Emiliano did not know who he had gone up against!At first, Charlie stood as still as a mountain, then, he simply lifted his palm to counter his vigorous attack. Emiliano thought that the kid had underestimated him by not putting up much effort to handle his attack and he would definitely be defeated with a single blow.However, just when his palm met Charlie’s, Emiliano realized that instead of forcing Charlie to retreat in the slightest, an enormous amount of energy bounced back from Charlie’s palm that instantly shattered his right arm like a wrecking ball directly smashing into him!He had never thought that he would meet the same fate as Hades!His right arm had turned into a large pile of mess, yet he couldn’t care less about the severe injury as the enormous energy exploded a tremendous shock wave like a nuclear bomb that sent him flying a few meters away!Emiliano was carried away by the forceful projectile while trying to stop himself with his legs gripping the snow with
The Big Eight were astonished and bewildered when Charlie could defeat the seven of them with a single palm strike!What kind of incredible power did he possess to be able to execute such a threatening strength?Even the most advanced master in the world could not possess such a level of force!The Big Eight were no ordinary people. When they worked together and combined their strength, they would have an extraordinary combination of forces.Even so, the total strength of The Big Eight was nothing more than a punch and a palm strike by Charlie.Emiliano got up weakly and blurted out, “Who are you? What do you come from? Who is your master?”Charlie smirked disdainfully. “I don’t belong to anywhere or anyone, I am my own master. Why? Are you not convinced?”Emiliano gulped in shock and said, sounding rather anxious, “I’m convinced! I am absolutely convinced by your power! Master Wade, you are the true master in the world and as a fellow martial artist, you must be aware that it i
Nonetheless, though Charlie was young, he wasn’t a fool.Emiliano thought that he had managed to convince him, but on the contrary, Charlie had been cautious and vigilant against the eight men in front of him from the beginning.As far as Charlie was concerned, he never wanted to subdue these eight men for his own use for a simple reason—he looked down on them.With their level of power and strength, what could they possibly do for him even if they worshipped him as their master?They were nothing more than a pack of feisty and feral dogs that he couldn’t care less about.However, with a playful smile on his face, he walked to stand in front of The Big Eight and said, “So, do you really want to worship me as your master?”Emiliano took the lead while the rest followed, “Yes! We’ll be your slaves forever!”Charlie nodded and asked with a smile, “What if I refuse?”“Uh…”Emiliano and the rest were dumbfounded. None of them had expected such a reply from Charlie.‘What the hell?
Emiliano could not apprehend what was going on! Charlie didn’t do anything to stop the attack, but why couldn’t he stab him?There seemed to be an invisible power that was shielding Charlie from his attack—what was it?!As a martial artist, he had practiced martial arts to the extreme but they did not know what real magical power was! How could he possibly know that there was a kind of power that could be transmitted without using any parts of the body that was called Reiki!Jack Yaleman was the best example. As a metaphysical master, he knew about the voodoo power and could control the corpse worm, but he didn’t know about another magical power in the world that could summon thunder from the sky.Therefore, it was never strength that defeated a person, but ignorance and arrogance!It was Emiliano’s arrogance that assumed he had found Charlie’s weak spot and thought that he could kill Charlie with a single blow!And now, he must pay for his arrogance!Charlie smiled coldly, lift
Emiliano gaped in bewilderment when questioned by his brother, utterly speechless.Indeed, he wanted to escape, but he didn’t expect such a bizarre event would occur to himself!Not only did he not manage to escape but he was also severely injured.He looked at his third brother with a painful grimace and said, “No, I’m not! I’m just thinking of a strategy on how to give that Charlie kid a parting shot!”The third brother did not fall for the lie. He glared at Emiliano in dismay and shouted, “Do you think I’m an idiot? Both your arms are f*cking gone, how are you going to give a parting shot?!”Emiliano chided indignantly, “Hey, how could you talk to me in that manner? I’m your leader! Don’t be disrespectful!”The third brother rushed forward, bit his ear, and cursed, “Disrespectful?! How dare you call yourself a leader? You’re trying to throw us into the enemy’s trap to make a way for you to escape, you bloody jerk! From now on, I want to cut ties with you!”Emiliano wailed in
Charlie waved to the eight people and smiled. “As your leader can no longer move, I have to ask the rest of you to move closer to him. If you wish to die together, you might as well hug each other before you die, but if you don’t, you can spread out further apart. I’ll give you one minute to prepare for your final minute of this life.”The Big Eight sighed in despair upon hearing Charlie’s so-called announcement, but they were somewhat glad that they would not be alone as they walked towards the light later.Hence, Hades, the first person who had suffered a devastating blow from Charlie, struggled to stand up, dragged his injured body towards Emiliano, and sat next to him.The moment he sat down, he wept bitterly and said, “Brother, if I had known this would be our ending, I wouldn’t have stepped into this circle…”The rest of them crawled over to Emiliano with great effort.The eight of them hugged each other tightly. They had already forgiven Emiliano, who had planned to escape
The three men watched Charlie, who was bathed in golden sunlight, in complete shock and awe! They were utterly speechless!Charlie’s actions today had totally overturned their previous impressions of him!Today, Charlie had completely become a god-like figure to them!They couldn’t even comprehend how it had all happened! Charlie easily killed The Big Eight all by himself! During the process, he did not sustain any injuries but instead, he summoned thunder, triggering an avalanche that buried The Big Eight alive!Charlie was standing among them during the avalanche but he emerged unharmed.As Charlie walked closer and closer to them, Liam knelt directly in the snow with a plop and bowed to Charlie. “Master Wade, please accept my humble respect. I’ll be worshipping you forever for the rest of my life!”Next was Albert. “Me too, Master Wade. I’ll worship you forever!”Isaac followed suit. He knelt on the ground, his hands trembled, “Young Master! You’re my only god!”Finally, Cha
The Webb family assumed that it was about time for The Big Eight to get the Weavers, so they didn’t dare to bother them too much.Lord Webb checked the time when almost an hour had passed. The Big Eight were very skillful and capable, and one hour should be enough for them to kill everyone there and rescue the Weavers, so he urged, “Donald, call Mr. Flores and ask for their updates.”“Okay!” Donald nodded immediately and took out his phone to call Emiliano. The phone rang for a while but no one answered the call.Donald said curiously, “Dad, no one’s answering. Maybe they are still undertaking the mission?”Lord Webb nodded. “Yes, it is possible. Let’s wait for a while then.”Ten minutes later, Lord Webb said again, “Donald, call Mr. Flores again!”Donald did as he was told, but no one answered the call.Lord Webb frowned skeptically. “Something isn’t right. It wouldn’t take them so long to execute the mission. It’s just a bunch of lowly bodyguards, so that shouldn’t be a big pr
As Zachary agreed to do a favor for Vintage Deluxe's Mick Crane in passing, he and Jacob agreed to meet up at 7pm at the car park by Antique Street.He first took Jacob back to the Calligraphy and Painting Association and called Billy, one of his boys whom he thought was smarter than the rest, giving him the gist of the plan and telling him to familiarize himself with the script.Then, he took the sculpture back to Heaven Springs and met up with Billy in office, telling Billy what to do in finer detail and making sure he committed everything to memory.Zachary's strength as a judge of character certainly proved itself—Billy had never done anything like this before, but he took to the plan like fish to water. He committed the script to memory soon enough, and he was flawless.Once he made sure that Billy was fine, Zachary called Mick.As soon as Mick answered, he immediately asked, "Hello, Mr. Evans. How is that thing we talked about going?"Zachary chuckled. All the arrangements
Zachary continued, "Why do you think casinos are always making a profit? It's exactly because no matter how unassuming a guest is the first time, they would be allowed to win a couple of hands, making a little profit.""And suddenly, they would think that they are the chosen one, destined to win against all odds and always come out triumphant! Once such radical, blind confidence hits them, every last bit of his money would be lost to the casino!""At that point, you can get anything from them—their house, their wife, their children… hell, they'd be willing to die if you'd just let them gamble again!"Turning toward Jacob with a grin, Zachary then asked, "So, with all the points I made and that sculpture you're holding… Do you still think Raymond wouldn't fall for it?"Jacob laughed out loud. "Oh, talk about a plan within a plan! No one would ever see it coming! Raymond Cole is so screwed!"Zachary smiled and nodded. "That's why there's no reason to rush—I'll arrange a man to get r
As soon as they drove out of the village, Jacob asked Zachary eagerly, "So, when do you think we should make our move? I can't wait!"Zachary didn't hesitate, "Let's do it today. It's better than waiting! I'll get someone reliable to bring this to Treasure Measure and get him interested. I'm sure that since he has just returned to Antique Street, he'll need a hot deal to generate hype and make himself known. That's why I'm sure he'll take this sculpture."Jacob nodded repeatedly as he chuckled. "I think so too. Today is definitely best since I'll be going to Dubai soon and probably leaving once I'm done with this. Once you get this settled by the end of today, I'll get tickets for the flight tomorrow!"Zachary grinned. "Don't worry, chief. We will definitely get it settled today…"He trailed off for a moment before continuing, "Still, you should be a little patient. We should do this in the evening—at the second just before Raymond Cole closes shop.""But why?" Jacob asked in curi
Jacob was naturally gleeful that he could get the late medieval bronze sculpture along with its base. Right after he wired the agreed upon ninety-eight grand to Mr. Cardensky, he was already imagining how Raymond would buy it from him for several hundred grand.On the other hand, once Mr. Cardensky received the transfer, he saw the name on the account: Jacob Wilson.He was left perplexed—wasn't that man's last name Montague? Who was this Jacob Wilson?Still, he didn't worry about it too much since most antique hustlers preferred to work with anonymity and therefore, using a different name was perfectly normal.He then carefully wrapped up the bronze sculpture before passing it Jacob, asking politely, "Would you happen to have any other requests, Mr. Montague? I have plenty of other items here if you'd permit me to give an introduction."Jacob shook his head, "Just this sculpture will do. I'm not fully confident in your work either since this is our first deal, so I'm just trying i
Jacob asked, "Then, what would this sculpture be worth if it was genuine?"Mr. Cardensky thought about it. "Well, there are standards when it comes to Renaissance relics, but with something this exquisite, it'd definitely be auctionable for one or two million—and that's the conservative estimate.""How much would you sell it to me for?" Jacob then asked."Thirty percent of the market price," Mr. Cardensky quickly replied. "As I've said, the conservative estimate for this one is around one to two million, so we will set the price with the median estimate value at 1.5 million. And thirty percent means 450 grand."Jacob shook his head right away. "No, no, no… that's too expensive. What if I end up unable to sell it, on top of that?"In his mind, while he could barely accept that pricing, he still needed Raymond to be able to afford it if he wanted to swindle Raymond for twice the money.Mr. Cardensky quickly chuckled, "Oh, Mr. Montague—now you're being too serious. In this business,
"Okay!"Mr. Cardensky smiled and pointed at a nearby farmyard. "There's our workshop—the good stuff is all in there. Allow me to take you there!"The farmyard seemed uninteresting at first glance, but Mr. Cardensky soon led them to the stables and brushed off the straws covering the floor, revealing a plank laid flat on the ground.Mr. Cardensky then lifted it, revealing a passage below—they had dug a cellar into the ground beneath, with the stables as an entry point.As Jacob followed Mr. Cardensky down the cellar, he exclaimed in awe, "Your operation is definitely big, digging such a huge cellar!"Mr. Cardensky smiled humbly. "Anyone working in the business would have sustained their losses before. In the end, we're all folk of humble origins, starting out with raiding tombs or excavating artifacts. Just digging a cellar is really nothing."As they conversed, they cleared the stairs and arrived at the main hall.It was certainly a hall as it was around a hundred square meters,
Zachary nodded repeatedly. "Mr. Montague? Very well!""Yes!" Jacob grinned smugly. "Longer last names are simply better—it just sounds so authoritative."With that agreed upon, both men alighted, where the master was waiting nearby.Seeing them get off, he hurried over to them, smiling, "Please, follow me."Zachary looked around and huffed, "Honestly, Mr. Cardensky, isn't this way too far from the highway? The road is narrow and terrible, and I have to park my car all the way out here. Just coming here is taxing."Mr. Cardensky smiled in turn. "My friend, that's exactly why we picked this place. Do you remember seeing a couple of cars parked by the road, occupying half of it?""We arranged for them to be there. Anyone coming by car would have to slow down that way, buying time for us to see who they truly are. If it's cops, our watchers would quietly text us while we clean the house and bail."Zachary exclaimed in realization, "You boys really run a tight ship!""For sure," Mr.
After working in Antique Street for years, Zachary's connections and influence were naturally special. And yet, though he was acquainted with some of the more impressive individuals, he was not that close with them either.For example, the forgery masters who worked specifically to deceive experts only accepted jobs from major clients, usually antique traders high in social status and wealth.In contrast, they wouldn't ever be interested in frivolous people like Zachary. Even if he could reach them, they might not look at him twice.If one would describe them as the cartel boss, then Zachary would be a low-level enforcer, managing night joints or goofing off.But now, Zachary had turned over a new leaf—he worked under Don Albert, so one of those masters was pleasantly surprised when he called one of them, inviting him to his own workshop for a visit and further discussion.As such, Zachary picked up Jacob and went over to the master's hideout where the latter worked on his count
Zachary was naturally shrewd enough to read Jacob's intention.In reality, he wasn't offering to pay just because he wanted the profit. He merely wanted to get in Jacob's good graces. After all, wouldn't Jacob be even more grateful that he wasn't just helping his revenge but also helping him make money?As such, he didn't hesitate to tell Jacob, "Well, chief—since you'll be paying, I will make sure that you will get every cent of profit that you deserve."Jacob was grinning ear-to-ear, but he said, "Oh, you don't have to! If we really are making a profit, there's no way I would let your good work go unrewarded!"Spreading his arms, he continued generously, "How about this? I will pay the full cost while you get twenty percent of the net profit!"Zachary laughed. "Now, that can wait, chief. We need to pay as soon as we decide on the item we want, and there's no time for buyer's regret. But if Raymond doesn't take the bait, all that money will go down the drain, and whether we can s