Lock was with a few guests upstairs. Since the party was about to begin, Lock took the stairs down to make some preparations. He lost his temper when he heard Kaze being insulted and thrown out. “Mr. Yemen, I—” Mika was surprised that Lock would take to Kaze’s defense and yell at her. Feeling put in the spot, Mika was angry. Lock scoffed. Ignoring Mika, he approached Kaze and said, “Don’t worry, Kaze. My home is your home. No one can throw you out.” Cyan and Ryna scowled. What was that supposed to mean? Kaze had been torn to pieces lately. Yet, Lock could not see him for who he was. No one could believe that Lock remained close to Kaze. Kaze smiled nonchalantly. “Don’t be mad, Mr. Yemen. No one can throw me out. “I won’t lose sleep over someone who is ungrateful for their heritage.” Someone who was ungrateful for their heritage?The crowd was taken aback by Kaze’s remark. Draig, standing in the midst, was surprised too. He was going to take his turn to put
“How dare you!”Lock was enraged. “Ms. Suka, who are you to make my guest kneel? “I’ve met many walks of life in my lifetime, but none of them is as cocky as you.” Lock was exasperated. He could not believe someone would be so aggressive at his house party to make his student kneel. “Whose guest is she?” Lock snapped at Ryna and Cyan. Ryna said disgruntledly, “Why are you being so mean, Lock? Cyan invited Ms. Suka. Do you have a problem with it? “Ms. Suka is a TikTok influencer. She has more followers than Cyan. “Do you know how much she makes in a day? How could you be upset at her? “I see why you have been bad at doing business. If Cyan hadn’t signed with Golden Scale Corporation and become associated with the Viper’s Den, I would still be living in poverty with you. “I don’t get what you’re thinking. Why are you still defending the kid? You insulted Ms. Suka because of him too.” Ryna lay down hard on Lock before turning to Kaze. She said callously, “I hope you
Ryna panicked. “The Ryokanian is back for revenge? What do we do now? “Kaze, it’s all your fault! “You ruined our party! I want to kill you!” Without a word, Kaze frowned. Jiro died in front of the Refined Blade Dojo, and his message to the Ryokanians did not seem to intimidate them. The Ryokanians had the nerve to seek revenge. The revenge came quickly. Ryna shouted furiously at Lock, “Don’t just stand there, Lock! Get us out of this mess! Kaze attacked Jiro. We have nothing to do with it.“If you take his side again and ruin things for us, I won’t forgive you!” Lock answered with furrowed brows, “What’s going on? I don’t understand what is going on.”“Here’s the thing, Dad.” Cyan briefed Lock on the situation. Lock gasped sharply, finding himself in hot water. “I’ll ask my associate in the Viper’s Den South River State Branch upstairs.” He turned on his heel to head inside. A car with a diplomatic license plate pulled up. “Here is the Ryokanian VIP. I’ve s
Reiko frowned. As her investigation showed, Kaze had no place in the Yemen family. Reading Reiko’s expression, Ryna could feel her heart sinking. She assumed her apology did not cut it. Hence, Ryna tipped her daughter the wink. Biting the bullet, Cyan went near her mother and said ingratiatingly, “Ms. Hara, is Mr. Sakamoto doing well? Is he badly hurt? “I’m sorry about what happened to him. I hope to check on him later.“I kept persuading Kaze to apologize, but he just wouldn’t let things go.” Cyan kept apologizing to Reiko. As Cyan and Ryna humbled themselves in Reko’s presence, Lock grimaced hard. He took a deep breath and said solemnly, “Ms. Hara, we are sorry about Mr. Sakamoto. As Kaze’s mentor, I have my fair share of responsibility. “We are happy to compensate Mr. Sakamoto for his trouble.” Though displeased with Kaze’s violence, Lock could not turn his back on Kaze. “What are you saying, Lock?” Color drained from Ryna’s face. “The attack on Mr. Sakamoto
“But I know you mean well, Ms. Hara.“Don’t worry. It’s over in my books. I won’t take revenge on Jiro or put this on the Refined Blade Clan.” As Draig rambled on, Reiko furrowed her brows. “Woah! Mr. Tenby is so cool. He assaulted a Ryokanian, and another Ryokanian begged for his mercy.” “Yeah. That’s one of the perks of being an Uleanian. As Arcadians, we would be praying that the Ryokanians wouldn’t take things far.” As gasps filled the room. Cyan’s influencer friends were starstruck by Draig’s heroic response. Mika, a superfan of the Ryokanian culture, looked at Draig in admiration. She became doubtful of herself. Maybe it was better for her to migrate to Uleania instead. “So you are not going to hold the Refined Blade accountable, Mr. Tenby?” Reiko asked with a frown. “That’s right. It was just a slight altercation, so it should end that way too.” Draig waved his arm generously and pointed at Cyan. “Cyan is my good friend. Don’t put this on her too.“Well, I’
“Ms. Hara! You!” Draig put his hand over his cheeks and snapped an angry look at Reiko. Cyan and the others were confused. Reiko had come to apologize to Draig. Yet, she slapped him. “Smack!” Reiko raised her hand at Draig again. The slap left a mark on Draig’s other cheek. “Oh, you’re the son of a highly trained martial artist in Uleania. So what?” “Smack!” “Who do you think you are, saying that you won’t hold the Refined Blade Clan accountable?” “Smack!” “I have many dojos in Uleania. Your father doesn’t scare me.” “Smack!” “You sure are full of yourself! Did I say that I came to apologize to you?” “Smack!” “You sure think highly of yourself.” Without giving Draig time to breathe, Reiko whipped her hand across his face over and again. It did not take long for Draig’s face to swell up. “Phew. I’m exhausted. You can take over.” Reiko retracted her arm and spoke to her subordinate with a blank face. She brought along the Refined Blade members whos
Cyan and Ryna looked at Kaze in a daze while emotions overtook them. The influencers stared blankly at Kaze, their expression awkward. Draig, the supposed great man, was no hero. Kaze, who everybody had looked down upon, was the person Reiko wanted to rub shoulders with. What the hell was going on? The question burned in everybody’s mind. Mika, especially, was at a loss. She was wrong. Mika made the wrong call. Men were an open book to her. Yet, Mika read Kaze wrongly. Kaze could make the great Ryokanians fall. Most absurdly, Mika was sarcastic to Kaze. With the things she said in mind, Mika wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it. She could not accept that she lost the chance to be friends with a man like Kaze. Mika had herself to blame. Draig, his hands over his head, was stunned. It was impossible. No way. His screams echoed in his mind. The truth was hard to swallow. As the assault on his head continued, Draig had to accept the cold, hard f
Outside the villa, the crowd looked at Kaze in reverence. Kaze commanded the respect of a powerful Ryokanian. He was the real hero in this story.Everybody used to think that he was a pushover who held his tongue in the face of mockery. Now, Kaze’s behavior was perceived as discretion and refusal to stoop low to the level of petty people. Kaze glanced at Reiko and laughed. “I must say that I am surprised that you’re here.“I didn’t think you’d be here to apologize.” Reiko uttered, her head down, “It’s only right to apologize after making a mistake. I came here tonight to offer my apologies.” “Oh, really?” Kaze smiled offhandedly. He was skeptical of Reiko’s intention. His conflict with the Ryokanians was way past the death of Jiro. “Please believe me, Mr. Lee. I only come with good intentions.” Reiko waved her arm, and one of her people brought forth a box. The lid was opened, and the box revealed a black card inside. “What’s this?” Kaze raised a brow. Re
“That’s amazing, Chief Hill!” The execution hall members cheered Robin on with admiration. Ignoring his crew’s praises, Robin disappeared at the moment of landing. Before everybody knew it, Robin appeared before Siberian. Siberian scowled at the menacing aura coming from Robin. He felt as though he was in the depths of hell. “Swoosh!” Siberian dodged to the side while swiping his knife multiple times. The air crackled with tension as Siberian’s attack headed toward Robin. Robin reached out his hand and snapped his fingers. Siberian’s knife that took the lives of dozens of Viper’s Den members broke.The broken blade boomeranged and shot toward Siberian’s chest. Siberian managed to shy away from a direct hit, but the broken blade took his arm off. As blood spurted, Siberian grimaced hard. In fact, Siberian had not taken Robin lightly. Siberian was a prominent killer in the South River State. He knew better than anyone that it took more than guts to be a leade
Siberian was strong. No one could stop him. Siberian was one ferocious beast. “Siberian, your sister tried to assassinate me. I was kind not to kill her then. “Take your problems up with me,” Kaze said curtly, his presence at the railing upstairs. Kaze could not ignore the killing spree happening right outside River Watcher Inn even though he did not know these Viper’s Den members. The whole thing started because of him anyway. Siberian looked up murderously at Kaze and laughed menacingly. “Don’t worry. You’ll die. They’ll die too. “Anyone linked to you must die. “I will kill your family and your friends to avenge my sister.” Siberian’s voice was brutal. He was known for his cold-bloodedness as a professional killer. Kaze narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Kill us all?” Robin, keeping an emotionless face throughout, grinned. “Aren’t you cocky, Siberian?” “Cocky?” Siberian looked at Robin in defiance and said with a smirk, “Who do you think you are? Who are
“Kaze, get your ass down here to face your death.” Not sparing another glance at the Viper’s Den members, Siberian looked up and shouted, “Weren’t you cocky when you tortured my sister? Why are you scared now?“Do you think you can hide from me?” Siberian’s angry voice filled the air. Kaze pissed the long-time killer off. Anzu was Siberian’s sister, and Anzu suffered at the hands of Kaze. Siberian wanted to tear Kaze apart, limb by limb. On the ninth floor of River Watcher Inn, Kaze narrowed his eyes dangerously and got up to head down. “Just enjoy your drink.” Robin stopped Kaze, looked at him, and said, “Don’t you want to see if I have what it takes to recruit you? Well, here’s your chance.”He poured Kaze a drink before holding his cup while looking at the situation downstairs. With Robin showing up near the railing, the young group got the message. “Kill him!” The group yelled before charging toward Siberian with the remaining dozens of Viper’s Den members.
“Whoosh.” Siberian remained detached in the face of the killings. He charged ahead with his knife. His blade tore through the air. Two members of the Viper’s Den wiped blood from their faces, only to find gaping wounds in their chests. “Swoosh!” Three deadly blades flashed, their points weaving together to block Siberian’s every route to escape. These three Viper’s Den members were on a different level from the first wave of attackers. Their coordination was seamless, and their attack was relentless. Siberian would be struck by the remaining two blades regardless of the direction he would choose to evade. Still, Siberian did not shy away from danger. He struck a blow even at the cost of injuring himself. “Clank!” As sparks flew, three blades broke. “Gash!” The tips of the broken blades stabbed into the three Viper’s Den members. The trio fell dead in disbelief. By now, Siberian had taken at least a dozen lives. The bloodshed occurred on the ground floo
The young group felt reassured. It explained why Robin did not seem bothered despite knowing that Kaze had massacred the Roads. Kaze grinned. “So the Godfather owes me one since I got rid of a problem for him.” Instead of addressing what Kaze said, Robin uttered, “You can consider what I have offered.” Kaze shook his head with a pretentious smile. “Forget about it. Like you said, power is everything.” “So you’re saying that I’m not good enough to recruit you?” Robin furrowed his brows. Kaze smiled without a word. Suddenly, he pulled a straight face and turned in a direction. Robin frowned too. “It looks like we have a visitor.” The Viper’s Den members lurking in the dark showed up on the other floors. A menacing presence loomed over River Watcher Inn.A towering individual, armed with a knife, appeared outside the building. The middle-aged man gave off raw energy. “Get your ass down here and face your death, Kaze!” His voice shook the building, and the Viper
While the young group grimaced, Collier tossed the sack onto the floor, and a bloody head rolled out. The head belonged to Boris, whose soul was clearly not at peace. The young group looked at the head before turning to Kaze in disbelief. Just half an hour ago, Robin had a lovely conversation with Boris, and now, Boris was nothing more than a decapitated body. No wonder Kaze was so confident to think he was on par with Robin. It explained Robin’s admiration for him. “You’re committed and ruthless in nature.” Robin stared at Kaze, pleased with his personality. He said indifferently, “The West State Branch needs a good shake-up, and I think the execution hall could use someone like you.“The deputy chief position is yours for the taking, should you choose to join us.” “Eek.” The young group gasped sharply. Though it was a deputy position in the execution hall within the Viper’s Den West State Branch, the rank was similar to that of a deputy chief in other branches.
To the young group’s surprise, Kaze pulled through without a hitch. That was not the only thing. Kaze retaliated against Robin and destroyed his beloved harp. The group speculated that Kaze could be stronger than Hannah. They looked at Kaze in horror. Still, it never once occurred to the group that Kaze was more powerful than Robin. Robin raised his arm. The young group got their act together and saluted Robin before taking two steps back. Robin narrowed his eyes at Kaze before uttering, “Not bad.“I didn’t think I’d meet someone of your caliber in Riverbank. “You have a stronger will than most of my men. “Despite your age, you put even the most experienced to shame with that determination of yours.” The young group felt alarmed and ashamed. The members of the execution hall were the elites in the West State Branch. They were the crème de la crème. However, they swayed under the sound wave attack. Though the group was around Kaze’s age, they did not possess h
“Get out!” Kaze gave Hannah the look. Hannah quietly turned around and stumbled her way out. Robin glanced at Kaze as his fingers danced around the harp. “I will behead the general, and once it’s over, tears will fall and fade away.” The tempest of sound took over the room by storm. Kaze felt sent back to his time during the war. He watched his comrades fall. Time lost meaning as the war came to an end. The battle cries subsided, replaced by silence. His brothers-in-arms were no more than a pile of unidentified bones. Even Kaze’s faithful steed whined its farewell. Darkness swallowed the last light over the desolate desert, and he was alone. There was nothing left in the world worth fighting for. No one would remember his death in a faraway land. It was better to die with honor than live in shame. The thought filled Kaze’s head, and emotions overcame him. He was better off dead. Life was not worth living anyway. A voice within tempted Kaze. The craz
Robin did not even look at Collier.Saying nothing, Robin extended his fingers and plucked the harp. “Clang!” A jarring, high-pitched sound wave pierced through everybody’s eardrums. The air was filled with a chilling aura of menace.The serenity on the ninth floor was shattered by the sound of the harp and replaced with malice. Collier and the young group turned pale. Only Robin, Kaze, and Hannah remained unfazed by the attack. “Amid the sweeping wind, the flute’s song echoes in the night. The desert sun descends for the crescent moon above. “To the sound of camel bells, I long for my home. I hold onto my sword, leaving letters where I lay my head.” The wind danced along the melody of General’s Order played by the harp, dropping the temperature down on the ninth floor. Robin’s clothes and hair fluttered against the wind, his face unreadable through it all. His eyes remained cold and distant. General’s Order was a piece known for its unsettling tone. Robin playe