go on with the fight tonight. Though disappointed, Casius felt lighter in mood. He turned to Kaze with a smile. “How about it, Kaze? What do you think of my backup? Good enough fo
Kaze released his grip and smiled faintly. “Are you that confident that the Ryokanian can save you? “Have you ever wondered why I didn’t kill you on the spot? Instead, I waited until he showed up.” Casius’ gaze became shifty. “Are you trying to tell me that you delayed killing me to lure Mr. Sho out?” “I see that you have redeeming qualities.” Kaze said callously, “Jude lost everything, and I trashed your Bronze Sparrow. Neely and Granny Snake died at the hands of South. I’d say the odds aren’t in Jude’s favor too. “Yet, you are confident that Jude will make branch chief, so you must be turning to external forces. “With your connections, your only choice is to grovel at the feet of Ryokanians. “In that case, why wait tonight for the Ryokanian? I’m better off luring him out and killing him all at once.” Kaze spoke emotionlessly as if he was talking about the weather. Stunned at first, Casius quickly sneered. “You can talk a big game, Kaze. “But can you back it up?
Upon getting close to Kaze, Rio pulled out his sword. “Clang!”As the sword was drawn, a powerful energy came from within the shining blade. A wave of dread washed over the crowd. Channeling his rage, Rio unleashed his full power. He launched his most devastating blow to slice Kaze in half. Only a good revenge could quell his rage and prove his dominance over the Arcadian. Hannah, having faced Rio head-on, blurted, “Watch out, Mr. Lee. There’s something weird about this Ryokanian’s technique…” “Swoosh!” Kaze raised his arm and struck with his broken sword. The blinding flicker of the blade carried a low humming sound. The crowd wondered if their ears were deceiving them. Kaze retrieved his blade while Rio stopped advancing. As no one made a sound, a shadow of dread loomed over. “What’s the matter, Mr. Sho? Why aren’t you moving?” Casius, Hank, and the others were taken aback, oblivious to what was going on. The strangest thing then happened. A stark, whit
Casius would kill one of the best fighters if he could draw his sword quickly enough.The words sounded like sarcasm to Casius, and he froze. It was like a Harvard grad telling a community college dropout. “Getting into Harvard is easy, anyone can do it.”Casius was lost for words. The gap between him and Kaze just struck him, at least when it came to combat prowess.With Casius turning pale, Kaze said indifferently, “Now do you finally know why I let you go, Mr. Weather?“I don’t need to hold you hostage. “You and your people are no threat. “I’d suggest that you don’t fight back because it’s pointless.“Now kneel and tell me everything about you and the Ryokanians that is important and not privy to me. “I might spare your life for now if you come to use for me,” Kaze said with a smile while throwing the broken sword back to Hannah. It appeared Kaze’s streak of violence ended after Rio was dead. “Kneel and explain my ties with Sanwell Finances?” Snapping back to re
“Go on, Mr. Weather. I’ll hold them off.” With Kaze dodging the shrapnel, Hank’s head sank. Ready to die, Hank blocked Kaze’s path with his body and shouted angrily before raising his double-barreled rifle. “Bang!” As Hank took the shot, Kaze came close and pulled a kick. Knocked back, Hank fired upward. The sound exploded in the air, smashing the chandelier to the ground. Hank rammed into the wall with a thud, and his bones snapped from impact. He crashed to the ground as Kaze went after Casius without looking back. Despite the will to fight on, the life within him was gone. Kaze’s kick was fatal. Out of the living room, Casius cocked his head back and found Kaze right on his tail after finishing Hank off. Casius was scared out of his mind. Casius shouted angrily, “Forget the woman. Just kill Kaze!”Hannah did not just hang around while Kaze launched an attack. She dragged her injured flesh to help. The last twelve suited men were scared off their wits. Now that
With Kaze’s experience, he should be able to recognize the weapon. Yet, he still had the mood for ridicule. Even with Casius pointing a gun at him, Kaze looked relaxed. Kaze’s composed demeanor showed Casius that he did not take Casius as a threat. “Mr. Weather, I killed your little foreign friend and your people back there.” Kaze took a step in the face of the pointed gun and said with a chuckle, “You lost. You lost big time.” “Don’t get too excited. I’m not dead yet!” Casius shouted with a sneer. However, his hand holding the gun shook violently. Casius was a sitting duck. “I told you. You might not have to die.” Kaze patted Casius’ face and said callously, “Tell me why the Ryokanians have been aggressive in activity lately. What are they after? “If you have information of value, or if you come to use to me, I can consider sparing your life for the time being.”Kaze was curious about the Ryokanians’ motivations. Before, Sanwell Finances controlled Riverbank’s
Defeat was certain if Kaze was slapped in the face by Bruce with the same amount of force. Hope was just afraid that Kaze would use the recording to blackmail her, demanding her to make Bruce lose on purpose. She could never agree to that and Jude would never let it happen. Then, Kaze might expose the recording to everyone, which would paint her as a wicked woman. Jude became the chief of the South River Branch, yet Hope, his wife, planned to murder him from the shadows. How could she explain herself? What could she possibly say to Jude then? Hope dared not make her concerns verbal, so she urged her friends to sneer at Kaze, hoping to dissuade him from going into the ring. Moreover, she hinted at him that she would make Jude spare his life. She just hoped that he could understand her. Kaze, however, turned a deaf ear at the sneers and mocks. He smiled at Hope and said, “Mrs. Gwake, why don’t we have a bet?” “Bet? If you want to gamble, go to a casino! Don’t cause a
The crowd was so carried away by the excitement that no one noticed Bruce’s furrowed brows and narrowed eyes. He stared at Albert jumping off the ring and walking away. A hint of seriousness appeared in his eyes. Everyone thought Albert was simply being ridiculous and refused to accept that he lost, but only Bruce knew Albert might be right. Only when one fought Albert face-to-face, one could sense the blood and bodies in his presence. Albert felt like a merciless killing machine that emerged from the goriest and fiercest battlefield. The intensity Bruce felt was unlike anything he had experienced, even during his rigorous training in the Viper’s Den West State. If they were on a battlefield that could determine one’s life and death within a split second, Bruce might be the one who died in the end. At that very moment, he felt like he was gazing into a brand-new world. Hannah barely reacted to Albert’s loss, but Collier had a bitter look on his face, mostly because Jude
“Kabaam!” The slap was not just powerful. Its speed was like a fleeting comet, creating a loud explosion in the air as it moved. With an intimidating and destructive force, the slap went straight for Albert. The gale assaulted Albert in the face, messing up his long hair that he had just tied up. “Kapoof!” He had no choice but to raise both fists and throw punches at the incoming slap. “Bang!” Their fists collided forcefully, producing a dull thud of flesh and bone crashing together, sending thrills and exhilaration through the audience’s hearts. It was the clash of muscles and raw strength. There was no fancy technique involved. However, compared to the towering Bruce with superhuman strength, Albert, who was deemed tall among the commons, looked like a child. The audience assumed Albert made the worst choice possible for facing Bruce face to face with his fists. He would eventually lose it. “Yeah!” Even Jude’s loyal followers could not help but cheer on Bruc
“Is he out of his mind?” “Hannah, please stop him! He should prolong the fight and exhaust Bruce Payne’s stamina first!” Collier was nervous. He disagreed with Albert’s decision to settle the fight in one move. It was because Hannah brought Albert in and he had been performing well until now, or else Collier would have shouted at him in the face. “Shut up!” Hannah then looked at Kaze, who remained silent and observant, closely watching the match. She was unaware of Albert’s true identity, but since Kaze was the one who brought him here, he must be closely connected to Kaze. Before the match started, she was able to have a brief conversation with Albert. By instinct, Hannah sensed nobility in Albert’s presence and she knew he was not an ordinary man. It was great to have someone like Albert to take her place. Collier was in no position to criticize him. “Kaze, what do you think about Al beating Bruce? Can he win?” Buffy asked. She knew Kaze was in a league of his o
Kaze was also looking at Bruce with interest. In the north of Arcadia was a less developed country named Barhmans. People from various barbaric tribes there were born with unique physical traits, making them ideal candidates to be trained as killers from a young age. They were sent into the woods for rigorous survival training. They hunted wild beasts, drank their blood, and fought the fiercest of them all. Once they came of age, they would be stronger than other people of the same age and could kill a grown tiger with their bare hands. Kaze met a lot of barbaric mercenaries from Barhmans on the foreign battlefield and all of them shared a similar physique with Bruce. They looked like people with superhuman strength. However, Bruce was also labeled as a genius in martial arts, not just raw strength. Kaze wanted to see how powerful Bruce was. “Then I will kill you and strip that mask off your face.” Bruce curled his lips into a sinister grin and exercised his neck. “
“Deputy Chief Gwake is going to win this! Bruce is here! He’s almighty! Who else can beat him?” “Yeah! Al might be powerful but he looked like a child in front of Bruce!” “Bruce is not just all brawn and no brains, he’s extremely talented and smart, rivaling Hannah Delmore.” “Hannah wasn’t able to fight in the ring because she was hurt, that’s why she got Al in her place while she stayed in hiding. I don’t think this guy can match Bruce at all.” “We are in for a good show.” The audience erupted into a sea of excitement. Those who cheered on Jude were thrilled, gloating at Hannah and her followers. Hannah’s followers and supporters reacted with bitter looks. The match was crucial to decide who the next chief of the South River Branch would be. It was unfortunate that Hannah got hurt and could not participate herself. Given Bruce’s background, even if Hannah was in her prime and healthy, she might or might not be able to overpower Bruce either. With that in mind, a
The dead agent was dragged away. “Bump!” Suddenly, a large figure, at least two meters in height, came out from backstage and jumped into the ring. As he landed, the entire ring trembled as if an elephant had entered the ring. “It’s him!” When the man stepped into the ring, Hannah, who had remained calm and expressionless until now, suddenly appeared afraid. Not only did she not know the man but she was also afraid of him and his strength. If even the prodigy of the West State Viper’s Den feared him, his strength spoke for itself. “Next match, Bruce Payne versus Al!” The emcee announced the next match to the audience. Bruce made a fierce entrance and it captured everyone’s attention. “Bruce Payne? Who is he?” “I have never heard of him.” “I have never heard of him but I know he’s strong. Just look at him!” “That’s right. Jude Gwake is left with the last candidate and he will certainly give his best. This might be his strongest man.” “This Bruce guy might b
Though Kaze could not care less about Hope for now. She had a complicated history of hate and romance with Jude. Kaze was looking forward to her reaction when she learned of Jude’s defeat. Ever since he arrived at Riverbank, Jude and Hope disgusted him the most. He did not mind waiting a little longer for a better show between them. Buffy did not walk with Hope. She stayed and followed Kaze to Hannah’s side. Her action stirred resentment from Jude’s supporters. As Jude’s biological daughter, she chose to side with the opponents at this critical moment. It was embarrassing for the father. Hope saw the scene as she returned to Jude’s side. She raised her brows and sneered. “Jude, your daughter openly stands against you.” Jude was unfazed. He calmly looked at the battle in the ring and said, “Just ignore her.” He was fully concentrated on the match tonight. It was the last step for him to reach the position of chief. Other than that, nothing could steal his focus awa
“I said he cannot be the chief, which means he cannot be the chief. Anyone who wants to be chief must get my permission.” Hope was baffled by Kaze’s words. What shocked her most was that Buffy nodded with agreement as if Kaze spoke the absolute truth. Why would her nominal stepdaughter trust Kaze that much? Was she brainwashed or drugged? Hope could not understand. She looked at Kaze for a moment and then scoffed. “Kaze, you cannot just tell lies like that. “Who do you think you are? The branch leader of the West State Viper’s Den, or the Viper Queen herself? “Your permission? You are full of nonsense! My impression of you changed for the better after everything. I really think you are a capable man but now it seems like you are still the insolent fool who brags. “People like you won’t go far. There’s no way you can achieve anything big, even if you have what it takes.” Hope showed obvious disappointment in her gaze at Kaze. Earlier in the hospital, her impression of