"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
With that, Quenten, Cambria, and an assistant made their exit from the conference room.Icarus, with a respectful nod, joined the rest of the room in a silent, reverent farewell as they watched their leader depart.After Quenten had exited, the conference room buzzed with the allies of Virginio, their voices rising in heated debate."Mr. Gabrick, what's Mr. Zeller getting at? Are we really going to let our state's martial arts association be pushed around by some guy who just married into a family?""Exactly! Liam's made a fool out of us, turned us into a joke among the neighboring martial arts communities, and we're supposed to make nice with him?!""We're the martial arts authority in this state. Are we expected to bow to some nobody son-in-law from Drunham City?""Right! It seems Mr. Zeller's lost his edge, too old to stand up to even a lowly son-in-law.""Mr. Zwick, sure, our association needs new blood, but not from that son-in-law Liam!""Absolutely! He took down Mr. Nass
Icarus watched Virginio storm off, a mix of ice and scorn in his eyes. He had never had much respect for the guy.Virginio was all pride and swagger, thinking a little talent gave him the right to walk on air.However, what Virginio did not realize was that there were always bigger fish, plenty of them. He had just been a big shot in the tiny pond of state and had not yet met his match.Once Virginio and his entourage had cleared out, the other association members trickled out of the room, leaving Icarus with just two middle-aged men.One, a wiry guy with a questioning look, peered up at Icarus. "Is this Liam really all that? You think he's going to dazzle everyone at the annual Martial Arts Convention for Drunham City?"The other man, all stern and no-nonsense, chimed in, "Mr. Zwick, none of us have seen Liam in action. Can he live up to the hype?"Icarus chuckled, then his face took on a grave cast as he looked at the two men. "You've seen it for yourselves. The Martial Arts As