The Southern general lowered his head in shame. For a moment, he was unable to respond. Governor Albert sighed and gulped the cup of tea in front of him. "None of us is to blame here. But none of us can measure up to the years he has sacrificed for this country." "Governor sir, we all understand that Kael has sacrificed a lot for the peace of our country," One of the Governor's closest advisors stood up. "But that doesn't necessarily give him the right to cause trouble in our territory because of the misfortune that has befallen him. If you order him to stop now, he should—" "Quiet!" Governor Albert dismissed his words with a wave of his fingers. "Even if I order him to stop now, can anyone bear the consequence?" As he spoke, he looked at the members of his cabinet. All of them were students personally trained by Kael himself. None of them would want to betray their master and go against him. "Listen to me. I trust Kael's character and I trust the character of the students h

Despite the powerful figures kneeling in front of him and paying their respects, Kael didn't even acknowledge them."Blade?" He gestured, stretching his hand out.Commander Sergio immediately pulled out a dagger hidden in his uniform.Kael swung the dagger in his hand like a toy and raised his head in Ben Rutherford's direction. The latter gulped fearfully and retreated backwards."I only wanted to seek justice for my wife and send you to accompany her. But it seems like that would be impossible now. So here is what we'll do—"Kael stopped swinging the dagger and pointed at him. "I will give you a chance to redeem yourself. Call someone to come over and kill me. If you can do that, you are free to walk away."Ben Rutherford's expression instantly turned bloodthirsty. His lips twisted scornfully. "Humph! Do you think you can act arrogantly just because you have Commander Sergio and officer Carson on your side?"These two men could indeed make things difficult for him but his family was

Military tanks equipped with cannons were standing on the debris of the ruined walls. Surrounding the tanks were several soldiers.The rumbling sound continued as they marched forward. Sterling's family villa seemed to be shaking under the impact at that hour.No, the entire mountain top was trembling!A servant rushed in from inside. His face pale as he called out to one of the patriarchs,"Master, it's... it's the Black Mist! The Black Mist and the Northern army have surrounded the entire mountain top!"THUD!The servant's words caused Ben Rutherford to fall back on the ground. The Black Mist? The Northern army?Isn't Black Mist the world's top assassin syndicate founded and led by a council of fifteen powerhouses?And the Northern army... the most powerful army in the whole of Valoria country. Why have they come?!From the troops of soldiers, a tall, heavily built man charged forward. His uniform was different from ordinary soldiers and there was a golden emblem on his breast plate

Multiple heads snapped up in disbelief. Just because they came to support Rutherford's family, Kael was going to kill them?! But they didn't even do anything! Before anyone could utter another word, the air shifted. The four patriarchs stiffened, eyes wide, before collapsing to the ground in silence.THUD! THUD!THUD!Within a minute, the old men who took sides with Ben were lying lifelessly on the floor. Kael coldly watched everything as he wiped off the blood on his hand with a handkerchief. "It's over now. All of you can leave," he waved his hands.As soon as he spoke, all the men who accompanied the aristocratic families scampered to their feet and rushed out. Kael on the other hand turned around and walked up to the Sterlings. Each step he took towards them was heavy and he seemed to have aged more.Derek looked at his lonely figure and felt extremely heartbroken. His lips parted as if he wanted to speak but in the end, he didn't utter a word.Kael looked at the frightened Ma

"Damn it! He didn't bite those little thieves to death!" The elderly guard kicked his feet in annoyance. Then he raised his voice loud enough for the children to hear from the other side."If you dare sneak in here again to steal offerings, I'll make sure my dog kills you!"Finn's forehead broke into cold sweat. He was shaking all over. He looked down at the scary, bloody wound on his leg where a chunk of his flesh had been torn off by that animal. RIP!He ripped off a strip of fabric from his sleeve and quickly tied it around his wound. It wasn't because he believed it would stop the bleeding, but because he didn't want to scare his sister."Finn, are you okay? Did that bad dog bite you?" Isla asked, her big eyes filled with anxiety as she stared at her brother.He clenched his jaw and stood up from the ground with great difficulty. He pretended to be calm and forced a small smile amidst the pain as he patted his sister's hair."I'm fine. That bad dog can't get to me." He looked aro