“They’re from the Morningstar family! Those b*stards have been forcing us to hand over the Crawford family’s assets for the longest time! As if that wasn’t already enough, they kidnapped Leo and Aiden as well! Either way, the now armless man goes by Harlo, and he’s here since today’s the deadline for us to hand our assets over!” explained Zack. “…Hah! The Morningstars are the most influential family now, kid! While I admit that you’re strong, don’t think for one second that you’ll be able to take on all the other fighters in my family! Regardless, if you have the balls, why don’t you challenge me to a one-on-one duel in public? If you allow me to return and heal up, I’ll surely give you a true taste of my family’s power! What do you say?” scoffed Harlo—who had his hand over the nub of his shoulder—as he slowly got to his feet, desperately trying to hide his pain under a façade. Upon hearing that, Stephanie was prompted to taunt, “Yeah! Challenge us to an official duel! Though I dou

Many years had passed since they last met, though Gerald could still remember hiring Harper into the Mayberry Organization the last time they crossed paths. Regardless, it was understandably flabbergasting for Gerald to see the current Harper in such a pitiful state… Gerald’s train of thought was cut short when he heard Ian yell, “Are you deaf? I told you to get the items up, didn’t I?!” Watching as Ian continued mercilessly punching and kicking Harper, the frightened audience couldn’t help but fall silent. After beating Harper up for a while, Ian stopped before laughing as he said, “…Hah! It seems I’ve made a fool out of myself! Regardless, don’t let my slave ruin the auctioning mood! Just to remind all of you, my family is massive, so we have everything you could possibly imagine! In fact, we have many other things that you’ve probably never heard of! With that said, as long as you’re willing to pay, you can buy anything you want!” “Then, can I bid for the head of a Morningst

“Oh, I assure you that you’re wide awake. Jokes aside, though I’ve healed most of your injuries, you still need more rest to fully recover! Regardless, how did you end up in such a state, Harper…?” asked Gerald. “It’s… a long story. Basically, after you brought me into the Mayberry Organization, Young Master Mateo—Zack’s son—, valued me so much that he promoted me almost monthly! With that said, the highest position I ever received was general manager of Mayberry Commercial Street! Along the line, I eventually got myself a girlfriend named Yasmin Lamer…” After a brief pause, Harper cleared his throat before adding, “…Sadly, I was stupid enough to believe that she truly loved me… Despite loving her with all my heart, everything started to crumble when the Morningstar family came along… For one, Young Master Lyle’s wife—Stephanie—quickly defected to the Morningstar family, and she even assassinated Young Master Lyle! I knew that the Morningstars did this to seize the commercial stree

“Well, it’s stated in the letter that they’re dealing with an extremely skilled boy by the name of Gerald! The boy’s so powerful that all three of you are needed!” said the child. Chuckling in response, one of the old men then replied, “I see. Well, we’ve mastered the sword technique anyway, so this will be a good opportunity to test it out on an ‘expert’. Hopefully the boy isn’t too weak, or using the technique will be a complete waste of energy! Tell them that we’ll go!” Watching as the three elders shook their heads, the child simply declared, “Right away!” Moving back to Gerald’s side, it wasn’t long before the Morningstars released Aiden and Leo, just according to plan. Naturally, Leo was utterly surprised and delighted to see Gerald, prompting him to exclaim, “Master! You’re here!” Back when Gerald had left for Yanam in search of clues, he had sent Leo back to Mayberry City to assist Zack. Because of that, they hadn’t met in years. With that in mind, Gerald couldn’t hel

Moving back to Harper, he had been able to obtain the position of the commercial street’s manager—under Young Master Mateo’s leadership—not only because he was a good friend of Gerald’s, but also because of his intelligence and hard work. With that in mind, Yasmin was honestly one of his few failures in life. Regardless, he was now helping Yasmin not because he was kind-hearted, but because he wanted to teach the man—who had coaxed her into betraying him—a lesson. After all, had it not been for that b*stard, Harper wouldn’t have had to experience the living nightmare of being sold as a slave to Ian! Either way, when they got to the pub, Yasmin immediately led Harper to the second floor… But upon arriving, there was nobody there. “…Where are they?” asked Harper “Oh, we’re right here, Mr. Sullivan!” declared a voice out of the blue before a group of men came rushing out of hiding! With the entrance now blocked, a young man walked forward with a sneer, prompting Harper’s face to