Talnam was a country neighboring Draconia down south. Things had always been hostile between them, and border conflicts were frequent.In fact, if not for the intimidating presence of the Lord of the Southern Woods in Southdam, one could expect more skirmishes and intrusion into the country. After all, he was the most feared Draconese in Talnam.As such, this kidnapping was utterly bizarre—what could possibly have driven the Talnamese to sneak into Morhen, the very heart of Draconia?And being the Lord of the Southern Woods' son, Frank, had no reason to ignore the kidnapping, whether it was for Gina's sake or his inherited distaste for the Talnamese.After some thought, he nodded. "In that case, I'm going over. The fact that the Talnamese are showing up in the country means things are probably more complicated than we think."Ned nodded in turn. "Then I'm coming with you."Frank agreed reluctantly—he would rather not, but he needed directions or he would have trouble finding th
Helen certainly did not understand why Frank would go all out, even sending for bodyguards."It is." Frank nodded solemnly, and he was concerned over none other than the Talnamese's presence here.The only person who had a connection with them was most likely Frank himself. After all, the Talnamese still held a grudge for the time when the Lord of the Southern Woods led an insurgency into Talnam and almost abducted their king.As the only son of the Lord of the Southern Woods, Frank was worried that the Talnamese were after him.And those folks were known for their savagery—if they really had Gina, Frank would not risk letting Helen get caught by them too.And most of all, he would not allow himself to be used as a bargaining chip against his own father. He would rather die than allow himself to get involved with that man again, especially if it was because of his own competence.With that, Frank brought Ned along in his Maserati and drove straight to the outer reaches of South M
Picking up the phone with shaking fingers, Gina dialed a number, and her call was soon answered."Hello? Frank? It's me, Gina… I've been kidnapped, and they're demanding three billion dollars… Yes, three billion. Please, can't you and Helen do something? Take a loan from Ms. Turnbull or something? I'm begging you… they're going to kill me."Gina felt utterly drained after the call.Never could she have imagined the day would come when she had to beg Frank to save her. The sheer humiliation left her hanging her head, especially after Frank replied nonchalantly over the phone, "Calm down. It's just three billion."He was certainly in no rush.If anything, Gina believed that her death was exactly what he wanted—he could do anything he wanted with her daughter at that point, and no one would dare to take Helen's side.A venomous look appeared on her face at the thought, and she promptly sat up, flashing a fawning smile at the Talnamese. "Gentlemen, it's better to look into my son-i
"By the way, you have to be careful," Gina warned the Talnamese. "He's a martial artist or something."It only left the Talnamese laughing."Don't worry, we're all martial artists too!""Hell, Talc is Ascendant rank!""Oh, we're really not worried about some Draconian martial artist. Not many people can best Talc in a fight, save for the Lord of the Southern Woods!"For some reason, Gina felt a gnawing sense of foreboding as she watched the Talnamese joke among themselves confidently. "You're so smart, Aunt Gina!" Cindy praised."Shut up! It's all your fault!" Gina snapped, and Cindy awkwardly turned away.Gina was not about to play nice, and Cindy knew that after selling the ruby for just 500 million and spending everything in just a week.In fact, the Talnamese planned to squeeze Cindy for five billion when they learned about the ruby falling to the black market, and they needed that much to buy it back. And since she did not have the money, she had to stage her own kidnapp
"That should be what we're asking!" A burly figure leapt down from the room, landing with a thud.Several figures appeared at the entrance at the same time, cutting off their escape."You know these women?" Talc then pointed at Gina and Cindy, who were both panicking. "Hmm?" Frank frowned—he was only aware that Gina was kidnapped, and surprised that Cindy was there too.Still, Cindy reminded him of the crown ruby that Fenton delivered, and he knew right then that his hunch was right.Cindy had sold it off while lying to Gina that it was not worth much and traveled abroad to spend that money.Now, it seemed that the Talnamese had traced the clues from the black market back to her and caught her.He was inwardly relieved, as the Talnamese were not aware who he was.He was fine if they were only after the crown ruby, but he would be worried if they were after him for revenge, since he was the Lord of the Southern Woods' son.His father had been bullying the Talnamese aplenty
Ned then smirked. "I guess I can understand why Ms. Lane is your ex-wife and not still married to you.""Heh…" Frank chuckled contemptibly. "That's enough. I have no time for your squabbles!" Talc barked as he strode up, glaring coldly at Frank, his red eyes ferocious as a wolf's. "Either bring us the ruby, or you will all die. Now, choose!""Is there a third option?" Frank asked calmly after a brief silence."A third option?" Talc was taken aback, not quite understanding what Frank meant."I'm choosing the third option," Frank continued, his tone and presence turning from calm to cold, and the room actually turned chilly. "You Talnamese have barged into Draconia's borders and abducted our citizens. The sentence for you is death!"Frank bellowed, his pure vigor bursting into a violent storm that left even Ned stumbling beside him."Mr. Janko!" Frank turned towards him, saying quietly, "Please protect the hostages. The Talnamese will be staying here… forever! Death Eater!" W
Frank had yet to reach Ascendant rank.Still, he could briefly reach that level with the Death Eater, or even use all the death aura he absorbed to fight an Ascendant rank briefly as an equal.And Talc was just midway Ascendant rank. As Frank went out, he was immediately on the backfoot."Die!" The shockwave from Frank's punch shattered Talc's projected talons right then, and he kept going, breaking Talc's entire arm."Cap!" "Cap! We're coming!"Seeing that Frank crippled their peerless captain with a single strike, the other Talnamese were at once panicked and incensed.While they were scampering earlier, they suddenly turned back, forming a combat ward of thirty people, bolstering their vigor to peak Ascendant rank.Frank's expressions turned solemn—the Talnamese were even more bothersome than imagined."Fenton told me about this…" he said, remembering what he was told as a child. With a single military unity, the Cistern Ward could bolster their strength up by several ra
The chief of the Martial Alliance?! One could tell right away that the woman was not to be trifled with.Fight or flight—everything now hinged on Talc's decision.He spoke just then, saying, "Lady Silverbell. We have no intention to fight—we're here to recover our national treasure, which we know for a fact had been sold into Draconia's black market. All we want is to retrieve it… With your permission, of course."Talc was clearly ready to encounter Draconia's authorities—how else would he have a script ready on the go?"Your national treasure?" Silverbell paused—she only came because she heard about the Talnamese presence, and this issue was not what she expected."Yes. And those are the ones who sold it," Talc said, pointing at Frank."Huh?" Silverbell recognized Frank's silhouette, which reminded her a lot of the man in her dreams…She could not help blushing but soon scowled and waved off Talc. "I don't care what you think you're doing here. You're all leaving Draconian bo
Baldie dropped to his knees with a thud.Not only did Frank possess superior abilities, but he had a functioning moral compass too?He certainly deserved the power of the spiritron vein!Baldie then said, "I guess I should warn you that there are people who keep their hands clean. They would do anything to further their mysterious goals, so you should watch out."Frank chuckled. "Don't worry. I never hold back when I should kill—just listen to the reverend, and leave if there's nothing else, or I might change my mind."At those words, Baldie turned to run without lingering another second. Frank then turned toward the beggar. "Is this what you want?"The beggar nodded, clearly not bothered to hide anything. "To be honest, I've been considering an issue—do all the people who gain superpowers deserve it? The dragon inside you, for example… I can't say that it's anything good."Frank nodded, smiling—she was right about that, as he thought the same himself.After all, it had done
Frank smiled, shaking his head. "No, you misunderstand. What I mean is that she's right. The paranormal, your mystical artifact—it all works using the same principle: You're all just a little stronger than the average martial artist."However, when you're up against the real deal like me, you're relatively weak and easily dealt with."Baldie was left flabbergasted. "No, no, no… That's impossible! We're not the same as martial artists. None of you stand a chance against us!"Frank shook his head. "What you're saying is impossible. Your kind is simply more gifted, while martial artists are less, and that's the only reason you're stronger than most martial artists."Baldie dropped to his knees with a thud, shaking his head repeatedly as there was nothing more that could tear him up inside.He had always believed that even if he was not divine, he was still an envoy among the mortals like the priests and monks in fiction. Naturally, he was convinced that the day would come when he tra
After strutting for so many years, this was the first time anyone had seen through the depth of Frank's abilities in its entirety.That alone set Baldie apart from the rest, or at least the average martial artist, if not placing him scarily high over them.Still, Baldie warned, "Word of advice, kid—mind your own business. This isn't my choice, as there's a larger faction at work here, and you'd be in trouble if you rubbed them the wrong way.""Really?"His warning only pleased Frank further.After all, this meant that there were more powerful individuals like Baldie!In fact, Frank was just getting sick of being invincible, or he would not have been amusing himself by tormenting baddies.And with Baldie's words, he found himself a new hobby… He had plenty of time to spare anyway, so he should use it!"What's that stupid grin for?"Baldie smiled in wry amusement as he realized what Frank was thinking.To think he had the bad luck to run into someone like him!"Simple, really.
The beggar continued, "The way I see it, those ghosts are basically people with superpowers. They are driven by their own desires to hurt the living, while some have trouble controlling their powers after suddenly awakening to it."Her unexpected explanation actually enlightened Frank.Ghosts and hauntings notwithstanding, they were just people who could do what normal people could not—but they were fundamentally no different!Without hesitation, Frank rushed forward when a tall, well-rounded bald man appeared before he reached the graves. "Does no one ever listen?" He laughed coldly.Frank felt a powerful burst of energy from his words—he was clearly trying to make them obey, but they were not listening!"In that case, I'd just have to be tough on you!"At those words, a bead appeared on Baldie's palm, and it shot up to the sky!At the same time, an unusual energy converged and ultimately morphed into a monster.It was basically a pile of rotting flesh crawling with maggots.
Frank smiled, shaking his head. "Don't worry—I'm neither blind nor deaf. I knew what was happening from the start, and I'd be even more upset if I were in your shoes."The stall owner sighed in relief at Frank's words and turned to leave, not forgetting to curse the beggar under his breath.At the same time, the beggar straightened herself off the ground and sat cross-legged, whipping out a large meatloaf out of nowhere and chomping down on it.Frank sat beside her too, not bothered that he was wearing an expensive suit and certainly not concerned about getting it dirty."So, do I pass your test, reverend?"The beggar said nothing, instead handing Frank the meatloaf that her dirty hands had left darkened. "Hurry up. It's good."Frank took it, not minding it at all and finishing it in a few bites. "It's good, but I can make something better. How about it?"The beggar was suddenly on her feet, stretching her back and yawning. "Next time. I'm busy.""What is it? Can't I help?" Fra
After Mr. Creston handed Frank his phone, Frank nodded. "Good, at least you're cooperating. So you can do it yourself!"Mr. Creston was left befuddled—what the hell?! He was already being so cooperative, and the brat still wanted him dead?!"Friend, a gentleman is as good as his word," he said. "People would laugh at you.""Laugh at me?" Frank chuckled coolly. "Who would dare laugh at me? Also, I think it might happen if I don't wipe out people like you.""What…!"As Mr. Creston realized from Frank's calm tone that he was not letting him off the hook, he ran without hesitation.But to Frank, he was slower than a tortoise and disappeared in the blink of an eye.Frank then whipped out Mr. Creston's phone and called the number in it.A coquettish woman answered the call. "Hey, buddy!"Frank laughed at the way she greeted him as if they were old friends. "Reverend Quietus, I presume? Why don't we meet up, if you don't mind?""I certainly don't mind." The woman laughed too. "Who
Frank smiled and nodded. "Ladies like you are rare these days."Drunken Moon snapped her fingers, grinning. "That's exactly why we need to work hard to eliminate all the terrible women. There would be more good girls that way, don't you agree?"I'm not out to make men happy—just to set a standard for my fellow girls. Not everything is black and white, since anything can be relative. Even if men were all gone, bad women would still be bad women. Don't you agree?"Frank nodded in agreement.Thirty minutes later, the stout Mr. Creston sat up on the bed, clearly startled.Frank, who was watching from a bird's eye view, was caught by surprise—how did that man sense his presence?Still, he understood when he saw that Mr. Creston was holding a gleaming yellow talisman.Shock soon turned to curiosity as Frank thought most street geomancers these days were conmen, but somehow, a working talisman was there right in front of him. Hence, Frank made up his mind to find them right then."I
Frank was not only the smart guy out there in the whole right world. In other words, Mr. Creston had that in mind too!He was helping because he had felt insulted after Frank flexed on him earlier, and Dani was still useful to him—for now.When she handed over the company, however, he would not hesitate to kick her out! On top of that, he would make sure that she took the fall for all the dirty deeds they did together.In the end, she would not even be able to defend herself, while suffering lawsuits and public condemnation!Even so, she said, "I understand now. But it's never too late—I swear I'll change if you give me a chance!"Frank simply turned to Zein. "Actually, this man had the right idea—if he gave you a chance, who would give him one?"We're all adults here, so act your age. I'm sure you understand how a good opinion, once lost, is lost forever.""I get it!" Dani quickly said. "You don't have to keep me around, just—""No!" Frank snapped and crushed her left hand und
Dani was under the impression that even if the goons were not the best, they were on the cusp of reaching that level anyway.It turned out to be just her wishful thinking—when against the truly powerful, she was a lamb at the mercy of the butcher's knife, no matter how many people she brought! "To be honest, I'm curious as to what you're thinking." Frank snorted as he strode up to Dani. "Why dump a man who loves you dearly for some prick you don't even know? Being abused in that state and still thinking that you'd chosen wisely—do you actually have a brain?"Seeing her launching, he knew she was not listening, and he tore her ear off!The horrific pain jolted Dani to her senses, and she was left clutching what remained of her ear as she stared at the seemingly handsome man.She was under the impression that Frank would let her live even if she lost, but it was once again wishful thinking.He would kill her, and savagely at that!And she was certainly right, since Frank had ne