"Who the hell did this!" Fitz was furious. The equipment they had bought was all of extremely high quality, and they were very expensive. He had brought over so many soldiers not just to protect the factory but also to protect the shipment of equipment and ensure that it remained undamaged.The men who had taken part in smashing up the machines fell to their knees in fear at once. They wailed, "It has nothing to do with us! It was Mr. Bullen and Mr. Woodsen who made us smash it!""Splash him awake!" Fitz's eyes were bulging with anger, and he was breathing heavily.Two soldiers splashed a huge bucket of water on Rory's face. He shuddered and woke up. "Tell me honestly! Who told you to smash it up?" Fitz said, pointing to the equipment next to them.The newly-awaken Rory turned to look at the equipment behind him, and he hastily pointed at Jake. "It was Jake who gave the command to smash it! He even said that if anything big happened, he would take responsibility!"Jake was utt
"Yes, they've all been shot dead. Even the law enforcement team that went with them are all… all dead," his assistant said. Cold sweat was pouring off him like rain."Sebastian! How could he be so bold? Connect me to the may—"Before Marcel could finish speaking, Liam walked into his office with two military officers wearing the uniform of a major. There was also a man in a suit with a badge pinned to his chest."Are you Marcel Lyme?" Liam asked, his expression frosty. Marcel looked Liam and the others up and down and said, "Yes… I-I am. Who are you?"The man in the suit went up to him and said, "Hello, Mr. Lyme. I'm from the Investigation Department. There are some things I'd like to find out more about from you. Please come with us.""What? What do you want with me? I haven't made any mistakes, have I?" Marcel asked fearfully, trembling.He could not understand why they had come looking for him. Besides, what were the three officers behind him doing?Even if he had offended
"What did you say?" Marcel had assumed that the worst that could happen would be that he would be arrested and sentenced. However, when Liam said that someone would die, Marcel was aghast."After we've verified your actions, we'll execute you by gunshot within three days! This is an order from above!" Liam said and turned around. He didn't even want to look at Marcel again.Marcel burst into loud laughter as he wailed. "The Gullivers! Kelvin Gulliver! They were the ones who did this to me! Even if I become a ghost, I'll never forgive them!""Oh? Is this related to the Gullivers?" Liam asked impassively as he turned to look at Marcel. "Yes! It does have something to do with them!" Marcel wiped away the tear stains on his face and sobbed, "I'm willing to tell you everything I know. Can you please spare my life?"Liam shook his head slightly and sighed, saying, "A military order is as immovable as a mountain. However, if you behave well, we can hide your crimes from society so that
Rosalie glared at the security guard and picked up the scattered flowers from the ground.Although Rosalie had grown up in a wealthy family, she understood how difficult life was for those on the lowest rung of the social ladder. Anyone who had to sell flowers on the street on a festive day must be doing it because they were forced to do so and had no choice.It must be true for the little boy in front of them. He was so young, but he was helping his family share the burden of raising him. He was so thoughtful that it made their hearts ache."Exactly! You only need to chase him off. Did you have to hit him?" Whitney frowned, looking displeased.She had watched the rain pouring down outside while the unfortunate child was kicked to the ground by the security guard. His clothes were drenched!She hastily bent down and helped the little boy up."How dare you be so arrogant?" Zane said. He slapped the security guard before turning toward Sebastian and said, "Mr. Ballard, please wait
The force of the bullet hitting Rosalie made her roll forward several feet. A pained expression flashed across her face, but even when she hit the ground, she was still pointing at the security guard behind Sebastian."Rosalie!" Sebastian roared. He shot forward and caught her in his arms. When he saw the red, flower-like bloodstain on the back of her snow-white coat, he felt as if his heart had been pierced by a thousand arrows.The security guard who had fired the gun looked shocked when he realized that he had not managed to kill Sebastian.By the time he pulled the trigger again, Sebastian seemed to disappear into thin air. Right after that, an agile figure appeared in front of the security guard. He tried to turn the gun, but Sebastian kicked him in the chest.The security guard barreled backward and crashed against the wall behind him, as if he was a bullet that had just been fired out of a gun.The crash made him feel as if his upper body had gone completely numb, but he
Zane glanced at the gunman, who was lying dead in the corner, and at the unmoving boy, who was lying on the ground in the distance. He hesitated but still started the engine quickly.Whitney climbed into the car and sat in the passenger seat. She turned and said to Sebastian, "How's Ms. Griffin?""I've only temporarily stopped the bleeding. I'm not sure if her internal organs were injured or not, so we must get back as quickly as we can so that I can treat her wound," Sebastian said in a slightly choked voice.He had never imagined that Rosalie would take a bullet for him without any thought for her own life. He looked down at Rosalie, who was lying unconscious in his arms, and he couldn't help but think about everything that had happened since they met.At first, he had treated her coldly and kept her at arm's length until he eventually came to accept her. Now, Rosalie was barely hanging on to life. Sebastian had finally realized that he already owed her too much. He was afraid
The burly officer frowned.After hesitating for a long time, he mustered up the courage to approach Sebastian and glance inside the car. When he saw that there really was a severely injured young woman inside, he frowned and asked, "What's going on?"Sebastian had no choice but to tell him simply about what had happened. Once he had heard Sebastian's account, the burly officer waved a hand at the dozen or so officers behind him and said, "Put your guns away. Clear a path and send the young lady in the car to the hospital at once. Hurry!"Sebastian said gratefully, "Thank you.""You're welcome. I'm very sorry. We received a report from someone about a murder, but we didn't expect you to be the victims."He added, "Hurry, time waits for no man. With police cars clearing a path, the journey will be much smoother." He saluted Sebastian and the others and sprinted back to his car.With the police cars clearing a way for them, the half-hour journey to Tranquil Hospital was shortened to
Aloysius was much calmer. Although the black-robed man was holding a knife against Orlando's throat, he didn't seem overly flustered. He looked calmly at the man and said, "I'm guessing that you have a grudge against Sebastian, too. Since we have the same goal, why don't we sit down and have a cup of hot tea?"Jeffrey nodded approvingly at Aloysius. He put his knife away and strode toward the sofa opposite the Gullivers, where he sat down."I guess it's true that experience counts for something. I'll get straight to the point. I'm from the Sanguis Cult. I believe you've heard of us, Mr. Gulliver Senior."Even Aloysius gasped at what Jeffrey had said.The Sanguis Cult was even more terrifying than the Slaughter Gods.If the Slaughter Gods were just an organization of murderers, then the Sanguis Cult could be said to be one of the newest, most evil martial arts sects that had popped up in the past couple of years. It was rumored to have accepted experts from all kinds of sects fro
Samson glanced at Sebastian. He took a deep breath and said to Arnaud, "Thank you for sparing me, Uncle Arnaud."He gave Sebastian a few final reminders before leaving the hall with Preston.Once they were gone, Arnaud pointed at Duo and said to Sebastian, "Tell him to leave too."Sebastian waved a hand at Duo."I'll wait for you at the entrance, my lord," Duo said. "If anything happens, I'll be here as soon as you call!"He gave Arnaud a cold look before striding out of the hall.Arnaud watched him leave and smiled approvingly. He beckoned to Sebastian. "Come, sit!"Sebastian didn't hesitate. He crossed the hall and sat in the chair opposite Arnaud."Do you know why I asked Andreas to bring you back here?" Arnaud asked impassively. Sebastian shook his head expressionlessly. He said in a cold voice, "It's probably because of the emerald token in my father's possession."Apart from using him and Whitney as leverage against Samson, he couldn't think of any other reason.Arnau
"The Blessed Child! The Blessed Child has finally come to our family!"The black-robed old man who had been sitting beside Arnaud stood up, looking pleased. He couldn't hide his excitement as he turned to Arnaud and said, "Arnaud, our family is going to prosper!"Only Rexton and Milton looked extremely displeased. Braxton and Roland looked pained, as if they had lost something of great value. They were practically thumping their chests in regret!The Blessed Child had been foretold by one of the heads of the family centuries ago. No matter how far the Ballards declined, the prophecy said that after a few hundred years, a Blessed Child would appear—someone who could lead the family's revival!The only proof of the Blessed Child was for him to enter a master-servant oath with a Devora."Prosper? What a joke!" Hugo scoffed, holding Virtus firmly. "Weren't you all just clamoring about killing the two of them?"At Hugo's words, Arnaud's expression changed slightly. "When did I say tha
"Hugo!"Arnaud, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them wide. He eyed Hugo with a conflicted expression as he asked, "Have you forgotten the agreement the Thornes made with us ten years ago?"Hugo smiled coldly and put one hand behind his back. "That was the agreement you made with the Thornes. I'm only following Ms. Thorne's orders to protect Samson and find the emerald token. If Samson dies in this battle, how am I supposed to explain that to her?"He pointed at Sebastian and added, "He's Ms. Thorne's flesh and blood. Your family has no right to punish him! If the Ballards insist on killing them today, don't blame me for going on a killing spree!"When Hugo had finished, Sebastian finally realized that Hugo was from Isabella's family and that he had stayed at the Ballard Estate to protect Samson.It was clear that Isabella hadn't held a grudge toward Samson. In fact, she had sent an expert to stay behind to protect him in case anything happened.Arnaud's
Sebastian threw his head back in laughter. He strode forward, standing in the center of the hall, and said coldly. "Ungrateful? How could you have the audacity to say such a thing?"Even if I'm surrounded by enemies, you Ballards can forget about making me submit! It's just death, after all. If I even blink, then I won't call myself a man!"Everyone there stared at Sebastian."How dare that brat be so cocky? If he's not punished, it'll be a disgrace to our family rules!""He should be given the death penalty!""It'll be a disaster if we just let him be, and it'll only bring trouble for our family. Please give the order, and we'll kill him at once!"The entire hall was in an uproar. Even Preston, who had been speaking up for Sebastian and Samson, sighed in resignation.Since Sebastian had already made his stance clear, Preston couldn't help even if he wanted to.Sebastian had roused the anger of everyone there, and Arnaud had closed his eyes and wasn't saying anything. He was cl
Sebastian was just about to step forward when Samson hastily waved a hand at him and said, "Sebastian, the grudges of the Ballard family from over ten years ago have nothing to do with you. Don't get involved!""But—"Sebastian's gaze sharpened as he turned to look at Milton. There was an icy glint in his eyes. Samson shook his head slightly at Sebastian. The Ballard Estate had at least ten experts at the eighth level of the Eldoria realm. At Sebastian's current level, trying to fight them would only bring him big trouble."Sebastian, one must learn how to adapt to the situation," Samson whispered into his ear using voice projection. "Today, I will exchange my legs for your and Whitney's freedom. Think of it as a payment for what I owe you and your mother."Sebastian clenched his fists tightly. He hated himself for being too weak. He couldn't even protect his own family in a place like the Ballard Estate, where many experts were gathered.However, he would never allow anyone to
"Do you accept it, Samson?" Arnaud asked harshly when he saw that Preston hadn't said anything else. He turned to look directly at Samson.Samson smiled bitterly and turned to look at Sebastian before raising his head to look at Arnaud, who was sitting high above them. He said, "Uncle Arnaud, I was the reason for everything that happened. I wish to ask you not to trouble Sebastian.""What are you talking about?" Preston was agitated. He stood up again and yelled, "There must still be an investigation about who was right and who was wrong. Why should they break your legs?"As he spoke, his eyes blazed with fury. He looked at the thin old man and said furiously, "Milton, you old bastard! How can you be so shameless at your age? Tell me! Did you embellish the story to Arnaud?""Uncle Preston!" Samson stopped him quickly and sighed slightly. "Forget it. It's my fault for bringing such huge trouble upon our family back then."I admit that I have let our family down. Since imprisoning m
As the man in the black robe yelled, the entire hall fell silent at once. The thin old man threw the black-robed old man a disgruntled look, but he returned obediently to his seat.Once the noise had died down, Preston stepped forward and swept an icy gaze over the crowd who were present. "You call yourself the elders of the family?"The monument of our ancestral dragon is right in front of you. How could you bully two young members of the family in front of it? Don't you feel any shame?"Besides, how dare you speak before Arnaud does?"After the harsh scolding they received from Preston, no one in the crowd dared to protest. Sebastian nodded involuntarily. It appeared that Preston did have influence in the Ballard family. At least no one had interrupted his scolding, including Arnaud and the man in the black robe.Preston huffed angrily and bowed to Arnaud, who sat in the middle. "Arnaud, I've brought Samson and Sebastian!"Preston went over to the chair next to the black-robe
"Sebastian, I won't be going in. Remember, don't say anything without being spoken to, and don't be impulsive!" Andreas said softly in Sebastian's ear when they reached the door to the hall. He then walked over to the crowd, which was packed on both sides of the hall.Samson and Preston walked into the hall without any change in expression. Sebastian hesitated for a moment before hurrying to catch up.When they reached the entrance, the two old men reached out to stop them and said to Preston, who was in the lead, "Preston, I'm afraid that it wouldn't be a good idea for you to go in. Everyone knows that you're biased toward Samson's family. If you get into an argument with Arnaud, then—""Nonsense!" Preston yelled furiously. He spoke in a menacing tone to the two old men. "Don't try those tricks with me. Today, I'm going to be the voice of reason. Who among you can do anything to me?"With that, he pushed them aside and strode into the hall.The two old men gazed after his ret
The Ballard Estate's resources were unfathomable as it was. Could Isabella's family be even more powerful than theirs?Sebastian clearly remembered that both he and Samson were under the Sacred Medicine Society. They even had the same mentor.The Sacred Medicine Society was above all the other mystic martial arts sects. Even the sect leaders of the Nine Sects were very respectful toward his mentor.If Samson really was from the same sect as Sebastian, then his mentor had clearly been unable to save him. Wouldn't that mean that the Sacred Medicine Society was no match for the Ballards?Wouldn't that mean that Isabella's family was an even greater entity?"If my mother's family is really that powerful, why couldn't they rescue my father? There would also be no reason to let me join the Sacred Medicine Society either, right?" Sebastian asked probingly. It seemed as if Andreas had never even thought about such questions. He smiled and shook his head. "You probably don't know about a