Taylor finally showed up at the door. Rose was thrilled beyond words to see her favorite idol. Taylor was surprised. She was not expecting to see a young girl. The VIP who spent 100 million dollars to meet Taylor turned out to be a much younger lady. Taylor was jealous. Still, she reflected none of her inner emotions on her face. Taylor nodded in reverence. “Hello, young lady. Thank you for supporting me. How should I address you?” “I’m Rose Oceanid, Taylor,” Rose said in a daze. Taylor was an idol, worshiped and screamed at by her fans. Now, she stood before Rose in deference. Rose could not get used to it. It put a damper on her excitement. Somehow, Taylor’s attitude made her sick. “Ah, Ms. Oceanid.” Unaware of Rose’s changed opinion, Taylor smiled ingratiatingly. “I believe you aren’t a local to the city. “As far as I know, the Oceanids aren’t one of the top three families in Lilyrose.”Rose was puzzled that Taylor would think she came from an elite family
Despite her displeasure, Taylor kept her feelings to herself. She could not afford to piss off Kaze, the type without qualms to throw money around. Besides, Kaze was not just wealthy. Alisa said that Kaze had to hold a higher position than the chief commander of Lilyrose Strategic Department to set foot into Emperor Hall. Kaze was the definition of power. Hence, Taylor stood there without a word. “I needed Rose to see you for who you are, Taylor, but I also need to find something out from you.” Amid the tension, Kaze spoke. Taylor’s breath hitched. “Ask away, Mr. Lee.” “Did my buddy, James White, really assault you?” Shocked, Taylor looked up at Kaze in disbelief. She did not expect Kaze to be a good friend to James. “Mr. Lee, I-I…” Fear stirred in Taylor’s eyes. Her knees went weak, and she fell into a kneeling position. Her tiny frame shuddered. “Stand up and talk,” Kaze said indifferently. Taylor shakily rose to her feet. Kaze then said, “I want the tru
Taylor knew right there and then. Kaze was not leaving her with any choice. After all, she had done a lot of harm. Kaze was a man of power. She could not refuse his requests. “Come on, Rose.” Not wanting to see the disgusting woman anymore, Kaze left Emperor Hall without looking back. Rose even glanced at Taylor in disdain on her way out. The earlier conversation introduced Rose to a whole new world. Rose thought that Taylor was no different than ordinary folks. She was probably a bit of a snob. It never occurred to Rose that Taylor had committed such an unforgivable thing. Once out of Dynasty Hotel, Kaze gave Snow a call. “Snow, get Shane to investigate the real reason behind James’ death. I believe he didn’t jump off the building.” The police wrote off James’ death as suicide because he was depressed from the car crash and career downfall. Everybody even called James a coward. Kaze knew something was fishy right from the start. James was expelled from s
The two women quickly met with Frank. Frank felt a tingle in his loin when he saw Taylor looking vulnerable in tears. “What’s wrong, Taylor?” Frank asked. Taylor recounted the story once more. Frank looked solemn. For the person to gain access to Emperor Hall, they must be untouchable even to the upper society. That included the Goldings. Frank said frustratedly, “I’m not aware of anyone important in Lilyrose. What does he look like? Let me see.” Alisa pulled out a thumb drive. She had all her bases covered. Prior to coming, Alisa requested a surveillance video of Emperor Hall from Dynasty Hotel to keep as evidence. “Hahaha!” Frank burst out laughing when Kaze appeared in the video. “Do you know him, Mr. Golding?” Taylor and Alisa looked at him, wondering why he was laughing. Frank enjoyed a good laugh before uttering, “Taylor, I’ve missed you. It’s been two years since we got it on. “I hold the key to your survival, but perhaps one more taste of that shar
Alisa dragged Taylor back to Dynasty Hotel. The fans who attended the meet-and-greet were still hanging around the venue. Noticing Taylor’s return, they were overjoyed. “Is that a new outfit, Taylor?” “She must have taken a shower. Her hair isn’t dry yet, and she’s already in a rush to see us. She’s too good to us fans.” Feeling moved, the fans kept screaming. To their surprise, Taylor went up on stage and solemnly announced that she would be having an immediate press conference which would be broadcast live. The local press from various agencies soon entered the scene. The press conference began. Without wasting a lot of time on words, an edited clip was projected on the screen. In the video, Taylor kneeled before a young man, explaining something in tears. Holy shit! Gasps filled the room. Taylor was a top-rated celebrity with a huge following. The Internet went wild in less than a minute. With Alicia pumping money into the publicity campaign, Taylor quick
Taylor’s words stirred an uproar. It went crazy online. The God of War was more popular than any A-list celebrity. Alisa did not have to throw money into publicity to make the issue a huge deal anymore. Taylor was trending on social media for crying to the God of War on her knees. Her name and other keywords were trending. The usual breakups, divorces, and scandals that the public loved to hate were no longer going viral. “The God of War’s buddy, James White, assaulted Taylor.”“The God of War’s face exposed.” All terms related to the incident occupied the top ten hashtags. All of Arcadia had their attention at the press conference. The server of all social media platforms went down. The network engineers were summoned late into the night to fix the servers urgently. The press put in the extra shift to publish articles about the press conference. They could expect huge traffic on their sites. “Taylor, are you going to apologize to Shangrila Group and pay your r
That night, the Internet broke. Kaze became famous overnight.“He’s just a loser who takes his wife’s family name. How dare he impersonate the God of War! Who does he think he is?” “This is an insult to the God of War and all citizens.” “I don’t approve of you voicing your opinion for all of us, but I agree that the guy should be executed.” “Kaze doesn’t represent all men who take their wives’ names, but I agree that he should be executed.” Such comments went rampant online. Most of the public spent their night in a rage. They were filled with kindness and a sense of justice. The public could not stand to have the God of War, the national hero, insulted and discredited by a mere son-in-law of a somewhat wealthy family. A petition was set up that night itself. Millions of citizens signed the petition, calling for punishment for Kaze. Some had expressed that they had bought flight tickets to Lilyrose. They summoned the public to protest the city government today
Everybody glared at Kaze. The Quints found themselves blameless for once. Trouble came looking for them when they did nothing at all. For no reason, the public tore into them because of Kaze. “The idiot has ruined our family. He must separate from Darcy now.” “Darcy shouldn’t just divorce. She needs to throw the idiot out. It’s the only way to save our family.” The Quints clamored. They rushed over to force Kaze to cut ties with the Quints. “Don’t think you can talk your way out of it this time, Darcy. Either you divorce the fool, or I’ll have to disown you too,” Master Quint said ruthlessly. “Just do it, Darcy. Why are you still hesitating?” Agnes and Agatha urged. Only Sky and Rose did not want Darcy and Kaze to separate. Nevertheless, their opinions did not matter because they were not taken seriously being the youngest in the family. “Alright. I have made up my mind.” Darcy turned to Kaze with a heart-wrenching smile. “I’ve decided to leave the family wit
Everyone looked at where Jiro was pointing and saw Kaze. Wesley and the others immediately curled their lips into a gloating grin. Kaze’s words must have infuriated Jiro. He allowed others to leave except for Kaze, which he wanted to take away. One could only imagine what would happen to Kaze if Jiro took him back. However, before Wesley and the others could savor the moment, their smirks froze. Miru shook her head and said sternly, “Bronze Sparrow is open for business and we will not interfere with our customer’s private affairs, except this time. “I am making an exception for Kaze. I don’t care what you do to the others after you walk out of my place but with Kaze, it’s not happening.” “What the…” Miru’s words put everyone in shock, even Cyan and her friends widened their eyes in disbelief. Miru was defending Kaze?! Kaze knew Miru personally as well? Draig started to feel jealous about Kaze’s luck with women. Snow listened to him while the owner of Bronze Sp
“Nonsense!” Infuriated, Jiro shouted, “Woman, Bronze Sparrow thrives because of us Ryokanians! How dare you say that to us? “Who the hell are you? Not even Zoro, the previous manager, spoke to me like that!” “That’s why Zoro is dead.” Miru pursed her lips and raised her hand at the men behind her. “Let’s show Mr. Sakamoto what Bronze Sparrow is capable of.” “Alright, Boss!” Wolf, with an ever-smiley face, stepped up and walked toward Jiro and his men. Aside from the three Ryokanians Kaze had already taken down, eighteen remained. Seeing Wolf's bloated figure and cheerful smile as he approached them by himself, the Ryokanians burst into mocking laughter. “What is this fat guy trying to do? Is he trying to take us all at once?” “Look at his size. Was he a sumo wrestler before?” “Go get him. Teach him a lesson! Remind him that sumo wrestlers are no match for us!” One of them went up to Wolf with a ferocious smile. Bang! Wolf punched the man in the face, sending
“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