Everyone now knew that Stephen had been mocked by all his enemies at his wedding. The South Regent had even sent him a blood-stained bullet, signaling his intent for revenge.In spite of such a massive show of disrespect, Stephen did not dare to say a word. All he did was call the police after the aggressors had fled, making him look pathetic."He's destroyed the Quinn family's reputation.""Is he really the Grand Marshal's mentee? He's such a coward.""If he were truly the Grand Marshal's mentee, would the South Regent act so brazenly?""If he can't handle it, maybe we should bring back the person who used to manage Riveria."Reading the online comments almost made Stephen throw his phone in rage.Rachel, who had just showered and changed into casual clothes, glanced at Stephen and said, "Don't come near me until you figure out what you did wrong."Then, she went upstairs to her room, and the door slammed shut.Stephen hung his head low. Sitting on the sofa, he could not unde
Back in Metropolis, Andy quickly sought out his mentee, Marcus West, a true military expert."Sir, I was bullied! Please help me get revenge!" Andy immediately asked for help upon seeing Marcus.Marcus frowned. "Who would dare to bully you?"Andy was the young scion of the White family in Metropolis. Having been trained since childhood, his skills were unmatched among his peers. Given his noble status and exceptional abilities, no one in Metropolis dared provoke him."This guy in Riveria. I couldn't beat him, and worst of all, he was disrespectful to you too. He actually told you to go to him for training!""Oh?" Marcus's expression shifted slightly.He had retired from serving Riveria.Three years ago, after Ethan pacified Riveria, he had told them to leave. Now, Marcus was married with children and had been tasked with training Andy by the Whites. Life was good.Occasionally, he still thought about Ethan. Before the Grand Marshal passed away, he had tasked them with taking ca
Having once served alongside Ethan, Marcus knew just how terrifying Ethan could be.…Three years ago, there were nine fighters from beyond the border whose combat abilities matched or exceeded those of military experts like himself. Some had even crawled their way up from battlefields of corpses, their abilities surpassing Marcus and his peers. They were known as the nine deadliest assassins beyond the border. Among them, Number Three was the strongest as he could face any three opponents simultaneously without losing ground. Marcus believed that even in one-on-one combat, he would not be a match for Number Three. It was during that time that the South Regent offered 300 million dollars to the nine fighters to eliminate Ethan. The Grand Marshal had only recently passed away back then, and the military experts were concerned about Ethan's safety. If anything happened to Ethan, the consequences would be disastrous. Marcus, in particular, wanted to give Ethan full-time protection
He was confident that he could fight three at once while maintaining the odds, but he could not see Ethan’s movements. Had Ethan harbored murderous intent against him, he would not even have time to react. With such power, Ethan could easily fight nine men at once. Number Three could not understand why Ethan would rely on strategy when he clearly had the strength to dominate through sheer force. Ethan tossed the gun to Marcus and then said to Number Three, “Fighting is too inefficient. Besides, you’re not even worth me stepping outside to deal with.” Number Three stood there, dumbfounded. The nine of them were known assassins, mentors of not just close combat but also firearms and poison. They prided themselves on being unbeatable, no matter the target, and yet, here was Ethan, telling them they were not even worthy of his time. He did not take them seriously at all! Number Three’s confidence shattered. The nine of them had accepted the mission with utmost confidence, only to
Andy’s mind was filled with questions. He could not understand why his mentor would sit down when his foe invited them to. It was humiliating! Ethan calmly said, “There’s tea in the pot. If you want some, help yourself.”Marcus picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Ethan and himself. Holding the hot tea cup in his hands gave him a small sense of comfort. “Your tea is as good as ever.” Ethan smiled. “How’s life been over the past three years?” “Not bad.” “I heard you got married.” “Yeah. I have a daughter now, and she’s two this year. If I knew I was meeting you today, I would have brought her along.” Ethan’s smile widened as he said, “Congratulations.” Marcus simply smiled and nodded. Ethan then asked, “It’s been three years. I suppose you’re still sharp?” Marcus immediately tensed up, a nervous smile appearing on his face. “I guess so.” Ethan could tell Marcus had grown complacent over the years. “Don’t worry. The blood you shed for Riveria is enoug
Marcus got up on his feet and glared at Andy as the young man walked away. “Stop right there!” Andy turned a deaf ear and continued walking. Ethan took a sip of tea. “I see your choice of students needs to be improved. I’ve told you before that it’s not just about someone’s abilities—character matters most.” Lowering his head, Marcus muttered in embarrassment, “I’m sorry. Andy is still young and foolish. I apologize on his behalf. Please don’t mind the boy’s temper. I’ll teach him better from now on. Please excuse me.” He then went after Andy and found the boy inside the car. “I told you to apologize. Why are you being so stubborn?” Marcus said, exasperated.Andy replied, “I did nothing wrong. Give me time, and I will surpass him. I don’t need to apologize to him.” Marcus could only sigh. “Surpass him? Do you have any idea what he’s done in the past? One word from him and the nine infamous assassins beyond the borders were taken down, with seven dead and two crippled.“
The South Regent owning a company in Riveria was unacceptable. It was disrespectful to Stephen and the others. That would be a chance for Andy to prove himself. Stephen asked, “Why do you ask?” Andy chuckled and said, “Nothing. I have something else to do. Talk to you later.” With that, he got up and left. As soon as he left Stephen’s place, he booked a ticket to Hill City. He did not ask Stephen which company belonged to the South Regent, but he believed he could easily locate it by asking around. After Andy got onto the plane, Marcus realized the young man was gone. He tried calling Andy but could not get through since the phone was turned to airplane mode. “Where is he?” He sent someone to find out where Andy had gone earlier. A while later, he dropped by Stephen’s place as it was the last place Andy had been seen. When Stephen saw Marcus at his house, he furrowed his brows. He had never seen the man before. “Who are you?” “I’m Andy’s mentor, Marcus West.” “Y
“Release me!” Andy bellowed as soon as he saw the South Regent. “Do you know who I am?” The South Regent nodded. “The son of the Whites, Andy White.” Andy grunted and said coldly, “If you know who I am, release me now! If anything happens to me, my family will come after you!” The South Regent nodded. “I know.” The Whites were one of the more influential families in the capital, possessing extremely powerful authority. If something happened to Andy while in captivity, the South Regent might also face severe consequences. However, it did not mean he could not do anything to Andy. Having lost to Ethan too many times, he understood something. No matter how powerful someone was or how many followers they had, no one could ever be all-powerful. Andy said, “Release me now. Apologize and I can let this slip.” The South Regent gestured at his man to release Andy. When Andy regained his freedom, he grinned with delight and was in awe of how powerful his family’s reputation was
Hugo waited until Natalie fell asleep before leaving the hospital ward with the South Regent. He said in a low voice, “Please take me to see Mr. Rivers.”From that moment onward, he also addressed Ethan as Mr. Rivers.Ethan did not only save his life but also Natalie’s. He would repay that debt with his life.“Are you sure?” the South Regent asked. “If you take Natalie and her grandfather back to Metropolis now, you can stay out of all of this.”Natalie’s grandfather’s health had also stabilized after treatment.If Hugo wished, he could take them back to Metropolis, where the medical treatments were better. Furthermore, Hugo had worked as a psychologist for many years and even treated Stephen, so he had saved up over a million dollars.If he managed his finances well, he would not become rich, but it was enough for Natalie to grow up safe and healthy and ensure that her grandfather retired peacefully.Hugo did not hesitate. “I’ve made up my mind.”He played a part in how things
“Stephen has always lived in Riveria. He is the Grand Marshal’s sole mentee and the one who brought three years of peace to Riveria. Ethan is a corrupt criminal.”Scrolling further down, there was also an apology video from Stephen. He claimed that the statement was true and expressed regret that he caused an outcry and wasted public resources.Hugo fell completely silent after watching it.How could this be? Others might not know whether Stephen truly was the Grand Marshal’s mentee or not, but he did.Victor had told him about Ethan’s achievements. Even assassins feared Ethan. Stephen had also admitted in front of him who Ethan really was.Only Ethan could save Riveria.In the past, Hugo thought that Stephen was just being misled and used, which was why he wanted to help him.However, now, Stephen insisted that he was the Grand Marshal’s mentee and that he was the one who had managed Riveria in the past.As a psychologist, Hugo could tell from Stephen’s expressions in the vide
The doctors told Hugo what happened.“Back then, you had already lost too much blood. You’re lucky that there was a young man with the same blood type as you when you were brought in, so he gave you a transfusion. Then, our family head sent us to take care of you. If not for our excellent medical skills, you probably wouldn’t have woken up.”Hugo was confused. “Family head? Did Simon send you?”The two doctors suddenly froze, their expressions turning dark.“Watch what you say. Simon didn’t send us. Ugh!”They were so angry that they stopped the examination.Hugo was stunned at the sudden change in their attitude. They were not sent by Simon? Furthermore, why did they react so strongly to the mention of Simon’s name? If not Simon, who else could be the ‘family head’?“Who sent you?” Hugo asked in confusion.“We’re from the Ledger family,” the doctor said coldly. “Who’s Simon? We don’t know him. Don’t lump us in with that filth.”“Huh?” Hugo was still bewildered. “The Ledger fa
Tyler frowned. “What happened?”“It’s about Riveria.” Nolan handed his phone to Tyler. “Simon and Stephen have completely lost all shame. I can’t believe they said something like this.”After reading the news, Tyler’s expression darkened. “Although I know they’re shameless, I still underestimated them.”In the past, they had slandered Ethan and stole his achievements. Now, after being exposed, they fabricated evidence and worked with headquarters to deceive the public.“Tyler, what should we do?” Nolan asked. “I can’t stand by while they slander Mr. Rivers like this.”Tyler said, “Let me think.”To them, Ethan was their savior. Without Ethan, the Spencers would never have made it out of Riveria alive. It was thanks to Ethan stepping in that they had a chance to start over.However, Simon was shamelessly going further to distort the truth and rewrite history. They could not watch this happen. The truth had to be exposed!A moment later, Tyler said in a low voice, “Let’s go to Ri
The netizens had mostly been deceived by the internet trolls.When they saw Simon and headquarters both speaking out, they fully believed that Stephen was innocent and that everything was part of Leo and Ethan’s schemes. Even the few who had firmly believed in Ethan began to doubt themselves.Online, the uproar gradually died down. At that moment, Simon took the next step! He had someone publish the recording of the gala and instructed the trolls to guide the audience in revisiting the highlights.With that, both he and Stephen were completely safe.When people reviewed the gala recording, it also boosted Riveria’s popularity. It was killing multiple birds with one stone!Simon did not rest. Instead, he took the official statement and the trending discussions online and headed to the jail to meet Leo.“Has he confessed yet?” Simon asked the staff.After Leo was imprisoned, he had been questioned who the mastermind behind this was.“No. He keeps saying there’s no mastermind.”S
“Yeah. I’m from Breeze City. If Stephen is driven away by all your insults, what are we supposed to do?”“All this is part of Ethan’s scheme. He’s deliberately trying to frame Stephen!”This was the next phase of their attack. They accused everyone of being too extreme and then created a victim narrative to gain sympathy. Finally, they flipped the story. Stephen was the pure-hearted and selfless one while Ethan was the true villain!While the internet was being flooded with manipulated narratives, Simon was not idle either. He felt that fabricating transaction records and hiring internet trolls alone was not enough. Ne needed more fabricated evidence.Thus, he had several people in Riveria publicly claim that Stephen had been the one managing Riveria all along.Ethan Rivers? Never heard of him!After a day of work, Simon was drenched in sweat. He felt his heart pound as if it might leap out of his throat.After all, he had not rested properly for days because of the gala. Furthe
Simon stayed up all night thinking.The next morning, a little after 6 a.m., he called someone to forge records that Stephen had lived in Riveria before.At the gala, someone had questioned whether Stephen really was the Grand Marshal’s mentee. His response at that time was that Stephen had always lived in Riveria.Now, he had to fabricate those records as soon as possible and release them publicly. Protecting Stephen’s identity as ‘the Grand Marshal’s sole heir’ was extremely important. As long as that narrative was maintained, it would minimize suspicions from others.“But that’s not enough.”Simon continued to take action and hired internet trolls. Since he could not suppress the public’s interest, he personally intervened and made the trolls comment that Stephen was the one in charge of Riveria while Ethan was a corrupt criminal and that Leo was spewing nonsense!As soon as the money was paid, the trolls began their work.“You guys say that Ethan was the one in charge of Riv
However, the event was quickly losing steam! Leo had shifted everyone’s attention away, and people were more curious about Ethan and Stephen’s true identities. The whole internet buzzed with discussions, and many were engaged in fierce arguments. Even if Simon tried to suppress the controversy, it was nearly impossible to stop it. Quite a few people were even starting to leave the event. Many planned to stay in Breeze City for a few days and tour the city, but after experiencing the incident, they no longer trusted Simon. Therefore, they changed their plans and decided to leave the next day!By the time the event ended at 1 a.m., the audience present had dropped to less than half of the original count. When Simon and Stephen took the stage and saw the half-empty seats, they felt dispirited. The celebrities and singers who attended the event could also barely manage a smile. They regretted coming. The scandal surrounding Stephen’s real identity could easily engulf them, and the l
Stephen immediately raised his head and asked, “Where is she?”Simon fell silent. He had no idea where Lily was. Perhaps only Ethan would know her whereabouts, and he did not know how to answer Stephen. Stephen frowned as he waited for a response. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you say she’s alive? Why don’t you tell me where she is?”Simon took a deep breath. “It might not be the best time to tell you now.”He still tried to brush it off. “What do you mean?” Stephen was getting anxious. “Do you want me to get on my knees and beg you? Don’t you know how important she is to me?” Stephen pointed at his gray hair. “I want to see her again so badly.”As Simon lowered his head, looking conflicted, Stephen fell to his knees with a bam. “What are you doing?” Simon exclaimed and quickly pulled him up. At that point, he realized that he could not hide it anymore. He did not want to say that Ethan saved Lily, but only Ethan knew where she was now. Even if he wanted to lie, he could not. W