The Stones, as well as the rest of Rain's students, were all staring with their eyes wide and their jaws slack in horror. They could hardly believe what they had just witnessed.How was this even possible? How could Rain Nasso, the respectable trainer of the Nasso Martial Arts School, a man of the two-star military king ranking and among one of the most feared names in the martial arts world, possibly have been defeated by Liam just like that?"Mr. Nasso!" Geordie was the first to snap out of his stupor and rush to Rain's aid. He stepped in front of Rain, bracing himself in a posture of combat, and glared at Liam from across the room, albeit somewhat warily. Geordie's outraged cries also broke the rest of Rain's students out of their spell, and they scrambled over to Rain, surrounding him and shielding him from Liam lest he attempt to attack again. They kept their beady eyes trained on Liam, and one of the students hastily helped Rain up from the ground, looking worried. "Mr. Nas
Liam, however, stood his ground and merely smirked. "You'll regret this!"At the same time, he darted into the air and was gone from sight except for a dark silhouette pummeling straight toward his opponents!His opponents had barely figured out what was going on before they felt his wrath. Liam cocked his fist and struck one of the students so hard that he was launched backward, crashing into his companions and toppling them over like dominoes. The next moment, Liam disappeared from view again, with the only indicator of his location being the sound of alarmed shrieks as his opponents were flung through the air.The next thing the Stones knew, they were staring down at a remarkable sight. Before them lay the limp bodies of Nasso Martial Arts School's best students, strewn haphazardly across their lawn like ragdolls. In less than three minutes, Liam had single handedly taken down a large chunk of his five hundred or so opponents, leaving only less than a hundred standing!The r
His thunderous footsteps and formidable presence provoked such fear in them that they felt as if death itself was walking toward them!When Liam was a mere feet away from them, Rain's students finally succumbed to their fear and fell to their knees. "Forgive us, kind sir!""Please forgive us! Please, sir, show us mercy!""Please spare me! I was merely following orders!""Please, kind sir! I have family depending on me! Please have mercy on me, and I will repay you with my loyalty!"What remained of Rain's students all cried out with fearful looks as they pleaded for mercy. The sounds of their foreheads hitting the ground as they bowed before him reverberated through the open air of Stone Mansion. This, no doubt, came as an incredible shock to the Stones, who could hardly believe their eyes.What was going on here? Could their eyes be playing tricks on them?These were the respected members of Nasso Martial Arts School! How could they possibly be bowing down before Liam for his
Rain's extremities were as cold as ice, and his entire body shook like a leaf as he awaited his fate. He dared not ask for anything else and instead merely shrieked, still bowing his head low, "Mr. Cole, I regret my actions! Please, sir! Show me mercy and spare me! If you do, I will repay you with my loyalty and be at your beck and call for eternity! I will do anything you ask of me!"Rain clutched his mutilated arm to him and kept bowing his head so that his forehead thumped against the ground, emitting low thuds with every contact. This finally snapped some sense into them, and the Stones, as well as the members of the higher management who had gathered at the scene, slowly got to their feet. Someone helped Reginald stand, and although he still looked rather pale, his fear seemed to have been alleviated considerably. Reginald heaved a sigh of relief. He slowly hobbled over to Liam and glanced down at the kneeling Rain, looking wary. Although Liam had defeated Rain, he was still
Yafe stepped forward, and with fury etched in the lines of his face, he bellowed, "This is unacceptable! What is this attitude of yours, Liam? My father has already made his intentions clear, so how dare you defy his orders? Do exactly as he says and release Mr. Nasso right now if you do not wish to face my wrath!"One could hardly believe Yafe's audacity and sheer foolishness. It seemed that he was channeling all his indignation at being defeated by Rain onto Liam instead.Liam had intended to ignore the Stones, but Yafe's words were far too infuriating to pretend he had not heard him. Liam scowled and whipped around to cast Yafe, as well as the rest of the Stones who had supported him, cold looks. These witless fools! Just a few minutes ago, they had been forced onto their knees by Rain and his men, yet now, upon their defeat, they had turned around to plead forgiveness on behalf of their abusers! Not only that, but some of them even had the audacity to threaten Liam to obey them
Upon hearing this, Reginald added hastily, "Yes, Liam, just heed my advice for once. Release Mr. Nasso, for his connections are far too great…"Liam furrowed his brows at this and was about to say something in retort when a shocked voice rang out behind him, "Liam!"Celena had been waiting for him at their home, but he had not shown up. Her worry over his prolonged absence prompted her to come to Stone Mansion in search of him. Even from a distance, she could see hundreds of men from Nasso Martial Arts School gathered around the building of Stone Mansion, some standing, but most of them sprawled haphazardly across the ground. This frightened Celena very much, and she could not help letting out a shriek of terror. She stood there, rooted to the spot, covering her mouth with her hands as she gazed around her in horror. "Celena? What are you doing here?" Liam froze, then called out to her.This seemed to stir Celena from her shock. She slowly made her way toward Liam and could not
"Yes, Celena! This is important! We've all tried to persuade him, but he won't listen to anyone except you! Please talk some sense into him!" The Stones and their employees all pleaded with Celena, hoping that she would be able to change their fate. Celena, who had been puzzled by what had happened before this, managed to glean some understanding of the situation through their cries. Reginald cleared his throat and stared solemnly at Celena. "Celena, since you're here, please convince Liam to change his mind. He shouldn't allow his temper to rear its head and make the wrong choices. Although he is a splendid fighter, he cannot possibly match up against the Nasso family and the entirety of the Martial Arts Association! We cannot afford to cross them. We are just a small family here in Drunham City, and I am getting older day by day. I cannot exert myself any more…"As if on cue, Reginald burst into a violent fit of coughing. "Grandpa! Are you okay?" Celena stepped forward in alar
Liam said this with such formidability that no one dared to oppose him! How foolish would one have to be to do such a thing, after the fate that had befallen his opponents?Even Rain, who was a Two-Star Military King, had fallen in defeat to Liam, so who in their right mind would dare to challenge Liam's authority now?Nevertheless, this came as a great delight to Rain, who immediately bowed his head eagerly and chirruped, "Thank you, Mr. Cole, for your generosity and great heart! Thank you, Ms. Stone, for your kind sympathy! Thank you, thank you very much! I will take heed of your warning, Mr. Cole, and do exactly as you say!"With that, he staggered to his feet, and with the help of two of his students, gathered the remainder of his men. Both Geordie and Sherman's bodies, one dead and one unconscious, were collected and taken away with them. The Stones were relieved to see them go. If it were not for the fact that Rain had left most of the lifeless corpses of his defeated studen
Meanwhile, Celena and the group were taken out of the hotel and shoved forcefully into a couple of jeeps waiting at the entrance. They were whisked away to a nearby military base. Before they could even get their bearings straight, they found themselves being tossed into holding cells. Celena, on the other hand, was taken separately to a small, dark room, illuminated only by the barest sliver of light that peeped in through a tiny window. The room was entirely empty, save for a metal bed frame. A sour stench hung in the air, and it was clear this room had been abandoned for a very long time. A soldier shoved Celena roughly into the room, and before she could realize what was happening, the soldier slammed the door shut.The soldier had pushed Celena so hard that she fell onto the ground, but upon seeing that her captor was about to leave, she leaped to her feet and sprinted over to the door. "Sir, can you tell me what I did wrong? Can you please have mercy on me? Can you at least
Tristan seemed just as baffled as they were. He returned their puzzled gazes with an equally perplexed one of his own. "I… I have no idea…"The general glanced sharply in their direction, then gestured to his soldiers and declared sternly, "Take them away!"His soldiers obliged and stepped forward to restrain the members of the Drunham City Connoisseurs, who all shrieked in alarm, "Why are you taking us away?""General, what did we do wrong? We didn't do anything illegal, so why are you arresting us?""Mr. Xander, save us! They've got this all wrong!""What's going on here? Why are they arresting only us?"Celena's entire body was shaking like a leaf. She eyed the soldiers around her and asked, stammering, "General, what did we do wrong? Why are we being captured? Where are you taking us?"Tristan, stricken with panic, shoved a soldier aside and shouted at the general, "General, I'm the president of the Drunham City Connoisseurs, and I want to know why we're being taken away. Wh
Celena was utterly terrified by the sudden turn of events. She stared pale-faced at the soldiers around her, not daring to move even a muscle. What was going on?All of a sudden, a man in a uniform stepped into the room. The badge on his shoulder indicated to everyone that he was a general. The heavy thumping of his boots echoed through the silent room with every step he took. All eyes were on him as he stepped onto the stage.He carried himself with great authority, and clearly, this man was not one to be messed with. He scanned the room as if searching for someone. Finally, he announced in a deep, resounding voice, "Do not fear, ladies and gentlemen. We are here on a routine check after receiving a tip-off regarding your conference. We will release you all once we have carried out our investigation, and the process will be quicker and smoother if you all cooperate. "Now, I would kindly request you get your documentation ready so that my men may confirm your identity."Everyone
Derek nodded earnestly and replied, "Of course it's true. My sources have never failed me. I wouldn't have trusted you with this information if I didn't think you'd be interested."Celena stared at him for a moment, then turned to glance in the direction of the people he had pointed. She could not help but be tempted by the offer. She considered this for a few moments, then accepted his offer. "Alright then, Mr. Duncan. I'll go with you. Thank you for inviting me."The smile on Derek's face widened. He could hardly believe his luck—Celena had agreed to go with him! Taking that first step was always the hardest, but he had done it!Unbeknownst to Celena, Derek already knew her long before their first meeting at the conference. Her name was known far and wide in Drunham City, not least because of her beauty, but because of her—in the eyes of the public—tragic marriage. Celena had earned herself a reputation as one of the most beautiful women Drunham City had ever seen, and although
The attention they received, however, was large due to Celena and her young, handsome companion, who was a man named Derek Duncan. Their attractive looks, both individually and combined, were easily the topic of discussion that night. Everyone who laid eyes on them admired both their good looks and brains, for certainly only the cream of the crop were allowed to attend this prestigious event. What made this feat even more impressive was the fact that they were both so young!Aside from her beauty, Celena's name was already known far and wide in the business world, not just because of her strong leadership but due to her association with Liam and her company's connections with many international corporations. She had started her business from scratch, but within a few short months, she had single handedly built it up to become one of the top ten grossing companies in Drunham City.There were hundreds of people gathered there tonight, and their seats had been allocated according to t
The moment Clifford left, Kastor turned to Liam with a wide grin, all hint of his hostility now gone. "Mr. Cole, thank God I arrived just in time."He raised his brows as he said this, and Liam took this to mean he was trying to claim credit. Truth be told, he would have been able to handle things on his own even without Kastor's help, but he decided this was a detail Kastor did not need to know. Instead, he returned Kastor's smile graciously. Kastor, like a child, burst into laughter at this. No further words were exchanged, but they understood the message nonetheless.Jeffrey also grinned. "Kastor, what brings you here all of a sudden?"Kastor replied, "Ah, you might not know this, Mr. Stein, but I actually own this very restaurant that you're sitting in right now. One of my employees called me for help, citing that a brawl was about to break out, so I rushed over immediately. I had no idea it would turn out to be you and Mr. Cole!""Ah, what a pleasant surprise, then!" Jeffrey
Clifford scowled upon hearing this. He cracked his knuckles menacingly as he stared at Kastor through narrowed eyes.Kastor did not seem at all intimidated by this. Instead, he brushed past him and approached Liam, smiling. "Mr. Cole, I apologize for the delay. I rushed over as soon as I heard the news, but I was late anyway. I'm so sorry for the wait."Liam's expression eased up slightly. He tugged the corners of his mouth into a strained smile but did not reply. Clifford's expression turned even more sour when he sensed Kastor's tone. He asked sharply, "What is the meaning of this, Kastor? Are you intent on making me your enemy?"Clifford's reputation was known far and wide, and many feared him, but Kastor was not one of them. He shot Clifford a look of utmost disdain and replied, smirking, "Yes, Clifford, that's exactly what I'm going to do. So what if we will be enemies from now on? What are you going to do about it?"He was confident that Clifford would not dare to retaliate
One of the muscle-bound goons stowed his submachine gun and drew a hefty machete, nearly a foot long, from his side. He advanced on Liam with deliberate steps.Calum and Cirocco were poised for a fight, ready to jump in at Liam's command and wipe out the roomful of petty thugs.However, Liam had other plans. He remained seated, an unfazed smirk playing on his lips, watching the approaching thug with the machete.The thug, mistaking Liam's calm for fear, grinned viciously and raised his machete, aiming for Liam's arm.However, in a flash, the scene changed.A figure hurtled through the air, and with a resounding crash, the thug was sent flying into the wine rack. The rack toppled, bottles shattering, their contents spilling and perfuming the air with the scent of alcohol.The thug hit the ground, blood spurting from his mouth, his eyes wide with shock. He lay there, lifeless, staring at Liam, dead before he hit the floor.The room plunged into a deathly hush.Corie clapped a h
Corie was also shaken, her fists clenched tight under the table as she watched Liam with wide, fearful eyes, barely managing to whisper, "Liam!"Liam stood there, steady as ice, without a trace of fear. "Don't worry, I've got this," he assured.Corie, seeing Liam's calm dismissal of the threat and recalling his proven strength, felt her fear ebb away.She could not explain it, but she had an unwavering faith in Liam.Across from them, Clifford lounged back, his legs thrown carelessly over the table, his gaze dripping with disdain. "You don't know who you're messing with, do you?" he sneered. "Karpos works for me, Clifford. And yet, you've got the gall to attack my men in broad daylight? You're in over your head!"Jeffrey was about to chime in, but one look at Liam's icy demeanor and he thought better of it, choosing instead to watch the scene unfold in silence.He was curious to see just how Liam would handle that.Liam chuckled, a sound as cold as the winter wind, and fixed Cli