Peter jumped out of the car right then, yelling even as he ran into one of the abandoned factories. "Mr. Jameson! Mr. Jameson! I've lured Frank Lawrence here—tell your boys to kill him!""Hehe…"A man around sixty strode out of the factory, holding a cigar between his lips and wearing a pinstripe suit.Frank quickly recognized him—it was Larry Jameson.He was chatting with Helen back at the Zamri lease bid, and Juno was with him back then. Frank also remembered Helen saying that he was one of Zamri's Three Bears.And now, Larry breathed a puff of his cigar as he watched Frank alighted, chuckling. "So you're Frank Lawrence, Helen Lane's husband?""That's right." Frank strode up and stood before Larry, while shaking his head at Peter, who had quickly hidden himself behind Larry. "I thought you'd improve yourself after leaving Riverton for a while, but it turns out you remain ever despicable.""Despicable? That still depends on who it is!" Peter sneered. "There's no reason to pla
The Hansen brothers' question left Larry frowning in doubt too, and he turned to Peter. "Are you sure he's Frank Lawrence, Helen Lane's husband?""Yes!"Peter's eyes were glued to Frank as he sneered. "Don't worry, Mr. Jameson. I'd recognize him anywhere.""You'd better, or you know what's going to happen." Larry chuckled coolly.Peter flinched right then but quickly flashed a fawning smile. "What are you saying, Mr. Jameson? Why would I lie to you? I mean, I still owe you ninety million dollars! I'd never lie to you even if it means giving up Lanecorp as collateral, right?"Frank could hear them despite being encircled—it seemed that Peter had betrayed him and Helen because of his debt to Larry."Scumbag…" He glowered.It was as if Helen's family was less than human, and they were intent on squeezing her dry."Where's Helen?" Frank demanded, turning toward Larry when he saw that the goons were closing in."Oh, you're still worried about your wife? How loving!" Larry laughed s
"Well, you asked for it!"Frank's eyes flashed coldly as he retaliated with an outstretched palm, pulverizing Vin's knuckle instantly."Huh?!"Frank could clearly feel his bones shattering and stood staring blankly at his palm even as Vin screamed.He did not use that much strength, did he? He had intended to use his palm to deflect Vin's oncoming fist, before he punched and pulverized Vin's head with a punch, killing him.Naturally, he did not expect his palm to pulverize Vin's knuckles anyway, just like mincemeat!In fact, he was so shocked he stood, dumbstruck, forgetting to press his attack and unable to regain his senses. "My pure vigor is the same, so it's only my body's fortitude that has changed. What's going on here?!"That was when Mos bellowed, "What the hell did you just do?!" His face fell when he saw Frank crushed his brother's knuckle so easily and charged at him, ready for payback."Heh…" Frank finally came to his senses at Vin's outburst, and he felt the ne
At that very moment, everyone was convinced that Frank was defeated and bleeding like a pig, until a frail cough could be heard amid the settling dust. "Guh… Run, Vin…""What?!" Vin's eyes widened even as he crouched on one knee, clutching the stump that was his wrist.Did he just hear his own brother telling him to run?What was going on there?!In just a couple of seconds, the dust completely settled and Vin finally saw what had happened: Frank was still quietly holding out his arm, with which he punched Mos through the chest!In fact, Mos' corpse simply dangled over Frank's wrist, his hands and head hanging limply as he breathed his last."What?!" Vin paled—his brother was killed by such a simple punch?!"Huh?!" Peter was stunned too.He knew Frank was a martial artist, and he had been told by others that he was strong despite having left Riverton for a while.That was why he warned Larry, who heeded his warning and spent a fortune hiring the Hansen brothers of Zamri, who w
Splat!Once again, Frank did not charge his pure vigor.He merely launched a kick, which tore Vin's body in two.Larry, Peter, and everyone else turned pale as they stared at the chunks of flesh and blood splattering everywhere."Is he… human?!" Larry murmured, before turning to glare at Peter.He could slap Peter twice right then—what reaper did Peter bring on his doorstep?No… Did Peter deliberately bring Frank over to kill him?!"I… That's impossible…" Peter was on the verge of tears, and he dropped to the floor, trembling as if someone had drained him of all strength.If Frank chased him down, he would kill him right then!Considering what he did and all the insults he threw at Frank, he could slap himself right then."W-What should I do?" he murmured, desperately searching for ideas to survive despite his shock.That was when he found Larry glaring at him furiously.Peter's initial panic was suddenly gone, and like a cornered beast, he was glowering savagely at Larry
Frank's body was basically divine, but his pure vigor remained at Birthright rank. He mused to himself, his mind far away. "If I learned to ride a cloud and cast magic, would I really become divine? Or perhaps… Ascendant rank?"Could his physicality have surpassed Ascendant rank and reached Transcendent rank? And there were barely a handful Ascendant ranks across Draconia!Still, Frank soon came to his senses, cast a sweeping glance over the goons kowtowing to him, and sniffed. "Get out.""Yes, yes, yes… We will be gone right now…""Come on, let's go…"Frank stood, not chasing after the goons as they all fled.He was not that bloodthirsty. Even if those men more than deserved death, they had lost the will to fight and were no nuisance to Frank, so he was not bothered."That's enough." Frank grabbed Peter by the collar just then, pulling him off Larry as if he was a housecat.Larry was a bloody mess and half-dead—Peter really did not hold back for the sake of his survival.
Still, Larry sighed feebly as he began, "I happen to meet that woman on a business trip in Talnam. S-She came on to me, goading me into investing into two pieces of land that she said would make a lot of money. I fell for it, and she bailed on me just a few days ago, while taking a huge chunk of my company's properties with her…"Larry coughed violently, clearly choking with rage even as he finished, "I-I wouldn't have been worried about Lanecorp's rise if not for that…""I see." Frank nodded at Larry's words, realizing with a start.Larry said he met Juno in Talnam… So she was Talnamese?"B-By the way, Mr. Lawrence…"Seeing that Frank was interested in Juno, Larry, bent on survival, quickly added, "That woman is allergic to lilies… and severely, I might add.""Severely allergic to lilies?" Frank murmured as he made a mental note—it seemed that he was right, choosing to spare Larry and ask him about Juno.While Larry might be lying, it was pointless at this point, since Frank co
Helen was clearly aware of who got her into this trouble.Just yesterday, when Peter returned, she thought for a moment that unlike Cindy, she could afford to arrange a job for him, only for him to sell her out in the blink of an eye."I would have gutted you if you weren't my brother!" Helen bellowed.Peter could only cringe into himself, hanging his head.Frank had never seen Helen being that upset, and was about to reach out to comfort her… only for her to throw herself into his arms and bawling, "Why, Frank?! Why is my family like this…?""It's alright. I'm here." Frank patted her on the back, carefully comforting her."I-I'm sorry, sis. I had no choice…" Peter stammered just then."Forget it. I don't need your explanation," Helen snapped, a girlboss as always as she quickly composed herself, wiping away her tears. Waving Peter away, she sighed. "You can stay in Riverton like Cindy. Don't ever come to Zamri—I don't want to see any of you here.""But…"Peter scratched his