Since Zorn was Birthright rank, Gene naturally had to be careful and gather enough men to deal with him.In short, Frank had run straight into a metaphorical wall.He had come to Drenam Limited too early, before Gene could deal with Zorn, which was why Zorn had misunderstood and thought that Frank came to pull a scam."That's Gene Pearce," he said, pointing at the frail man who needed help walking."That's him? He looks… sickly," Helen murmured, though anyone could see that Gene was in bad shape."Yeah. Some people close to him poisoned him with a bug. I cured him yesterday, so he agreed to transfer those land deeds to me."Helen was surprised. "Are you saying that Gene has broken his promise?""No, he didn't—we came too early, before he could sort out his personal issues," Frank replied, watching as over a dozen men entered Drenam Limited with Gene."This might get dangerous," he murmured with a frown, as none of the men Gene brought were Ascendant rank. "What?" Helen asked,
While Gene had brought many martial artists with him, it would not be enough if Zorn was cornered—he might even turn the tables and massacre them instead.That was why Frank decided to remain behind alone.He could not allow Gene to get killed, or acquiring those land lots would be a pipe dream.Putting away his document folder, he quietly sneaked down the hallway.Unsurprisingly, he found Zorn and Gene in a standoff outside the office.Zorn could clearly sense the hostility against him but asked, "Mr. Pearce, you asked me to check Drenam Limited's numbers, didn't you? Why did you come here yourself and bring so many people?"On the other hand, Gene's men were trained well.Even before Zorn noticed it, they had already moved to cut off all exits."Heh… Now that things have come to this, I'll just have to be frank with you, Zorn."Gene was smiling even as his men helped him walk toward Zorn, but there was rage and disappointment in his eyes. "When did you start hooking up with
To no surprise, Gene shook his head in disdain."Yes," he said calmly. "She was my partner, but she was also ruthless… I mean, poisoning me and watching as my health deteriorated by the day until the bugs inside me burst out of my belly? Talk about heinous!""I…" Zorn tried to argue but did not have anything at all.He hung his head in silence but soon looked up again, determined. "The plan was mine all along. I'm at fault—now let Rory go. You can do anything you want with me as long as you spare her.""Too late," Gene said quietly. "Like I said, I'm done with her.""What… Are you serious?!" Zorn gaped, the light of hope in his eyes fading.Then, he started laughing maniacally and was getting louder by the moment until it became deafening."You really are cold, Gene!" he bellowed."I'm not the cold one here. It's you and Rory." Gene remained impassive as he retorted."Hahaha…" Zorn kept laughing. "Yes, I was cold… Hahaha! But I didn't think that you'd actually kill Rory!""
"What?!"The martial artist closest to Zorn could not react in time as Zorn's fist struck him.His head exploded like a watermelon right then, leaving a gory sight of redness."What?! He's Ascendant rank?!"The other martial artist around Zorn could immediately sense that something was wrong.After all, Ascendant ranks were more than superior against Birthright ranks, with their highly condensed pure vigor that they wielded freely.Naturally, there were freaks such as Frank whom that rule did not apply to—he was only full-fledged Birthright rank, but most Ascendant ranks would have a hard time against him.Only peak Ascendant ranks would be able to force Frank to play his trump cards, and that was thanks to his regression three years ago. Thanks to improving up to full-fledged Birthright rank twice, Frank's pure vigor was more abundant and more condensed that even some Ascendant ranks would not compare.And now, Frank himself was hidden on the other end of the hallway, quietly
Zorn's expression contorted as he saw that Gene could face death with such calmness, even treating Zorn as if he was still at his beck and call.He actually felt that he would be losing by killing Gene just like that!And seeing the solemness in Gene's eyes, he actually hesitated."Ah, I remember how you swore to follow me for the rest of your life over a decade ago…"Gene suddenly sighed as he reminisced, smiling as if he was reliving that very moment. "We were the best of friends as children, and though we parted ways for a while, you came to me in desperation… a hunted man. Even so, I trusted you unconditionally."Every word you said back then was so earnest that they're ingrained in my memory… I can remember them even now. You're the one friend I trusted in this life, and yet—"Chuckling bitterly, Gene finished, "Ah, how ironic fate can be."His recollection left Zorn taken aback, and guilt showed on his visage.It was true—Gene had helped him in his most depseprate hour, o
Gene calmly read the situation.Since Frank was young and an accomplished healer, he would definitely not have time to study martial arts extensively.If anything, parrying Zorn's blow earlier must have taken everything out of him—if he stayed any longer, he would die horribly like the martial artists Gene had brought.And since Frank had already saved his life, Gene was reluctant to see Frank throw away his life like this.As such, he said, "Mr. Lawrence, this is between me and Zorn. Please don't interfere—you should leave when you can.""Hehe…" Frank chuckled instead of leaving, even turning to Gene to ask, "Are you sure I won't win, Mr. Pearce?""Oh…" Gene was left stumped by the question.He certainly could not say that he believed Frank, just as he did not want Frank to push himself.And after musing to himself for a long while, Gene shook his head in resignation. "Mr. Lawrence, Zorn and I have been friends since childhood—I won't drag you into our fight. After all, I'm gr
Zorn had no idea how Frank had managed to elude his observation before, though he was still relieved after sensing the true extent of Frank's strength.While a full-fledged Birthright rank was strong, Frank was still no match for him!"Die!!!" Zorn bellowed, putting all his strength behind his strongest strike and not wanting further trouble.Whether he killed Frank banked on this.Naturally, he was only doing this because he saw that Frank was really to die defending Gene.If Frank decided to dodge instead, Zorn's strike would hit Gene instead, and he would definitely be a dead man.As such, if Frank wanted Gene to live, he must take the full brunt of his blow!Black and white pure vigor was projected out of thin air from Zorn's palm, mixing into a grayness that ignited a storm.The entire building was shaking—such was the most powerful blow of an Ascendant rank."Hmph…"Frank had no intention of dodging anyway.He watched as Zorn approached with his violent strike, resolve
When Helen returned to Lanecorp, she found Cindy packing her things and ready to leave, but not before she yapped at every employee nearby."Why don't you take a guess what happened after my cousin listened to her dear husband and went to Drenam Limited? He said that Gene Pearce would yield the five land lots he claimed through the bid, but what happened? The man's valet didn't even know about it! Oh, it was such a slap in the face when we got there! "Tut, tut… You should have seen Helen and Frank's faces… Talk about a long face! Oh, it's killing me! Think about it—Gene Pearce is the richest man on the east coast! Why would he even listen to Frank? Who does he think he is?" "Well I'm going now." She laughed as she packed all her belongings and started to leave. "You can all stay here while Helen and her ex-husband run your company to the ground!"Nonetheless, she ran headlong into Helen, who heard everywhere she said.She remained impassive and silent, though her eyes were fixed