“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
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
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.
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
“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
“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.
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
“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
Snow had already sent men to where the plane was found. If the passengers were taken away, then they must still be nearby. It was difficult to transport an entire plane of passengers to some place far within such a short time. It was a race against time. Snow did not know who would do such a thing. Kaze took a common flight like everyone else, yet it was hijacked. It was strange. The coincidence was uncanny. Snow believed the hijacking happened because of Kaze but she did not know why. “The only explanation is that there’s a traitor among us…” She finally came to an unlikely conclusion after combing through the details. If there were a traitor, it must be within the Viper’s Den. Kaze had laid a low profile for as long as he was in Butterworth. Not many people knew about his identity and those who wanted to make connections with him were because of Snow. It was unlikely that someone would go after him so suddenly unless this person knew his identity and background.
If they were sent to capture Kaze, then they were severely under-numbered. In addition, they allowed Kaze to be alone with the captives, which proved that they were inexperienced. Or maybe they did not know what he had done in the past as the God of War. Kaze believed that the mercenaries were after him but they did not know his true identity. There must have been some miscommunication between them and their employer, which was good news to Kaze. Tiguan and his men were eating. Since they were unable to identify the target, they were forced to bring everyone back. The plane was huge. It would be an easy target for the law enforcement to locate them. Maybe the outside world had caught wind of the hijacking. “Boss, what should we do now? That man seems like he vanished into thin air.” “We got his boarding information but we can’t identify him on the plane.” “Who are we looking for exactly? Why is he so mysterious?” The men were baffled. “We are looking for the righ
“We are almost there. We have to transfer these people as soon as possible. The plane must take off right away. We cannot leave any traces behind.” They must hurry or they would be caught very soon. They held the pilot hostage and forced him to do an abrupt landing. The sudden descent caught everyone off guard, shocking them. A few of the passengers even hit their heads. Many of them did not get the chance to fasten their seat belts. Kaze grabbed Barney and protected his head from hitting the front seat. “Thank you.” Barney looked at Kaze with gratitude and then looked outside. “Where are we? Have we reached?” He was worried that they would be completely trapped. “They are going to transfer us elsewhere.” Kaze had a similar experience before and he knew what the hijackers would do next. “Transfer us? Are they going to transfer us to somewhere secluded and kill us all?” Barney looked horrified as he stared at Kaze. He somehow felt safe beside Kaze. “They sai
With trains, there was still an option to jump out. However, everybody was sitting ducks in a plane. Kaze had always been sensitive when it came to safety. He had a sinking feeling in his gut as if something was about to happen. He turned his head back to observe the plane’s interior. Several passengers stood up in the business class section. Strangely, these people were seated separately. However, they seemed to know each other. They exchanged glances as if searching for something. Finding the whole thing bizarre, Kaze observed them. Those passengers went straight into the air stewardesses’ compartment and disappeared out of Kaze’s sight. Kaze could not shake off the eerie feeling. Something was off. He looked back, and several more rose to their feet. These individuals were young but toned. They likely underwent some form of specialized training. Kaze had a bad feeling. Trouble was brewing, and the plane was likely being hijacked. “Why are you looking around? Is
“I see. What bad timing.” Katie was a little disappointed to learn that Kaze had left, but in a way, she was relieved. She had gotten on Kaze’s nerves, and he could turn around and make things difficult for her. Now that Kaze was gone, Katie got to keep her job. She did not have to fear Kaze’s retaliation. The news caught Leah off guard. “Why did he leave without saying goodbye? I didn’t even thank him yet.” Leah had a hard time digesting the news. She had been waiting for a chance to show her gratitude to Kaze and see him again. He was out of her life before she could do anything about it. “I’m sorry. Chairman Lee’s departure was unplanned.” Snow put on a professional smile, appearing friendly and distant. “Please present the gifts to him for us if you can. We are grateful for Mr. Lee’s help.” Katie was annoyed that Leah could not spend time with Kaze. The bond could help with her career. Kaze’s departure cost Katie an opportunity, but there was no point in dwel
“Now that’s the spirit. You can’t take every matter into your own hands. You’re a leader now. You should put the right people in the right jobs.” Feeling relieved, May nodded. “Where’s the guy? I have been wanting to meet him. I missed the chance when I was unconscious.” May came over right away just to score a chance to see Kaze. Kaze saved her life, but she did not have the chance to thank him in person. “I set the date. We’re seeing him tomorrow afternoon. Let’s freshen up. I’m taking you home to rest.” With a time in place, Snow had to get ready. May nodded. The pair returned to the mansion where they felt at home. Even though it had been a while since their return, nothing had changed. “Did Jet say anything when he stepped down?” May was clueless on the specifics. “He went mad and ran out. I get this uneasy feeling, but I can’t locate him anywhere.” Snow was concerned. Jet, as witty as he was, likely played up his meltdown. It was a shame that Jet got aw
“I have pointed you in a direction. If you still can’t trust your team, you can go to the Viper’s Den.“There’s one thing, though. Don’t rely too heavily on the Viper’s Den, or your company will be left without secrets.” Kaze’s suggestion gave Snow assurance. She considered tapping into the Viper’s Den’s resources. However, Kaze warned her against excessive dependence. “Why did you say that, Chairman Lee? Will the Viper’s Den stab me in the back?” Surely, the Viper’s Den took orders from Kaze. The Viper’s Den would always be an ally so long as Kaze was the branch leader. “I just don’t want you to put too much faith in others. You find loyalty by developing your own team. Those who revere me will never trust you completely.” Kaze analyzed the situation. Snow ate her supper and looked at Kaze in confusion. “You can only count on the people you win over. You can’t trust anyone else, and that includes me.” Kaze would never hurt Snow. However, he hoped that she would fin
“As you said, all is in the past. What’s the point of dwelling on it?” Leah perked up. Such was life, but it took her too long to understand the harsh reality. She guessed things were just not meant to be. “I’ll think about what to get Kaze. Rest well. We’ll visit him in a few days.” Taking the matter seriously, Katie wanted to get gifts ready ahead of time to thank Kaze. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do too. I want to be in touch with the outside world. I don’t care what they have to say. This is not my fault. I won’t blame myself.” Leah wanted her phone back to contact her former friends. Ultimately, she needed to move forward instead of backward. She had to face and fight back the rumors with courage. It was the crucial step to kick trauma in the face. The abduction was kept hush-hush for the most part, but Katie’s frantic search for her daughter at the cocktail party did not go unnoticed. Hearing about the incident, the influential people were keen to find out
“When did Kaze start setting it all up? I get the feeling that everybody played into his hands right from the start, and he had controlled every step of the way.” Leah realized that Kaze was an amazing man. Nothing could go past his eyes. “I don’t know.” Katie feared someone like Kaze. She would not be caught dead near him. Even when grasping the situation, Katie dared not look into Kaze for fear she would be targeted. Katie was careful not to show her face around Kaze. For all she knew, Kaze might get back at her. “But he came to Butterworth alone. We met at the train station, and he helped me out of a bad situation.” Leah felt warm and cozy inside just remembering the events. They did not know each other then. Kaze was kind to help a stranger out. From then on, Kaze could do no wrong in Leah’s eyes. Leah befriended him and found him nice. Her interest in him grew. They also got along well. Her memories of Kaze were sweet. Anyone could hurt her in the world, but