Nevertheless, as enticing the idea of teasing Nevaeh was, Liam had better things to do; he had to get home as soon as possible so he could spend time with his beloved wife."Hey, Officer Scott, look! They're getting away! Get them!" Liam shrieked all of a sudden, his eyes wide with panic as he pointed somewhere behind her.Nevaeh immediately whipped around, prepared to chase after the escaping thugs, but to her surprise, all she could see was the same men lying on the ground, whimpering and howling in agony. They were in so much pain they could barely get up, much less try to escape!They shook their heads, terrified that they would receive another beating, and screeched, "No, no! We're not trying to run! We wouldn't dare…""Spare us, officer! Don't hit me! I'm not going anywhere!""We're not trying to run, officer. Please have mercy on us…"A jolt of startling realization swept over Nevaeh, and she immediately turned around, but it was too late. Liam was already too far away for
Liam pressed her back down onto the sofa. He gave her a reassuring smile, but his eyes remained fixated on the living room window. "Don't move, darling. Just stay low. Something interesting is about to happen."Celena froze. Liam's face was tilted at an angle away from hers, so she could not read his expression and figure out if he was joking. Nevertheless, the flirtatious undertones in his voice made her blush, and she replied, crooning, "Liam…"She wanted to ask him what he was trying to get out, but all of a sudden, Liam grabbed her waist and pulled her into his arms. As he turned, she finally caught sight of his face, and she did not like the look on it. He was making her nervous, and she could feel a lump forming in her throat. She opened her mouth to ask him what was going on, but…Thud!Without warning, the window shattered, raining broken glass everywhere and making Celena jump. The color drained from her face. The next moment, three men dressed from head to toe in black le
In the split second that the three of them were all stunned, Liam seized the moment to strike; his fist made contact with the man closest to him, and the impact was such that the intruder flew several feet into the air before finally slamming into the coffee table. He spat out a mouthful of blood and stared at Liam, eyes wide with horror.The two other intruders did not hesitate to retaliate. Their blades glinted menacingly as they soared through the air, aimed straight at Liam's chest!The two of them had acted so swiftly that it was clear that they were hoping to put an end to this once and for all, with no intention of letting Liam live.Liam furrowed his brows slightly. Then, with a swift move, he shoved Celena out of the way and behind the sofa. At the same time, he reached out to grab one of his attackers' arms. His reflexes were so lightning-quick that none of the intruders even saw this coming. Without mercy, Liam gave his victim's arm a sharp twist, snapping it clean in h
This was the least of her worries, though. Celena quickly trotted over to Liam and asked, grabbing his arm nervously, "Liam, are you hurt?"Liam shook his head, then turned to glance coldly at the three limp figures on the floor before him. One was already dead, one was crippled, and the other was about to be.Liam sneered and said curtly, "The Yeagers are as efficient as always. Why didn't they at least let me settle in first?"The two remaining assassins, both of whom were writhing and howling in agony, immediately stopped, clearly at an utter loss of what to say. They seemed surprised that Liam had worked it out so quickly. Their shock lasted only a few moments. Soon, they regained their composure and slowly staggered to their feet. One of them had suffered broken ribs, whereas the other had his entire arm fractured. As a result, neither of them could move freely, and it took them a long time to finally get to their feet, holding onto the wall for support. One of the men look
Was this man out of his mind? Did he know just how truly powerful the Yeagers were? How dare he make such an outlandish threat?The Yeagers were so powerful that no one, not even a single person in the entire nation, could possibly think of crossing them, much less make such an atrocious claim as to destroy them! They were one of the Four Ancient Families, with their lineage being traced back to over a century ago.Even the leader of the assassin group had to bow and curtsy before the Yeagers; such was the influence they had over the entire nation. They could not believe the audacity of this scrawny twat to make such a threat!They both had to admit that this man—whoever he was—was far more powerful than they had anticipated. The aura that he gave off felt more formidable than even the most merciless killers in their assassins' group, but even then, that did not excuse his cockiness.They were not doing a very good job of hiding their thoughts, so naturally, Liam could read the c
The other remaining assassin—the one with the broken arm—stared in utter horror as the whole scene played out. He seemed incapable of uttering a response and merely watched with wide eyes as his companion clawed every inch of his own skin off and finally killed himself out of sheer agony.He fell to his knees and screamed, "Sir, this was all a terrible mistake. Please, sir! Please spare me…"Liam stared at him coldly and replied, "I won't kill you, but you shall return to the Yeagers and pass on my message to them. If they do not wish to suffer a tragic fate, they must back off and stop harassing me. I have many more tricks up my sleeve, and certainly not ones they would like to challenge."The assassin nodded fervently. "Yes, sir… I will definitely relay your message, sir!"His voice was trembling with fear, and he gazed at Liam with a look of quiet terror, as if he was staring into the eyes of the demon himself. "Get out of my sight!"With that, the assassin turned and sprinte
"Yes, sir! I'll notify him at once!"Meanwhile, in a distant country west of Biskeland, Cirocco was crouched in the shrubbery, his eyes trained on a team of enemy soldiers some several feet away from him, blissfully unaware of his presence. Cirocco wore an army green uniform that seamlessly blended into the undergrowth around him. Even with his gaze trained on his target, the merciless bloodlust within his eyes was unmistakable. Five of his subordinates were crouched behind him, wearing identical uniforms. They were among his most trusted aides and had been deployed on this mission with him.All of a sudden, his phone buzzed with an incoming call. He placed his phone close to his ear, but his eyes did not leave his target. The orders from the person on the other end of the line made a sinister smirk cross his face."Let's get this over with!" he hissed to his men. Then, without missing a beat, all six of them pounced, their powerful auras forming a collective tornado that stirred
Reginald's health had declined greatly over the past few days, and even if he was seated in his chair, one could make out how much weight he had lost. He looked pale and occasionally, he would let out deep, hacking coughs.After a few moments' silence, he turned to his family and said, "I'm sure all of you have seen the news. We were all so excited after finding out that Liam was the legendary King Pendragon in hiding. We were all so determined that this was our one ticket to success, a surefire way to fame and glory as we so rightly deserved…"Reginald had to pause here, for he erupted into another bout of deep, rasping coughs. His entire face flushed red from the effort, and it took him a few minutes to recompose himself. Finally, he felt well enough to continue, "Who would've thought that Liam would end up resigning from his position as commander-in-chief? We were all played for fools! We cannot count on him any longer!"Yafe's eyes were ablaze with cold, merciless fury as he lis
Liam saw Sunniva was up and wasted no time, saying. "Ms. Bristow, we've got gang trouble at the hotel. It's not safe. We're bailing to a new place," he said.Without skipping a beat, Liam and Sunniva were out of there, speeding off to another hotel in the car.Little did they know, as soon as they left, a convoy of black SUVs pulled up ominously at the hotel's grand entrance.The streets surrounding the hotel suddenly buzzed with the arrival of several new cars. Their occupants spilled out, pacing the perimeter with a clear intent to surveil.From the lineup of rugged SUVs at the hotel's entrance, a squad of men clad in black, brandishing weapons burst forth. They stormed the hotel, their presence ominous and unchallenged.The receptionists, staff, and patrons were petrified, cowering in corners, none daring to confront the intruders.The men made a beeline for Liam's last known location, only to find the room deserted.The ringleader cursed under his breath, "Damn it! He's slip
Each victim was marked with a triangle tattoo, a calling card that did not go unnoticed. Someone had snapped a picture of it before the hotel staff even showed up and had split.Liam passed the photo to Cirocco and Calum, and it hit them like a ton of bricks. Calum scrunched up his face and said, "Sir, this is Alpha's tag. They're big-time hitmen around Rasford City."They're known for their love of curved blades, and that triangle is their signature."Cirocco had been doing some digging too and came back with chilling news about Noel. "Sir, we got the why. Someone's put a three million dollar price tag on your head, right there on the hit list!""Moreover, the bounty was so colossal that it had all the shadowy players in Rasford City licking their chops. A coalition of forces was now banding together, plotting a takedown that had you in their crosshairs."Cirocco's face was a mask of ice as he spoke, and Calum's features were twisted in a scowl.Liam chuckled darkly, the quint
The new plan was a hit; every assassin in the room was on board.One of them, posing as a bellhop, stood at Liam's door, ready to knock.However, he never saw it coming. Before his knuckles could rap on the door, it burst open from the inside.Wham!The would-be knocker was sent flying, slamming into the corridor wall with a thunderous crash.The others barely had time to register what happened when Liam burst out, a quintuple-edged dagger in hand.He was a shadow among them, his blade a flash of silver that danced across their wrists, disarming them of their scimitars.In moments, the hallway was a cacophony of clattering blades and piercing screams that filled the hotel.The leader, clutching his bleeding wrist, stared at Liam in horror, leaning casually against the doorframe. Liam's dagger dripped crimson. He watched the fallen assassins with an unfeeling smirk."You think you can play assassins, skulking around in the dark?" Liam's voice dripped with scorn. With a casual f
Noel was a name that turned heads in Rasford City, especially since the Noel family ran a successful pharmaceutical business. In any place, those in the medicine game hold sway, and Noel was no stranger to the city's shadowy bigwigs. After all, nobody was immune to getting sick!Noel was quickly taken to the hospital for emergency care. Meanwhile, the assassin he had hired had pinpointed the hotel where Liam and Sunniva were hiding out.Sunniva was still visibly shaken when they reached the hotel. Too frightened to be alone, she could only gaze at Liam with watery eyes, silently pleading to stay in his room.Liam, left with little choice, let Sunniva take his room while he made do with the couch in the living room.After the night's earlier ordeal, combined with the alcohol and the drug slipped into her drink, Sunniva washed up and promptly fell asleep in Liam's bed.Liam, however, remained on the living room sofa, poring over the mysterious Arcane Manuscript.Out of nowhere,
"Thud!"Then, without missing a beat, Liam grabbed Noel by the throat and landed another punch on him. He struck him squarely on the chin, dislocating it and forcing a couple more of his teeth to fly out. "Ahhh!" Noel shrieked. His face was swelling up to twice its usual size, and he could not help letting out a cry of agony. Liam did not stop there, though. His fists rained down all over Noel without ceasing, his every punch striking where it hurt the most. "F*ck! You're going to pay for this!" Noel grunted. He would make this twat pay! What gave him the right to attack him? He was an heir of the great Noel bloodline, and he would make this cocky, self-righteous prat pay!Liam scoffed, then swung his fist and struck Noel squarely in his abdomen.Noel spat out a mouthful of blood, unable to utter another word from the sheer pain, but this did not stop Liam. The next moment, he grabbed Noel by the hair and bashed his head against the wall behind him.A sickening crunch alerted
The words had barely left her mouth when Noel lost his patience, swung Sunniva around and slapped her hard across the cheek. "D*mn it, you f*cking sl*t! What the f*ck are you shouting for? Let me tell you this—no one will come to save you, not even if you cry yourself hoarse!"The slap came so abruptly that Sunniva was momentarily stunned. Her cheek soon swelled up, and a bright red mark in the shape of Noel's palm began to take shape. Noel had hit her so hard that the back of her head struck the wall behind her, and all she could feel was an intense, throbbing pain that reverberated through her skull. Blood seeped out of the cut on the back of her head, and she could feel the warm liquid trickle down her neck. She suddenly felt strangely faint and stopped resisting. Noel seized the opportunity to strip her naked, grinning. "Ms. Bristow, I suggest you stop wasting your energy. You're mine tonight, and there's no running now!"He had long since heard of Sunniva's beauty, and he was
"Mr. Noel? What is the meaning of this?" Sunniva shrieked in alarm. Noel was wiping his face with a towel when she spoke, and upon hearing her voice, he slowly moved toward her. "Ms. Bristow, do I really need to spell this out for you? You're a gorgeous woman, and I admire you very much. There's nothing to be afraid of, darling. We're all adults here, so there's no need to be shy. I promise that I'll make this the most memorable night you've ever had. "Ms. Bristow, do you know how many women would die to be in your position? Women everywhere bend over backwards to keep me happy, and most of them are willing to please me just to get my business. If you still want this partnership, you better be a good girl and keep me satisfied. If not…"Noel trailed off, for at this point, he had already reached the bed and was just inches away from Sunniva. His flesh quivered with his every move, and he was so tall that he loomed over Sunniva's tiny body like a beast eyeing its prey. "You… you
Noel was not used to being rejected so outwardly. Sunniva's indifference infuriated him greatly. He scoffed, then brought his hand up to his nose and took a deep breath as if trying to catch a whiff of any scent that Sunniva had left on his skin. He sneered. "Ms. Bristow, it seems you are intent on challenging me?"Sunniva replied curtly, "So what if I am?""Very well then! You like to do things the hard way, eh? Let me make this clear—the moment you step out the door, the partnership will be called off! I will no longer do business with Bristow Group!"The audacity!With a smug grin, Noel cast Sunniva one last look before returning to his seat. He watched her coolly and made no move to stop her from leaving again, for he knew he had her cornered. Sunniva stood rooted to the spot, her brows furrowed in deep concentration. Noel knew he had Sunniva caught in a dead-end situation. He smirked and raised his glass to his lips. "How about this, Ms. Bristow? Just one last drink with
A glimmer of annoyance flashed through Noel's eyes, but he continued to reach toward Sunniva, grinning. "Ms. Bristow, I really, really admire you…"Sunniva froze. The next moment, she leaped to her feet, still holding her wine glass, and ducked out of Noel's reach. She replied, raising his glass in an attempt to disguise her nervousness, "Mr. Noel, I greatly admire your success as a businessman as well. Cheers to our partnership!"Noel's arm hovered in mid-air, looking awkward and forlorn as it dangled out of reach of its target. A strained silence fell over them. The tension lasted only a few minutes, though, because Noel soon regained his composure and drew his arm back. He clinked his glass against Sunniva's as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The two of them had been drinking for quite some time now, and Noel was growing more and more inebriated by the minute. He was a pale man, and so the alcohol gave him an unnatural flush that made him look as though he was