Having a powerful lord as a father figure, what's wrong with just wanting to draw cards?

"Although your sword is fast, my Flowing Water Fist technique is not to be underestimated. Moreover, you seem to have had your edges smoothed out by the lord's son, and you can no longer arouse my interest."

Laqad's words were like needles, coldly and incisively piercing his heart.

No one knew better than himself that his sword had long lost its initial confidence and sharpness, to the point that even a scoundrel like Laqad could ride roughshod over him.

He lay sprawled on the dirty floor, his mouth agape but afraid to breathe, the excruciating pain in his abdomen causing him to curl up like a shrimp.

"……help me……"

The Sword Saint grandfather residing within him sighed:

"Alger, I know that Dominic has cast a huge shadow over you, but you must face it bravely on your own."

There are always people better than you, and there are many people in the world who are more capable than you. But you don't need to be better than everyone else. You just need to be better than yourself yesterday.

"Overcome the shadows, that is the greatest obstacle on your path to becoming a sword saint, overcome it!"

After saying that, the old swordsman fell silent, as if he had temporarily given up on Alger.

"Overcome...how do I overcome that?"

"I can't beat anyone now. Rakad has crushed my last hope into dust..."

A group of henchmen surrounded Alger, punching and kicking him as he lay on the ground, beating him until his face was bruised and swollen, but he no longer had the strength to swing his sword.

It wasn't that he truly didn't have any, but rather that feeling of powerlessness left him physically and mentally exhausted.

At that moment, no one knew what he was thinking...

"Alright, you're going to die if you keep fighting like this."

The thugs dispersed, and Lakad walked up to Alger, lifting him by the hair with one hand, raising his head as well. Looking at Alger's swollen eyes, he sneered:

"Kid, you're still too green. Don't embarrass yourself with this level of skill. Go back to your mother's womb and practice for another ten years!"

After saying that, Laqad stood up, holding Alger's head, and then forcefully threw him toward the door.

He slammed onto the wall of the outer corridor with a thud. Seeing that his head was drooping and he was still breathing, Lakad clapped his hands and called it a day.

"Search his body. Use the money you find to repair the door. If you don't have any, strip him naked and sell him along with his sword to raise the money."

"Okay boss!"

Lakad turned around gracefully and reached out to hug the two girls again, only to see them looking at the door with surprise on their faces:

"Lord Rakad! He... that boy... he's stood up again!"

Chapter 118, Section 117: Love Sprouts in the Rain

"Oh my~?"

As soon as Laqad turned around, two of his henchmen flew past him, crashing into the gambling table behind him and knocking him unconscious.

Alger not only stood up, but his demeanor also underwent a dramatic change, to the point that he immediately kicked away two of his underlings who came to search him.

Laqad clapped:

"I knew it! How could someone as useless as you become a genius? You really do have some skills. So, you're a sword genius? Why did you pick up a sword then?"

Alger, with trembling steps, approached the splendid Raccard, his resolute eyes shining beneath his medium-length, tawny hair.

"I can't get over that hurdle, so I can't become stronger, but even so, I will still fight for those I protect!"

It seems that the mastermind behind this is definitely related to Princess Shia. Lakad has obtained an important piece of information.

Alger is currently in a wonderfully unparalleled state, so naturally he doesn't have any spare brain cells to think about what should be said and what shouldn't be said; he just says whatever comes to mind.

Therefore, after saying those words, he suddenly felt that the turbulent waves of his life had calmed down once again, and Shia was like his 'stabilizing force'.

As long as she is there, I will never feel lost, and my struggles will have a spiritual anchor.

A faint white light emanated from the blade.

Even the old sword saint didn't expect that the sword energy, which hadn't awakened by stepping out of the shadows, would appear because of a woman he wanted to protect.

He chuckled and said, "Protecting is also an important spirit."

With a flick of his arm and longsword, pale sword energy erupted, cleaving the floor in a 'Great Rift Valley', directly striking Laqad in the face.

But Laqad was never one to be trifled with. He quickly used his Flowing Water Fist technique, retreating in a flowing, water-like motion while skillfully deflecting the force of the sword energy. In the end, he completely neutralized the power of the entire sword energy, leaving himself unharmed, with only a few minor cuts on his hands.

At least he bled.

Alger smiled with satisfaction. Ha, he's still doing alright, hasn't he? He's got some skills after all.

However, Lakad was not going to give Alger any more face. If he had made a mistake when deflecting that sword energy, these cuts would have appeared on his neck.

He stepped forward with standard fighting steps, and Alger then realized that this strong man could move so fast, but agility was also one of his strengths.

Fists dripping with water kept whizzing past his ears, but none of them actually landed.

Just as Alger was attempting to counterattack from his solid defense, his stomach suddenly spasmed, causing his entire movement to become severely distorted, which gave Larkad the opportunity to seize.

"Oops……"

"You didn't expect that, did you? Like flowing water nourishing everything silently, the power of water has been churning in your stomach since the moment my first punch landed on you, all prepared for this moment!"

Lakad grabbed Alger by the neck and one leg, straightened his torso, and then slammed his knee into him!

That wasn't all; he kept kicking and punching, repeatedly striking the same spot.

puff!

Alger coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining Lakad's trousers and shoes red.

But this did not extinguish his anger; instead, it focused even more on his feet, the sound of each foot hitting flesh was exceptionally cruel.

"Why aren't you being arrogant anymore, young man?"

"You can unleash sword energy, right? Show me another one!"

"say!"

"Playing dead, huh! I'll teach you to play dead!"

Now, Alger truly could never stand up again.

Blood mixed with saliva flowed uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth, forming a small puddle, which Lakad then forced his head into, rubbing it repeatedly.

"Come on, taste yourself. Inhale it; maybe it'll even help you regain some blood~"

His face was wet with the liquid that flowed out of his own body.

Tinnitus... a buzzing sound.

Besides Laqad's angry curses, there were also countless jeers in his ears.

Vision began to blur, and darkness gradually enveloped the edges.

Never mind, none of that matters anymore, because beyond the light, Princess Shia, the one he wants to protect for a lifetime, will be waiting for him there.

"Dominic... I shouldn't have said yes... really, I was so stupid... but... thank you too..."

Thank you for making me more certain of Princess Shia's place in my heart, to the point that she became my spiritual support, and I could even use her to unleash sword energy.

"If I survive... I will become stronger and stronger... and then... defeat you."

Just as consciousness was about to completely fade away, Lakad's leg stopped in mid-air, and everyone looked towards the doorway.

"North, north, north... People from Beiluo Shimen?!"

The person standing between the two people wearing pure black hooded cloaks was Domi, with the tavern owner following behind.

Lakad recognized Domi, and then confirmed the identities of the two people next to him through association.

In fact, he was only afraid of Fomalhaut, not Domi, because Domi was still just a child. No matter how much power he had, other nobles could restrain him and he wouldn't be able to do anything.

But the appearance of Fomalhaut changed everything; it was a signal that the Bloomfield family was determined to exterminate them.

The people present were in chaos, frantically searching for any possible escape route.

"Master?"

"Kill them all, leave no survivors."

"As ordered."

Amidst the flashing swords and the clash of blades, moments later, only Laqad and Alger remained alive in the once bustling underground casino.

Everyone else, without exception, died from a single slit in the throat with a dagger, falling into their own pools of blood.

It was at this moment that Morey realized what it meant to 'say the most mundane things and do the most ruthless things'—hundreds of people were all sent to their deaths with a single sentence.

That's incredibly imposing.

He knew that Domi only brought two henchmen to do it because he was too lazy to do it himself; he was perfectly capable of handling it all by himself.

Domi slowly walked towards Laqad and said calmly:

"Originally, I just wanted to teach you a lesson so that no one would dare to covet this piece of the pie. Unfortunately, Alger is too useless. Well, I have no choice but to make an example of him."

"So that those ignorant little nobles won't live in peace for too long and forget what the Grim Reaper who holds the power of life and death is called."

Domi pointed his finger, and two thugs immediately stepped forward and killed Lakad, taking the unconscious Alger with them.

"They want to get involved in every little business opportunity they can get their hands on. Do they really think they're some kind of American tycoon?"

“Leave the body here. Morey, go over there and use Raccard’s blood to draw a Hearthstone Tavern sign on the carpet.”

"Yes."

Although Morey was reluctant to use human blood in his paintings, since it was Domi's order, he had no reason to refuse; any refusal would be pretentious and rebellious.

After watching him finish, Domi led everyone away from the underground casino.

The day after the incident, the whole city was in an uproar.

The local tycoon who had been operating in the underground casino was completely wiped out!

The infamous Cyclops, the master of the Flowing Fist, Laqad, was beheaded, and his blood was even used to smear the floor.

Now, everyone knows that the Hearthstone Tavern has a powerful backer, and all the nobles have fallen silent, trembling at the mere mention of the Hearthstone Tavern.

Who knows if anyone dares to mess with it again, and their own family might be the next to be slaughtered?