Luca was momentarily taken aback. How dare this brat hit him? He was the leader of the Apex, commanding three thousand followers!
The others were equally stunned, thinking that Darnell was being incredibly brazen.
Leroy and the others gasped in shock. With this, wouldn’t Woodsea completely sever ties with the Apex? It seemed there was no possibility for peaceful negotiations anymore.
However, remembering the humiliation they had suffered today, the villagers of Woodsea felt a sense of satisfaction at Darnell’s slap. Since both sides were bound for conflict anyway, they might as well enjoy seeing Luca get a beating.
At that moment, Darnell looked at Luca mockingly. “I hate being threatened. Now tell me, who are you?”
“Do you dare to hit me?”
Luca roared, his eyes wide in disbelief. “Do you know what the consequences will be?”
Smack!
Darnell slapped him again, asking, “Tell me. What consequences?”
Another palm print appeared on Luca’s face, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, leaving everyone in the room in a daze.
“You’ll die without a complete corpse.”
Luca gritted his teeth, declaring, “I can assure you, you won’t live past three days.”
As he spoke, blood flowed from his lip, creating a horrifying line down to his neck.
Nick, recovering from his shock, yelled, “Darnell, let my dad go right now! Otherwise, I’ll kill you!”
Callum and the others were equally enraged, threatening, “Let our boss go! Release him!”
Leroy and the villagers watched in terror, while Noemi couldn’t help but smile slightly, feeling a hint of admiration for Darnell’s directness and brutality.
“Let our boss go!”
“Quickly release Mr. Dane! Or we’ll kill you!”
“You little brat, how dare you harm our boss? I’ll wipe out your entire family!”
The Apex members were in an uproar.
“Kill me?”
Darnell looked at Nick and smirked, “Even if your dad dies, I might not even be dead.”
“Now, tell me, how do you want to resolve this?”
Hearing this, Nick felt a mix of anger and despair. What the hell! He injured their people, took his dad hostage, and now he was asking them how to resolve it?
“Shut up!”
Despite the blood flowing from his mouth and the dizziness in his head, Luca maintained his notorious underworld presence, commanding respect without anger.
“Kid, showing off is easy, but have you thought about the consequences of your actions? Have you considered what you’re bringing upon Woodsea?”
“Do you realize that those slaps you just delivered destroyed any chance of a peaceful negotiation between Woodsea and the Apex? From now on, we’ll be locked in endless conflict.”
“My three thousand elite members of the Apex will surely bring chaos to Woodsea.”
Upon hearing these words, Leroy and the other villagers furrowed their brows, clearly understanding the severe consequences of severing ties with the Apex.
“Old man, that’s exactly what I’m worried about.”
Darnell patted Luca on the head. “So tell me, how do we resolve this? If you can’t satisfy me, none of us will leave here alive today.”
“Oh no, only you won’t leave here alive.”
Darnell leaned in close to Luca’s ear, his smile radiant. “I’ll slice your throat and then run away. I’ll escape to a place where the police can’t catch me, and no one will be able to touch me.”
“As for Woodsea’s future, I won’t care. I’m just an ordinary tenant, a part-time handyman in the village, with no emotional ties to them.”
“So their lives or deaths don’t concern me at all. I’m only here today because I wanted to impress a girl.”
As Lillian felt her cheeks flush, Darnell’s smile was bright. He continued speaking to Luca, “Whether you live to see another day depends on your decision.”
While he was speaking, he dragged the shard of pottery across Luca’s neck, drawing a thin line of blood.
“You really are a bastard.”
Luca’s mouth twitched in anger, and he nearly fainted from the frustration. He had initially wanted to threaten this brat, but it had turned into a problem he needed to solve himself. If he had known, he would have kept his mouth shut.
But now, there was no choice but to comply with Darnell’s demands. He feared this brat would actually cut his throat.
If he died, it wouldn’t matter how much the Apex gained from taking over Woodsea. Even if his subordinates tore Darnell apart to avenge him, it would all be meaningless.
After a moment of contemplation, with a grim look on his face, he spoke, “Let me go, and I agree that the Apex will no longer set foot in Woodsea.”
Darnell replied coolly, “Those are merely empty promises. If you were in my position, would you believe yourself?”
“Would the villagers of Woodsea believe you?”
Leroy and the others chimed in, “We don’t believe him! These people love to go back on their word. They cannot be trusted. In a few days, they’ll find some reason to stir up trouble again!”
“Did you hear that? Even someone as naive as him doesn’t trust you. Why would I believe you? So your promises mean nothing.”
Darnell, still calm, held the shard firmly. “Use your brain again. Think of a foolproof plan that can reassure both me and the villagers of Woodsea. I believe you can do it.”
Luca’s face was grim, but he suppressed his anger and said, “I can swear to God, and I can sign a peace agreement in front of everyone. If we break it, you can expose it. That way, my reputation will plummet.”
“If my reputation is destroyed, I’ll never be able to survive in Whiteville’s underworld. Would that satisfy you?”
“Don’t believe him!”
Noemi interjected suddenly, “Five years ago, when the Apex was in a tough spot, Luca came to me, asking for five million, promising to ensure Woodsea would have peace for eternity.”
“He claimed that as long as the Apex existed, they would never trouble Woodsea. I felt pity for him and wanted to protect Woodsea’s peace, so I agreed.”
“We managed to scrape together some money to help him through his tough time.”
“But after his gang grew stronger and became one of the major factions in Northmoor, he forgot his initial promise and came back to cause trouble in Woodsea, demanding a fortune.”
“I called him a few times to remind him of the promise he made, and he said he didn’t remember.”
“Do you think this old guy’s words can be trusted?”
Leroy and the others nodded in agreement. “That’s right. We gave them five million with the hope of buying peace for Woodsea. Look at them now, coming to stir up trouble, simply ungrateful!”
Darnell finally understood. “I see now.” He shook his head. “In that case, his words really can’t be trusted.”
Luca’s expression changed.
“Noemi, don’t be ungrateful. I only asked for one billion because you helped me before. If it were the Crow or other gangs, they would have demanded at least two billion!”
Nick and the other Apex members all shouted at Noemi, “Shut up! If you don’t, I’ll take care of you!”
“Luca, you’re so untrustworthy…”
Darnell said slowly, “It seems I still can’t agree to your proposal.”
“Darnell, don’t push your luck.”
Luca couldn’t contain his anger and shouted, “I’ve already made significant concessions. If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do. If you have the ability, just kill me.”
“Let’s all die together!”
His expression turned fierce. “I’ll give you three minutes. Either sign the agreement I mentioned earlier and let me go, or kill me, and don’t expect to live happily ever after.”
“I don’t believe you can escape alive from my men surrounding you.”
Luca’s killing intent was palpable. “If I beg you today, even if I survive, I won’t be able to face my subordinates, and I definitely won’t be able to survive in the underworld.”
He glared at Callum and the others, commanding, “Start the countdown. Once three minutes are up, if he doesn’t let me go, you’ll kill him and everyone else here.”
After all, he was from the underworld. He was inherently ruthless.
Callum and the others hesitated for a moment before responding in unison, “Understood!”
“Who dares to touch Mr. Halford?”
Just then, the door was kicked open with a bang, and four Apex members near the entrance screamed as they were violently thrown outside.
In came seven muscular men with fierce expressions, each wielding a fire axe, radiating an intimidating aura.