"Thud!" With a deafening slam, Joel was propelled backward from the impact of Yuri's fist and landed on the ground in a crumpled heap. Thankfully, he was already at the Semi Emperor State, and since he managed to dodge Yuri's attack in time, he did not suffer many injuries at all. Despite that, however, he still felt something rise in his chest, and his mouth was tinged with a metallic taste, but he swallowed it back! "Take this!" Yuri let out another grunt as he stepped forward, unleashing another surge of energy straight toward Joel! "Oh no!" An expression of horror crossed Joel's face. He was already weakened from Yuri's initial attack, and as much as he wanted to dodge this second one, he knew there was no way he could pull it off. There was nothing he could do except watch in despair as Yuri's attack surged straight toward him. "Master, we'll help fend him off! Run while you can!" with lightning-quick reflexes, his two guards stepped forward and retaliated, sending p
At the same time, Yuri already caught up to an escaping Joel and struck a blow right across his retreating! "Thud!" with a deafening slam, Joel's entire body was propelled backward like a kite that lost its string and landed on the ground a few feet away. He spat out two mouthfuls of blood from the impact and slumped on the ground feebly. It was clear that he suffered a serious injury from this. Thankfully, in consideration of the Hiltons' background, Yuri did not have the intent to kill him and thus eased up a little on his attack. If not, Joel would have suffered an even more dire fate by now! "What's wrong, Joel? Are you okay?" the middle-aged man panicked at this sight and quickly sprinted forward to help him up. It was clear that this middle-aged man was none other than Joel's father, the president of Hiltons Corporation—Sebastian Hiltons. "I'm fine, Father. Just suffered some internal injuries. However, you must avenge me—Yuri Thompson has not only barged into our t
"Joel is right! Yuri, you have no right to interfere in our business, regardless of what it is we do! You have not only trespassed on our territory but even harmed my son. Are you trying to start a war between the Thompsons and us Hiltons?" Sebastian snapped with a steely look. He knew full well that it was wrong of Joel to even sabotage Elegante Group in the first place, but the Thompsons had no right to serve them justice like that. They were just another major family in the Southern region, not the nation's peace holder, after all! As wrong as Joel was to do this, there was no right of Yuri to punish him like that! "What do you mean, this has nothing to do with the Thompsons? I'm not afraid to let you know that the Thompsons are one of Elegante Group's shareholders, and so we have as much right as anyone to protect Elegante Group!" Yuri sneered. "What?" both Sebastian and Joel were stunned to hear this. They all initially thought that Yuri was acting out of line, and no matt
"Mister Thompson, I apologize for my son's behavior. He had no idea of your connection to Elegante Group, and he didn't mean to offend you. I apologize on behalf of the Hiltons and hope that you will consider forgiving us," Sebastian took in a deep breath and forced himself to apologize to Yuri. His arrogance and haughty attitude had long since disappeared! After all, the Thompsons were the most powerful family in the Southern region and possessed even more extensive forces than even the Hiltons! Not only that, but Yuri had the perfect reason to teach Joel a lesson for sabotaging Elegante Group, and thus there was no choice but for him to apologize on behalf of the Hiltons! "President Hiltons, your son has caused a significant loss to Elegante Group—your apology cannot even begin to make up for what we have lost! Do you honestly think just apologizing will be able to turn things around?" Yuri sneered. "What do you want us to do then?" Sebastian asked rather reluctantly. "I
"Um," Sebastian's face was ashen when faced with Yuri's determined attitude. Yuri threaded carefully and never once committed anything that was out of line, so there was nothing he could say or do to retaliate! Besides, after their brief encounter, he could tell that Yuri came prepared—he brought one of the Thompsons' Almighty Warriors with him, and even if he were to use violence, there was no way the Hiltons would be able to get away unscathed! In conclusion, Yuri was in perfect reason to make this request, whereas he and Joel were at a significant disadvantage and had no choice but to relent! "Alright, alright, we'll do as you say! Joel will draft an apology to Elegante Group and announce it in three days, and on top of that, we shall compensate every penny of Elegante Group's loss!" Sebastian finally came to a decision. Although Joel's public apology would no doubt tarnish their reputation, it was still better than the other option. Yuri was far too powerful compared to J
"Well, here's what happened," Joel then proceeded to explain everything to his father, including how he came up with the plan to sabotage Elegante Group's name and how he managed to steal most of Elegante Group's secret recipe, save for the most crucial ingredient. "I see what you did now!" Sebastian gasped in realization. Although Joel's plan was foiled, he had to admit that the plan was flawless! Unfortunately, all of them severely underestimated Leon—not only did he manage to see right through Joel's scheme, but he even managed to heal Lacey within just minutes, which was what ultimately led to Joel's downfall in the first place! Thankfully, Joel's efforts were not in vain—at least he managed to steal most of Elegante Group's secret recipe, save for the final and most important ingredient! This was the best thing that came out of this series of unfortunate events! "Father, not only did Yuri attack me, but now he even forced me to apologize publicly to Elegante Group. This
"Father, I have an idea! As omnipotent as Leon seems to be, he's all by himself and does not have much influence here in the Southern region. In my opinion, we should send out a few of our men to kidnap him and keep him hostage until he tells us the secret recipe! What do you think of this idea?" this was what Joel came up with after some contemplation. The last time he sent Seth to buy out Elegante Group, he could already tell that Elegante Group's defenses were poor, to the point where it did not take them long to overcome the security and barge into its premises! This was undoubtedly Elegante Group—and Leon's—biggest weakness! The Hiltons, on the other hand, had a strong foundation and plenty of master martial artists at their disposal. They could easily send a few men to capture Leon and get their hands on the secret recipe that way! "No! Leon has the Thompsons on his side, and if we were to capture him like that, they could easily figure out that it was us, even if we lea
"I can handle this, Father! I guarantee that I will do everything in my power to get my hands on the secret recipe and take down Elegante Group once and for all!" Joel stepped forward. "Alright, I'll let you take care of this, but remember, you have to be even more careful from now on. Please stay out of this as much as you can, and clean up after yourself so that neither the Thompsons nor Leon himself can catch you again!" Sebastian reminded him. "Yes, Father. Don't worry, I won't commit the same mistake twice! This time, I'm going to send Seth to do this! I'm certain that the Golans will easily be able to take care of two women!" Joel replied confidently. "That's great to hear! As long as you don't get involved yourself, we can easily take care of Seth should he get caught or something else goes wrong!" Sebastian nodded in affirmation. "Yes, Father. I'll go discuss this with him right now!" with that, Joel retreated and left the office. "Ring—" He just exited the room wh