Silverbell's bellow actually gave Maron pause, but he wheeled on Frank again. "It was during the last blow—Frank released some sort of powder out of his sleeve. I thought I was seeing things, but it's real!""I saw it too!" Elder Huxley bellowed and pulled Frank's sleeve, knocking off a pile of Passion Dust from Frank's sleeve."What…" Frank was dumbfounded, as he clearly saw Elder Huxley sprinkle the powder on his sleeve right then.Elder Huxley simply leaned close, growling a threat under his breath, "Don't you dare argue. You know what happens if you do.""F-Frank? Why…?!" Silvebell was wheezing, sweating buckets as her gaze turned unfocused.Frank remained silent—if he maintained his innocence, Maron would retaliate by hurting Helen and the others."See? He's silent because he's caught red-handed!" Maron laughed darkly at Frank and carried Silverbell to the infirmary. "Don't worry—our best healers will cure you soon enough!""So that's what he's up to." Frank's eyes flashed
Seeing that one of the Sage Lake Sect apprentices was ready to run and tell the others, Quinn snapped, "Stop! Master Ocean has spoken—anyone who sees this must never breathe a word! Maron Ocean intends to kill him to claim the title of chief, a crime most unforgivable! Stay here and keep watch. Make sure no one comes in!"Quinn's orders worked—at her words, the Sage Lake Sect apprentices stood in silence. All Maron told them was that the chief had been injured and incapacitated, not such outrage within their enclave!"Heavens… Maron tried to kill the chief?! That's his own father! How could he do this?!""I-I don't know… What the hell…""Wait, wasn't Maron saying that Quinn Ocean died too? She's alive and kicking!"While the sudden turn of events left the Sage Lake Sect apprentices dumbstruck, Quinn herself was anxious too, forgetting honorifics as she asked, "Frank… What do you think? Can you save him?""Yes." Frank nodded, while subtly impressed at how low Maron would sink.
There was a sickening crunch as the Sage Lake Sect apprentice's hand started to ice up, his skin soon freezing into a dried blackness.It was a sight of sheer horror, and the other Sage Lake Sect apprentices promptly backed away in fear."Urgh…" Dahok groaned as he stirred, pushing himself up to his seat in the shrine."Ingrate!!!" he finally snapped after mumbling the word repeatedly before coughing another mouthful of black blood.This time, everyone stayed well away, having learned their lesson.Dahok wheezed even as the black blood iced up on the floor, finally able to speak again."Go!" he bellowed. "Take down that bastard Maron and bring him to me!"Quinn and Frank traded glances, and both strode up."No, absolutely not!" Frank barked, holding up a hand."What… Why?" Dahok wheezed through shallow breaths but forced a smile nonetheless. "I haven't met you, sir, but I'm grateful that you saved my life. However, I shall have that treacherous boy… Today…""Are you sure the
Naturally, it went without saying what would happen if Dahok lost to Maron.Quinn strode up just then, exclaiming, "Master Ocean! Please, if you trust me, then you can trust Frank Lawrence too!"Glancing at Frank, she assured Dahok confidently, "Frank is capable of stopping the coup, and he can do it alone!"Dahok frown despite her assurance. He was slightly swayed, but he still could not trust Frank completely as he had never seen the man fight."I can vouch for him too, Master Ocean." One of the Sage Lake Sect apprentices nodded, suddenly speaking up. "That bast—I mean, Mr. Lawrence—was evenly matched against Lady Silverbell, chief of the Martian Alliance… No, scratch that… He defeated Lady Silverbell!"Turning toward the other apprentices, he asked loudly, "You all saw that, right?"The other Sage Lake Sect apprentices nodded repeatedly, speaking out in confirmation with their fellow apprentice.They were never loyal to Maron anyway. And now that they had learned of his treac
As Maron left the shrine, he inhaled deeply as he looked up at the skies, murmuring, "Do you hear me, Maron Ocean? It's time you pay."Meanwhile, Maron brought Silverbell to the infirmary's bed, ready to undress her, when she caught his hand."What are you… doing…" Silverbell was heaving, her eyes unfocused and her whole body twitching, though she still retained her consciousness.Even as she kept fighting the Passion Dust's effect, she was shivering as she cringed toward the other end of the bed."Please don't resist, Lady Silverbell. I've found the way to clear the poison from your veins."Maron was grinning darkly as he unbuttoned his shirt and moved closer. "Don't worry—the Passion Dust is the real deal. I spent a fortune buying it from the South Sea, so that you'd have an unforgettable experience of carnal pleasure. You can't resist it even if you've completed Birthright—you have to be Ascendant rank, or you wouldn't even know what hit you.""I-It was you…" Silverbell drew h
Maron's libido dropped as he lost all patience with Frank."What are you doing here?! Fuck off!" he bellowed, pointing at the door, only to find Frank still smiling at him. "What, you want your ladies to die?!" Incensed, he whipped out his phone and called Jorg, even putting the call on speaker just so that Frank could hear him too"Hello? Master Maron?" Jorg breathed lazily from the other end.."Cut off one of those ladies' arms!" Maron snarled viciously and wheeled on Frank with a smug grin. "Hahaha! I warned you, Frank Lawrence! You asked for this!"However, that was when Jorg yawned audibly from the other end. "Actually, I'm sorry, Master Maron… See, Master Ocean gave me strict orders to protect them instead. The way I see it, you should be going down on your knees and begging daddy, and he just might leave a pretty corpse when he's done. That's all I have to say. Bye…"Beep.Maron's whole body stiffened in shock as Jorg hung up on him, and his phone slid off his fingers, d
Regrettably, Maron was undoubtedly Birthright rank.His eyes rolled up in their sockets as he slammed into the wall. At that moment, his pure vigor protection sent him bouncing back toward Frank, who was rolling up his sleeves."Maron Ocean…" He smiled as he slowly walked up to Maron. "I shall teach you a lesson now myself—you don't get to stand above the rest just because you're well-connected. Sure, it's necessary to have friends when you're out in the world, but you need to be able to hold your own before that!""Please, no more—Oof!" Maron grunted again as Frank kicked him to the wall again, knocking half of his teeth out.Watching as he slid down the wall, Frank seized him, slapping him until all his other teeth fell out."What's wrong, Maron? Done already?" Frank lifted him into the air even as his face was left swollen, grinning throughout."P-Please…" Maron kept begging, his words almost unintelligible."Oh, don't worry. I'm not done with you yet!" Frank grinned, baring
"Donn… Donn…"Silverbell pressed herself into Frank's arms, the sensation of her warm, damp skin leaving Frank's mind blank.Before he realized it, he was in bed, having already taken off his shirt, his body tangled with Silverbell's.Turning pale in surprise, he quickly tried to get up, but Silverbell had clearly lost all rationality.She clung firmly onto Frank, refusing to let go as she snuggled against him like a playful kitten.No man could resist such temptation, and Frank was heaving, his eyes red.He could do it right then, but his rationality warned him against exploiting Silverbell in her moment of vulnerability.And it was Silverbell they were talking about—she was at least ten years younger.He bit through his lip, forcing himself to calm down as he pinned down Silverbell on the bed. Then, keeping his eyes closed, his fingers brushed over her silky smooth skin as he felt for acupoints that could calm her down.Smack!Frank struck her acupoints when he found them,
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