“Damn it!”With Hannah surviving the attack, Casius grimaced. Hannah was strong, but Casius could see that Rio had her cornered. Hannah was just one step away from death. Yet, she managed to turn things around. It was true that Hannah was most likely to succeed within the Viper’s Den West State Branch, but Rio was one of the elites of the Refined Blades. They ranked high in their field. Rio’s strong attack did not kill Hannah, making her a powerful opponent. That was not the point, though. Hannah’s death was beneficial to Casius’ situation and his upcoming plan. That was the problem. Hannah was not dead. Since the ambush did not work, Rio would find it harder to kill a potent fighter like Hannah. Nevertheless, Hannah seemed incapacitated, at least for now. She would not be able to go on with the fight tonight. Though disappointed, Casius felt lighter in mood. He turned to Kaze with a smile. “How about it, Kaze? What do you think of my backup? Good enough fo
Kaze released his grip and smiled faintly. “Are you that confident that the Ryokanian can save you? “Have you ever wondered why I didn’t kill you on the spot? Instead, I waited until he showed up.” Casius’ gaze became shifty. “Are you trying to tell me that you delayed killing me to lure Mr. Sho out?” “I see that you have redeeming qualities.” Kaze said callously, “Jude lost everything, and I trashed your Bronze Sparrow. Neely and Granny Snake died at the hands of South. I’d say the odds aren’t in Jude’s favor too. “Yet, you are confident that Jude will make branch chief, so you must be turning to external forces. “With your connections, your only choice is to grovel at the feet of Ryokanians. “In that case, why wait tonight for the Ryokanian? I’m better off luring him out and killing him all at once.” Kaze spoke emotionlessly as if he was talking about the weather. Stunned at first, Casius quickly sneered. “You can talk a big game, Kaze. “But can you back it up?
Upon getting close to Kaze, Rio pulled out his sword. “Clang!”As the sword was drawn, a powerful energy came from within the shining blade. A wave of dread washed over the crowd. Channeling his rage, Rio unleashed his full power. He launched his most devastating blow to slice Kaze in half. Only a good revenge could quell his rage and prove his dominance over the Arcadian. Hannah, having faced Rio head-on, blurted, “Watch out, Mr. Lee. There’s something weird about this Ryokanian’s technique…” “Swoosh!” Kaze raised his arm and struck with his broken sword. The blinding flicker of the blade carried a low humming sound. The crowd wondered if their ears were deceiving them. Kaze retrieved his blade while Rio stopped advancing. As no one made a sound, a shadow of dread loomed over. “What’s the matter, Mr. Sho? Why aren’t you moving?” Casius, Hank, and the others were taken aback, oblivious to what was going on. The strangest thing then happened. A stark, whit
Casius would kill one of the best fighters if he could draw his sword quickly enough.The words sounded like sarcasm to Casius, and he froze. It was like a Harvard grad telling a community college dropout. “Getting into Harvard is easy, anyone can do it.”Casius was lost for words. The gap between him and Kaze just struck him, at least when it came to combat prowess.With Casius turning pale, Kaze said indifferently, “Now do you finally know why I let you go, Mr. Weather?“I don’t need to hold you hostage. “You and your people are no threat. “I’d suggest that you don’t fight back because it’s pointless.“Now kneel and tell me everything about you and the Ryokanians that is important and not privy to me. “I might spare your life for now if you come to use for me,” Kaze said with a smile while throwing the broken sword back to Hannah. It appeared Kaze’s streak of violence ended after Rio was dead. “Kneel and explain my ties with Sanwell Finances?” Snapping back to re
“Go on, Mr. Weather. I’ll hold them off.” With Kaze dodging the shrapnel, Hank’s head sank. Ready to die, Hank blocked Kaze’s path with his body and shouted angrily before raising his double-barreled rifle. “Bang!” As Hank took the shot, Kaze came close and pulled a kick. Knocked back, Hank fired upward. The sound exploded in the air, smashing the chandelier to the ground. Hank rammed into the wall with a thud, and his bones snapped from impact. He crashed to the ground as Kaze went after Casius without looking back. Despite the will to fight on, the life within him was gone. Kaze’s kick was fatal. Out of the living room, Casius cocked his head back and found Kaze right on his tail after finishing Hank off. Casius was scared out of his mind. Casius shouted angrily, “Forget the woman. Just kill Kaze!”Hannah did not just hang around while Kaze launched an attack. She dragged her injured flesh to help. The last twelve suited men were scared off their wits. Now that
With Kaze’s experience, he should be able to recognize the weapon. Yet, he still had the mood for ridicule. Even with Casius pointing a gun at him, Kaze looked relaxed. Kaze’s composed demeanor showed Casius that he did not take Casius as a threat. “Mr. Weather, I killed your little foreign friend and your people back there.” Kaze took a step in the face of the pointed gun and said with a chuckle, “You lost. You lost big time.” “Don’t get too excited. I’m not dead yet!” Casius shouted with a sneer. However, his hand holding the gun shook violently. Casius was a sitting duck. “I told you. You might not have to die.” Kaze patted Casius’ face and said callously, “Tell me why the Ryokanians have been aggressive in activity lately. What are they after? “If you have information of value, or if you come to use to me, I can consider sparing your life for the time being.”Kaze was curious about the Ryokanians’ motivations. Before, Sanwell Finances controlled Riverbank’s
As Kaze said, Casius had not given up on life yet. He believed that his bad luck had marched him to his death at the hands of Kaze. Casius was one of the Riverbank Seven, backed by the Weathers and Sanwell Finances. He had resources and connections to fight back with. Based on his previous experience, Casius trusted that with careful planning, he could have turned the situation in his favor. Though Kaze was the Viper’s Den West State Branch leader, Casius was confident he could have outsmarted him. It was a pity, though. His target was Buffy today. Casius brought a lot of backup to the Gwakes’ residence, but they were not the best. Even with Rio’s help, Casius scrambled to put a good team together. Casius had more people working under him, but they were stationed at the South River State Branch to help Jude become the branch chief. Most importantly, Casius never took Kaze seriously. Kaze had been nothing more than the Quints’ son-in-law who had earned recognition f
“Click.”The cylinder spun around empty, making a clicking sound. No bullet was fired. Kaze stood there unharmed, his expression stoic. The smirk on Casius’ face froze, and he broke out in a cold sweat. He did not expect Kaze to dive straight into it. The revolver had six chambers, and Kaze survived after firing the first shot. Casius had a higher probability of landing on a loaded chamber next. Most importantly, the bet was not money. They were gambling with their lives. They would experience death with each shot. “Your turn, Mr. Weather.” Kaze hooked the revolver with his finger and handed the gun to Casius. Casius shifted his gaze. After an internal struggle that felt like a lifetime, he finally took the revolver shakily. With the revolver in hand, Casius felt his cheeks twitching. “This is your chance to change the course of your life. Why are you hesitating?” Kaze carried a faint smile. “You didn’t back down. Why should I?” Gritting his teeth, Casius rai
“Give me an answer. Are you taking the job? If you are, you should sort out your affairs. Don’t bring your personal feelings to work.” Snow was not the type to go easy on fragile women. If Leah did not have what it took, she could be forced to leave the company. Nevertheless, Katie had left a lot of assets to Leah. Even without work, Leah could very well survive. The girl would have trouble keeping the wealth, seeing that she was without power or connections. If Leah had a job, she would have the resources to hold onto her assets. Leah had seen the best and worst of mankind. She was once the center of attention, and now, everybody avoided her. It dawned on Leah that it was over for Katie. If Leah could not even keep a job, she would lose everything. “I didn’t know things would happen.” Leah never thought that Katie was capable of stabbing Kaze and her in the back. The thought of betrayal put Leah in distress. Kaze was a great guy who helped Leah a lot. Feeling ete
Leah got dressed and was ready to leave, but she did not know who to turn to. She thought about going to her wealthy friends to see if they could uncover anything through their connections. However, Leah could not get a hold of them. It dawned on Leah that loyalty would fade when power was gone. Even though Katie was just missing, intel spread around Butterworth very quickly. These people must have found out and have chosen to stay away. Leah had always been treated like royalty. Nobody had ever avoided her like the plague. Nevertheless, she had not been in touch with these friends since her injury. Now, in her attempt to contact them, she could not reach them. “Why is this happening? My good friends have gone MIA, and I’m getting silence from those who have been trying to connect.” Sitting on the couch, Leah looked out the window in despair. She tried to seek help with her mother’s search, but her efforts were futile. She could do nothing for her mother. All al
“I have to work hard starting today. But before that, I have to get some sleep.” Snow remembered that Kaze punished her to get some sleep. He said her face looked tired and pale, signs of how hard she had been working. It felt great being cared for. It was because of his kindness, Snow fell for Kaze uncontrollably. Yet she understood not all things were meant to be. After she returned home, she went to sleep immediately without talking to anyone. She only woke up in the afternoon after a comfortable and easy sleep. Next, she would have to work on many things, first being taking over Northborn Group. Katie’s disappearance had the company shaken, but it gave many others a chance. They tried to calm their subordinates down and contact the higher-ups for more information, hoping that they could replace Katie as the new CEO. Little did they know, their preparations would eventually fall short. Snow and her secretary arrived at Northborn Group in the afternoon, and her a
“Worried about the mercenaries? I’ve taken all of them out and anyone with a sane mind would know by now not to come after me. Why would they make the same mistake again?” Kaze killed all the mercenaries. There was no one else the mastermind could send after him anymore. Even if there were, they would have to reconsider it after what had happened. Taking out the mercenaries in silence was a strong showcase of his strength. Once the mastermind found out, he or she would definitely stay away. Besides, Kaze had decided to continue his journey to Westeros without telling anyone. He could board a random flight to his destination, and no one would ever know. “Take me to the airport,” Kaze said to the driver. He and Snow were in the rear seat. “When you go back to Butterworth, don’t rush things. Now that Katie has made a mistake and is forced to step down, you can take over Northborn Group,” Kaze said. “Speaking of Katie, after I locked her up, her daughter, Leah, came to me
Miguel stated his strength so that Kaze and Snow would look at him differently. “That doesn’t mean we have to choose you.” Snow saw nothing stellar in him. Snow’s harsh words surprised Miguel and left him deeply displeased. Yet when he looked at Kaze, he dared not say a word. “I can work hard. Even if I am not qualified now, I can work toward that goal.” “Of course, you are not qualified now. You need to improve yourself to meet the basic requirements. Then we’ll talk about you joining us.” Snow just wanted to get this matter over and done with, so she handed Miguel her name card. “When you think you are qualified, you can give me a call.” Since she would eventually take over the largest force in Butterworth, she needed to build a team of her own—one she could truly trust. Miguel might just be an ordinary man who looked fierce but he was courageous and had the potential to be better. “Can I follow him instead?” Miguel took the name card and learned Snow’s name. He
“You did well,” Kaze praised Miguel. It was not easy for someone to fire a gun and take a life, even when he had basic training. Though without the proper technique and training, the shot was nothing stellar. “Really?” Miguel was thrilled by the praise. He might be tall and fit and have arms full of tattoos, but he had never gotten into a fight before. He was happy that someone he admired praised him. It made his day even more than escaping alive. Kaze wanted to continue but the cars had arrived. He walked forward and revealed himself in front of the headlights. The hostages were scared. They stepped back, some of them entered the hangar once more and tried to shut the door. Miguel stood in their way and stopped them from closing it up. “What are you doing? Kaze is still here and help has arrived. Stop hiding,” he said. He detested their selfish behavior. Kaze saved them but they did not even thank him. They even continued to suspect Kaze’s identity. Their be
“How dare those men hijack the plane and take Kaze. They must be punished…” Despite her grumbles, Snow grew anxious. “Given Mr. Lee’s capabilities, he won’t be hurt.” The agents around her tried to comfort her. They believed she was being too nervous. “I know, but we as subordinates have failed him by allowing this to happen. We have to do our best to make up for the mistake, and not rely on Mr. Lee to get out because he can.” Snow drowned in self-blame and regretted not being able to help. It was her negligence that allowed the hijacking to happen. “But there’s nothing you can do now. It’s late. Even the hijackers need to rest. They won’t do anything yet.” “It’s because the hijackers need to rest that we have to hurry and beat them to it. That’s the only way to solve this matter!” “But we’ve searched high and low and didn’t find anything. No one knows where they have gone. Even if they transported the passengers via buses, we didn’t see any tracks.” The agents discu
Kaze breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly went over to Miguel and pressed his hands with the gun down so that it would not misfire. “Good job.” “Thanks.” Miguel curled his lips into a nervous smile. He frequently trained in the gym and mixed martial arts but had never encountered any real-life incident before, thus being inexperienced. Fortunately, his mentality was stronger than the others and allowed him to act accordingly. “I’ll be taking the gun. This is self-defense, you won’t be charged and you won’t need to take responsibility,” Kaze said. Miguel’s pale face looked relieved. “What should we do now? Are there more of them?” Miguel dared not let go of the gun, worried there might be more enemies. “I’ve counted the numbers and this guy here should be the last one.” He then took the gun from Miguel’s hands. “Really? Gosh! That was crazy! I was so terrified!” Miguel finally loosened up and let his instinct take over. His heart was pounding so fast that it
Manson came over and saw the mercenaries lying in their own puddle of blood. The gore shocked him and made him sick. He tried his best to hold back the urge to throw up as it would attract attention. “Don’t look if you can’t take it! Don’t make things worse!” “Yeah! Professor! Grow a pair of balls!” “I have never seen dead bodies like this before!” he explained with a flush of embarrassment on his face. “Can we go out now and run away?” The hostages were eager to leave as things had settled down outside. They thought the danger was over. A dead mercenary was inside the container with them and they were still horrified. Once the others found out about this, the hostages would be shot to death. “If you want to die, be my guest. The moment you step out, you’ll be shot!” Callahan said as he looked at the others scornfully. One of the hostages had already put his hand on the handle of the door and was ready to dash out, but he quickly pulled his hand back after listening