"King Pendragon, if you're looking for the Four Elders, why don't you head inside to wait for them."Liam pondered for a moment with a frown. Then, he shook his head and said, "It's alright. I'll just stand here and wait for them."Liam turned around and walked to the Jeep. Leaning against the car door, he grabbed a cigarette from his pocket and lit it before he took a deep puff. Nobody knew what he was looking at through the smoke.He smoked cigarettes after cigarettes as time ticked by. He just kept thinking about the Arcane Manuscript and the things Prince Faber said.About an hour later, the guard suddenly called out, "King Pendragon, the Four Elders are back."Immediately after that, the Four Elders' car stopped right at the entrance of the Grand Pendragon Department. The guard quickly went up to the car, opening the door respectfully.The first person who came out was the first elder, Timothy. He was then followed by the other three elders.Once they saw Liam, they were al
After a while, Timothy looked at Liam with a serious look and asked in a deep voice, "What do you want to ask?""The Arcane Manuscript and the mystery of my identity," Liam replied.Timothy was stunned. He simply looked at Liam in a daze with his eyes filled with shock.The other three elders gasped and looked shocked. Then, the four of them looked at each other and came to a certain kind of consensus.Timothy quickly regained his senses. With a smile, he asked, "What are you talking about?"Geoffrey quickly smiled, but there was a hint of nervousness in his voice as he said, "Why are you talking about all these things that we have no clue about."Before Jim and Michael say anything, Liam beat them to the punch and said, "Like I said, you know my character. Since I've asked, it means I already know something about it. I must get the answer today. I hope you don't lie to me."Liam meant business as he said that, and he looked right at Timothy's eyes.After a while, it was Timoth
"Are you talking about the Great General of the Army?" Liam asked.Timothy nodded and replied, "That's right. He's your grandfather—Archie Cole."Liam was stunned. He was utterly shocked.He never would have thought that his grandfather was the Great General of the Army!Everyone in Biskeland knew the Great General of the Army. He was a big hero who helped found the nation and made countless contributions.He spent his whole life on battlefields and was highly decorated. He was also given the title of the only Great General of the Army of the past decade, one who led a million soldiers.The people only knew his title. They did not know his real name.After that, some major incidents happened. After the commotion, the title of Great General of the Army became taboo in Biskeland. Nobody was allowed to mention it.Someone was given the death penalty because he mentioned the Great General of the Army. Because of that, nobody had the guts to mention the famous hero anymore.What
Timothy seemed to have gotten lost in his thoughts, thinking about the times back then. His tone was filled with rage and pity as he spoke.Confused, Liam asked, "The king back then threw the Great General of the Army into jail without even having an investigation?"Timothy nodded and added, "That's right. Once the order was given, all the government officials in Biskeland came together and pleaded for the Great General of the Army. However, all those people were targeted by the Four Ancient Families."All the government officials who pleaded for mercy at the door of the main hall in the Crystal Elegance Palace were ordered to be shot dead that night. All of that was the Four Ancient Families' doing. All the tiles at the entrance of the main hall were stained with blood at that time. It took a month for the bloodstain to vanish."Meanwhile, the Great General of the Army, who was thrown into jail, disappeared that night. Nobody knew where he went. Nobody knew if he was dead or alive
A desire to kill surged within Liam at the mention of his parents. He was seeing red, and he had a bone-chilling gaze gleaming in his eyes.At the thought of the image of his parents dying in front of him, Liam was filled with an overwhelming rage and urge to kill.The Four Ancient Families deserved to go to hell!Liam would personally avenge his parents and the entire Cole family one day.Timothy and the other elders felt sorry for Liam after seeing how he looked.He shouldered too many things since childhood.Timothy took a deep breath and walked to a corner of the meeting room. He opened a secret compartment on the wall and took out a vintage wooden box."Arcane Manuscript has thirteen pages in total. Your father handed over eight pages to them back then. The remaining pages were sent away. These are two of the remaining pages your father left in my care."Timothy handed the wooden box to Liam and continued, "One can only make sense of the secrets of Arcane Manuscript after
Archie and Chester Cole.Liam kept rubbing his finger along his father's name. Tears welled in his eyes, streaming down his cheeks before dripping onto the wooden box."The names on there were the forefathers of your family. Every guardian would leave their names on the box. In the end, the box ended up in your father's hands. We've put the box in your hands now. What to choose is entirely up to you," said Timothy.Liam still said nothing. He just quietly took out his quintuple-edged dagger that was still stained with blood, carving his name solemnly under Chester's.Seeing that Timothy and the others understood what Liam chose. They were not surprised that he would choose the latter.Timothy and the others looked at each other. Then nodded at each other and some sort of agreement was reached.Then, Timothy looked up at Liam, locking eyes with them. Timothy's gaze was sharp and his voice was deep as he asked, "Liam, we said it before, we'll support you no matter what your decisio
"You mean Mr. Eacker?" Liam asked with a frown to confirm. After Timothy nodded, Liam's eyebrows were even more furrowed.He always knew that Nasir was very strong. The last time he met him at the Crystal Elegance Palace, he felt a sense of pressure and unfathomable mystery from him.It was only at that moment that Liam understood that Nasier made it to Tier Five. No wonder he had such a formidable air.Liam asked some other questions after that. At the same time, Timothy and the others also told Liam everything about the Cole family.Once Liam heard everything, he clenched his fists so tightly that his palms were bloody. The anger and hate in his eyes grew stronger and stronger as well.Timothy and the others remained seated in the meeting room after Liam left the Grand Pendragon Department.Geoffrey's face was filled with concern as he asked in a solemn voice, "Timothy, can Liam accept it now that we've told him everything all at once?"Jim was worried as well, and he said, "T
Liam drove back to the Pendragon War Zone right after that.However, as soon as his car entered the borders of the Pendragon War Zone, a bomb suddenly flew toward him from a distance. It was almost at the instant when the bomb flew over that Liam noticed that something was off. He immediately turned his steering wheel, dodging the bomb.The bomb then landed at the place where the Jeep once was and created a loud explosion.The Jeep rolled over because of the sharp turning.The bomb kicked up the dust, and by the time the dust faded, seven men in combat suits walked out of the dense forest at the side.All these men did not have the righteous air that soldiers would have. They were exuding a sinister air instead.All of them were mercenaries.Almost all of them were carrying submachine guns as they rushed over and had the Jeep surrounded.One of them cautiously moved to the side of the Jeep while holding his submachine gun. He opened the car door, but he did not see any signs
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
"Thank you, Uncle Leonardo." With that, Liam and Cirocco left the manor. They returned to the hotel to meet up with Calum and Sunniva. Liam and Cirocco were waiting in the hotel's presidential suite, going over their plans for the upcoming days, when Calum burst in, looking flustered. Liam was the first to notice how strangely nervous Calum seemed. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"Calum explained hastily, "Sir, Ms. Bristow was just taken away by a group of locals. She claimed that they were the businessmen we were here to meet. Since you weren't back yet, she decided to go meet them herself. She wants me to inform you that they have gone to the Saint Louisiana Hotel and that you can meet them there."Liam furrowed his brows at this. Calum asked, "Sir, are you going to check on them?"Liam considered this a moment, then grabbed his phone and stood up. "I think I should. You and Cirocco should stay here and go over our plans. I'll pop by the Saint Louisiana Hotel. If Jeffre
"Unfortunately, I cannot reveal to you the identities of the remaining five yet, but don't you worry—when the time comes, you will find out soon enough."Just remember, Liam, you are not alone! No matter what happens, the six of us will be here to help you the best we can!" Leonardo said, squeezing Liam's shoulder in reassurance. His expression was solemn, but there was a spark in his eyes. Liam was even more stunned to hear this. What was going on? Had his grandfather planned this for over twenty years ago? Did he somehow know that Liam would come searching for him?"Uncle Leonardo, what's going on here? Is Grandpa still alive?" Liam asked nervously.Leonardo's face fell, and he shook his head gravely. "Truth be told, I am just as confused as you are. I've been trying to track your grandfather down for years, but the last I heard, he was still being kept on Wraith Island. I haven't heard any news about him since, but I refuse to believe your grandfather would die on Wraith Island