"Please, Glen…" Tamon reasoned. "He murdered Sif Lionheart, an heiress of the Lionhearts! They will come after us! You need to see the big picture here!""The big picture…"Glen paused, but he soon chuckled in disdain and passed Tamon an opened letter. "Why don't you read this letter that the Martial Alliance just delivered?""Please be informed that the mayor of Morhen sends his apologies for misblaming the Turnbull family…"As Tamon kept reading, his face stiffened, and he dropped limply to the floor when he saw the Morhen mayor's personal signature at the bottom, dumbstruck.Quentin quickly asked, "Dad, who's that letter from? What does it say?""I-It's from the mayor…"Tamon gulped. "He found out everything, and the Lionhearts admitted the truth, while putting the blame entirely on Sif… They're saying that Titus killed her to make amends, even delivering her body to the mayoral residence…""Hmph. Stubborn fools." Glen snorted as he took back the letter. "The Lionhearts are
Noticing Walter's gratitude, Frank smiled but shook his head—it was nothing.Still, he felt a pang of guilt toward Silverbell. She would definitely have been made to pay for harboring Walter.On the other hand, the Turnbull elders and executives were quickly expressing their disapproval at Walter for thanking Frank."Walter, it's all thanks to Titus Lionheart that you've returned safely! He killed his own sister in the name of justice and exposed the truth. You would otherwise still be in custody!""Exactly! Why would you thank Frank? If Titus didn't clear this misunderstanding, you wouldn't have made it back to us.""He must have gotten a good word from the mayor.""Tut, tut. It seems that Titus is serious about Vicky and our family. I mean, killing his own sister in the name of justice!" "Probably because Walter is Vicky's father, don't you think?""Oh, such loyal devotion! What a shame, Vicky…""Heh. Unlike a certain someone who's nothing more than some doctor without pr
Walter then continued, "When the Martial Alliance took me, Mr. Lawrence was the one who stepped up. He threatened their chief Lady Silverbell, saying that he would fight them on the spot if she refused to protect me!" "And Lady Silverbell agreed to it, even though it meant braving the wrath of Morhen's mayor. Hell, as she kept me in custody, she told me so much about Mr. Lawrence, and I've come to realize that we're the ones who don't deserve him."Turning and leveling Frank a troubled look, Walter wiped a tear as he asked with a choking voice, "I'm sorry, but can I count on you to take care of Vicky from now on? Is that too much to ask for?""Of course not." Frank smiled, nodding repeatedly."Oh, thank you…" Walter sighed. "Whatever happens now, Frank… You will have a home wherever I may be.""Yeah," Frank nodded, feeling warmth in his heart thanks to Glen and Walter, even though it had recently grown cold toward the Turnbulls."Last but not least…" Walter suddenly added quie
Frank left Turnbull Estate alone the next day.He never told anyone where he was going as he drove alone to a mansion in the outskirts of Morhen.The mansion was modest in size but stood in the middle of a small forest—a quiet and clean environment far removed from the bustling city.Frank's heart calmed considerably just from seeing it, and he stepped through the front door to find a faint tea fragrance wafting from the drawing room.An ancient, familiar voice spoke from the door. "Ah, you're here." "Yeah," Frank replied as he strode in to see his father, the Lord of the Southern Woods, seated primly.He had an antique tea cup beside his fingers, and Frank had picked up its aroma earlier."You should sit." A pretty silhouette appeared out of nowhere with another cup of tea, putting it respectfully on the opposite end where Godwin Lawrence was seated.Frank turned to see that it was none other than Silverbell, and he wanted to thank her for protecting Walter Turnbull but could
Frank finally gave in to his curiosity and frowned. "You called me here just for tea?!"He had thought a lot about his father along the way here, that pleading look in his eyes and claiming that his days were numbered…"What, is there a problem?" Godwin smiled after having another sip of his tea. "Silverbell brews good tea. You can ask her to brew it for you from now on.""Whatever!" Frank sniffed and turned to leave.He really thought his father would at least explain himself, but he once again treated him like a child as he always did, saying nothing.Silverbell watched as she left and turned worriedly toward Godwin. "Is this really alright?""What's not alright?" Godwin smiled and took another sip of his tea. "Don't worry—I've left everything to him that I should, and as they say, ignorance is bliss. If I tell him anything now, he'd be storming our enemy's doorstep and just get himself killed.""Yeah." Silverbell nodded in agreement despite her conflict, since she knew ve
Clearing her throat, Helen said, "I'll send you the address. You can head over now. Remember, you're signing the contract, but only after the video conference is over. Do you understand?""Yep," Frank nodded, then turned to glance at the serene mansion and sighed.It turned out that he traveled all this way for tea…Still, he did not drag his feet and drove to the address Frank gave him in his Maybach.When he entered the designated cafe half an hour later, he found a familiar face right then and was stunned. "You're the one from Waver Street…"It was indeed Clarity, wearing a tight black skirt and a blouse with a low neckline and taking a sip of her coffee elegantly.Her red lips parted in a smile when she saw Frank, and she licked her finger as she breathed charmingly, "I'm surprised we meet again so soon, handsome."Frank was not flinching but was merely surprised.He looked around, but as she was the only customer, Clarity must be the client.As Frank walked over to her an
The beauty mark beneath Clarity's eye only added to her charm. In fact, not many men would be able to resist her."What's wrong, Frank?" Helen seemed to sense that something was wrong on the screen and frowned slightly."It's nothing." Frank shook his head, reluctant to let it go or Helen would definitely get jealous and misunderstand.Still, despite his antsy attitude, he was not about to play along to Clarity's tune.He understood that the more beautiful a woman was, the more dangerous they would be.Likewise, she was definitely up to something if she appeared very interested in someone.And the fact that Clarity came to him twice so enthusiastically made it clear it was no coincidence, and she was planning something.Meanwhile, Helen opened a presentation file on the other end, introducing her project with a professional script. "Ms. Clarity, we've drawn up plans and blueprints for the resort you asked for. Do take a look…"The exchange took less than ten minutes, and it w
Helen, however, could hear Clarity's immodest voice on the other end and snapped, "What?! What are you doing over there, Frank?""Wait, that was you?!"Frank was flinching as he remembered—so that was why he found Clarity so familiar. She was the companion of one of the bigwigs attending the bid event in Zamri!She had invited him to a masquerade ball, but he thought nothing of it since he was not interested.And now, she actually showed up here in Morhen…"What do you want?" he snapped, glaring sharply at Clarity even as he caught her foot.Clarity gasped. "Oh, you're hurting me… I mean, it's not like I hate it, but are we really doing this in front of so many people?"As she turned pointedly elsewhere, Frank turned to find that other guests had arrived at the cafe and were staring at them.It would certainly look like they were getting frisky, with Frank holding her leg."Tut, tut… Men these days are real pigs…""No way, doing it in public? How immodest…""Mommy, what is
Frank's tone was calm, as if he was merely stating a fact. "What's there to deny? Even if I spilled my guts, do you stand a chance against me? See, no one does!"The man was furious—he had met plenty of conceited individuals, but Frank definitely took the crown!And seeing that Frank was not even in his thirties and was definitely small fry, he did not hesitate to slam his palm on the ground, which promptly started to move! "Interesting!"Frank stood his ground instead of leaping away, staring cooly at the molehills that streaked toward him. Even as the molehills were reaching Frank's feet, the man was left wondering why Frank did not dodge when the unexpected happened.The molehills struck the brat, but he remained unscathed!Earthbending was their cabal's signature technique, capable of causing seismic tremors—even if it was no match for real earthquakes, most people would still have trouble dealing with it.They were either torn into pieces by the shockwave, though the mor
Frank waited for a taxi and headed to his destination. Soon, the taxi stopped outside a dilapidated apartment.As Frank alighted and stared at the cracks on every block or the shaky foundations, even he could tell that it was in such a bad state it must be demolished. Shaking his head, he sighed in exasperation and entered the fifth unit on the sixth floor of Block D.He knocked on the door, and a smiling geezer opened it as he studied him. "What can I do for you, sir?"Able to tell right away that he was special, Frank asked, "Let's just call it a visit. I heard you could craft mystic items?"The geezer laughed right then. "I knew it. The nail that sticks out really gets hammered! I just want to keep my head down and live out my days, but you found me anyway.""Please don't misunderstand, sir," Frank quickly said. "I'm no robber, and I'm not going to steal from you. As long as you assist me, I can do anything for you.""Let's talk inside." The geezer stepped aside to let Fr
The motel owner thought Frank was trustworthy and told him everything he knew."Good. Thanks for cooperation—now do it yourself."Frank snapped his fingers again, and the mystic gun returned, lying quietly beside the motel owner as if it never disappeared."What? You're a martial elite! Don't you think people would talk behind your back about our deceit?!"The motel owner thought Frank was joking, but his expression was not.As such he pinned his hopes on emotional blackmail, but Frank was impervious to that too, even chuckling. "What's there to worry about? It'd just be hearsay, and they would be gone a couple of centuries later."Also, everyone would only find out if I spared you instead of avenging your victims. Now that's proper evil. You're naive if you think that I'm not the scourge of injustice. You won't be getting any chances from me."Even as reality sank in for the motel owner, he cried, "Y-You can't do this! We had an agreement!"Frank shrugged. "First of all, I onl
The motel owner snorted. "You're all so ignorant! It's true that most guns are pointless against Ascendant ranks, but this is no ordinary gun—it's a mystical item refined by a master craftsman."Not only are the bullets much faster, the gun's penetration power is even more formidable. I used it to bury many while I was young—even martial elites like you!"Everyone became restless at those.However, while Drunken Moon and the others were worried, Frank was actually excited.Mystic items were a quintessential part of high fantasy, and he might reach a treasure trove through the master craftsman whom the motel owner spoke of."Aren't you scared?" the motel owner asked just then, puzzled seeing that Frank was fearless, even smiling.Frank chuckled. "Why should I worry about a mere toy? Start shooting if you want—I'm sure everyone's busy and has better things to do."The middle-aged man snapped, "You're getting too full of yourself, brat! That thing has clearly seen plenty of action
Drunken Moon was definitely not going to tolerate that, and she snapped, "What are you going to do if I don't apologize?"The motel owner growled coolly, "I've already shown you what I can do, and I don't mind showing it again. Don't take me for some angel—push me too far, and I'll even make you my slave."Drunken Moon was simply amused. "Then show me what you've got to grow as conceited as you are!"The middle-aged man was snapping at Drunken Moon even before the motel owner could. "Bitch, you can't even win against my friends! What, do you think you can challenge me just because you have your boy toy?"He's quick, but so what?! Speed is pointless against absolute power!"The motel owner certainly felt buoyed by the flattery. After all, one would never look a gift horse in the mouth, and there was no one who despised being praised.Spreading his arms, he laughed. "Come on—seeing those pretty cheeks of yours, let me give you a nice hug.""Go fuck yourself!" Drunken Moon snapped,
Frank gestured at the door with his chin, and everyone turned to see a diminutive man.Despite his small frame, his eyes made it clear he was no average Joe. There was also a spring in his step—clearly having treated himself physically."Hello, everyone. I'm the owner of this premises!"The owner was clearly not inclined for matters to escalate, which was why he never intervened.That was until the manager accidentally touched the pendant!It was a family heirloom that, according to the owner's forebears, had the power to eat through everything—it just had yet to be proven.Horrified, the manager told the owner everything, and he came over to check out the situation. He would deal with Frank and the rest of the troublemakers, only to run into the troublemakers first."You're no slouch yourself!"Cyclops was delighted and lunged straight at the owner without hesitation, his hands outstretched like talons.The owner did not even seem to move, but Cyclops somehow missed."Fall."
Drunken Moon laughed coolly. "You're the one who kept bragging so much at first, saying that the strong decide on justice. And now that I've beaten you, it makes everything I said right, no?"The middle-aged man smirked. "Really? You're good, but not that good—if you're that brave, let me go, and I will call in my boys so we can have a rematch!"Drunken Moon laughed. "Why would I be afraid of that? Though I'm sure you're just going to bail and never come back."The middle-aged man snapped, "Do you think everyone's like you?! If you're afraid, just say it out loud!""Fine, then go. Why are you still here?"Drunken Moon shrugged, even moving aside for him.The middle-aged man smirked as he pushed himself to his feet and fled—the bitch chose this, and she would only have herself to blame for it!The bellgirl was concerned and came over to Drunken Moon. "Priestess, are you sure this is going to be alright?"Drunken Moon laughed. "Don't worry—even if you doubt me, know that the boy
Her skin and fingers were rotting where the motel manager touched the pendant, as if being corroded by acid at a visible rate. Worst of all, she could not even feel any pain from it!"W-What's going on here?!"Horrified, the motel manager turned and ran.Drunken Moon was ready to give chase, but Frank stopped her. "She's not going to have it easy without her fingers. Let her go."Drunken Moon nodded and pointed at the pendant on the floor. "What the heck is that?"Frank then told her about Reverend Quietus, to which Drunken Room exclaimed, "You meant to say that there are bodies of energy that are basically identical to the paranormal that people speak of?"Frank nodded. "I'm sure it's not just rumors, with the way it remained over a thousand years—things like that do exist. But in the end, it's no different from a spell, and you can handle it if you're strong enough."Drunken Moon smiled. "That only applies to you. I don't know about anyone else, but I really can't deal with th
After she calmed down, the bellgirl took an interest in Frank. "Is he the one who could beat you?"It was the new age—ladies were not shy, and the bellgirl actually liked lookers like him."Hello." Frank greeted her, and she smiled in turn. "Sorry for having to bother you, handsome."She would really have asked for his number if circumstances allowed.That was when footsteps could be heard, and Frank glanced sideways outside as he told Drunken Moon, "Now's your chance for revenge. Don't hold back now.""You don't need to worry about that!" Drunken Moon exclaimed as she flexed her muscles—she was waiting for this moment.The motel manager led several burly men inside, standing at the center proudly like she owned the place. "That's for insulting me, bitch! Go! Show her who she was messing with!"Though the motel manager did not hesitate to send her men after Drunken Moon, Drunken Moon smirked, waiting until the bouncers were about to reach before punching them.Soon, they wer