“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
As Kaze said, Casius had not given up on life yet. He believed that his bad luck had marched him to his death at the hands of Kaze. Casius was one of the Riverbank Seven, backed by the Weathers and Sanwell Finances. He had resources and connections to fight back with. Based on his previous experience, Casius trusted that with careful planning, he could have turned the situation in his favor. Though Kaze was the Viper’s Den West State Branch leader, Casius was confident he could have outsmarted him. It was a pity, though. His target was Buffy today. Casius brought a lot of backup to the Gwakes’ residence, but they were not the best. Even with Rio’s help, Casius scrambled to put a good team together. Casius had more people working under him, but they were stationed at the South River State Branch to help Jude become the branch chief. Most importantly, Casius never took Kaze seriously. Kaze had been nothing more than the Quints’ son-in-law who had earned recognition f
Duncan had never been slapped for as long as he lived. With one slap, he spat blood and was sent flying. If he did not kill Kaze for what he did today, he would not be able to rest at night! “You morons! Get him! Don’t just stand there! Why the fuck am I paying you guys? Fuck him up!” Duncan sat himself up, straightened his legs, and tapped the floor angrily like a child throwing a tantrum. The four bodyguards were shocked by Kaze’s sudden retaliation and it was Duncan’s cry that brought them back to their senses. “You bastard! How dare you slap Duncan? Die!” The four of them jumped on Kaze. They wanted to break Kaze’s arms and legs one by one, torture him, and make him suffer before they delivered the lethal blow. If they killed Kaze right away, Duncan would still be aggrieved as it was too easy. Duncan grinned as he sat on the floor. “You little fucker! I’ll have you know what it would cost to slap me in the first place!” “Then you might be disappointed,” Kaze s
“You bastard! That’s the store sign Dr. Wright gave us!” The employees of Herbal Spring were upset and outraged when Duncan’s men caused destruction. The store sign had been their pride and now it was destroyed. “A store sign from a useless doctor. What’s so precious about it? Break it!” Duncan said disdainfully. The four bodyguards continued to wreck the place. “Hold up.” Suddenly, a calm voice sounded. It was Kaze. He initially did not want to intervene because of Dr. Wright but then Duncan did not stop and exacerbated the matter. He could no longer stand the arrogant bastard. Everyone looked at Kaze. The employees looked at Kaze with a cold gaze because they knew what actually happened. It was Kaze scolding Duncan that started all this. Now, Duncan shifted the responsibility to Dr. Wright and Herbal Spring. Dr. Wright was forced to step up to defend Kaze. They lost the good impression of Kaze. “Wait.” Duncan raised his brows and gestured at his men to sto
Even though Dr. Wright was facing a problem with Duncan, he scolded Jude through the phone, whom he originally called to seek help. He could not accept that Jude wanted him, one of the three greatest doctors of West State, to slander Kaze. Slam! After he hung up the call, he realized he was out of options. Even the deputy chief of the Viper’s Den South River Branch refused to help. He had no idea who else could overpower Duncan and his father. “Old man, you called the deputy chief of the South River Branch?” Duncan could not help but gloat at Dr. Wright’s bitter look. “I forgot to tell you that my father and Uncle Jude are quite close. “It seems you can’t get anyone powerful to help you now. Is it my turn to state my conditions?” A victor’s smile was obvious on his face. The title of “the greatest doctor” meant nothing in the presence of Duncan Techman. Dr. Wright ran out of options. He was mentally prepared to accept the unfair punishment. He expressionlessly said,
Herbal Spring and Horny Spring. One different word and the establishment turned into a brothel of some kind. The words not only infuriated Dr. Wright, but also the other employees of Herbal Spring. Duncan was being rude and disrespectful. “Fine! I’ll make the call!” Dr. Wright was furious. He picked up the phone and made the call. The first call he made was to a wealthy man in Riverbank. The man had over a billion in assets and was known for being a filial son. When his mother was sick, it was Dr. Wright who cured her. However, when the man received the call and learned it was Duncan who caused a problem, he quickly switched from a tone of gratitude to hesitation. “Dr. Wright, Everett Techman is notorious in Riverbank. I am running a legitimate business. I dared not cross paths with him. “But I can ask my friend to try and talk to him, maybe arrange for you guys to meet. Your student can then apologize to him and start anew, how’s that?” Dr. Wright was agitated.
“He’s completely crippled, down to the last bone. I cannot heal him,” Dr. Wright said honestly. “What?! You cannot heal him?!” Duncan’s men were shocked. Blackie was their boss' strongest fighter, and if he ended up completely disabled, it would be a significant loss to their organization. Their rivals might seize this opportunity to launch an attack, putting both the organization and their own safety at risk. The organization’s profits—and by extension, their own—would undoubtedly take a significant hit. Blackie had always been Everett’s most dangerous weapon, used to deter his rivals from doing any harm to them. “Doctor, don’t fool with us, or you will suffer the consequences!” the men said. Dr. Wright said coldly, “I said I can’t do it. Blackie’s men had already taken him away.” In other words, Duncan was one step too late. The doctor was not deliberately being stubborn or trying to deceive him, he simply could not treat the condition. With that in mind, Duncan,
If Duncan allowed Kaze to walk away without any punishment and the news got out, he would lose face and become the laughingstock of his circle. He might even lose his status in the underworld. With that in mind, Duncan said coldly, “Old Fart, piss off! Don’t poke your nose into this, or else when I get rough, you might get hurt and people might call me disrespectful toward an elderly.” Dr. Wright spoke nicely to him but he replied with vulgarities, even calling him an old fart. Even one of the three greatest doctors in West State had a temper. Dr. Wright focused more on honing his patience and temperament, but after being insulted multiple times by a bunch of disrespectful young men, his patience was running thin. His expression darkened and said, “Young man, even if your father is here, you have no right to speak to me like that. “Please leave. Herbal Spring does not welcome you.” Duncan did not take Dr. Wright seriously at all. He widened his eyes angrily and bellowed
Duncan, who was joking and laughing a moment ago, froze upon hearing those words. The smile on his face turned stiff. His less-than-handsome face darkened. “Kaze!” Sasha did not care about Duncan’s change of expression. When she heard Kaze’s voice, she looked up with delight and ran over to him. Her face remained as pale as paper though. “It’s fine. I’m here now.” Kaze patted her head to calm her down before turning to Duncan and his men. “The son of a gangster is still a gangster. Bullying a girl in broad daylight? It seems you and your father have gotten too full of yourselves.” Duncan’s men were surprised. Then they glared at Kaze, bellowing, “Punk! How dare you talk to Duncan like that?! You’re getting it now!” Since Kaze mentioned Everett’s name, he clearly knew who the man was and how powerful he was in the underworld. Duncan realized the situation after a few seconds. He turned around to Kaze and stared at him coldly. With gritted teeth, he said, “You piece of sh
Dr. Wright learned from the men that Kaze had slapped Blackie the night before, which explained why they were so afraid of him. “Mhmm. You’re right not saving that guy. He’s working for some gangster boss of Riverbank. I think the name is Everett Techman. You should know that they always bully the weak and the kind,” Kaze said. “I see.” Dr. Wright nodded. “But it’s not that I don’t want to save him, it’s just that he’s beyond saving. The one who hurt him was merciless.” It was only normal for South, the Southern Tiger of the Steelclaw Guild, to be ruthless. Kaze did not comment on the topic. He chatted with the doctor about something else. “S-Sir, please don’t do this.” Suddenly, Sasha’s timid voice came from outside the lobby. “What do you mean, young lady? I am not doing anything to you.” A frivolous voice of a man followed. “I just want you to work at my company. You’re basically working like a janitor here, how much do they pay you a month? Is there even one gra
“What?!” The fierce man was stunned before he had a better look at Kaze. His eyes then widened in disbelief. “I-It’s you?” The man recognized Kaze and his expression turned as white as a sheet. He clearly remembered Kaze slapped Blackie at the lounge last night, and it left an impact on him. What shocked him was that after South crippled Blackie and killed Genesis Weather, Kaze slapped South in the face to infuriate him completely.Back then, all of them thought Kaze was dead and could never walk out alive. Yet Kaze stood before him, alive and healthy, and even kicked him in the back. They had no idea what happened back in the lounge but being able to walk away from such an intense situation without a scratch was an amazing feat and it was enough for them to be terrified of Kaze. “What?” Kaze raised his hand and slapped the man again, throwing him backward and crashing into the wall behind him. The man covered his face in fear and confusion, his eyes widened in d