"Have you heard? The Carlisles have convened a meeting with the prominent figures in East City and Transcendalia. Who are they targeting?""Don’t you know? It’s the Fantastic Group! I heard that the chairman of the Fantastic Group had offended our young master, and even threatened to make the Carlisles step down as overlord of East City!""Fantastic Group? That's the number one Super-Consortium in Somerland, isn't it?""So what? Let me tell you some news. I heard that the foundation of the Fantastic Group has been hollowed out recently, and they’re now just an empty shell! Otherwise, why would the Carlisles dare to summon so many people to fight against them?"Supreme Splendor Group in Fairville, East City…This was not only the largest consortium in East City, but also the property of the Carlisles, the overlords of East City.At this moment, similar rumors were circulating inside and outside the Carlisles’ compound.Everyone was very excited.After all, they were talking abou
"Heloise, my dear niece, how are the Terras’ preparations?"Julio asked the question lightly as his gaze move around the room and slowly landed on a woman.Everyone present could not help showing a hint of ridicule in their eyes when they heard the question.The Terra family was the overlord of Transcendalia.They had a strong alliance since they were the in-laws of the Carlisles. In fact, the Terras were even stronger than the Carlisles.Unfortunately, Artemis Terra, the patriarch of the Terras, died of a sudden illness three years ago. He left the family empire to his daughter, Heloise, who was only 18 years old.A young, fresh-faced 18-year-old girl, was clearly no match for Julio, the Patriarch of the Carlisles.Within a mere three years, the Terras lost their influence as the overlord of Transcendalia, even though they maintained the position on paper!At this moment, Heloise's face turned pale upon Julio's questioning. She hurriedly said, "Ready... everything is ready! B
‘Fred is here?‘He actually came to seek trouble?’Everyone was baffled after hearing such a thing. Even the expression of the infamous heir of the Carlisle family, Roberto, darkened. Seconds ago, he had just claimed that should Fred dare to make his way over, he would surely have the younger man kneel and plead for mercy. However, Fred arrived at their doorstep right after he had spoken so confidently. Roberto’s cheeks burned with humiliation.“Damned brat! How dare he act so arrogant when his company is nothing more than an empty shell?! I’m going to…” Roberto clenched his jaw.However, before he could finish talking, his father, Julio, interrupted him with a scoff. “Calm down. Why entertain his last attempt at a struggle? If Fantastic Group is as powerful as it once was, then perhaps things would be different. But now? Pfft…” Julio then turned to the housekeeper who reported the news and said, “Bring him over. I’d like to see just what he’s capable of.” “Yes, Mr. Ca
So, what was going on now?The first thing Fred did when he walked in was not talk about Fantastic Group’s situation in East City and Transcendalia, nor did he bring up what the Carlisles had done. Instead, he asked if the Carlisles were ready to hand over their position as the overlord of East City? They had never met someone so arrogant before.In fact, the word 'arrogant' might not be enough to describe Fred. It was audacious to say such things in such a tone when Fantastic Group had been rendered an empty shell of a company. “Puny brat! Who the f*ck do you think you are? How dare you talk to us like that?!” Roberto stood and shouted, furious about Fred’s disrespect.He might have been afraid of Fred back in Odinshov Temple and Mount Prosper, but that was when they were on Sunrise Islands. No one would stand up for him if Fred killed him there. Not to mention how Fred was greeted by the prime minister of Sunrise Islands too, which spoke volumes about his identity. However
Deathly silence filled the room.Gazes fleeted from Roberto, who had been kicked out of the room, to Fred, who was clapping the dust off his hands.Everyone was frozen in shock as they could not believe what had just occurred. Fred Hoffman dared to kick Roberto, the heir of Supreme Splendor Group and the Carlisle family, out of the Carlisles' Supreme Splendor Building in front of everyone.None of them understood where Fred’s bravery and confidence came from. The head of the Carlisles, Julio, was too baffled to react. Everything happened too suddenly and inexplicably that he had yet to wrap his head around it.Quickly, though, fury and wretchedness spread across Julio’s features as he roared. “How dare you?! How dare you attack someone on my territory, Brat?!” “So what if I do dare?” Fred asked calmly and uncaringly.‘So what?’ Julio flushed purple with anger.In no time, he calmed himself down.He was not as impulsive as his son.As the head of the Carlisles, Julio quick
Suddenly, he smiled. “You seem very confident that you’ll be able to acquire Fantastic Group.”Everyone sneered.‘Confident?’Why would they not be confident when Fantastic Group was just a shell corporation? There was no doubt that they would be able to acquire Fantastic Group. Not to mention that this would be a coordinated attack by the various families in East City and Transcendalia.After checking up on his son and realizing that he was alright, Julio stood slowly and scoffed. “Why, brat? Are you finally afraid? If not for the fact that the stock market has closed for the day, I would've had Fantastic Group’s businesses in East City and Transcendalia filing for bankruptcy!” “Afraid? That word doesn’t exist in my dictionary. Not that you have the power to make me afraid anyway.”Fred continued calmly, “But since you’re all so confident, I’ll give you a chance to prove yourselves, hmm? Let’s hope that you don’t disappoint me when the stock market opens tomorrow morning.”
40 billion only? Overestimated them?’ Heloise could not believe her ears when she heard his uncaring tone. That was not four million or 40 million but 40 billion Somer Dollars.There were only a handful of powers within Somerland that could pull out such an astronomical sum of money.Of course, if Fred’s Fantastic Group was as it used to be, Heloise would not think twice before agreeing with Fred. However, everyone knew that Fantastic Group was an empty shell of a company now. In other words, Fred was one step away from filing for bankruptcy as far as she was concerned.Yet, the man could still look down on 40 billion Somer Dollars and conclude that he had overestimated the Carlisles and the others.From Heloise’s perspective, Fred was either preposterous and ignorant or he still had no idea of his current situation. “Mr. Hans, Mr. Zamir, could you…”Heloise turned to Hans and Zamir who stood beside Fred. Both of them had been managing Fantastic Group’s properties in E
The next day, almost everyone involved in the business scene in Transcendalia and East City had set their sights on the stock market.There was no other reason other than that there were rumors that Supreme Splendor Group, which was under the Carlisles’ control, would join forces with a total of 32 consortium families in East City and Transcendalia to acquire the properties under Fantastic Group. The rumors had been stirring around as early as two days ago.Of course, while it sounded like an acquisition on the surface, it was no longer a secret that Fantastic Group was an empty husk.To a discerning person, this so-called forceful acquisition was nothing more than a one-stop operation to strike the stock market fiercely and snatch Fantastic Group’s properties freely.The stock market opened at nine o'clock.Heloise had rushed over and was already at the East City branch of Fantastic Group where Fred was by seven in the morning. She had brought with her all of the Terras’ availabl
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