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
The room erupted in protest at the suggestion. "Mr. Zwick, Mr. Gabrick's right on the money. Liam's made us a joke to every Martial Arts Association in the neighboring states. How can we even think about bringing him into our league?" one member argued. "Exactly! We can't recruit him. Liam took down Mr. Nasso. He's practically slapped us all in the face!""Spot on. He's insulted us all. Our martial arts league can't just roll over. We need to come down hard on this nobody son-in-law!""Mr. Zwick, I'm dead set against letting Liam join our martial arts league. Some son-in-law from the Stone family in Drunham City—what right does he have to step foot in our state league? And after he's openly disrespected us? No way we can let him in!""Definitely, definitely, definitely! There's no way we're letting him into our Martial Arts Association. He's turned us into a joke among the martial arts community. If we go out of our way to bring him in now, the state Martial Arts Association will
With that, Quenten's composed gaze swept over the assembly, taking in the varied expressions of the representatives and members, finally landing on Virginio, who was clearly struggling to hide his discontent.The room, previously abuzz with low chatter, fell silent under Quenten's watchful eyes. Everyone turned their attention to him.Quenten spoke calmly, "Folks, since Mr. Zwick has made his decision, we'll follow his lead. Putting aside his issues with Mr. Nasso for now, let's consider Liam. To be so skilled at such a young age, he's truly a prodigy among prodigies!"Let's not forget why we started this Martial Arts Association. I want us to look beyond the here and now. On that note, Mr. Zwick has set an excellent example."In the presence of such extraordinary talent, their priority should not be to hold it back but to welcome and bring it into the fold! Just think, when was the last time their state's martial arts association got a shot of new energy?Quenten also took this i
However, Andy was a smooth talker, so the eldest member of the Drayton family liked him. Because of that, the head of the family tolerated him. That was why Andy, who was just a member of the branch family, dared to be so cocky.Andy saw Howard standing at the side from the corner of his eye as he spoke. He thought of what Howard said earlier, and that made his blood boil.He pointed at Howard and bellowed, "Uncle Derrick, this Howard is trash as well. You have no idea. I told him I was a member of the Drayton family, yet he did not take our family seriously at all."Not only did he have his men capture me, but he said cockily that he wanted to lock me up forever, and nobody could stop him."Weren't you very cocky before this, Mr. Mosier? Go on. Continue acting cocky in front of my uncle now. Detain me and lock me up forever."Andy took a couple of steps closer to Howard as he said that. He extended his hands arrogantly and said, "Come on. I have my hands stretched out for you. Hu
Soon, Andy and the thugs from the nightclub yesterday were released.Andy saw Derrick standing at the entrance of the police headquarters at a glance. He got so excited that he shouted, "Uncle Derrick! Uncle Derrick!"Fletcher's subordinates were incredibly excited to see Derrick as well. All of them shouted, "Mr. Derrick Drayton!"One of the subordinates was in Drunham City because Derrick arranged for him to be there. After he was brought to Derrick's side, he smiled apologetically and said, "Thank you for saving me, sir. Don't worry. Fletcher's faction and properties are all here. I'll be able to rebuild the faction here very soon."In other words, even if Fletcher was out of the picture, he would be able to thrive in Drunham City and replace Fletcher.However, Derrick shot an icy glare at him and sneered. "Hmph! How shameless of you to say that? There are so many of you, yet you can't deal with a small loser who only married into the Stone family."If it wasn't because this w
Howard did not expect that the Drayton family would have a connection with the Carter family. They could even produce a token from the Carter family."Mr. Derrick Drayton, I didn't expect that your family and the Carters go way back. You even got the Carter family's token out," said Howard.Derrick sneered and said, "Enough with the nonsense. Howard, my family did the Carter family a favor back then, that's why the general of the Carter family gave this token to us. He promised us that we could take out this token if we were ever in a bind in the future, and they would help us!"I'm taking out this token today to tell you that I'm going to bail Andy out of here. I'd like to see who in Drunham City has the guts to stop me!"Howard was stunned, and then he fell silent.He did not think that Derrick would take out a token from the Carter family.The Carter family was the top family in Mirstone. Nobody in Mirstone would dare to go against the Carter family. Derrick became even more
Meanwhile, Derrick and his men were already at the entrance of the police headquarters.Derrick's eyes were burning with rage as he looked at the door that was shut tightly. A sneer appeared on his lips as he said, "Hmph. Looks like they already know I'm coming, so they are deliberately trying to assert dominance."Then, he asked his driver next to him, "Where are our men? Have they all arrived?"The driver nodded and said, "They're here, Mr. Derrick. They are all waiting at the side. We'll tear down the main door to the police headquarters once you give the command."Derrick nodded with satisfaction. Then, he shouted at the police headquarters, "Howard! You're just the chief of the police headquarters! How dare you lock me outside?""I'd like to see how powerful you are today, Howard! Come on, guys. Take it down!"At his command, a group of burly men rushed out of the black van next to him. They were all holding thick bats, and they rushed up to the door ferociously.Right at t
At first, Yafe and the rest of the Stone family were stunned after they heard what Liam said. Then, they all burst out laughing.Yafe looked at Liam with a mocking gaze and said, "Are you kidding me, Liam? You're going to get the Draytons to come and apologize in person? Come on, that's the Drayton family we're talking about! Do you think they are just some nobody?"Right now, I don't want to waste my breath anymore. As long as you're able to stop the Drayton family from targeting us, I'm more than grateful. Don't you forget that you're the one who wanted to leave the Stone family? So, stop dragging us into your mess."Liam shot the crowd with an icy glare and brought Celena out of the Stone Mansion.Celena was still in a slight daze after they got into the car. Liam put on her safety belt for her and asked, "What's the matter, dear? Are you still worried about the Draytons?"Celena nodded and replied, "Yes. After all, all these were caused by the conflict between Andy and us. Jus
Liam wanted to ask what the family heirloom was, but he had no choice but to let it be after he heard what Yonatan said.However, Liam heard Yonatan's voice again, saying, "I've never seen that thing, but I heard from the Drayton family members that it was from a big shot in the military."The military?Liam's eyebrows furrowed once he heard it had something to do with the military. Then, he kicked Yonatan away, making him land next to the thugs.Yonatan passed out because of that kick.Once the thugs saw their leader was out cold, they took a couple of steps back in fear.However, Liam did not care about them at all. He looked at Yafe and the others instead.Once the Stone family members saw that they were out of the woods, they became cocky again.Yafe and Sherah, in particular, were so cocky that they ran up to Liam and condemned him, "Look what you've done! You're bad luck! What else can you do other than cause us trouble? Do you know who that is? He is from the Drayton fam
Yonatan was infuriated and bellowed, "So this is how you're going to play! Alright! I'm not going to stop until I kill you today!"Yonatan was radiating an intense desire to battle. That was the air exuded by a fighter of Fourth Order War King caliber.The Stone family was so frightened by the air he exuded that their faces turned pale. All of them took more than ten steps back in fear, afraid they would be injured by mistake.Yonatan clenched his fist and charged at Liam like a ferocious beast. His fist was packing so much power that it created a sonic boom, cutting through the air and going for Liam's face.The punch was so powerful that it could kill a bull right away.The Stone family thought Liam was going to die. Nobody would be able to survive a punch like that.Yonatan thought the same. He was very confident in his ability. He looked into Liam and knew he used to be a soldier, as well as a good fighter. However, so what?No matter how skilled Liam was in combat, could he
The moment Liam stepped into view, the Stone family members lit up as if they had spotted their guardian angel. They pointed at him, their voices rising in a chorus of relief and accusation. "Mr. Yonatan, look over here! It's Liam! I said they weren't with us!""Exactly! Mr. Yonatan, see for yourself, Liam's not part of our family!""Mr. Yonatan, now that Liam's here, if you're looking to pin the blame on someone, he's your man!""Liam, you actually showed up. If you hadn't crossed the Drayton family, would we, the Stones, have ever been dragged into this mess?""Liam, Celena, you two are nothing but trouble. You've left the family, so why keep stirring the pot for us?"...The air crackled with the Stone family's collective outrage, their faces twisted in anger as if they were ready to rip Liam and Celena to shreds.Celena and Liam's arrival was pure happenstance. They were just in the neighborhood to check in on an old friend when they overheard Yonatan's boastful taunts.Lia
Yonatan did not even bother to look at him. He checked his watch with a chilling laugh and said, "You've got ten minutes for Liam to show up. Don't say I didn't warn you."The words sent a wave of shock through Yafe and the rest of the Stone family, who stared at Yonatan, panic-stricken.Yafe was a mess, desperate to explain, but the sight of Yonatan's henchmen, eager and ready for a fight, stopped him dead in his tracks."Mr. Yonatan, I swear it's the truth. Liam has nothing to do with the Stone family anymore. You've made a mistake!"Yafe's face was flushed with urgency as he tried to convince the unmoved man."It's true, Mr. Yonatan! Liam and Celena were kicked out of the Stone family ages ago.""That's right! He's got nothing to do with us anymore. If you're after Liam, go to the villa at Emerald Lake. He's there, not here with us.""Mr. Yonatan, if you head over to Drunham City and ask anyone, they'll tell you the same thing: Liam and Celena have no ties to us Stones anymor