"What?!"Paul was left thunderstruck by the news that Leino had already been arrested and sent to Blackwater.He turned stiffly to look at his dear grandson Huub, finally realizing just then that Huub had tricked him just to use him as a meat shield… or indeed, a scapegoat.All Huub wanted to do was to use him to buy time so that he could flee abroad and enjoy life, even if it meant adding to Paul's list of crimes. There was a troubled look on Paul's face, but he could not get upset even if he wanted to as he turned to look at Huub, who was now a blackened puddle of blood and guts.In the end, all Paul could do was look up in the skies and sigh, even as Huub continued to laugh maniacally.And with that, there was no longer a Droitner Inc. in Bralog, and the Droitners were gone as well.Frank naturally was not interested in staying at Bralog at that, turning down Nux Hamner's invitation to let him stay.Instead, he drove the Droitner Inc. bus with his friends and returned to Za
Helen Lane, Lanecorp's ice queen girlboss, actually had tears in her eyes.Who knew whether she was hurt or just crying, though?"I'm sorry…" she murmured."It's fine." Frank sighed. "Like I said, just watch out from now on.""I'm sorry…""Are you listening?""Sorry…"Frank was actually left a little overwhelmed by Helen's apology just then.-After driving for a long while, the tour bus finally returned to Zamri.Vicky was already there, waiting and smiling as she welcomed everyone back.Nodding at Helen, she then threw herself into Frank's arms. "Good job, darling!"Frank felt a little embarrassed by Vicky's straight ball, though he was relieved to see Helen merely watching them with a smile and nothing else."Come on!" Vicky pulled Frank along just then, having generously rented out an entire hotel in Zamri as temporary lodgings.As Mona alighted, she found Winter staring at Vicky and Frank, and she yanked Winter by the sleeve."What? Oh!"Winter finally came to her
Frank raised a brow and flashed a provoking smile. "I've always been forward, haven't I?'"Tch."Vicky rolled her eyes, clearly skeptical.Still, seeing that the others were in the hotel, she turned serious as she turned to Frank. "By the way, I'm here for business too."Frank's heart seemed to stop at her serious stare. "Really? What business?""It's about a spiritron vein…"Vicky sighed lengthily, shaking her head. "My family's spiritron vein… is missing.""Missing?!"Frank was stunned. "How?"Vicky shrugged. "That's exactly what I asked Uncle Glen, but it seems that a family executive was unhappy with the plan to reintegrate the branch families, so he sneaked into our family's ancestral shrine and stole it."Frank was speechless. "Wait, was there no security? Where were the blackguards? Is your family really just going to watch someone steal something so important?!""You're wrong there, darling."Vicky shook her head at Frank's exclamation. "For us Turnbulls, what's mos
"Tch."Vicky was folding her arms before her chest, pouting unhappily as she watched Frank leave her and head into the hotel alone. "You keep saying one thing but doing another… Hmph!"Frank naturally heard that but pretended not to hear her and hurried away.The night passed serenely, and by the next morning, Frank had more or less recovered from pent-up fatigue after recovering for a night.He examined his body to find that while most of his injuries were healed, there were still lingering conditions, though none of it would affect his combat ability.However, his phone rang just as he was about to leave and find Vicky.It was a call from an unfamiliar number, which left Frank perplexed as he did not give anyone other than close acquaintances his number.Still, he answered and heard a voice speaking broken Draconian, "Hello, Mr. Lawrence."It was obviously a foreigner, and Frank promptly demanded, "Who are you? How did you get my number?""Calm down, Mr. Lawrence. I mean no
"Please wait, Mr. Lawrence!" Mobius quickly called out, sensing that Frank was ready to hang up.Then, after some thought, he spoke with a conflicted tone, "Well, how about I trade your Bloodcrane Spiritbloom with another treasure?""Treasure?"Frank rubbed his chin, frowning. "What treasure?""Heheh… I knew you'd be interested."Mobius chuckled. "Well, while most wouldn't even have heard of it, I'm sure you would, Mr. Lawrence—after all, it's a spiritron vein we're talking about.""A spiritron vein?!"Frank's heart almost stopped in sheer disbelief—how did those foreigners get their hands on a spiritron vein?Meanwhile, Mobius was still chuckling jovially. "Hehe… So how about that, Mr. Lawrence? A spiritron vein for your Bloodcrane Spiritbloom—wouldn't you say it's a fair trade? Hell, I might even say that we're losing out here."Mobius's tone was more relaxed as he realized Frank recognized the spiritron vein, and he was not exaggerating either—Frank would not lose out if Mo
Deciding that it was not too late to tell Vicky everything after his investigation, Frank decided to leave right then.On his way out, he told Helen and everyone else that he was leaving and assigned Madfist to protect them while he drove alone to Bralog.This time, he knew the way, so he did not have to impose on anyone.It took him another twelve hours to reach the hotel Vicky mentioned, where he ran into Silverbell, who was just checking in at the front desk.Beside him stood a good-looking, long-haired youth who also carried a sword and had the air of a successor to a seclusive sect."Silverbell?"Frank was surprised to see her there, and so was she, though there was soon a hint of joy on her face.On the other hand, the young man beside Silverbell was frowning at Frank in contempt. "Lady Silverbell, this man is—""My fiance, Frank Lawrence," Silverbell replied, striding over to Frank before the long-haired youth could react, even ignoring all the looks of shock as she wrap
If he were one second slower, Mickus' hand would have been minced meat.Still, he quickly hid his trembling right hand behind himself while glaring coldly at Frank. "Impressive."His flattery was icy, just as there was no hint of positive attitude toward Frank in his visage—if anything, he looked even more hostile now."You flatter me," Frank replied, his tone neutral.Such was his attitude—if the other person backed down, he would afford them their solace.However, it was still clear that the heir to Clear Winds Pavilion had no respect for Frank and was actually hostile.Glancing at Silverbell beside himself, Frank could certainly see why."Hmph!"Mickus snorted coldly, not forgetting to threaten Frank before he stormed off. "Don't think you get to strut just because you have some skill! There's all the time for you to suffer!""You don't have to worry about that," Frank replied, calm as ever.Mickus was left glowering, while Frank waited until he was gone before turning tow
"There's no rush." Frank waved off Silverbell, chuckling. "I'm waiting for the other party to make contact anyway. Since I have the time, I can go with you.""Okay." Silverbell did not reject Frank, since she knew the depth of his abilities.If anything, she felt more confident with his involvement.With that, Frank booked the room beside Silverbell so that they could stay close, while Mickus stayed in the room opposite Silverbell's.-Late into the night, a blond foreign businessman was seated in his room, sipping wine as if waiting.A cool breeze suddenly gusted into the room, and the window unwittingly opened.By the time the foreign businessman turned to look, a towering shadow had arrived.He sat opposite the foreign businessman, snatching the bottle of wine from the table and chugging it before snorting in displeasure.Naturally, the foreign businessman was none other than Mobius, who smiled at the shadow and spoke in crude Draconian. "So you kept true to your word, Mr.