The shrill sound of the alarm tore through the night.
Blake had barely lain down when he was jolted awake.
A speed focused Awakened burst into Blake's bedroom in a blur.
"Mr. Ward! They are all Awakened outside. They tried to sneak in, but once they were discovered, they switched to a full frontal assault. They are too strong. We cannot hold them. You need to leave with me right now!"
"What?" Blake was both shocked and furious.
Dano's retaliation had come faster than he ever imagined, and far more brutal.
He had just finished laying out his countermeasures against Dano through Ward Group, and the revenge was already here.
That bastard had directly led people to attack the Ward family estate. Did he not fear provoking every major force in Old Shipyard Port? This was outright madness.
"Mr. Ward, please go now! If you delay any longer, it will be too late!" the speed Awakened urged.
But in the next instant, a flash of cold light appeared.
A sharp blade pierced straight through his chest and emerged from his heart.
Dano stood behind him, a cigar clamped between his lips. No one knew when he had arrived.
"Ben!" Blake roared, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot.
Once, long ago, a child had collapsed by the roadside, skin and bones, on the brink of starving to death.
People passed by endlessly. Some looked at him. None stopped.
Blake had taken pity. He had handed the child a steaming bowl of noodles and watched him devour the food he fed him, one bite at a time.
That day, Blake decided to take the child in.
The child did not disappoint him. He grew up to become Blake's most trusted right hand.
Ben could clearly feel his life draining away with the blood pouring from his body. Yet he forced himself to turn, enduring the pain, and wrapped his arms around Blake.
"Mr. Ward, run!"
The severely wounded Ben let out a hoarse, desperate roar.
"You are not afraid of death?" Dano asked with some surprise.
"My life was bought by Mr. Ward with one bowl of noodles," Ben said with a twisted smile. "It is not worth much."
"How touching," Dano said calmly. "I respect loyalty. I will leave you with a complete corpse."
He nodded, expressionless, then snapped his hand.
Crack.
Ben's neck was twisted apart.
"Dano!"
Blake's eyes were blazing red. Rage had completely consumed him.
He yanked open a drawer, pulled out a black handgun, and fired at Dano without hesitation.
But before the gun could discharge, a long blade gleaming with cold light flashed past.
In Blake's stunned gaze, the hand holding the gun was severed and sent flying.
"Using a gun against an Awakened," Dano sneered. "How stupid can you be?"
Firearms might work against someone newly awakened, but once an Awakened reached level thirty, guns were nothing more than toys.
"In your next life, remember not to stand against me," Dano said coldly. "I only kept a low profile. I was never gone."
He raised his blade, ready to finish Blake.
At that moment, a subordinate rushed over and whispered something into Dano's ear.
"What?" Dano's expression darkened. "They got away? Useless trash."
He slapped the subordinate across the face. The blade meant for Blake was lowered.
"Mr. Ward," Dano said with a smile. "Congratulations. Your son and that Zayne ran fast enough. You get to live a little longer."
Since Francis and Zayne had escaped, Blake could not be killed yet.
If Blake died, Francis would have nothing left to lose.
Dano had no intention of leaving loose ends. If he acted, he would act thoroughly.
He planned to use Blake to lure them out, then erase them all.
"Do not even think about it!" Blake snarled.
He immediately understood Dano's intention. Without hesitation, he slammed his head toward the corner of the wall.
His son was his only weakness. He would never allow himself to become the reason his son died.
But Dano would not allow it.
Before Blake could reach the wall, a sharp chop struck his neck and knocked him unconscious.
"Take him."
In less than thirty minutes, everyone inside the Ward family estate was dead, except for Blake.
By dawn, the name of the underground king Dano would once again shake Old Shipyard Port.
After testing his combat power, Zayne returned to the gates of the Ward estate.
The first thing that hit him was the overwhelming stench of blood.
Zayne's pupils contracted violently.
Even after hiding here, Dano still refused to let him go? Even if it meant wiping out the entire Ward family just to capture him?
Zayne had a chilling suspicion that Dano already knew something about his secret.
If that was true, then Dano could not be allowed to live.
As Francis moved to open the door, Zayne stopped him and spoke quietly.
"You should prepare yourself."
"Zayne, what are you talking about?" Francis said, still unaware of anything wrong, and pushed the door open.
The moment he stepped inside, he froze.
Zayne followed his gaze.
Before them lay a scene like a slaughterhouse from hell.
Corpses of hired Awakened and household staff were scattered everywhere. Limbs were strewn across the floor, blood pooling beneath them. Terror was frozen on many faces, as if they had seen a true demon before dying.
"Zayne… are we in the wrong place?" Francis forced a horrible smile and took a few steps back. "This does not look like my house."
He searched Zayne's face for denial.
But Zayne's grim expression told him the truth.
This was the home Francis had lived in for over a decade.
Francis charged inside like a madman, splashing through blood and bodies.
"Dad! Dad, where are you!"
His voice shook with terror.
He wanted to find his father as quickly as possible, yet he was equally afraid of discovering Blake's corpse in this sea of death.
When he reached the bedroom door, his heart was already in his throat.
With the resolve of someone ready to face death, he pushed it open.
The room was clean, as if it had been deliberately washed.
On the table lay a single severed hand, still gripping a gun.
Francis rushed forward. He recognized it instantly.
It was his father's hand.
Beneath it was a piece of paper, pinned down and written in blood.
"If you want your father alive, bring Zayne to the underground black market. Every six hours, I will cut off a piece of your father."
Francis completely lost control.
"Dano! I will kill you!"
Screaming hysterically, he rushed toward the exit, determined to fight Dano to the death. Only Dano had the power to abduct Blake from the underground.
But just as he reached the door, Zayne kicked him back.
"Get out of my way!"
Francis glared at Zayne with pure hatred. Anyone who stopped him now was his enemy.
Seeing that Francis had lost all reason, Zayne did not waste words.
He slapped Francis hard across the face.
The strike carried no restraint. With a sharp crack, half of Francis's face swelled instantly.
"Mr. Ward is alive right now because you have not fallen into Dano's hands," Zayne said coldly. "The moment you do, you and your father will both die."
Francis clenched his teeth as tears streamed down his face.
"Ah!"
He pounded the ground violently, venting all the rage and despair in his chest.
"Then what am I supposed to do? What can I do?" he roared, like a beast driven into a corner.
"Hide," Zayne said calmly. "Find somewhere safe and do not get caught. Everything else… leave it to me."
"Leave it… to you?" Francis looked up in a daze.
"Mr. Ward is in danger," Zayne said with a faint smile. "How could I possibly stand by and do nothing?"
"Zayne…"
Francis broke down completely, guilt flooding his heart.
He had been calculating and exploiting Zayne all along, yet Zayne treated him with nothing but sincerity.
How could he not feel ashamed?
"Stop crying," Zayne said. "I will bring Mr. Ward back. And I will make Dano understand how terrifying a Forbidden Spellcaster can be when he no longer cares about his own life."