Bass and Dove were with May when she visited Lilyrose. Kaze met them before. Both of them were experts in their own field, yet they were sent together to protect Snow. It seemed like things had gotten out of control in their family. Kaze said, “Sure. When you meet up with them, come to Riverbank immediately. I’ll protect you.” Snow was a smart girl. She knew something serious must have happened back home. She quickly said, “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We will arrive at Riverbank later around 4:00 PM.” After the call, Kaze pondered for a moment and decided to pick up Snow himself. May was likely under surveillance or house arrest, completely cut off from the outside world, forcing her to make the call in secret. In addition, if she had to send Bass and Dove together, Snow must be in grave danger. Kaze knew how strong Bass and Dove were. They were experts but if someone meticulously targeted Snow, the duo might not be able to fully protect her. Snow had been working for
“Casius, you really don’t need to. You are going to be one of us soon and I see you as my own son,” Faith said as she widened her smile. Her fondness of Casius grew by the minute. However, as her lips curled into a smile, the muscles in her cheek tugged painfully, a stark reminder of Kaze's slap. She gasped from the sudden ache. The smile disappeared immediately as she clenched her teeth tightly. “Aunt Faith, what’s the matter? Are you feeling alright?” Casius asked out of concern. A hint of ridicule glimmered in his eyes. Faith might have covered her face with a thick layer of concealer but he still saw the vague slap mark on her face the moment he met her. He did not want to embarrass Faith, so he did not ask about it. “It’s fine. I got slapped by some rube from a small city and my face still hurts.” Faith sighed deeply. She no longer cared about her face anymore and chose to be honest. “Casius, you knew I’d prepare a feast to welcome you back from Westeros and Bu
Casius simply smiled it off and was not overly concerned. “Don’t worry, Aunt Faith. I like Buffy a lot and I am doing the best for her. I believe she will understand.” He then raised his hand without looking around. Further away, a young woman in uniform came over by request. She bowed and said, “Master.” “Veron, tell them to bring Buffy back safely, and only her,” Casius said to his assistant casually. With just a short sentence, he literally handed a verdict on Kaze’s fate. “Yes, sir.” Veron nodded and then returned to her original spot to make a call. “Aunt Faith, have some tea too.” Casius took the role of the host and started pouring tea for Faith. “Judging from your confident look, I know I got the right guy. Casius, only an elite like you deserves to marry our daughter.” Faith felt relieved and started to flatter Casius. Casius smiled casually. On the other hand, Veron could not get through to the first number she dialed, which surprised her. She quic
Casius looked surprised when he heard the update from Veron but he managed to keep calm. A quick thought later, he said, “Aunt Faith, it seems like Buffy is prepared to elope with this guy. She never wanted to marry me from the start.” Faith immediately knew what he was referring to. Casius must have assumed that Buffy expected a pursuit and decided to resist, which explained why all his men drowned in the dam. Faith went blank for a moment before she clenched her teeth and said, “That fool! She used our family’s influence to defy my arrangements?! Who does she think she is?” She, too, believed Casius’ assumption. Buffy must have foreseen this and arranged for her men to fight back, which explained why Casius’ men were defeated. At least it was more acceptable than Kaze beating up and killing Casius’ men single-handedly. Both Faith and Casius tended to believe Buffy was the one who resisted, not Kaze. “Casius, I’ll call her father immediately. I can’t control her now,
Veron said, “Sir, Kaze Lee then said if you don’t want to die, keep your hands away from the Viper's Den affair…” “Keep my hands away from the Viper’s Den’s affair? Is that what he said?” Casius asked. “Yes, sir!” Veron answered as she lowered her head. The atmosphere in the car felt intense and pressuring. A while later, Casius chuckled. “Interesting. Kaze’s first message makes me feel like he’s just a clown; his second message makes me realize he’s not that simple.” Kaze was anything but simple. As an outsider, Casius had long harbored a plan to infiltrate the Viper’s Den South River Branch and ultimately take it over. To keep his plan inconspicuous, he even had to come up with another plan to achieve his goal. Marrying Buffy and helping Jude to become the deputy chief were parts of his grand plan, and he eventually would take over. He was confident that not more than a handful of people knew his true goal. Yet a rube from a small city saw through him easily. Ho
“You lured Casius out?” Hannah was struck with sudden realization and her admiration for Kaze grew. As expected of the man the Viper Queen made the branch leader and was tasked to cleanse the Viper’s Den. With just a few words, he was able to lure the mastermind behind Jude out to the front and force him to enter the fray. To Hannah, Jude was not much of a competition. After all, manpower and resources were limited and no matter how ambitious Jude was, he was just the deputy chief of the South River Branch, which was the same position as Hannah. The people that he could use and the allies that he could gather were all laid out on the table. However, Casius was different because he had been hiding in the dark, supporting Jude to seize the position of chief. He was one of the Riverbank Seven. Aside from being rich and resourceful, he was also connected to the prominent figures in Westeros. With his support, Jude became so powerful that even Collier and Hannah felt press
The South River was an important waterway for transportation, and traffic was always heavy. The Four Ocean Commerce Guild who crossed paths with Kaze before relied on monopolizing the South River and Butterworth's waterway transport to become a titan in the industry. If there were people who rose to prominence relying on waterway transportation, then there would be people living the life of a pirate, robbing cargo ships that passed through a certain checkpoint on the sea. Leron was a captain who reigned the waters of the South River and the pirates who worked under him were ferocious and ruthless. Their gang was notorious in the waters and on shore. Hannah continued, “Kaze, I also heard that Casius had sent Leron after you, so you better be careful. Do you need me to arrange for bodyguards to keep you safe?” Kaze looked surprised. “It’s just a pirate, what’s the big deal?” Hannah knew her own strength. Leron was a target that even she had to be cautious of, so Kaze’s words
Bang! A deafening blast went off, followed by a burst of smoke that concealed Leron from sight. The MPV that Hannah and her men arrived in was instantly covered with countless black holes. The tires were also punctured, causing one side of the car to sink. The two agents, who had turned to open the door and exposed their backs, suddenly groaned in pain as they were slammed against the car by a powerful force, sliding down onto the ground. Both were riddled with numerous bleeding holes in their backs from gunfire. Hannah and the others were shocked to see that their colleagues had been shot. The human body was no match for a shotgun. Leron must have anticipated that they would use the car as a cover or even as an escape route, so he aimed at the vehicle first instead of targeting the individuals directly. “Take cover!” Kaze quickly grabbed one of the fallen agents in front of him and tossed him behind the damaged car. His words were not just meant for the fallen ag
“Kaze can pull the punches for sure. I mean, he has the Butterworth branch chief’s trust for a reason. “There has to be something for him to win the branch chief’s approval.” Edmund doubted there was depth to Kaze. After all, Edmund decided whether to take on a person based on their abilities. It made no sense to pay attention to losers, as he would hold them in contempt. Edmund had been impressed with Herman, who excelled in strategies and management. That was why Edmund bumped Herman up and made sure he stayed on top. “Got it.” Herman nodded and had one foot out the door. “Don’t be in a hurry to leave. There’s one more thing.” Edmund pointed at the table. Herman approached and stood on bent knees. Pleased with Herman’s submission, Edmund passed him a wine glass. Herman took the drink humbly before looking carefully at Edmund, awaiting his orders. “The wine was just airlifted from abroad. I can vouch for the taste. If you’re looking to sip on the finest, yo
Time went by, and a towering man in a suit showed up outside the door. Picking up on the noise inside the room, he knocked on the door. It was hard to tell whether the person inside could hear the knocking, so the man waited outside. The door was opened, and a woman, her face flawless with makeup, popped her head out and saw him. She cocked her head back at Edmund. “You have a guest, Mr. Witterson.” “Let him in,” Edmund instructed. He then leaned in to take the drink from the girl next to him with his mouth. The other girls cheered him on. The group was lost in their fun. The man, who entered the room, stood by the sofa respectfully. He kept his head down, his gaze staying low at the bottles of alcohol spread across the table. It was a bit of a wait before the man approached at Edmund’s order. “Tell me about Dwight.”While listening to the girls’ singing, Edmund turned to Herman. Herman rushed over as soon as Edmund called. He won a lot of money at poker toda
In this particular circumstance, Morris had to play it safe so that things would not get out of hand. The last thing he wanted was to be dragged into the mess. At least, he finally saw the Wittersons’ true colors. Morris’ friendly advice was met with disrespect and insult. However, the Wittersons were a force of nature, and Morris was not about to take them head-on. Despite his frustration, Morris had to walk away. Well, Edmund would soon face his downfall at the height of his power, and Morris would be there to enjoy the ride. Still, it did not sit well with Morris to have a young fella walk all over him. It had crossed his mind to keep the Wittersons in check, but there was only so much he could do. Morris had to be the one to back away as the Wittersons grew haughty. Morris believed there was more to Kaze’s visit to Westeros. Nothing major happened in Westeros recently. At least, there was nothing worth the other branch’s attention. However, a representative of the
Morris suggested entertaining Kaze well. Things would not be good for the branch if Kaze got dirt on them. That was where Edmund disagreed with Morris. His idea was to send someone to sound Kaze out. Edmund was smug because Morris’ decision was wrong. “You shouldn’t do that. Kaze is here on behalf of the Butterworth branch. You don’t want tension between both branches.” Morris looked at things from a wider perspective. Edmund believed Kaze was just a doormat of little importance. “You just overthink things, and it’s not good for your age. You’re getting senile.” Edmund did not take Morris’ advice seriously. He believed he was right. “You’re not getting it. Kaze is from Butterworth. Even if he doesn’t hold a high position there, we were in the wrong. We did not keep our tracks clean either. “Now that he’s back, I’m worried that he’ll cause us harm.” Morris was only giving a heads-up because the whole branch was at stake. Edmund was young. Due to his lack of judgmen
“We should be generous to our guest from Butterworth. You can arrange as you see fit. Please don’t house him in a messy home. Hire cleaners to tidy up the place. “You can report back to me if you need more money, but it’s not a reason for you to misuse the funds.” Herman wanted to hang up. The money was now in Dwight’s bank account, so he was washing his hands off the matter. The plan was to keep Kaze happy. He was just an insignificant member of the Butterworth branch anyway. The whole thing would blow over soon enough, so long as Kaze kept to himself without taking things too far. Herman would figure out a way to get him out quickly anyway. Maybe Herman and his friends did not have to do anything to get rid of Kaze. “Got it. I’ll be a good host, Herman. I won’t let you down. I’ll keep you in the loop.” Dwight was over the moon to get the notification about the money transfer. “Just play by ear and arrange what you see best.” Herman hung up and continued playing pok
“It’s becoming a hassle now. Are you going to inform the Viper’s Den about the change of accommodation?” After much hesitation, Kaze nodded to take up the offer. Dwight was thrilled. It only hit Dwight that he had to communicate with the Viper’s Den. Kaze was booked for a hotel stay, and Dwight’s job was to take him to the destination. Yet now, Dwight took him to his home. “I’ll tell my superior and see what he has to say.” Dwight was not sure whether the change was appropriate. Nevertheless, he did not want to pass up on a great opportunity. He simply grabbed the bull by the horn. If Kaze stayed at his place, the Viper’s Den members had to respect Kaze’s request even if they had a problem with it. “But when they ask, you can say that you’re getting along well with me. Living together just makes work more convenient.” Feeling unsettled, Dwight tried to get their stories straight with Kaze. Hopefully, the Viper’s Den would not come after them. “Aren’t we friends? I k
Dwight gave some suggestions. “But I’m worried about being a nuisance to your family.” Kaze remained hesitant, torn between decisions. “No, you won’t. I usually live alone. They stay somewhere else. They barely visit. I’ll just let them know not to visit for now,” Dwight replied. Dwight figured out what was in it for him. He could not let Kaze leave. “I don’t want to put your family in an awkward position.”Kaze was still considering the matter. “Relax. They don’t live with me anyway. The room I have for you is tidy. No one has stayed there before.“I’ll hire some help to freshen up the place. I can guarantee you an experience no less than at the hotel.” Dwight spoke with great confidence. “We should finish our food and doggie-bag the rest. I’ll take you to my place.” Dwight was ready to get things going. Kaze took the offer and nodded. “I’ll be in your care then.” Kaze was glad that his plan went through. Dwight had no idea that he got played. Nevertheless,
“I’m new to the place, so I don’t know much. Can you show me around when you’re available?” “No problem, but I usually have some stuff to take care of. I can’t be there 24/7. “Why don’t you propose to the branch that you want me to be your guide and attendant?” Dwight suggested. There was no telling whether Kaze would accept his proposal, but it was an opportunity to prove himself. He was never involved in the core operation. Often enough, he was the branch members’ punching bag. Though Dwight was aware that he was not good enough for the big stuff, he still wanted to succeed. Kaze was the trusted aide of the Butterworth Branch chief. He was in Westeros for a reason. By joining Kaze, Dwight would come across the major players. Kaze saw through Dwight’s plans. “Sure. I’ll do that.” Kaze did not mind the request. “Great. I’ll let them know on your behalf. I’ll be responsible for your needs while in the city.” Dwight was overjoyed at the opportunity. “So you live
“You must be rich. I often see rich people picking tabs for everybody. Talk about extravagance.” The tension in the air was lifted when Kaze offered to pay for everything. “I’m not. Consider it an apology,” Kaze explained, not wanting to cause unnecessary misunderstandings. He did not see the point of continuing the conversation. Dwight’s angry screams came from outside. “What the hell is this? I only ordered a bunch of stuff. Why am I being charged an exorbitant amount?“What do you mean my friend is paying for everybody? That’s throwing money away,” Dwight said while storming his way over. “I know you have money, but you shouldn’t do this, Mr. Lee.” Dwight did not approve of this type of generosity. “You rubbed them the wrong way. It was only right to apologize. Besides, it’s not a lot of money.” Kaze looked at the bill and handed a bank card to Dwight. “It’s my treat.” The consumption was barely a dent in Kaze’s savings. The meal did not cost more than his us