The three thugs were treated like royalty. The eyes of the other gangsters were glued on them. “Haha! Darcy’s skin was super soft. I couldn’t get enough of her. You know what those women look like with filters on TikTok. Well, she doesn’t need a filter.” “Her voice was like ecstasy!” “She’s a wild one in bed.” The three thugs chugged beers and bragged about their night with Darcy. “Fuck! I wish I had your luck. She’s the chairman of Sky Ocean!” “Yeah. If only I could have a night with her.” The other thugs were envious. “Go to hell!” A grimacing voice echoed across the room. Mathias led Kaze into the crowd. He was infuriated to catch these gangsters talking about Darcy. “Who the hell are you, jackass? Are you here looking for trouble?” A thug sprang to his feet and picked up a beer bottle to pound on the edge of the table. Clang! The beer bottle cracked open. The thug flung around the broken bottle and approached Mathias. “Jackass, I dare you to breath
“Mr. Queen, you!” Gold Tooth put his hand over his face in shock and rage before facing the dark corner. The feeling that the voice sounded familiar nagged at him. “Again.” The voice came from the darkness. Smack! It then struck Gold Tooth. He froze. Gold Tooth did not feel the pain when Mathias struck him. He looked in the direction of the voice and moved closer to it. The dim light gave Gold Tooth a better view of the young man sitting on the sofa. Thump! Gold Tooth fell to his knees and scooted forward in a kneeling position. He made his way to Kaze and talked in a way to garner sympathy, “Mr. Lee, it’s me. It’s only been a few days. Have you forgotten me already?” Holy shit! A commotion stirred in the bar. Gold Tooth, a well-known name in the criminal world, had kneeled before a young man. He even fawned over the young man. Gold Tooth found himself in a dilemma. When he and Dan went to Azure Estate to seek Cronus, they messed up the task assig
“Sure.” The three thugs immediately contacted Deborah. Kaze said indifferently, “Nothing to see here. The rest of you should go back to doing whatever you were doing.” The atmosphere at the bar resumed its liveliness. However, the patrons, fueled by curiosity, kept an eye on the dark corner. Soon, Deborah arrived at the bar. Nothing she saw in the bar struck her as odd.She approached the three thugs and handed over a check. “Hand me the phone.” “What’s the rush, darling?” The three thugs did not accept the check. “Take the money and hurry along. What else do you want?” Deborah’s eyes bulged. One of the thugs said cheekily, “We couldn’t forget you since that day.” “That’s right. We want to relive the moment with you, darling.” The other two thugs got up to grab her.“Get lost!” Deborah slapped away their hands and snapped an angry look at them. “Bastards! I can never forget how much you stink! I want to barf just thinking about it.” “Haha! I guess our
Deborah knew what was going on the minute she saw Kaze. She turned and glared at the three thugs. “He was the one who knocked you out the other night, losers. Why are you taking orders from him?” “If I hadn’t knocked them unconscious, they wouldn’t have had a nice time with you, Deborah.“You three should thank me, right?” Kaze said with a chuckle. The three thugs pulled ugly smiles. “Gold Tooth, hand me the phone.” Deborah pointed at Gold Tooth. “If you don’t do as I say, I will have my people eliminate you, old fool. The Quints are not people you can mess with.” Gold Tooth passed the phone to Kaze without hesitation. Deborah went ballistic. “You got a good angle of her.” Kaze tossed the phone back to Gold Tooth. “You have a job before your retirement. Send this video to your men. Tell them to share the video on their TikTok, in WhatsApp groups, other social media platforms, and whatnot.” “Don’t you dare, Kaze! I’ll make you regret it,” Deborah shrieked. “Take i
“Don’t mention it. You’re my wife.” Kaze hugged Darcy tight. He then got a call from Snow. “It has begun, Mr. Chairman.” “Alright. Take your time. There’s no rush. Give them one dose of harsh reality at a time to simmer tension.”Kaze smirked coldly. True to his words, it was just the beginning of hell for the Quints. It was dark and gloomy at the Quints’ residence. The police had stopped by the place. They had taken Deborah away in the presence of the family. As the three thugs had turned themselves in, the police re-opened the case. It was a strange case. Deborah was the main culprit and the victim. The police had no idea how to go about the trial. That was not the point, though. Most importantly, Deborah’s reputation was ruined.Her dream to marry into a wealthy and powerful family went poof, unless a member of the rich and powerful was blind and deaf to the truth. The Quints had learned about the incident at Elites from Deborah. They could not beli
The Quints learned that the newly acquired company had gone bust, and they were billions of dollars in debt. The least of the Quints’ troubles was to give Darcy hell at her company. The Quints rushed to Lilyrose Credits. Online lending platforms became a hit a while back, emerging as one of the biggest things to invest in. Seeing that such platforms were profitable, the top three families jumped on the bandwagon and created a lending platform called Lilyrose Credits. They collected billions from locals and pumped the money into the platform, waiting to bank in on the interest. It was difficult to recover the principal of the loan, much less the interest. Word somehow got out. The news did not sit well with the investors. Lilyrose Credits was barely surviving before the fall of the top three families. Nevertheless, their long-standing authority in the city managed to calm these investors down. Following the collapse of the families, the Quints blindly acquired compan
“We are the Quints, the top family in the city. Even Johnson takes cues from us. Maybe you don’t want to keep your job anymore, Don.” The Quints stopped Don. They questioned patronizingly about his refusal to make any arrests. Don smirked to himself. The Quint family was idiots to think they had the influence of the former top three families. “Why should the government arrest those you owe money to? What if the arrest causes a public outrage, and we get cases of suicide? Who’s going to take accountability then?” The Quints pulled wry faces at Don’s comment. It was not a situation they could handle. “So, the priority should be paying the investors back to stop the protest. Nothing speaks more volumes than money.” Don pushed away the people in front of him and took off. The Quints were infuriated. Don was a bastard for brushing them off. Well, they vowed to take his job from him. “Don has a point. The priority is shutting the investors up with money.” “That’s
“Fuck!” Rudy lost it. He felt like he had fallen into a trap. These circumstances never crossed his mind when he applied for government funding. The only thing on his mind was acquiring as many assets as possible. Now, they were stuck with a mess they could not get out of. “The God of War’s money doesn’t come easy, Rudy. You took the money, and now you must fix things. Do your bit and start making contributions to the locals.” Johnson ended the call. “I got word from Construction Bank that they won’t lend us money if Lilyrose Bank won’t, Rudy.” “The same goes for Lockhart Bank.” “Industrial and Commercial Bank too.” The other banks had given their response. No bank was willing to provide them with a loan. Instead, these banks hounded the Quints about repaying previous loans. Rudy scowled. The local council washed their hands off the matter.The banks refused to approve loans. However, the Quints could not just walk away from the issue. It finally dawn
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
The man’s hypocrisy was sickening. No one stood up for Kaze when Naomi and Rhys slandered him and their fighters tried to end him. When Kaze fought back, there were voices standing on high moral ground to reproach him. “You…” The middle-aged man twitched and breathed his last. The crowd was scared. Kaze was one mean killing machine. Sure, Kaze eliminated the Roads. The Roads were not going to rest until he was dead anyway. However, one man died because of what he had said. It was a clear message not to upset Kaze. Kaze had the taste of blood. He would not stop now. “Get Boris’ head.” Kaze tilted his head at Collier. “Bring it to Robin.” As the crowd watched on with a mix of emotions, Kaze carried the broken sword, the tip dripping with blood, and strode over Boris’ body and into River Watch Inn’s park. Collier led the way, taking Kaze to the ninth floor of River Watcher Inn. The furious wind and swirling clouds added to the building’s height and presence
Boris stumbled back and crashed into the door. The metal door ripped from its hinges and hit the ground. Once the dust settled, the crowd was horrified to find Boris lying limp on the floor. Kaze stood right in front of Boris, his foot on his chest.“Do you have any last words?” Kaze looked down on Boris amusedly, his tone carrying no arrogance. The victory over Boris was no big deal. Boris looked at Kaze in a daze. Kaze was stronger than he could ever imagine. Given another chance, Boris would never upset Kaze at Four Ocean Auction. Boris would not try to retaliate against Kaze even when his son lost his legs. It was a shame that he could not press the reset button. Even if Boris could turn back time, it was highly unlikely that he would show mercy to a moocher. “Ugh…” Boris coughed out blood and said with a struggle, “Kaze, I saved the Godfather before. If you kill me, you will be dead—” “Slash!” Kaze cut Boris off with a stab in the heart. Blood spur
Following the clash of metal, Kaze moved away several feet. The sword in his grasp broke in half, and the tip fell off. Boris grunted, his composed face turning crimson. He staggered and fell back tens of feet too. The crowd was shocked at the thirty-feet shallow pit under Boris’ feet. It was impossible. Twenty years ago, Boris basically had Riverbank in the palm of his hand. Yet, Kaze pushed him back. Anyone could tell that Boris was on the losing end. Boris was in utter disbelief because his wired gloves were splintered by the seams. Reminded by Kaze’s attack at Four Ocean Auction, Boris finally realized how terrifying Kaze was. “I underestimated you, Kaze. “But you killed my wife and son. There’s no going back. You must die today.” Boris looked Kaze dead in the eye and hissed through clenched teeth, “I will kill you!” Kaze raised his sword. The broken sword was still a powerful weapon to Kaze. The air was thick with tension. Boris scowled and flung his
Kaze looked up to Boris barging through the door with his trusted aides. The crowd shied away, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire. The deaths of his son and wife had driven Boris into insanity, and he was out for blood. Anyone would go crazy in the same situation. Boris stared at the bodies of his son and wife menacingly. His eyes turned red at Naomi’s headless corpse.Kaze killed his son, murdered his wife, and beheaded her right in front of Boris. Boris would not stop until Kaze was dead. “Kill him! Kill him!”Boris pointed at Kaze and shouted maniacally, “I don’t care what it takes, but I want him dead!” The deaths of his wife and son were infuriating enough. Boris was aware that Naomi and Rhys would go to Kaze, looking for trouble. He deliberately stayed behind the scenes, giving his wife a chance to punish and kill Kaze. To buy his wife some time to take care of business, Boris stayed on to have drinks with Robin. However, Naomi and Rhys were killed
The security team recoiled in screams and dropped their weapons. Before the musclemen knew it, Kaze raised his sword and inched closer. The blade flashed, its motion a blur.“Slash!” The menacing blade flickered across the throats of the musclemen. A dozen Roads’ fighters fell limp amid the high-pitched squawking. Blood spewed out of the thin slits of their throats. One dozen men breathed their last. The bodies on the floor scared the crowd stiff. No one expected Kaze to be so strong. Kaze was able to come on his own despite the siege. “Get him! Kill him!” Naomi had completely lost it. She yelled at the veteran bruisers, “Kill the asshole! Avenge my son!” The senior fighters were so eager to frame Kaze before. Now, they were scared stiff. Naomi’s order put them in the spot. While they hesitated and even released their grip on their weapons, Kaze struck. “Swoosh!” Kaze swung the sword at the senior fighters. The fighters collapsed to the ground, wailing
Rhys lay limp on the floor, his face forever frozen in disbelief.The crowd was stunned, feeling chills down their spines. One minute ago, Rhys was alive and kicking. However, Kaze took his life with just one squeeze. Kaze’s aggression and hostility when ending Rhys scared them. “Ah! My son!” Reality sunk in after a brief pause. Naomi plunged toward her son’s body with a pale face. Despite shaking Rhys, Naomi shuddered to find that he was no more. She fell on her bottom. It was every parent’s worst nightmare. Besides, she was there to witness the death of her son. The feeling could drive her over the edge. Moments later, Naomi lifted her head, bloody tears running down her eyes. She yelled at Kaze hysterically, “You did this, Kaze! You did this!“Kill him! Kill the jerk!“I want his life for taking my son’s!” Losing her head, Naomi commanded the Roads’ musclemen. The crowd backed away so as not to be caught in the line of fire. “Kill him!” The Roads’ secu