“It’s not fair, Elaine. I’ve never seen that man before. It’s not fair that Dad gets to make that decision or me!”Eileen complained as she held Elaine’s hand and wiped her tears. Elaine knew that Eileen was referring to the arranged marriage between the Hoffmans and the Fraleys that was widely discussed in Cloud Province. However, Elaine was no stranger to this. Coupled with the fact that this was the Fraley family’s matter, all she could do was offer her consolation. “Your dad has already set his mind on this. Even if I want to, there’s nothing I can say to convince him otherwise. Maybe he thinks that since the Hoffmans pretty much rule Cloud Province, marrying their eldest son would benefit both families and promise you a secure future.” “Eldest son, my foot! That’s a lie!”Eileen scoffed before Elaine was done talking. “Ferdinand Hoffman has a fiancé already! The Hoffmans are marrying me to some guy from a subsidiary branch!” ‘Subsidiary branch?’Elaine frowned.As the
Three days later, right outside the hotel.Fred and Stellar were bidding Tyne and the others goodbye. Just as they walked out of the hotel, they saw Lord Eland waiting there for them. He greeted them courteously, “Master Hoffman, are you ready to leave?” “Mhm.” Fred nodded with a smile. “My sister will be staying in Safe City for a little longer.” “Rest assured, Master Hoffman.”Lord Eland patted his chest confidently. “I’ll arrange quite some men from Saddle Mountain to come over for the meantime. Now that Flower Neck and the others are dead, I believe there won’t be any further issues. But even if anything were to happen, I assure you that I’ll protect Miss Yates and the others.” “Good.” Fred nodded and smiled. “Then I shall head to Cloud City assured.” ‘Cloud City?‘Where the Hoffmans are, huh?’Despite having an inkling that Fred was leaving to meet the Hoffmans, Lord Eland still felt his heart skip a beat when he heard Fred confirm it. He asked immediately, “Should I
“How dare you?!”Before Fred could say a thing, Stellar had already shouted in fury when he saw the side door.Despite knowing that the Hoffmans would deliberately trouble Fred, Stellar had never expected them to treat him like an animal before he had even gotten into the mansion. Through a subordinate too, no less.There was no doubt that the Hoffmans were humiliating Fred. Stellar, who had always idolized Fred, could not accept such humiliation to his idol. “W-What do you want?” The subordinate jolted in fear when Stellar shouted at him. Stellar was a warlord, specifically one born out of the warlord gentry, the Walkers. No ordinary person could endure such a shout.Just then, a laid-back voice rang out.“What’s going on? I was just planning to take a walk. What’s with the commotion?” A look of joy replaced the fear on the subordinate’s face as he turned around. There stood a young man with arrogance written on his face as he slowly walked over, surrounded by m
“I heard that the bastard child has arrived?” Fabian asked.Elders of the Hoffman family had already filled the grand hall. Fabian, the head of the family, slowly walked out from the backyard and took his seat at the top under everyone’s gaze. “Indeed. He’s standing at the door now. It seemed like he’s displeased about having to come in through the side door,” said one of the elders. “Displeased?” Fabian sneered. “What does a bastard child have the right to be displeased about?” “He doesn’t know his place yet.”The elder smiled. “But Ferdinand has already gone over to take a look. I’m sure he’ll teach that bastard child a good lesson in knowing his place.” Fabian nodded. “Ferdinand is not only the heir to our family, but he’s pretty much all-around perfect. With him out there, I’m sure he’ll be able to resolve this perfectly. We need only wait…” Boom!Before Fabian could finish talking, a loud sound erupted and everyone in the grand hall jolted.Some elders could hear
“There isn’t much that requires my respect anyway,” Fred said expressionlessly as he came to a stop.Fabian’s fury grew as he roared, “Do you want to die, brat?!”Then, Fabian pointed at the subordinate beside them and scoffed. “What are you waiting for? Go break his hands and legs, then drag him into the grand hall for further punishment!” “Yes, Mr. Fabian!” Then, the subordinates began to surround Fred.At the same time, Stellar had also gotten out of the car and made his way beside Fred. “Great One…”“Break their hands and legs,” Fred instructed calmly.Then, he walked away.“F*cking idiot!” The Hoffmans smirked.As the local tyrant in Cloud Province, the Hoffmans’ subordinates were no ordinary men. Each of them was a fighter who had gone through rounds of selection. What else was Fred, if not an idiot, to just walk away without a care? The subordinates looked at Fred with disdain, and one of them even stepped forward. He raised his leg to swipe at Fred’s with a
He got slapped? Fabian, the head of the Hoffmans, was slapped across the face so hard that he fell to the ground in front of his family? Not only were the Hoffmans shocked, but so was Fabian himself. Fabian cupped his injured cheek where he sat on the ground. It took him a while before he could get his bearings together.Following his realization came fury.“You brat! How dare you disrespect your elder?! How dare you hit me?!”Fabian got up and roared. He glared at Fred as if he wanted to eat the younger alive. “Brat?” Fred shook his head. “Looks like some people never learn.” Then, without any hesitation, Fred raised his palm and swung again. Smack!Fabian scoffed and wanted to reach out to grab Fred’s hand. As the head of a family as great as the Hoffmans, Fabian had naturally learned some self-defense moves. In fact, he could be considered a master at self-defense. He believed that while Stellar was a powerful fighter, Fred, who had not even turned 30 yet, would
‘Don’t have the right?’Damian flushed with fury when he heard this. He had never viewed Fred as his grandson and had been calling him a bastard child for as long as he could remember However, he was still the elder of the Hoffmans and could not accept being treated like that by a bastard child. Damian trembled with anger. “You insolent child! Have you no respect for our family’s regulations?! Bring me a stick so that I can beat this insolent child until he dies!” One of the employees in the Hoffmans’ mansion jogged indoors. Soon, they returned with a sturdy wooden stick. Without a doubt, this was the ‘family regulations’ that Damian was referring to. Anyone who was hit by such a thick and sturdy wooden stick would surely end up severely injured, if not dead.At the same time, Fred narrowed his eyes.Everyone knew that the revered Great One had an ‘eye for an eye’ attitude. To Fred, the Hoffmans were strangers who happened to be related to him by blood. Whether he
‘Just like that?’Harper was shocked. He did ask for Fred, but he did not expect Damian to agree so easily. He had no idea that when Fred said they had no right, Damian had already been planning how he wanted to kill Fred. Coupled with the fact that the marriage was no more and Fred was useless to the Hoffmans now.Even if Harper did not ask for Fred, Damian would still kill him after Harper left. “So this is the Hoffmans’ pawn?”While Harper and Damian were talking about handing Fred over to Charles, Eileen also noticed how everyone else was looking at Fred. She knew that Fred was the person from the subsidiary branch that the Hoffmans had chosen to marry her. After looking Fred up and down, Eileen could not help but mutter, “He’s so ordinary! He’s just a lowly member of the family’s subsidiary branch! He doesn’t even hold a match against Charles!” Eileen nudged Elaine and asked, “Don’t you think so too, Elaine?” ‘Don’t I think so too?’Elaine was flabbergasted, and
Marciella walking away did not bode well with the giant snake. Marciella was its food! How could it accept that its food had escaped?Marciella had not moved far yet. She reluctantly looked back at Fred.She did not know how Fred would handle the River God. She could only hope Fred would be okay!When Fred saw that she had left, he geared up, rubbing his palms in glee. He had an eager look on his face, which confused the giant snake.It was the snake’s first time meeting a man like Fred!How strange indeed!At this time!Suddenly, Fred said with hostility etched on his face, "Hey, Big Snake, what are you going to do now?"The snake's attention was entirely focused on him, which seemed off to Fred."What I’m going to do?"The giant snake fixated its eyes on Fred. It felt that it could handle a human like Fred easily.“I’m going to kill you with one bite! How dare you look down on me like this!"The giant snake rushed toward Fred fiercely at a speed so fast that no one could
Fred was annoyed by the giant snake's arrogant tone. Fred squinted his eyes at the snake and asked in confusion, "Why are you making that face?"“Huh?"The giant snake was shocked. He thought that Fred would submit to him, but to his surprise, Fred was not shaken at all.The snake was about to lose his temper.“Dirty snake, haven't I made myself clear enough? I think you are probably sleep-talking if you want me to hand over my people to you..." Fred said impatiently.At this moment…Feeling that it was being ridiculed, the snake said suddenly, "You punk, this is the first time anyone spoke to me this way. What is your name?"“Me?"Fred was stunned subconsciously, not knowing what the snake wanted. Suddenly, he understood.“Did you want to know my name so you can remember me, bow down before me, and become my follower? Sure, I’ll give you that chance!"He was adding fuel to the fire. The giant snake almost spat out blood in anger!"What? You want me to follow an immature bei
Huh!?Putting aside Marciella, even Fred could not hide his shock as a giant snake appeared from under the water!A giant snake!How could it be!?Fred's eyes widened at the sheer size of the snake. "A Giant Snake… Is this the so-called River God?"Moreover, the size was humongous. The snake must be at least ten stories high!What a huge snake!Fred finally understood why he felt a powerful force under the water!There was a sharp glint in the giant snake’s eyes! That was the blinking light from time to time!"Who comes here? Are you from the village? Who do you plan to sacrifice to me this time?" As soon as the giant snake spoke, Fred realized that this was not the first time it had done this.The snake seemed familiar with the ritual process. Obviously, the villagers had witnessed this giant snake before. This was the meeting between the two sides! Fred felt uncomfortable at this. As for the giant snake, it felt bemused when it saw Fred. The snake had never seen Fred befo
Fred was going to risk it all to open this girl's eyes!The force from the punch was extraordinary! As soon as the tree was hit by the seismic fist, it fell immediately and the whole tree split neatly in two!Marciella was dumbfounded!Although she knew how powerful Fred was, to witness his power was a different thing entirely!"Master Fred, your power is insane!"Marciella could not help but applaud.Fred seemed indifferent, as though he had no feeling at all about this."Is it? Why do you think so?"He looked so indifferent.For Ancient Martial Arts, things did not get any simpler than this!"You’re so strong. Anyway, I don’t doubt you anymore..." Marciella sighed, suddenly feeling very sad. "This is the reward of being educated. If we were more knowledgeable, we wouldn’t be so clueless.”"Haha, if you can't solve your issues, your descendants can work harder," Fred said with a wink.Marciella said, "Mr. Fred, I needed to ask you something! What if our luck was changed ju
What Fred said aroused her curiosity."What does it look like when you offer a sacrifice?"Fred knew he could not speak of this matter. Sure enough, Marciella felt a little downcast after Fred said the words. She did not know why Fred would say such a thing. Suddenly, Fred felt bad about it.He coughed and said, "Don't think too much about it... I just want to find a clue. Maybe we could find a solution. Why does it never rain in your village?""Huh?"Marciella's eyes, which were still a little dejected, suddenly realized what was important and asked hurriedly, "Mr. Fred, are you saying that the reason why it never rains in our village is because someone is behind it?"Although Fred was unwilling to admit it, he could not help but nod. "Yes, this is exactly what you thought!""For real?!"Marciella felt hopeful again when she heard this. She said hastily, "The thing you asked about is pretty simple. You can just check out that place!""That place?"Fred turned around to see w
Marciella found herself nodding in agreement with Fred's harsh assessment. "You're spot on," she said. "That woman is nothing but vile!"Seeing Marciella's reaction, a rare smile crossed Fred's face as he nodded back. "Glad you see it my way," he said.What caught Fred off guard was the villagers' reaction. One by one, their faces turned ashen with despair.It seemed to them that nothing could be worse than the predicament they were facing. The absence of the witch spelled doom for the village—it was like their last shred of hope had vanished. They had all put their faith in her to charm the River God into blessing them with rain, which would have brought some peace to their troubled lives. However, now their chances seemed to have dried up just like their fields. Fred stood there, his face a mask of serenity amidst the chaos.In the moments that followed, the village chief was a picture of despair, his only option was to send everyone home while he racked his brain for a backup pl
"What?"Fred did not even have time to blink before the witch suddenly made a move.It was like a bomb went off.Kaboom!Then, she was dead!Fred dusted off his hands, even surprising himself with his lack of tolerance for the witch.Now, though, he had a real headache. He had planned to clear the air with the witch and lay out the past so everyone would know the full picture.He thought that might just turn things around.The situation changed when she vanished, and Fred's plans were completely derailed. Then again, changing the villagers' minds was not going to be a walk in the park anyway. They were pretty set in their ways, thanks to all the stuff they had been fed.As such, just talking it out might not cut it. Heck, it could even mess with history!With the witch out of the equation, Fred figured he might as well try a different tactic. Maybe if he took out the guy in the cloak and worked his own magic to bring some rain, it could save a lot of hassle. The more he thoug
"No way!"The witch bristled with defiance. She could not accept that she was no match for Fred.As she noticed Fred's focus was locked on her, a sly idea popped up in her mind.Before she could act on it, though, she found herself pinned against the wall by Fred in a flash...Her face contorted in disbelief. She was pinned so tightly that she could not even move!The witch was completely overpowered, her heart racing with panic.How could he be so much stronger than her?Fred, on the other hand, seemed unfazed."What's going through your head? You don't seriously think you can take me on, do you?" Fred asked, his voice laced with skepticism.The witch felt utterly trapped, as if at any second, Fred might just finish her off."Look, I messed up, okay? Can we not do this? I'm old, just a pile of brittle bones—I can't take this kind of rough treatment!" the witch pleaded with Fred, trying a new tactic to get through to him.Fred was not falling for it. He looked at her with a
"Heh, I caught on to you a while back, you know. You've been tailing me, and I'm pretty sure you're here for me. Plus, you don't have the look of someone from our village. That means you are an outsider, and I'm your target, right? Listen, man, we don't have any beef with each other, so why are you sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?"The witch had sensed the raw power rolling off Fred, and it was enough to send shivers down her spine!At that moment, she knew that challenging Fred was not going to be a walk in the park! If she had spotted him earlier in the forest, it would not have been good news for her. For starters, she had no clue how many tricks Fred had up his sleeve, and if he took her down, she and her buddy would be toast.However, the witch was not about to let Fred take her out without a fight! She racked her brain and finally settled on one strategy!She would try to sweet-talk him, hoping Fred would fall for her words just like everyone else, and fall into he