Kayden slowly withdrew the saber. The blade gleamed without a speck of White Wolf’s blood on it. Satisfaction crept in as Kayden thought that he himself was in a rather good condition. At least, he had regained the familiar sensation of killing.
He raised his hand, lightly tapped the saber, and muttered under his breath, “This is a fine weapon!”
Then, he moved the saber from view and strode toward White Wolf.
As Kayden advanced, White Wolf’s fear began to dissipate. No longer trembling, he stared back with a look of calm resignation, as if ready to face death. “Are you going to kill me?”
Kayden only remained silent. His cold gaze was fixed on White Wolf’s stark white brows.
A faint, strained smile tugged at White Wolf’s lips as he spoke, “If you’re going to kill me, then do it. To die at the hands of a genius like you… I wouldn’t regret it.”
Though for years White Wolf had been respected as a genius, he had never encountered anyone like Kayden before. After being thoroughly defeated by Kayden, he realized just how insignificant his own talents were in the face of true genius. And at this moment, he felt an unexpected sense of satisfaction in knowing his defeat had come at the hands of someone truly exceptional!
Kayden’s derisive sneer cut through the tension. Without a moment’s hesitation, he slammed the saber down with a terrifying force, embedding it deep into the floor beneath them.
Goddammit! The floor was composed of solid granite! What’s more, it was reinforced with a thick layer of cement, yet the blade sliced through it as if it were butter! Kayden’s power was nothing short of monstrous.
“Go back and ask your master,” said Kayden in an icy tone. “He’ll tell you who I am. And you will take pride in the fact that I severed your arm. From this moment forward, that severed limb will mark the greatest honor of your life.”
His words dripped with an arrogance so overwhelming it seemed to fill the entire room.
Such arrogance! It was beyond anything White Wolf had ever imagined, and beyond his wildest understanding.
Yet White Wolf knew he had no right to protest. After all, the one standing before him had the arrogance to match his strength.
Just then, Kayden’s thoughts suddenly flickered to Sophie’s reluctant, almost sorrowful expression. He couldn’t explain why, but he felt an unsettling premonition. He had a bad feeling that something bad might be about to happen to her.
With a cold sneer, he added, “And tell him, if anything happens to Sophie, I’ll tear his house to the ground!”
He directly turned and walked away after that.
White Wolf stood frozen, watching Kayden’s retreating silhouette until it vanished beneath the dim glow of the streetlamp. Only then did his hand slowly reach for the hilt of his saber.
Tonight, White Wolf learned one harsh truth.
In Seclela, there was always someone stronger, someone above you, lurking in the shadows.
Though he’s unwilling to accept it, this was the truth!
It was a hard, unchangeable truth that he could never defeat this man!
White Wolf picked up his severed arm, gripped the saber tightly, and, lurched to his feet. He melted into the night, disappearing into the ink-black darkness.
The night.
It deepened further, swallowing the world in its cold embrace.
A gentle breeze stirred the air as if to erase every trace of what had just occurred.
By tomorrow, some might notice the shattered floor beneath their feet, but none would ever know the true story of what happened here.
Meanwhile, in an office within the Sports Center.
This was the same Sports Center where the martial arts exchange had taken place not long ago. The office was sparsely furnished with a long rectangular table, cups, and tea resting quietly on its surface.
The clock read 10 PM. At this hour, the Sports Center should have been deserted.
Yet, within the office, two rows of people were seated!
On one side of the table sat several elderly men from Seclela. These were no ordinary seniors. Their faces were weathered with age, and even the youngest among them was no less than sixty. Yet, despite their years, their eyes gleamed with sharpness and vitality, their presence commanding respect. These men were no strangers to power!
They were the same group of judges from the martial arts competition last time!
On the opposite side of the table sat a group of foreigners.
They were the very same provocateurs from the foreign association who had arrived in Seclela not long ago to stir trouble!
But of the judges from the last event, only one had returned-the elderly chairman of the foreign association, the one with the white beard.
But this time, his companions were far more intimidating. They were all dressed in battle attire. Their faces looked hard and grim, and their eyes were sharp with murderous intent.
At the center of the foreigners sat a man with a buzz cut, who looked like in his thirties and radiated an aura of ruthless authority. His face was covered in a dense, scruffy beard, and his eyes glinted with a shade of yellow. Below them, a deep scar from a knife wound ran across his face like a permanent reminder of his violent past. His natural looks were already intimidating, but when combined with those bloodshot eyes full of cold malice, and the jagged scar beneath them, he exuded an unmistakable air of danger.
His body was a mass of solid muscle, so bulky that it seemed as though his clothes might tear at any moment. His physique was reminiscent of a character straight out of a movie, Boyka, the brutal fighter. No matter how you looked at him, this was a man you did not want to cross.
Flanking him were two other bulky men. Though seated, they carried themselves like towering pillars of strength. As they sat upright, they looked like two immovable giants.
The trio exuded an aura of strength and intimidation, filling the room with an oppressive energy.
The once-stern and respected elders of the Seclela Martial Arts Council now shrank in their presence. These elders turned to something fragile and uncertain, and their eyes betrayed the fear creeping into their hearts.
The tension was suffocating. The Seclela elders sat frozen. Their brows all furrowed with a deep anxiety, and their faces looked ashen!
The foreign man with a buzz cut was the deputy commander of his nation. He came to Seclela, following the order of his general, the brother of the man Kayden had killed in the arena. As a deputy commander, the man’s rank was equivalent to that of Greedy Wolf in Seclela.
His eyes scanned the room, cold and unblinking, until they locked onto Chairman Eduardo.
“Chairman Eduardo, the consequences are clear, and you have two options. First, hand over the one who killed our general’s younger brother. We will take him back to have him receive the punishment. This will be the end of it, and your country’s relations with ours will remain undisturbed. Second, if you refuse…” He let the words hang in the air, thick with menace. “We will declare war on your country. And when that happens, the suffering will be unimaginable. The devastation will be unlike anything you’ve ever seen. This is not a result any of us want.”
The defiant look in his eyes and the arrogance radiating from his posture were all saying that he was warning Colson Eduardo!
And though that warning seemed aimed at Colson, it was really a threat to the whole Seclela!
Colson’s tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed. He snorted dismissively, struggling to maintain his pride. “Yes, he’s your general’s brother, and so what? He killed five of our men! Accidents happen in the arena, and it’s all part of the game. Fists show no mercy! The president of your own martial arts council said as much.”
Colson’s gaze sliced toward the white-bearded old man sitting on the opposite.
With a tone that could freeze the air, he demanded, “Why is it that when your man dies, it’s cause for war, but when we lose people, it’s ignored? This is unfair!”
Colson’s defiance was completely unshaken by the mounting pressure from the other side.
The white-bearded elder’s face flickered with barely controlled anger. He let out a cold snort, then sneered, “You lost five men, yes, but just some insignificant pawns, some weaklings, really. But the man we lost was our general’s only brother, the only family he had left. They grew up together, relying on each other since childhood. How could you compare him to those nobodies!”
The words stung, but Colson didn’t flinch. He didn’t rush to anger.
Instead, he burst out laughing. There was deep mockery in his laugh that echoed with contempt.
He was laughing at their shamelessness!
They were shameless beyond belief!