Frank stood at a corner, his eyes growing cold as he stared at Rob's conceited expression."Frank Lawrence, was it?"Jan Lionheart strode over, folding his arms before his chest as he sneered at Frank. "I heard you've been messing with my family a lot of late.""So?" Frank replied as he strode up, shielding Vicky and the others behind him."Don't get so nervous. I'm not interested in you… for now."Jan grinned as he flicked his ink-green military coat. "But you should strut while the Lord of the Southern Woods is still alive… You will pay your debts when he's gone."Frank's expression stiffened, and he quickly demanded, "Debts? What debts?""Heh—I'm not obliged to tell you," Jan shrugged. "If you know what's good for you now, you will take your girl with you and get out of the Turnbull Estate right now. That way, you'd at least live a little longer."He was not hiding his threat at all, while Frank flashed his teeth in a grin after a brief silence. "Jan Lionheart, was it? Do yo
Jan smiled faintly, "He's arrogant, but he's strong. Right now, your objective is to save your strength and subjugate every Turnbull at the central ballroom, and rise as the new head of the Turnbull family. No loose ends.""Yes, sir." Rob Turnbull nodded, saluting Jan in turn before leading his men away.Before he did, he leveled a cold, murderous look at Frank as if his fate was sealed.Soon, the doors of ballroom three closed with a loud bang, leaving just Frank and Jan.And seeing that there was no one else around, Frank looked up and asked, "So, the challenge issued by the South Sea Crow—that was you?""Indeed." Jan nodded and grinned. "You need an appropriate excuse if you want to claim control over a big cake like the Turnbulls, don't you agree?""Where is she?" Frank demanded, narrowing his eyes.Glen had told him the challenge was the South Sea Crow's own writing, meaning that it was definitely Ciaran Zobel.And Jan had her."I've dealt with her."Jan said calmly just
With a resounding bellow, Frank's pure vigor projected away from him, condensed and solid, red and black.It assumed the form of a gigantic arm in the air, seizing the black lion by the neck."Die!" Frank growled, and pulverized the black lion with a slap, with the ensuing shockwave of pure vigor destroying the entire ballroom too."Hehe… So you are at least worth something!"Jan was laughing amid the buffeting winds.He threw away his ink-green coat and whipped out a machete gleaming red, then vaulted over the debris as he leapt toward Frank."That blade…"Frank could tell immediately that the machete Jan whipped out was not your ordinary blade.At once wary, he projected a spiraling burst of pure vigor around his hand and punched it.Clang!There was a ring clash of metals as the blood machete withstood Frank's punch.Frank's physicality was now at Ascendant rank, and that meant that the machete was not forged from ordinary metals."Hahaha… not bad! It's impressive that y
"Stop."Even as Til was about to escort Vicky and the others away, Rob and his men intercepted them.Vicky scowled even as she stared at the barrels aimed at them from every direction. "Are you really so bent on becoming the next head of the Turnbull family right now?! You'd rather believe the slander someone outside your family tells you and kill your own father for it?!""Save your breath."Rob met Glen and Vicky's glare without flinching, even declaring proudly, "Everything I do is for the sake of this family's future! As the head of the Turnbull family, I will integrate the branch families with the main family, and only then do we have a chance to get out of this mess! You're old now, Dad—time to give it up!""Rob…"Glen murmured feebly even as Vicky kept him on his feet. "Do you really think Jan Lionheart is sincerely helping you and our family? Hasn't it crossed your mind that he would turn on us once you unified the family, using you as his puppet to indirectly control our
But what came after that?Jan's little display of power in ballroom three had certainly left Til terrified.The man did not even flinch as dozens of martial artists attacked him, instead going on to massacre them, bathing the ballroom in blood.No one could even reach that man, while Til watched as everything unfolded, his morale completely crushed by his fear of the man's power.After all, Jan had reached a pinnacle in strength Til could not even hope to reach in life, and worse of all was that black lion conjured with pure vigor.It blocked out the sky and incinerated the ballroom in an instant.Your average martial artist simply could not hope to reach that level. Til already regretted listening to Frank earlier and fleeing with Glen, Vicky, and the rest.This was the last chance he was given, and he gave in to his fear after a brief silence.He quietly backed away, pulling Kiki along and letting Rob take Glen, Vicky, and the other Turnbulls.Seeing that, Kiki finally showe
However, Rob heard Vicky too."Come back for you? Frank Lawrence?"He sneered, heartlessly crushing Vicky and the others' fantasies. "Jan isn't just the best soldier in Draconia—he's the best across Draconia! He alone suppressed the northern savages, and that makes him no different from the Lord of the Southern Woods to an extent. He could handle those maggot martial artists by himself, and that manwhore you're pinning your hopes on is no match for him."Rob felt smug even as Vicky and Glen turned pale, though he was also feeling curious about what was taking Jan so long.Still, he had his orders and he knew this could not drag on—he had to seal the deal before the Turnbull branch families caught on.Hence, he ordered his men to escort Glen and Vicky to the biggest ballroom in Turnbull Estate.Naturally, his men already had the place under control—hundreds of soldiers were congesting the ballroom and around it. Every Turnbull executive and the branch families who were here were a
Shrugging, Rob said, "Frank Lawrence… died in the fight against the South Sea Crow."The members of the Turnbull family, however, appeared suspicious toward his noncommittal response. Some even saw through him right then and were quietly considering how to make their exit."Ahem…"Rob cleared his throat to draw everyone's attention back to him, and smiled, "Since I've accomplished the feat of slaying the South Sea Crow, while my father suffered quite the shock, we've agreed that I will take over as the head of the Turnbull family. Right, Father?"All Glen felt was a bitterness in his throat as he looked at the threatening smile Rob shot at him and turned toward the members of the Turnbull branch families.They were all waiting for his answer, just as Glen came to realize what Rob meant earlier when he mentioned a bloodbath.If he refused Rob, the soldiers waiting outside would charge in with their guns and massacre everyone in this ballroom, leaving none alive.After that, he wo
"I have three announcements to make."Rob held up three fingers as he looked around at the members of the Turnbull branch families and spoke coolly, "The first: Turnbull businesses will no longer impose a embargo against the Lionhearts, and the Lionhearts must be given a thirty percent rebate in any trade deal.""What?!"All the members of the Turnbull branch families turned pale in shock.They were the top in Draconia in business, and they used to offer the Lionhearts the best rebates they could. It was only because the Lionhearts repeatedly tried to usurp or bring down their family that Glen imposed the embargo and ceased any partnership or trade with them.While the Turnbulls suffered losses over that, it was acceptable especially in contrast to the massive losses the Lionhearts had to deal with.But now, Rob was demanding the restoration of trade relations with the Lionheart as soon as he became head of the Turnbull family, even giving them thirty percent rebates for everythi