“Darcy Quint, I think you better start preparing your husband’s funeral!” Sherry could already picture Kaze’s funeral. Darcy’s face turned as white as a sheet upon hearing that. “Enough!” Danny stopped Sherry. He glared at Kaze and bellowed, “You Arcadian monkey! You have made a huge mistake by insulting Consul Harrison Ford! Before he arrives, I should do something on his behalf!” He then waved at his bodyguards. “Get this son of a bitch! He insulted the consul, Paladia, and me! Break his limbs!” The bodyguards looked at Kaze. The fear they felt from Kaze earlier discouraged them at first but as Kaze continued to spew unbelievable claims, the fear was replaced by anger. “Mr. Ford is our superior on the battlefield and he’s the future of Paladia! No one can insult him!” “Die, Arcadian monkey!” As the first bodyguard shouted, the others jumped at Kaze. “Kaze, run!” Scared, Darcy tried to pull Kaze away but Kaze darted in front of her and pulled her behind him.
Slap! Danny was sent to the ground. He felt numb and could not feel his face at all. Kaze did not let him go just yet. He grabbed Danny by the collar and broke the calf with a powerful stomp. “Aaaaargh!” Danny cried excruciatingly and fell on his knees before Kaze. Sherry was terrified when she noticed Kaze’s gaze on her. “W-What are you trying to do?” Kaze grabbed her and slapped her to the ground. He then lifted his foot and said, “I said I would make you lick the wine off my shoes.” “Y-You rubbish! What gives you the right? I’ll kill you!” Sherry shouted like a madwoman. However, after another slap, she was silenced and reluctantly moved closer to Kaze’s shoes. Danny, a member of the Paladian royal family, was on his knees while Sherry, a financial news anchor, was licking Kaze’s shoes clean. Everyone was shocked by the scene. What happened?“Kaze, do you know what you have done? How dare you slap Mr. Tulip and his plus-one? Are you declaring war against h
“Mayor Brooks, Jason Statham served Paladia with his blood and spirit! You have to hand over the culprit and let us sanction him, or else you will be hearing from the officials of Paldia!” At Lilyrose Detention Center, a man with a golden mane and beard was shouting at Johnson, exerting his superiority over the mayor. The man was Harrison Ford, the consul of Paladia. It was right then he received a call from Danny. Harrison was stunned when he heard Danny’s plea before he shouted back angrily. “Danny, you fucking bastard! You must have gotten in trouble and said those words to piss me off! An Arcadian monkey wants me to kneel and apologize? You fucking liar, I will kill you!” Harrison did not believe a word Danny said because it was impossible. “Harrison, stop shouting with that mouth of yours. Do you want to be the first consul of Paladia who dies in Arcadia?” Then, another voice came through the phone. The person gave him a death threat, which ignited the explosive
“Darcy, that’s what you get for indulging that idiot. He’s putting your whole family in trouble now. “If I were you, I would cut ties with him right away,” Adam told Darcy curtly.Pale in the face, Darcy said desperately, “Come on, Kaze. Let’s just go back to Horizon Mirror.” That was the only solution she could think of. With the chief commander’s guards on duty, Harrison, consul or not, would think twice before barging into the area. Nevertheless, that was just a quick fix to buy time before the entire issue was resolved. “Don’t be scared, babe. We’re not going anywhere. We will wait here for Harrison’s apology,” Kaze said with a smile while squeezing her hand. Darcy was lost for words. To think Kaze still smiled after landing himself in hot water. Gritting her teeth, she stayed put with Kaze. She was the chairman of two major corporations, and Kaze was the CEO of Hudson Investment firm. They were not vulnerable or powerless. In the worst-case scenario, they would
“Thump!” Behind Harrison, a dozen of his crew kneeled together with him. “Um…” The spectacle threw everybody else for a loop. It was unbelievable. Harrison, the consul of Paladia, kneeled before Kaze instead of getting even with him. Many rubbed their eyes, wondering if their eyes deceived them. “That’s impossible!” Danny yelled horrifically, and his despair was clear in his voice. His life was over at that point. Harrison was a national hero. As the consul, he represented Paladia.Yet, he was quick to kneel before Kaze. “How could that be? How did it happen? Who the hell are you?” Sherry freaked out. Paladia was the land she had always wanted to be in. Her biggest dream was to get a green card and immigrate there. She did not believe Arcadian men were good enough for her. Sure, Sherry was involved with some men, but she only saw them as tools for her own gains. Yet now, Kaze crushed Danny, the pseudo-aristocrat, while Harrison, a consul, groveled at Kaze
“Argh!” Danny yelled in agony. No Arcadians on the scene pitied him. If not for Harrison, they would not have known that Danny turned to Arcadia to scam the people because he could not make a living in Paladia. Their cheeks burned with shame as they defended Danny when Kaze called him trash. Adam was upset. He sucked up to Danny moments ago. Smack!Bam!Harrison roughed Danny up, only stopping once he believed Danny had enough. Danny sank to the ground without the energy to scream anymore. His eyes bulged resentfully at Kaze. Danny could not understand why Harrison would revere Kaze. He was not the only one puzzled. No one could figure the situation out. Everybody wondered if Kaze was more than he let out to be. Nevertheless, the fact that Harrison, the Paladian Consul General, was so intimidated by Kaze and considered him to be on the same level as the Queen of Paladia was beyond the imagination of those present.“Are you happy with that, sir? If not, I don’
Harrison represented Paladia, and the last thing he wanted was for the embarrassing incident to become public knowledge. Besides, Harrison knew how to take a hint. Since no one seemed to be aware of Kaze’s identity, Harrison understood that Kaze preferred to keep a low profile. Hence, Harrison was sure Kaze would not want word to get out either. Everybody was too scared to make the incident public. They would not be able to make the consul apologize on his knees like Kaze. Once Harrison was gone, the crowd was relieved and looked at Kaze with complex emotions. The man who took his wife’s last name sure gave everybody something to think about tonight. “I’m sorry, Mr. Lee, Ms. Quint. I want to apologize for my earlier disrespect. I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge. I hope you can forgive me.” Many who took jabs at Kaze and Darcy moments earlier came seeking forgiveness. Those who took things too far even kneeled on the ground. The consul of Paladia had dropped to
Adam’s mind wandered back to the recent event. Sure enough, Kaze said something vaguely on the phone which scared Harrison to apologize on his knees. The whole thing was absurd and defied common sense. Besides, Darcy tried to drag Kaze to take cover in Horizon Mirror in case of an act of revenge. The chief commander placed the area under heavy guard. Chief Commander Lang was the God of War’s right-hand man. In other words, Darcy’s family had gotten into the habit of using the God of War’s name to get what they wanted. “That bastard! How dare he lie to me!” Adam was furious to be fooled. “Do you get it now, Adam?” George burst out laughing and said, “Just turn up the heat on the idiot to release Cosmo and make a personal apology. “He has less than an hour left in the three-day time limit. “We will not allow the idiot to ask for more time. “I will try and get in touch with Harrison to expose Kaze’s lies.“My family and I won’t have to lift a finger because the
As the air crackled with deadly intent, Draig’s heart pounded with dread. He was horrified that the Viper’s Den members were just as strong, if not stronger than him. Draig had no idea that these members were Viper’s Den South River State Branch’s key players. They were the elites of the elites in the South River State. “Easy there, gentlemen. Mr. Tenby is from abroad. He doesn’t know the rules of Arcadia. Please cut him some slack.” With Draig caught in a spot, Cyan came to the rescue. Since Cyan was nice about it, the leader of the pack scoffed and waved his arm. His companions quickly put away their weapons. “I don’t care where you came from, but you need to keep to the Arcadian rules since you’re here. You don’t get special favors here.” The leader stared at Draig and said icily, “This should not happen again. Now, get lost!” Draig burned with rage. The people, except for Kaze, had been bending over backward for Draig since his arrival in Arcadia. To think he
The Viper’s Den members yelled at Draig while pulling out their weapons. The air was thick with tension. Draig knew that it was not wise of him to fight during Hannah’s celebration. The Viper’s Den members would not stand by and let the commotion stew. Draig was caught between a rock and a hard place. By throwing the punch, he would be at odds with the Viper’s Den, but he could not turn the other cheek on the matter. “Just forget it, Mr. Tenby. Don’t get into it with a dropped loser. You’re only insulting yourself.” Cyan gave Draig an out. Draig retrieved his arm and scoffed. “Consider yourself lucky, Kaze.” A shadow of regret fleeted across Kaze’s eyes. If Draig were to start a fight, Kaze would have reason to finish him off and get rid of the annoyance. It was a shame that the Viper’s Den members stopped anything from happening. Cyan criticized, “Mr. Tenby is only looking out for you, Kaze. Yet, you stomped on his car key. You went too far. Hurry up and apologiz
“Nevermind. Why are we wasting our time with the likes of him? We don’t belong in the same world anyway.” Draig waved his arm. “Come on. Let’s get inside.” Dumping his car on the side of the road, Draig led Cyan and her friends into Bronze Sparrow. “Huh? How did Kaze get in? Can he get in?” one influencer exclaimed. The crowd watched in shock as Kaze stepped through the door. “Branch Leader!” The members of the Viper’s Den South River State Branch perked up when Kaze showed up. They, Hannah’s trusted aides, knew who Kaze was. Kaze acknowledged the greeting. “Is everybody here?” The head of the pack said in respect, “Many guests have arrived. Ms. Delmore and Mr. Ettinger will be here once they are done with work. Should I inform them to keep you company, sir?” “No, I’ll sit and wait.” Kaze waved his arm and made his way inside. “Hold it right there, Kaze!” Cyan’s angry voice came from behind. “Are you aware of the event at Bronze Sparrow? Do you know who the
“Kaze, I heard that your wife dumped your ass. Are you pinching pennies now? “You had a fancy car and a beautiful lady by your side just a couple of days ago, and now, you’re riding a bike.“I guess you want to do more than just a valet service.” Draig pulled out more cash to give to Kaze. “You can get my car washed too.“I’ll give you another twenty bucks. The money should be enough for you to get fried chicken or something for lunch.”“Hahaha!”Cyan and her friends laughed out loud. Twenty bucks for a fried chicken. That kind of life seemed far away for these people. Cyan suddenly scowled. “I’m warning you, Kaze. My family will not take pity on you just because your wife kicked you out.“Don’t try to leech off my family.” Cyan thought Kaze was so alpha at Emerald Bull Palace two days ago. The mayor was Kaze’s backing, and Juan was his apprentice. Yet now, Kaze was divorced and kicked out. It meant one thing. If Kaze was indeed badass, Darcy, who knew and love
Sucking up to Cyan, the influencers offered her words of comfort. Though Cyan did not have an invitation, she was close with Draig. The influencers could attend the event through Draig with Cyan’s help. Despite having other thoughts, the influencers knew better than to put Cyan down. A Mercedes G-wagon pulled up by the road. The car door opened, and Draig jumped out. He took off his sunglasses and said with a smile, “Why aren’t you going in, Cyan?” Cyan replied with a grin, “We don’t have an invite, Mr. Tenby. We’re waiting for you to take us in.“Oh, where’s your invite, Mr. Tenby?” She was confused as Draig did not seem to be holding anything. “An invite? It’s just a party for Hannah. You don’t need an invitation card.” Draig smiled confidently. “My name is basically our pass into the place. You can just say that you’re with me.” “Wow! You’re the man, Mr. Tenby.” “Mr. Tenby is so badass. You are total boyfriend material.” The influencers drooled over Draig, a
The influencers dropped their jaws in shock and looked at Cyan enviously. “Oh, my gawd! Marrying the branch leader is your gateway to super fame.” “Is it true, Cyan? Really?” The influencers hounded Cyan. Cyan rolled her eyes at Sweetpea. “Don’t take it from Sweetpea. “The VIPs from the South River State Branch did make a subtle mention. “I’m not sure whether Sponge is the branch leader since I’ve never met him before. “Just keep this between yourselves. Don’t spread the word. I’d be embarrassed if the whole thing was all a misunderstanding. “The branch leader keeps a low profile, and no one has met him in person before. “I doubt he likes to be put in the spotlight, so I’m playing it discreetly too.” Cyan spoke and acted reservedly. However, her smug look revealed her true thoughts. “Haha. Wouldn’t you meet the branch leader today?” “I see why you are so sure to take us to the celebration. We’d never get into a place like this on our own.” The influencers l
It never occurred to Kaze that Cyan and her influencer friends would attend Hannah’s celebration too. Before Cyan said anything, one influencer put her hand over her lips and said with a smile, “Get with the times, Anna. Cyan’s family isn’t just close with the senior members of the Viper’s Den. She’s going to be part of the organization soon.” “Huh?” Stunned, the other influencers asked, “What’s going on? Just tell us, Sweetpea!” Sweetpea was the influencer who just spilled the beans. She was Cyan’s closest friend and biggest ass-kisser. Taking Cyan by the shoulder, Sweetpea said, “Remember Cyan’s number one fan?” “Yeah!”“Sponge has been a fan of Cyan even before she signed with Golden Scale Corporation. Sponge tipped her tens of millions.”“That was how Cyan caught the eye of Golden Scale Corporation, and she became a hit.” The influencers chattered among themselves, all familiar with Sponge. They came from nothing and clawed their way up online.Their beginnings
The next afternoon, Kaze arrived at the parking lot outside Bronze Sparrow. It was packed with fancy cars. Needless to say, the underground garage must be filled with cars too. Hannah’s celebration was held in Bronze Sparrow. Just a few days ago, Siberian infiltrated Bronze Sparrow and abducted Anzu. The incident caused quite a stir in the upper crust of Riverbank. At the same time, the underground powerhouses were eager to get involved. As Miru, the up-and-coming underworld boss, seemed to be all bark and no bite, they wanted to see what she was made of. Bronze Sparrow, a place where troublemakers once ceased to exist, had to deal with incidents daily. Despite Miru getting tough on these troublemakers, business at Bronze Sparrow took a nosedive anyway. Miru was frustrated with the situation. Siberian had been a threat to the Viper’s Den for many years. It was no surprise that Miru’s crew could not defeat him. This time, Siberian’s death at the hands of the Viper’s
Kaze was taken aback. “How did you know?” “How?” June’s lips curled. “It’s all over town by now. Darcy is the chairwoman of Sky Ocean Corporation. Have you any idea how many eyes are on a rich and beautiful girl like her? “Her divorce has caught the attention of men, and they are going to try their luck with her.” It did not take Kaze much to know that the Quint family members had nothing better to do. Agnes had been hoping to marry her daughter up. However, Darcy had the power, money, and connections to be playing with the big leagues herself. Agnes’ expectations for her future son-in-law would only go higher. Despite her lack of brain cells, Agnes would not do something degrading like circulating the news of her daughter’s divorce. “Hey! Why do you seem indifferent about this?” June elbowed Kaze. “How do you think I should react?” Kaze found June baffling. June looked disappointed. “You don’t seem upset that you were dumped.” “Get a life.” Kaze did not hav