Seated around a table were the military commanders of the five Border Nations. Since the commander-in-chief of Koron, General Garna Chava, had passed away, Koron had sent another general in his place to attend the meeting.The two other generals who had orchestrated Liam's assassination alongside Koron were also seated amongst the five representatives. The sole two innocent parties appeared calm and unfazed, whereas the three masterminds were beyond outraged at the mayhem that Liam had wreaked on their country's borders.Alec seemed the most furious out of all of them. He hissed through gritted teeth, "What is the meaning of this? Half an hour has gone by, and yet the representative from Biskeland has not arrived!"The commander-in-chief of Slansvia, one of the two countries which had devised the plan to bring about Liam's death, was a man named Al Cronck. He looked equally outraged as he agreed, "That's right! This is unacceptable! How dare Biskeland disrespect us like this by fail
However, the two generals, though deeply wary of Liam and eager to be rid of him, were not fools and would not be easily deceived.They exchanged knowing glances but said nothing, and instead, watched coldly as another argument broke out between Garna Fuege, Al, and Alec. Just as the tension in the room was about to reach a boiling point, the door was suddenly flung open.Thud!The door splintered into pieces with a deafening bang. Fragments of wood flew everywhere, and some of the wooden chips even landed on Garna Fuege and the others!The five commanders, along with a dozen or so advisors who had accompanied their respective leaders, all whipped around to glance at the door. Liam stood at the door, wearing the same uniform, which was now tattered and bloodstained. The dark pools of blood of his victims shone maliciously like badges of his honor! Four Gods of War dressed in black trailed behind him, each exuding a similar aura of menace.The entire room fell silent as their gaz
Liam stood at the head of the table. After hearing Alec's terms, he scowled. His cold gaze landed on Alec, and he slowly made his way toward the latter.Panic rose up within Alec when Liam started to approach him. "What—what are you doing?"Liam did not even flinch. He continued to take slow, deliberate steps toward Alec, and the sight of a glowering man covered from head to toe in blood walking toward him made Alec shudder. He took a few steps back in terror.Thud!His body collided with the chair behind him, and together, man and chair collapsed to the ground with a clatter.It suddenly struck him, however, that Liam would not dare to lay a finger on him with so many people watching, so he quickly got to his feet and tried to stare Liam down, his face flushed crimson in exasperation. Liam paused, eyeing Alec coldly. "Is that right? You want me to compensate your country's losses?"There must be a miscommunication, General Alec, for if I recall correctly, this meeting was supp
Who would dare to put a toe out of line in the presence of such a formidable opponent, not to mention he also had fifteen Gods of War waiting outside the door to intervene if needed?Alec's expression was dark, and his beady eyes were laced with white-hot rage and indignation. He thought the prospect of going to war against three hundred thousand soldiers would be enough to subdue Liam. Still, not only did this fail to intimidate Liam, but he had even turned the entire situation against him!Alec was already incredibly displeased about losing half his men in battle, but the worst part was there seemed to be no way out of this!There was no point even trying to take Liam by force, for not only did he possess incredible speed and power, he also had a swarm of martial artists waiting on the other side of the door! One would have to be out of their mind to even think of subduing Liam in this state!Liam stared at the men before him. The silence went on for over three minutes, in which
"What? Ten billion dollars?""This is outrageous, King Pendragon! We're here to negotiate, not do your bidding!""Indeed! The three of them were the ones who had devised the plan to kidnap your subordinate. None of this had anything to do with me, so why should I have to pay the compensation as well?""I took no part in this as well! I will gladly withdraw my troops, but why should my country have to fork out ten billion dollars to compensate for a war we never took part in?""King Pendragon, this is outrageous and completely unreasonable! You are taking advantage of us!""We cannot just sit by and allow Biskeland to bully us like this! I will have none of this! If we have to declare war on Biskeland, so be it!""It's one thing to request a ceasefire, but another issue entirely to ransom us for so much money!"The entire room erupted into an angry uproar upon hearing Liam's request. Liam stared at them coldly and did not respond until he heard the furious outcries of the general
Besides, the borders of Biskeland were guarded by the feared Pendragon Warriors, and these were enemies that no one would want to make!Even then, none of the generals, least of all the two who had not been directly involved in the assassination attempt, could tolerate being taken advantage of. They were all incredibly disconcerted to see Liam walking out the door, and the two innocent generals were the first to act. They both leaped to their feet and shouted at Liam's retreating figure, "We accept your terms!"Liam paused and turned around but did not say anything. Instead, he merely stared at them as though waiting for them to go on.One of the generals, a man named Nicholson, added, appearing rather reluctant but having found no better option, "King Pendragon, I agree to your terms. My country will pay the compensation as you asked!"The other general paused for a few moments, then said, "I will do the same!"They both looked frankly affronted to have been forced to commit to
With that being said, however, none of them planned to sell out their master, so they ignored Liam and turned to walk away.Liam called out after them, the ghost of his smile still playing on his face, but now his eyes were ablaze with malice, "It was the Yeagers, wasn't it?"Although he posed this as a question, there was no hint of doubt in his tone. The three of them froze, clearly stunned by how quickly Liam had worked everything out. Garna Fuege had no intention of revealing his master or remaining even a minute longer in Liam's presence, so he turned and stomped away. Alec was still affronted by the incredibly unreasonable request he had been forced to accept, so the last thing he wanted was to hold a conversation with the man who had brought his humiliating defeat. He turned and followed quickly in Garna Fuege's wake. Al Cronck, on the other hand, lingered behind and stared at Liam with a strange expression. All of a sudden, he said, "King Pendragon, I have to admit th
Liam smiled when he found himself surrounded by throngs of concerned faces. He patted the shoulder of every person he brushed past, and finally, he turned to see the red-rimmed eyes of Black Rose, who was on the verge of tears with worry. He stroked her hair reassuringly, smiling. "Don't worry! I'm fine! You should be more worried about Calum, you know!"Black Rose immediately sprinted to the jeep to check on Calum. She almost fainted when she laid eyes on the injuries Calum had sustained. It seemed that no inch of his skin was left intact, and although Liam had tended to them the best he could, he still warranted a consultation with the military doctor.The military doctor soon arrived and brought Calum to the Pendragon War Zone hospital. Liam, too, had been forced to visit the hospital to get his wounds checked out. He had sustained some scratches on the exposed skin of his body, and just when he thought there were no more, he removed his uniform and was met by the horrifying sig
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