Cheryl sneered at this. "A man of great character or talent? I'm afraid you're wrong once again, Kendrick! Of course, I wouldn't try to deny Liam of any true talent, for it takes a man of great courage to be content with leeching off his wife's family!"Kendrick mirrored Cheryl's disdain, but upon seeing Celena's face fall, he wiped the smirk from his face and hastily changed the subject. All of a sudden, Liam's phone rang. It was a message from Joseph, but he did not reveal any more information apart from relaying that it was an urgent situation that required Liam's help.Liam knew something bad must have happened, so he quickly excused himself from the conversation and left, after lying to Celena that some of his old comrades were looking for him.Celena murmured in acknowledgment, "Alright. I'll be here waiting for you."Liam beamed at her and squeezed her hand reassuringly. Before he left, however, he turned to shoot Kendrick a sharp, meaningful glance, one that could only be
Celena was so taken aback by Kendrick's sudden declaration of love that she stood there, rooted to the spot, as though she had been struck by lightning. It took her a few moments to finally snap out of her stupor, but by that time, Kendrick's erratic behavior had already earned some strange glances from the guests closest to them.Celena, pale with fear and panic, quickly drew her hand out of Kendrick's grasp and said, "Kendrick, I have no idea what you're talking about! As I mentioned, those were just harmless jokes, I…"Kendrick, I hope you understand that I'm now married. I love my husband very much, and I've only ever thought of you as a brother… Please don't do this…"Sensing everyone's gaze burning in the back of her head, Celena turned and fled.Kendrick would not allow the love of his life to get away, so he chased after her like a moth to a flame, leaving Cheryl standing there alone. Her face contorted into an ugly snarl as she watched Celena and Kendrick disappear from vi
Liam scowled upon hearing this, and in a split second, a surge of fury rose within him so menacingly that even the air seemed to be charged with electricity.Thud!Liam slammed his fist down on the table so hard that with a splintering creak, the wooden table top snapped in half!Liam balled up the documents he was holding and said, his eyes glinting with cold malice, "Very well then! I have left the Pendragon War Zone for only a few months, and already the Border Nations have decided to test my boundaries!"Tell the representatives of the Border Nations that I, on behalf of the entire Pendragon War Zone, am hereby warning them not to test their limits! If they lay so much as a finger on any of my subordinates' heads, I will personally lead my army into combat, and trample them into a heap before they know it!"Liam said this with such vehement anger that the sky above the garrison darkened and crackled with thunder, making the soldiers standing guard outside the building shudder
Kendrick seemed to grow more and more agitated with every word. The thought of Celena bringing up Liam again made him so outraged that he reached out to claw at Celena's arm."Kendrick, you… Please… please calm down…" Celena was utterly alarmed to see Kendrick like this. Her first instinct was to dodge him, but the moment she turned around, she realized that she had inadvertently backed into a corner of the room, and there was nowhere for her to run!Celena closed her eyes in terror, anticipating Kendrick's fingers grappling onto her, but to her surprise, they never came.That was because just as Kendrick was about to pounce, he was shoved aside by someone behind him whom he could not see.Kendrick staggered and almost tripped, but the moment he steadied himself, he whipped around, his eyes ablaze with fury. "What the f*ck? Who did it?" he bellowed.The moment he laid eyes on the person behind him, he scowled, for it turned out to be Liam, who was already glowering at him.Celena
Initially, upon first meeting Liam, Kendrick had chosen to err on the side of caution. However, after discovering Liam's identity, he realized he no longer had anything to fear and thus did not bother concealing his disdain anymore. What happened next, however, made the smile freeze on Kendrick's face.Liam could not stand the leering look on Kendrick's face anymore and, without missing a beat, punched him before the latter could even fathom what had happened. "What makes you think you can scare me?"Kendrick howled, clutching his cheek in agony as blood trickled out of his nose and mouth. The next moment, however, he regained his composure and shot Liam a murderous glare. "How dare you hit me? Do you have any idea who I am?"Kendrick's shouts had attracted the attention of every guest in the room, who watched with interest as what they deemed to be an amusing love triangle played out before them. Celena was too stunned for words, for she never thought Liam would actually hit Ke
"I agree! How uncivilized he is, to resort to violence as a solution to every problem! We're all respectable civilians, and should not be behaving like barbarians!""Couldn't have said it better myself! Absolutely vile! I don't understand how Celena could've fallen for such a brute! Isn't she at all afraid he would lay hands on her someday?""Mr. Hyde is such a gentleman! Look at the way he's gazing at Celena! How soft and tender! I don't know what's gotten into Celena. Any sane person would know who to choose!"These murmurs and chatters revolved around the pair of men, but they were all unequivocally rooting for Kendrick. The women, in particular, seemed exceptionally impressed by Kendrick's display of courtesy and kept gazing at him, awestruck.Celena, on the other hand, did not know what to make of this situation. Nevertheless, Kendrick's plan had worked, for his gracious attitude had made Liam look absolutely barbaric in comparison, and this infuriated Celena greatly.She tur
The plane took off and soared through the sky, making its way to the Pendragon War Zone. Three hours passed when Liam finally touched down at the war zone. The moment the plane landed, Liam's phone rang. He frowned when he saw the long chain of numbers—an encrypted burner phone—but picked up without hesitation. A robotic voice said from the other end of the line, "Your Majesty, the King Pendragon! You're finally back at the Pendragon War Zone! What a long time it's been, my friend!"Liam frowned at this and asked curtly, "Who are you?"The voice sneered, "I won't blame you for forgetting, sir. After all, you are a busy, busy man with many things on your mind! I would be truly shocked if you had managed to remember a nobody like me. However, I'm fairly certain that you have not forgotten about your trusty aide, Calum Chanter?"Liam snarled, "I don't care who you are, but I'm warning you, if you dare to harm so much as a hair on Calum's head, I will follow you to the four corners of
Dressed in her sharp dark green uniform, the golden star on her shoulder gleamed brilliantly in the light.The young female officer, full of vigor and poise, was one of Liam's trusted subordinates, and she had risen to the rank of major general."Major Black Rose, reporting for duty, sir!" she announced.Then, the twenty-plus officers lined up behind her snapped to attention and saluted, their voices in unison, "Sir, welcome back!"Black Rose could not hide her excitement at Liam's return. "Sir, it's so good to have you back. We've all missed you."She thought to herself, with a hint of longing, 'I've missed you too.' However, those were words she would never dare to speak aloud.Black Rose was no ordinary soldier, despite being a woman, she was as formidable as a legendary warrior. She was Liam's right hand, not counting the Chanter brothers.While the Chanters took charge of the battlefield, Black Rose was the mastermind behind the logistics of the Pendragon War Zone.In esse
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