"W-What…"Fredo was left stunned by the imposing sight before him—there were over hundred men-in-black who stood in formation with poise and vigor.And they were all clearly martial artists!It was a scale of strength that would set them among the top factions in the east coast, and even the modest sects would not possess such might!"I don't know what the commissioner offered that motivated Carlo Group into traveling all the way from the midlands to the east coast just to fuck with us… but a word of advice: it really doesn't matter who you are, you must know your place on the pecking order."With a firm clap on Fredo's shoulder, he strode toward the square in front of Zamri Hospital, where a Lanecorp company car was waiting by the curb."Mr. Lawrence."A security officer from the Lanecorp Health and Safety Department opened the door for him respectfully.Frank, however, did not get on.Instead, he turned and threw a curious look at Fredo, chuckling. "Don't you have a party to
"A young man?"Geon lowered his wine glass, appearing thoughtful.He did not know that many young men—and this was a delicate time to ask to meet him.Moreover, his daily schedule was always kept a secret, and a sudden visit was really fishy."Turn him down."On the other hand, Carlo was already on his feet, snapping at the waiter as he saw the awkward look on Geon's face. "Don't you see that the commissioner is busy? Do you really think that this is the time for guests?! It doesn't matter who he is—tell him to leave!"The waiter made an awkward face. "But, Mr. Barzini… The young man said that he's your son.""My son? You mean, Fredo?"Carlo was left doing a double take—he did not invite his son to this party, since he should be busy sabotaging Zamri Hospital with Podrick…"Oh, right!"Nonetheless, Carlo's eyes lit up as he smiled—the brat finally did well for once!The boy must have known that the commissioner would be here and quickly finished taking over Zamri Hospital to
Surely there was no way that Frank was here to celebrate Carlo Group taking over Zamri Hospital, was there?Hence, the private room quickly turned awkwardly silent.Bang!Eventually, Carlo slammed his fist on the table, breaking the silence and causing all the tableware to shake."What the hell is this, Fredo?!" he bellowed.Seeing his father's murderous glare, Fredo looked like he could cry. "Dad… L-Let's just go back to the midlands!""What?!"Carlo almost blew a fuse at his son's groveling and pointed at him as he huffed, "You piece of shit! I dare you to say it again!""Dad, I just want to survive! Let's just leave already!"Fredo sobbed so loudly everyone in the room could hear him, even as he dropped to his knees in front of the table despite his father's furious glare. "M-Mr. Lawrence… He's beyond us… H-He…"However, Fredo was stuttering so badly that he just could not finish his own sentence."You piece of shit!"Carlo snapped again, and looked around before picking
Smiling, Frank continued, "That's what I'd like to know—have I done something to offend anyone here, or maybe you just don't like me because I'm that good looking?"Geon scowled even harder at Frank's words.Beside him, Carlo slammed his hand on the table and bellowed coldly, "Quit clowning around! You're not welcome here, so leave! Otherwise, I'll call in my boys, and you won't be able to leave even if you want to!""Temper, temper." Frank smiled as he slowly stood up. "So you could tell that I was just clowning around…"That was when his smile changed to an icy glare, and he knocked his wine glass to the floor, crushing it under his foot."Since none of you want to play nice, I won't. Did you really think that I'm that easily bullied?" he growled coolly, looking around at everyone around the table. "If you want me, come after me! It says more about you than me, the way you'd rather come after the people around me!"Geon recovered from his shock just then, and snapped, "How dare
"What?!"Carlo was left stupefied by his son's exclamation.For this party, he had called over the strongest muscle he had from the midlands.His aim was simple, too—after the party was over, he would demonstrate to Zamri's wealth and power the depths of Carlo Group's strength: fifty Birthright-ranked elites!"Are you serious…?!"Carlo was caught in disbelief even as he stared at his son—those fifty Birthright-ranked elites were the trump cards that his company had consolidated over the years, and they were all gone without warning?However, he also knew that his son would never joke around on an occasion such as this!"It's true!"Fredo was yelling hysterically, shedding tears in a nervous breakdown as he finally revealed why he was totally horrified. "I watch with my own eyes… Frank Lawrence wiped out every martial elite we had, all by himself! Let's give up on the east coast already!""A-All by himself?!"Carlo was stupefied.He had known that Frank was very strong, but j
And Carlo Group was one of the strongest factions in the midlands!But now, Carlo himself was supposed to cut off one of his own arms just to leave Zamri alive, just because some brat demanded it?!"Don't get so full of yourself, Frank!"Carlo shrieked, "You've slain my martial artists… B-But I still have a trump card! Don't you push me!"Frank remained impassive as he stared at Carlo, however. "Trump card? Oh, you mean Thousand Isles Guild?""What…?"Carlo was left stupefied once more when Frank mentioned Thousand Isles Guild by name.Though Frank was right, how could Frank have found out about his strongest supporter?"Don't bother."Frank chuckled coolly. "You have two choices. One, you will leave an arm in penance and return to the midlands. That's for going way over the line, and we can go our separate ways after that."Second… You can push your luck, and I will kill everyone connected to Carlo Group in Zamri, including you and your son.""Whether Thousand Isles Guild c
Casually getting himself a chair, Frank sat and crossed his legs while waving off everyone around the table impatiently. "Get out of here right now."However, everyone there was a rich and important figure in Zamri.They were certainly stunned—did Frank really just tell them to leave?"Watch yourself, Frank Lawrence! This isn't a place where you get to strut—don't even believe for one second that you're invincible just because you have Lanecorp's influence and your gangs!""Exactly! You don't have what it takes to lord over us!""Everyone around this table has ties to the government! If you insist on fighting us, then you will watch as everything you have will soon be destroyed!"Frank was not even bothered to argue against them, however, and clapped his hands.Bang! Bang! Bang!There were endless cracks of gunshots, and the thin walls of the private room were soon riddled by bullet holes.However, those were no more than warning shots, as no one in the room was hit.Still, l
More importantly, these rich and important figures of Zamri rarely took notice of what was happening in the scene of martial artists.They really did not care about any of that, instead focusing all their attention on their businesses and influence, as well as Draconia's political scene.From their point of view, the so-called martial artists were no more than thugs who existed just beyond the jurisdiction of the authorities.If only one of them tried to find out more about the scene of martial artists, their perception of Frank would not have been this shallow.Either way, the presence of so many armed soldiers here was much more shocking to them than what they thought martial artists could do.After all, this meant that Frank was no mere thug—he was a thug with ties to the government!Even these Zamri self-styled aristocrats no longer dared to belittle him now!-"F-Frank Lawrence, d-don't do anything… you… I didn't know you knew Governor Quill. I…"Meanwhile, Geon was barel