"Frank."With the document signed, Helen quickly turned toward him—Fleur's eager, miserable look actually left her feeling a pang of guilt.They were definitely exploiting Fleur's vulnerability here, but Helen had to do it to protect Lanecorp.And as soon as the agreement was signed, she gave Frank a pointed look, clearly gesturing for him to save Fleur."Alright."Frank did not drag his feet either.Naturally, he was not going to let her take more Mildron Balm since it was basically poison—it would keep her alive for a month at best.He fed her an Ichor Pill instead and infused pure vigor into her body with his finger, helping her body absorb the essence of the pill.Soon, color returned to Fleur's face, and she was not grimacing in pain—in fact, she appeared very comfortable.And with the Ichor Pill replenishing her vigor, Fleur would survive."T-Thank you…" Fleur thanked Helen earnestly, while showing no similar sentiment to Frank.After all, she would not be in this stat
Both nurses were left exasperated as Fleur yelled maniacally. "Please stop already, ma'am… Oh, and our hospital chief is actually Professor Lawrence's younger sister, so you should just stay here and rest."With those words, both nurses left with looks of sympathy, one of them sighing. "Professor Lane said that she would suffer hallucinations too… Could that be true?"Before the other nurse could answer, Fleur started shrieking hysterically, "Let me go! I'm the second matriarch of the Lane family! Release me, or I will make you pay!""Oh, give it a rest already. Professor Lawrence is divine—see? This woman is hallucinating as he said.""Shush. Just ignore her."Fleur could hear the two nurses heading off into the distance and continued to yell even as she was tied to a bed. "Frank Lawrence!!! I'll make you pay!!!"-"Achoo!"Frank, Helen, and Gina had just finished the paperwork for the shares transfer without a hitch and had just gotten into their car when Frank sneezed viol
Frank narrowed his eyes. "Dilemma? How so?""Corpsedale is one of my partners. And when it comes to betraying partners… Tut, tut…"Frank paused and said, "Well then, I won't bother you any further."Before he could hang up, Juno huffed, "Hey! Don't you have any patience? Just let me finish, honestly…""I'm very busy." Frank shrugged. "I'll listen to your troubles some other day, though I'll get someone else if you're refusing to tell me.""Come on…"Juno sighed softly. "Honestly, aren't you too eager to please Helen Lane? Have you considered that I might betray you if you pushed me too far, what with your cold and dismissive attitude?"As Frank turned silent, she giggled. "Alright, alright—I was just messing with you. Do I look like I'd betray my husband? I'm hoping that you'd help me with my… ahem, revenge. Anyway, the person you want is in the Fettle Clinic at Norsedam's Lake Cove."Frank finally spoke up at that. "Thank you, Juno Enigma.""Hey, now, you're the husband I cho
One could even say that while Gavin was supposed to be the head of the family, he conceded it to Helen.That was not just because of Helen's personal abilities, but because Helen had a character with her who could bring the family to new heights.And the truth was undeniable—just months after Helen took over both as head of the family and became the chairwoman of Lanecorp, both the family and the company were improving from the inside out.In fact, they seemed to find a motivation to do better like never before, and Mark Lane was personally approving of Helen's strength.But despite improving like clockwork, Yora suddenly came throwing accusations, and Mark had to fall sick at this time.And worst of all, his condition was serious, and he never regained consciousness despite retaining stable vitals.Now, Gavin had to suspect that someone had a hand in his father's illness—to seize power.Naturally, his chief suspect was Fleur. After all, as Mark's second wife, she was most displ
While being head of the family sounded impressive, Jon was still no more than Yora's puppet.Roth was therefore exceedingly furious towards his younger brother's treachery, whereas their father Gavin was more thoughtful.Frowning, he shook his head and said, "Don't point fingers just yet, Roth. You know what your brother's like—he'd rather be dead than become the head of the family.""Then…""Yora most likely forced him into it." Gavin breathed a heavy sigh."Well, what should we do?" Roth sighed, despondent that his own brother was now an enemy.But even with their hands tied, they could not allow themselves to fall under Yora Yimmel's control either, or they should just become Yimmels instead.Then, Gavin said, "Let's contact Frank Lawrence and see what he has to say. We will cooperate as best as we can if he offers any ideas."Gavin was aware of Frank's connections, deciding right away to side with the sole heir to the Lord of the Southern Woods.After all, he was convinced
Judging from its name alone, Fettle Clinic was an unassuming place.As such, Frank was not surprised to find the clinic in a remote corner of the suburbs, just past the fringes of Lake Cove.It was evening, but every door and window of the clinic was shut, as if closed for businesses.Still, Frank's sharp hearing could pick up the voices inside.He was alone, and it was a familiar face at that—it was Hardy Xinder!Narrowing his eyes, Frank leapt agilely up to the second floor and slipped inside from a venting window.Hardy, whose hair was now completely white, was sitting by a desk and asking into the antique rotary phone, "Hey, what's going on here? You're saying that there have been problems in Zamri, but what am I doing here?" "What? A trap? What the hell are you talking about?!"Hardy sounded clearly impatient and was even holding the phone as he paced around. "Damn it, Yaga—so what are you playing at?! Shouldn't the Lane family be going after Frank Lawrence's head by now?
"What? Argh!!!"It was too late by the time Hardy realized what had happened.The emerald gas had reached his cheek just then, and his skin started to peel off as well, leaving bare scarlet tissue.They soon melted off as well, leaving only charred bones."H-Help me…"Hardy wanted to run, but his legs were caught in the green gas.He dropped to the floor with an audible thud, and watched as his legs melted into black bones as well.All he could do was scream, and in his desperation, he even reached out his only good hand toward Frank, yelling and begging, "Please, I don't wanna die! Help me, help me!!!"However, Frank could not do anything and watched as half of Hardy's face melted off.It was such an eerie sight that he felt the creeps, being as knowledgeable as he was.At the same time, he started backward to avoid the green gas.And in under ten seconds, Hardy was completely consumed by the green gas and reduced to charred bones scattered all over the floor.However, Fra
"It's been a while… Surely he'd be withered down to bones no matter how strong he is? Not even a peak Ascendant rank individual could withstand the rotting gas I've concocted from a thousand decomposing bodies."Naturally, the diminutive figure was none other than Baba Yaga.Even as she mused to herself, her expression was careful as she circled the clinic repeatedly.Eventually, she breathed a sigh of relief when she heard nothing."I guess he's really done." She laughed coolly. "They all say that Frank's power is unmatched, but he fell just like the rest before my poison! Guess I should report this to Hundred Bane Sect… Hmph! It seems like Titus Lionheart owes us a favor now.""That reminds me… I should search the body for a spiritron vein, since he might carry it with him…"Letting down her guard just then, she opened the doors of the clinic, ready to search Frank's corpse.However, an arm suddenly shot out from the clinic amid the silent night, seizing Baba Yaga by the neck!
Frank snorted. "Alright, I'm hanging up. I'm getting started over here soon.""Yeah. Good luck," Jouri replied.Hanging up, Frank looked up at the waterfall overhead, and then at Skyler, who was standing beside him. "So? Is it time yet?""Almost… Now!" Skyler's eyes were glowing even as she stared at her watch."Alright."Frank looked up just as the skies abruptly darkened. "Ah, there it is—the eclipse."The sun seemed to disappear, and the world was suddenly shrouded in darknesses.And beside him, a stone door imbued with the power of the spiritron vein also rumbled as it parted."Got it!" Frank rushed inside without another word as soon as he saw it."Hmph. I'm surprised that you could reach this place." A cold, wrathful voice resounded inside even before Frank got a hold of his surroundings.Looking up, Frank found a youth in a black cossack and sporting grey-white hair, standing upon a cliff as he looked down on him.Frank chuckled. "Hehe. Like I said, I've come to kill
Frank narrowed his eyes. "Is that so?'Crane shrugged. "I don't mind giving it to you straight—members of Torrent are actually… Ahem. A part of Torrent himself."Frank paused. "What's that supposed to mean?""You don't get it, do you?" Crane grinned. "Then let me put it to you this way—every member is a clone of Torrent.""A clone?" Frank gasped in realization."Yes," Crane nodded. "That's why I believe that challenging Crane is just suicide. You have no idea how powerful he is—only death awaits you down that path."Frank smirked. "Oh, but I don't think so."Crane rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever—now listen closely. You will find Torrent in the Mystic Trail, but you would only find that place when the sun and moon coincide, and the entrance is beneath the waterfall south of Horton."As he finished, he snorted coldly. "I have no idea if you can actually do it, but I'm hoping you do kill him… Heh. I'm getting tired of being stuck under his control for so long."Then, waving off
Frank abruptly turned, immediately noticing one of the Cranes crouching, ready to spring forward and blindside him."Got you!" He laughed."Hah! You fell for it!"Just as Frank swung a punch to pulverize that Crane, he suddenly burst into pus that splashed at Frank's face."Damn it!" Frank took a step back, surprised that the clone's presence was identical to the real Crane, and a trap on top of that!"Die!"The Cranes around him each whipped out a dagger, all of them stabbing at Frank at the same time."Get off!" Frank bellowed, unleashing a shockwave that sent all the Cranes flying across all directions."Frank! Above you!" Skyler suddenly shrieked."Yes! I'm right here!" A strange laughter sounded above Frank just as he wiped the pus off his face.Crane was suddenly directly above him, launching an aerial kick straight at Frank's head, and Frank had no time to dodge!"Die!" Crane's smile curled into a twisted angle as he saw that too.He was very confident with this kick
"Disgusting…" Skyler murmured through her hand.Despite being skinned and scalped, the women were all still alive and singing to the music that was playing despite their anguish."Talk about a terrible fetish."Frank was scowling too—why were all the members of Torrent such sick deviants? It seemed like his plan to wipe them out was absolutely correct!"So, you killed my clone?"The lanky man on the couch slowly turned to level his bloodshot eyes at Frank.His lips were wet with bed as they curled upward into an eerie smile."Clone?" Frank narrowed his eyes."Hehe. It's a sage art."Crane shrugged as he stood up and wiped the blood off his lips. "It's only natural that you don't understand… Still, you deserve praise. If you can kill my clone, that means you're not just slightly stronger than Ghost."Naturally, the man was none other than the real Crane.Still, as Skyler studied him from a corner, even she could notice the strange twitch of his fingers, and his veins were pro
Even as Crane ran, he was looking over his shoulder, his heart pounding. "No… I won't win in a one-on-one!"No, as long as I get back to my real body… we can do this together!" He frowned, having seen how Frank sliced off the pinkies of those hood rats. It hence quickly dawned on him that Frank was not just slightly stronger than Ghost, as Torrent had put it!"Almost there!" He gasped when he saw the signboard of Pegasus Showtown in the distance. "As long as I get there and rendezvous with my real body, that brat will lose—"That was when he turned and saw that a shadow had caught up with impossible speed."What?!" Crane's eyes almost popped out in bewilderment. "What speed is that?! Are you kidding—"Even as he spotted the shadow, the shadow turned into a youth with an impassive visage.His fist outstretched, he was clearly punching toward Crane's forehead!"Argh…"Even as Crane looked on, the youth's punch slowed down by tenfold, but his fist kept closing in.Then, whe
Seeing Skyler sigh, the tattooed thug presumed that his extortion worked.He strode up, grabbing Frank's shoulder. "No one's gonna help you, boy. Pay up, or you're not leaving.""Exactly! You're not getting away!" the crowd of hood rats hollered. "Last chance."Frank's eyes were cold and fixed on Dani, however. "Are you going to intervene? If you do, you can keep that check. If you don't…""Ugh. Fuck off! I don't care!" Dani spat, her expression smug as she folded her arms before her chest. "Who do you think you are to threaten me?!""Exactly! Pay up, and you can leave!""Yeah! Ten grand, at least!""You probably don't know my boss Wyvern, but when he's here, you won't get away with just ten grand!"Even as the crowd closed in, Frank shook his head. "Well, you had your chance. Don't blame me for what happens next.""You're giving us a chance?! Hah! Who—argh!"Even before Dani could finish gloating, Frank was suddenly in front of her, grabbing her viciously by the wrist."Arg
"Five grand?! Did you hear that?! He just threw five grand!""Must be a rich kid coming here for a secret rendezvous, out of prying eyes? Those types are the easiest mark!""Fuck! And Dani got one of us… It hurts me more than losing at the races!"Frank could hear the buzz around him but ignored it as he strode past the men flanking him and headed toward the street that stank of blood."Stop!" A big tattooed man grinned sinisterly as he intercepted Frank.As his buddies encircled Frank as well, Frank snorted—it seemed that they took his reaction for a sign of weakness and thought that he could be cowed.The tattooed man rubbed his chin as he leered at Skyler's voluptuous figure, chuckling. "Look, boy. I'm short on cash, so let me take a loan. I'll pay you back some other day, how about that?"His friend laughed. "Exactly! You just gave Dani five grand, and we won't ask for more… just four, how about that?"Skyler scowled in turn and glanced worriedly at Frank beside her—was he
Frank himself had just stepped out of the nightclub when his eyes narrowed."Blood," he murmured, his nostrils twitching."Blood?"Skyler sniffed the air, puzzled. "I can't smell it.""It's from the opposite street… I smell the blood of over a dozen people.""A dozen?!" Skyler did a double take.He could identify the number of people who were killed?! That was just ridiculous!"Come on, let's take a look."Just as Frank led the way toward the source of the stench, a woman suddenly came up, catching Frank off guard and throwing herself into his arms."Hmmm?" He looked down to see that she had thick makeup, average looks, and a rather pudgy belly."Argh! He touched me!" she pointed at Frank and shrieked even before he realized what was happening."What?!" Skyler was staring at the woman too, mystified."Oh, sister! You just didn't see it!"The woman kept hollering, pointing at Frank's face. "Your boyfriend grabbed my ass! Is that how you teach him manners?!""Teach him ma
Wyvern screamed even as he clutched the stump that was his hand, screaming so shrilly one might mistake his voice as inhuman."Oh, just shut up." The lanky man glowered and launched a kick, reducing Wyvern into puddles of blood and pieces of innards, splattering all around the lobby. "Argh!!!" the devilish lady screamed as she watched the carnage unfolded."Another sound, and you'd end up just like him." The lanky man turned and frowned at her impatiently."Hngh…" The devilish lady promptly clasped a hand over her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes as she trembled."What the hell?!"Outside, Wyvern's lackeys heard the screams and ran inside, looking for him. "Hey, where's Wyvern?!"However, the lobby was too dimly lit for them to notice the blood and guts scattered around the walls, and they only sensed that terrible stench."Hngh…" The devilish lady was too scared to speak, and tears trickled out of her eyes."Fuck!"One of the lackeys strode up and seized the lanky man