"How can you do such a thing! We've been nothing but kind to you! We took pity on you raising your daughter all on your own—what with this useless pudge of a husband you have, and welcomed you back to the family! We fed and clothed you! Is this how you repay our kindness?""Liam, this was all your fault! If it weren't for you, Mr. Nasso wouldn't have come seeking revenge!""Liam, get out of our sight right this instant! We almost died because of you, and we will not tolerate having a useless scoundrel like you around anymore! You're a curse to this family! Get out of here!" The Stones all clamored to give Celena and Liam the telling-off they felt they deserved. Some of the Stones from the second and third bloodlines approached and, eyeing Liam and Celena with vengeful scowls, shrieked, "Grandpa, this cannot continue! Although we are members of the collateral line and by right should have no authority over the decisions of the immediate bloodline, we cannot stand by and turn a blind
Upon Liam's release, Yafe fell to the ground, panting so loudly and greedily for air that all of the Stones' attention turned immediately to him, failing to notice Liam and Celena walking away.It was not until they had long since disappeared from view that the Stones finally realized what had happened. "My darling!" Sherah screeched as she rushed over to Yafe's side. She helped him to his feet and asked, looking both furious and concerned, "Are you alright, my dear? How do you feel?"Cheryl, too, seemed extremely worried. "Dad, are you okay?"Reginald and the rest of the Stones seemed just as tightly wound. Even those who had initially blamed Yafe had rushed over to him with looks of deep concern.Yafe, clutching his neck, glared in the direction that Liam and Celena had disappeared and shouted, "Liam, you won't get away with this! If we hadn't taken pity on you and accepted you into the family, you would still be out on the streets! Do you honestly think you can get away with t
Meanwhile, Rain arrived at Nasso Mansion and had been treated appropriately. His right arm had been bandaged and wrapped in a sling. Although the doctors had tended to him immediately, according to them, the damage was far beyond repair. Liam had shattered the bones in Rain's arm so terribly that even after they healed, he would never regain full use of his right arm again!Rain had already expected this outcome. Now that he had been attended to, he joined the rest of his family in the sitting room of Nasso Mansion. The Nassos listened with grave expressions as an assistant provided them with a report detailing the attacks on their businesses that had been initiated by their competitors.Quillan listened intently, but his scowl deepened with every passing second. Finally, he smacked the arm of his chair and bellowed, "These people… They can't get away with this!"Rain, however, knew there was no point trying to turn things around anymore. He contemplated this with a look of defeat
When she saw that everyone in the room was staring at them with looks of frank admiration, she stuck out her tongue mischievously and led the old man to the head of the table, where he took his seat. The old man waved at everyone in greeting and said to the girl, "Sit down, my dear."Then, he glanced around at the eager face and said, "I'm sure all of you have heard by now the news of the Nasso family's defeat, or, to be more specific, the news regarding the owner of Nasso Martial Arts School, Rain Nasso!"Rain had been a crucial member of the Martial Arts Association before this, but he had humiliated our name by falling victim to a commoner! We shall not tolerate such a disgrace to our name!"At the same time, we cannot allow a mere commoner, the wretched son-in-law of Drunham City's Stone family, to challenge the authority of the great Martial Arts Association! We will not let him get away with such an atrocity! He must be punished!"This is the reason I have gathered you all he
"In my opinion, we should take the Stone family by force and demand an explanation for their son-in-law's behavior! We cannot sit by and do nothing, for it will give the image that we can be easily intimidated and taken advantage of!"Mr. Zeller, we should defend our honor and show them that one cannot mess with the Martial Arts Association without repercussions!"Virginio's words heralded whoops and roars of agreement. The various members of the Martial Arts Association piped up, "Indeed, Mr. Gabrick is right! We have to defend our honor and teach them a lesson for messing with us!""The audacity of that scoundrel of the Stone family to challenge one of our most esteemed members! This cannot be tolerated!""Mr. Zeller, Mr. Gabrick is right! We should journey to Drunham City right now and capture that wretched Liam Cole!""So what if he's a fellow military king? Plenty of us here are military kings, and certainly, he cannot take all of us at once!""We have become the laughingsto
Icarus waved his hand dismissively in Quenten's direction and replied, grinning, "Mr. Zeller, I disagree greatly with Mr. Gabrick here. It is not wise to launch a retaliation at this point."This earned him a scowl from Virginio, who shot him a cold look of malice. The rest of the association who had supported Virginio's idea all froze, then wore expressions of disapproval. Some of them even glanced rather indignantly at Icarus as though they could hardly believe his audacity to disagree. One of Virginio's loyal supporters murmured, "Mr. Gabrick, I think Mr. Zwick is doing this on purpose. I personally think it was a splendid idea. After all, how can we possibly allow a commoner to get away with such dishonor to our name?"Virginio was already vexed enough at being countered in public, but this statement seemed to ignite the poorly-contained fury within him. He leaped to his feet once more and snarled, staring daggers at Icarus, "Mr. Zwick, what is the meaning of this? Are you sayi
"However, let's face the facts, shall we? Mr. Rain Nasso's right-hand man is out of the game, and of the two top-tier coaches, one's six feet under, and the other's licking his wounds. Out of the five hundred-plus cream-of-the-crop students from the martial arts school, barely a hundred are left standing!"And what about Graham, the head honcho of Drunham City's Kingsgate Martial Arts School, along with Torsten and those ten students? They all bit the dust in Drunham City. Have these losses slipped your minds?"Icarus's words hit home, and the roomful of previously defiant faces lost their fire.He took in their expressions, his own face a mask of smiles, but inside, he scoffed with contempt, thinking, 'A pack of witless fools!'When the moment felt ripe, Icarus turned his piercing gaze to Virginio, his eyes glinting with subtle ridicule. "Mr. Gabrick, I'm dying to know, with the troops you've got, do you really think you've got what it takes?" he asked with a sly grin.That singl
Icarus's statement plunged the room back into silence. Apart from a few delegates and Quenten, no one else had the chops that Rain did. If Rain had been taken down, what chance would they have?"And get this." Icarus continued, his earlier smirk then replaced by a grave seriousness, "I caught up with Mr. Nasso after he got back. He gave me the lowdown on Drunham City and made it crystal clear: we'd better not cross Liam without good reason. If we do, we're in for a world of hurt."After his encounter with Rain, seeing the man's battered state and hearing his harrowing tale, even Icarus, a man of the world, was taken aback. The once-muted crowd surged with curiosity, their heads snapping up to Icarus as they pressed, "Mr. Zwick, what did Mr. Nasso say? What on earth happened to him in Drunham City?" With a heavy sigh and a somber look, Icarus revealed, "Mr. Nasso confided in me that in Drunham City, he was bested by that young man with a single move, leaving his right hand utterly