Rock was the Blade Enthusiast. Jeremiah was the Sword Fanatic. Together, they were a dynamic duo, famed for the skill of their crafts. Twenty years ago, Rock and Jeremiah were the two biggest menaces of the South River State underworld. Jeremiah was the No. 1 killer. Rock was the No. 1 gladiator. The pair had withdrawn from the public eye in the last twenty years. However, their glory and legend lived on in the criminal world. When a founding member of Lefteria Group recognized Rock, a commotion erupted.All eyes fell on the man with a blank face. The man stood tall like a gladiator with his burly build and face of beard. It was clear now that the badminton racket bag did not carry badminton rackets. Instead, a broad and heavy blade was in it. Jeremiah owned a sword with a broken tip. Rock’s choice of weapon was a heavy blade. He was never seen without his trusty companion. Not just anybody could carry a blade weighing dozens of pounds everywhere. It was said
“What is the idiot son-in-law of the Quints doing?” “The moron must be delusional again. He probably thinks Master Cummingham will come back to life to save him.” Kaze’s behavior was unexpected and drew mockery instead. They thought Kaze had gone mad to pin his hope on a dead man. It was old news that the son-in-law of the Quints got out of a mental institution. Everybody was not surprised by his psychotic behavior. “What has gotten into you, Kaze?” Miru scowled at Kaze’s disrespect toward Alan. “Save your breath, Kaze. Alan is dead.” Angel ridiculed. There was no way Alan could survive Cronus’ Shadowbane Essence. Kaze paid them no heed and simply grabbed one of Lefteria Group’s fighters who surrounded him. “What are you doing?” The furious fighter soon realized he could not overpower Kaze. Kaze grabbed the knife out of the fighter’s belt and threw it. Swoosh. The knife scythed through the air, narrowly missing the crowd. Finally, the knife’s tip wedged in t
“Godfather?” Miru was the first to run up to the coffin and pulled Alan out of there with the help of a few founding members. “I’ll tell you later.” Alan nodded at Kaze. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to hide in the coffin. The cover was sealed shut, and my people hadn’t opened it.” “Now that you’re out, you can sort out your own mess. All I want is an answer.” Miru and the others looked at Kaze suspiciously. They had many questions. Nevertheless, they got one thing straight. Kaze was not trying to destroy the coffin earlier. He was merely trying to release Alan. “Alan, you…” Angel pointed at Alan, looking like he had just seen a ghost. Alan said indifferently, “You must find it strange that I am back from the dead even though I was poisoned with Shadowbane Essence.” Angel fell silent, his expression telling. He could not figure it out. “Where are you, Mr. Anemo?” Alan suddenly shouted. An old man in a lab coat walked out of the crowd. “He’s the No. 1 doctor of t
“I took Mr. Anemo’s suggestion and rolled the dice.” Alan glanced at Leo, who was pale-faced, and said coldly, “I played along and let the traitor activate the poison in me. I was dead for a moment.“Mr. Anemo is worthy of his title as the No. 1 doctor in the South River State because he formulated a cure after figuring out the source of the trigger. “In the two days I lay in the coffin, my body expelled the toxin. I only regained consciousness this morning.” Alan’s brief narrative sparked conversation in the room. Charles lived up to his reputation. While Alan recounted the event, Charles was busy treating Jeremiah. Jeremiah, who lay unconscious seconds ago, jolted up. His chest rose and fell in ragged gasps, his throat raw as he groaned. “Blegh!” He spat out black blood which splashed on the tiles. Wisps of smoke rose from the pool of blood. The blood was the toxin of Shadowbane Essence. Charles used needle insertion therapy to force the toxin out of Jeremiah.
“No way. Is Rock the Blade Enthusiast afraid of Jeremiah? Did he just make up an excuse so that he didn’t have to go through the duel to the death?” A commotion ensued at River Watcher Inn. All stared at Jeremiah in reverence. The Sword Fanatic had retired from the underground scene for twenty years, but he beheaded Cronus’ best fighter in an instant upon his return. Even Rock the Blade Enthusiast, an equal in fighting prowess to Jeremiah, backed away. Jeremiah glanced at Kaze. The expression on Rock’s face before he left did not go unnoticed. Rock only left because he had reservations about Kaze. With Rock gone, it put Angel in an awkward spot. He wanted to slip away while no one was looking. However, Lefteria Group had eyes on him. He could not find a chance to slip out. “Hold it right there, Angel.” A clamor of angry voices erupted the moment Angel turned around. Angel shuddered and looked at Alan with a nod. He said, “Congratulations, Master Cummingham, for yo
The founding members of Lefteria Group saw Leo as one of their own. Miru was the outsider of an unknown past. Yet, Alan wanted to hand the reins to Miru. If they were Leo, they would not be able to accept Alan’s decision too. Leo simply went for a far more drastic extreme. Several founding members stepped forward to help Leo. “Leo is right, Alan. We practically raised him. He made a poor judgment because he was fooled by Cronus and Angel.” “That’s right, Alan. Cronus’ Shadowbane Essence caught you off guard too. Leo was probably drugged or poisoned, so he didn’t think clearly.” “We should give him a chance to turn over a new leaf.” The founding members gave Alan something to think about, and he hesitated. Leo’s father, Bando, died saving Alan’s life. That was the very reason why Alan took Leo in as his godson and raised him as his own. “I’ll spare your life because I owe your father one.” Alan waved his arm aloofly. “Thank you, Godfather.” Leo was overjoyed. H
Waves of criticism crashed down on Kaze.No one took Kaze seriously, and his requests were dismissed. These people believed Kaze was not worthy of their attention. So Lefteria Group pinned the blame on him by mistake. He was fortunate enough to be alive now that his innocence was proven. Kaze should be grateful. He was out of line to demand apologies. Ignoring the group, Kaze fixated his gaze on Alan. He then proposed a worse, crazier, and more moronic request. At least that was what everybody believed it to be. “Because you played along, I somehow got tangled in this and became your pawn, Alan.” Kaze’s voice was cold as he said, “Don’t you owe me an apology too?” Alan had explained that he had been unconscious for the last two days and only came back to life this morning. Still, Kaze knew that Alan must have known about Leo’s plans before he devised a plan with Charles to fake his death. In other words, Alan knew Kaze would be framed as the killer after his suppo
“Mr. Lee, you are overstating it. Let’s go to my office for tea and I’ll make it up to you with a gift,” Alan said respectfully. “I am not interested in your gifts.” Kaze shook his head. The others were annoyed by his arrogant attitude. “Kaze Lee, Master Cummingham once ruled the underworld as a kingpin, he’s not someone you should talk to in that tone.” “You are just a guy who married into a second-tier family! Someone who has no status or position at all!” “Master Cummingham is showing you enough respect just by talking to you. Don’t push it!” Kaze instantly became a common target. Miru strode over to him and scolded him in a low voice. “Kaze, my godfather is lowering himself to apologize to you! You better just accept it! If you continue to give him a hard time, even if my godfather is tolerant of you, what about the others? “Others might go after Darcy and her family just to flatter him because of what you did. Can you just save Darcy some trouble? Aunt Agnes woul
“Huh?” Jiro frowned but then quickly smiled. He took the glass of whiskey from Cyan and said, “I’m always happy to give a beautiful woman some space.” Cyan breathed a sigh of relief. She turned around to face Kaze with a different look and said, “Kaze, what have you done? “Can you stop causing trouble? Stop bragging and stop with your nonsense! This is no time for that! Kneel before Mr. Sakamoto and ask for forgiveness! If he’s happy, your punishment might be lighter!” The look on her face screamed resentment for Kaze. “Now! If you waste this chance, I won’t care about your life and death anymore!” She did not want to get involved in his nonsense. Yet she was the one who organized the gathering and if something happened to Kaze, injured or dead, her father would scold her to death. It explained why she steeled herself up and tried to save Kaze, or so she assumed she was saving him.Kaze said, “Cyan, you should worry about yourself first. And, if you don’t want to be thei
Kaze was quiet during the entire confrontation, so no one noticed him until now. Wesley and the others finally thought of him. Kaze did not kneel! Wesley and the others were aggrieved. Kaze remained seated as he said, “Why should I kneel?” “You think you don’t need to kneel because you knocked out one of my men?” Jiro narrowed his eyes and said, “Only Brother Draig doesn’t need to kneel here. All the other men have no right to speak to me on their feet! It’s decided by strength!” He spoke in a deep and intimidating voice, expressing his displeasure. Everyone sensed the anger in his tone. With his intimidating presence, he would not allow an unruly person to disrupt the situation he had under control. He deliberately held back from the first strike because he wanted the overwhelming presence that he had created to force Kaze down on his knees. Such a way that targeted one’s mentality was smarter and more effective. “Kaze, you idiot! Why aren’t you down on your kn
“Go, open another bottle of wine.” Jiro tapped Cyan’s face, causing her cheeks to turn pale. She turned to Draig with begging eyes. Draig said, “Brother Jiro, Cyan is my friend…” “Is she your woman?” Jiro interrupted him once more. Draig was taken aback by the question. He had an instinctive glance at Snow and shook his head. “No.” Jiro did not even look at him. He pointed at Cyan and said, “Go. Open a bottle of wine and wait for me. I like an obedient woman. I don’t like to be rough on a woman.” Cyan was horrified. She teared up as she reluctantly went off to get the bottle of wine. Jiro and the men behind him then hopped onto the couch, taking up the places that belonged to Wesley and his friends. They were ungentlemanly. The moment they sat down, they grabbed the pretty girls into their arms and molested them, treating them like mere playthings for pleasure. The ladies lost their smiles and looked horrified. They tried to break free but no matter how hard the
The arrogance that Draig brought back to Arcadia had finally been blunted. He nodded and said, “I’m Draig Tenby, the heir of the Tenby Eight Extreme Fists from Uleania. You are?” The Tenby family was the creator of the well-known Tenby Eight Extreme Fists technique. His father practiced the set of fists since he was young and his grandfather was publicly known as the grandmaster of the Tenby Eight Extreme Fists. Whenever a Tenby had to reveal his or her background, they would naturally reveal that they practiced the Tenby Eight Extreme Fists. In addition, the family and the technique were famous in Uleania and Arcadia. Once they revealed their background, even the fiercest enemy would be deterred. “The heir of the Tenby Eight Extreme Fists? Pardon me for not recognizing you earlier.” Jiro stood straight up and put on a strict face. He bowed and said, “Jiro Sakamoto, Refined Blade Clan.” “Jiro Sakamoto?!” Many others recognized the name and were shocked when they heard
Jiro pointed at the corner, indicating that the men could kneel there. His men behind him laughed in agreement. They then started to scrutinize the women as if they were picking one for themselves. The way they browsed through the women as if they were products left the women feeling sick and disgusted. Cyan’s face paled. She tried to shake off Jiro’s hand but could not even break free. She turned to Draig with eyes begging for help. “Let go of her!” Draig stepped up and stared down at Jiro. Jiro glanced at Draig and then raised his brows. He curled his lips up and said, “Hmph. And here I thought I found someone that I like.” “I said, let go of her!” Draig said, stepping closer to Jiro. Jiro tightened his clutch over Cyan’s jaw, making her tear up. He chuckled and said, “Beat me and I’ll let her go.” “You bastard!” Draig cursed. Cyan did everything she could to set him up with Snow, but he had to return the favor. Even though Draig feared Jiro, he steeled himsel
Everyone on the couch gasped in shock. A moment ago, the influencers, who were giggling and chuckling, waiting for Wesley to show off his strength, instinctively shrank in fear. “How dare you beat Wesley! You guys are asking for it!” Wesley’s followers failed to realize the severity of the situation. They bolted up, grabbed the nearest beer bottles, and jumped at the enemies. Jiro raised his hand to signal his men, indicating he would handle this challenge himself. Then, he stepped forward. Punches and kicks were dished out in a flurry. In less than thirty seconds, Wesley’s men were all beaten up to the ground, twirling around in painful groans. Like Wesley, they, too, suffered broken arms and legs. Everyone thought Wesley would be able to teach the Ryokanians another lesson they could not forget but it turned out the other way around. Other than Kaze and a few more, most of them on the couch were horrified. Cyan instinctively glanced at Kaze. She started to regret
Kaze frowned. He tapped on Snow’s shoulder, gesturing to her to sit down as they could no longer walk away. Since they were not part of this, Kaze wanted to leave the matter to Wesley and let them deal with it. The men were not towering but all of them were buff and bulky. Their muscles were obvious even through their uniforms. Their necks had the same tattoo of a sword, amplifying their ferocity. One of the men's heads was bleeding. He was the Ryokanian whom Wesley had hit with a bottle of beer. Wesley wiped the beer and snacks off himself and then shouted at the men, “Who the fuck are you pieces of shit? Do you know who the hell am I? How dare you hit my friend with the bottle?!” The leader of the Ryokanians was a young man in a black karate uniform. He was around 180 cm tall, which was considered tall among Ryokanians. He had a buzz cut that amplified his stern and stoic expression; his presence felt sharp and strong. He had a glass of whiskey in his hand as he loo
Kaze turned a blind eye to those who looked down on him. He smiled it off and said, “I don’t care whatever you guys want to say. I know if I am a coward or not. I am just giving you a friendly reminder. “Or else, when shit hits the fan, I don’t think everyone can be safe. Whether you want to take my advice or not, it’s up to you. As for Cyan…” He looked at Cyan with a serious look and continued, “If you don’t want this gathering to be ruined, you can consider what I just said.” Although he knew Cyan disliked him and would never take his words seriously, for the sake of Lock, he gave a piece of advice and did what he could. “Hmph!” Cyan scoffed. She remained seated with the glass of wine in her hand, looking at Kaze condescendingly. With a disappointed look, she said, “Don’t even talk to me. Since when were we that close? Wesley said what needed to be said. You are afraid of the Ryokanians, so be it. Don’t drag us down with you. You really think everyone is as cowardly as yo
No one knew what Wesley had gone through. Even Kaze felt that the useless coward was surprisingly brave. Therefore, he spoke up to give a piece of friendly advice, “Wesley, the Ryokanian wore the uniform of the Refined Blade and there’s an apprentice badge on him. I think he has some background. “If everyone wants to have a fun and peaceful night, you should consider changing the venue, or else trouble will come knocking.” Kaze thrashed Bronze Sparrow himself, so he knew the Ryokanians’ status in the establishment. When Zoro was still in charge of the place, the Ryokanians were basically the kings. Other than teasing the ladies, they could bring back whoever they were fond of and Bronze Sparrow could not do anything about it. After Miru took over, the Ryokanians no longer possessed the privilege. However, since Miru wanted to expand her business in Riverbank, she did not make enemies with the Ryokanians, so they were still welcome in the establishment. As long as they