n

n

n'Thup! Thup! Thup!'

nImmediately... several men from heaven knows where, jumped out from different locations all wearing black.

nSome even jumped down from the trees 'Ninja' style, as they rushed to surround the 'traitors'.

nJamed looked around nervously, and soon..... the smile on his face slowly faded away, as he quickly understood what was going on.

n.

nIn a blink of an eye, James and his men were all surrounded by over 600 knights.

nEven he was surprised at how many people his father kept as secret guards.

nWasn't Alec supposed to have only 100 secret guards with him?

nJames had brought out 300 guards just to ensure his victory.

nBut of course, he had miscalculated and underestimated his father's shrewdness.

nThis was the ruler of Arcadina he was attacking.

n.

nJames stood there lifeless, as he soon realized how foolish he had been.

nAlec on the other hand, walked calmly towards his disappointing son in rage.

n'Pah!'

nThe crisp sounds of Alec's slap, resounded through the quiet night..... and it instantly sent James flying through the air.

nOf course Alec didn't stop there... as he quickly rushed towards James, grabbed his hair with his right hand, and used his knee to hit James' chin and neck.

n.

n'Bam!!'

n

"Ugh!..... ahh!

"

nJames screamed out, as blood suddenly gushed out from his mouth.

n'Slpuhhhh!

"

nAlec looked at the pathetic wimp in front of him, and sneered.

nHe then used his left leg to crush James' right hands.... while using the other leg to kick James who was currently on all 4's, as many times as he wanted.

nAlec's entire weight had now been placed on James' right hand.

n.

n'Bam! Bam! Bam!'

n

"Ugh!... Father.....

"

n'Bam! Bam! Bam!'

n'F...fath

"

n

"_

"

nThe more James tried to talk, the more Alec kicked him hard.

nHe had made his choice, as Alec had asked him if he really wanted to walk down this path.

nSo there was no turning back now... even if he was his son.

nAlthough Alec loved James, he loved himself way more than anyone else.

nSo when someone tries to kill him, then there's only one possible outcome from it all.

n.

n'Bam! Bam! Bam!'

n'_'

nFunny enough, whenever James was kicked, due to the momentum from the kick... his body wanted to fly backwards.

nBut because Alec's left leg was firmly gripping James' right hand.... the whole scenario occured like a stretched elastic band.

nAs James would always end up coming back to his original position, no matter how many times his body wanted to fly backwards.

nAnd everytime it responded so, it felt like his right arm would soon rip out of its sockets.

n.

nAll the guards from both sides gulped at Alec's brutality towards his own son.

nThey could see blood trickling down James' head, as it were a fountain of some sort.

n.

nFinally, after countless kicks..... Alec suddenly released his hands and gave enough distance between them.

nAnd soon, James thanked the heavens for giving him a breathing chance.

nBut of course, before he could offer up his prayers, Alec came running in again like an angry hippo.

n.

n'BAAAMMM!!!

"

nAlec kicked him hard on his chest, and James literally rolled more than 7 times back.

n'Splughhh!!'

nJames' spat out more blood, as he looked at his father with hatred filled eyes.

n.

n

"Get up!!

" Alec said coldly, while looking at his trembling son.

nHe soon held James' neck, and pulled him up to his feet... while strangling the boy.

n

"Since you are my son, I'll let you fight me like a man.

nAt least in this way, you'll die with some sort of honor.

"

n.

nJames who heard this, knew that the verdict had already been announced.

n

n

nHe was going to die today!

n

"Sword!

" Alec yelled, and soon... one of his men rushed forward, picked up James' sword that had been thrown a little distance back..... and placed it on James' bleeding and swollen right hand.

nHis hands looked like they had been mutated with some mysterious creature which was both hideous and deadly.

nIt now had a green-purplish tone to it, as well as pieces of torn flesh on it too.

nAnd why wouldn't it look like that?

n.

nPreviously when Alec was brutally kicking James... he had been balancing his entire weight on James' right hand, so of course it was swollen.

nIn truth, James' fingers felt numb..... as even when he tried to hold his sword it kept dropping to the floor instead.

n.

n'Palanglanglang!'

n

"What?

nAfter taking a little beating, you cant even hold a sword?

nTsk!!..... I thought you were tougher than that.

nBut it turns out that you're just as weakling!

"

nIt was like those words unleashed James' rage... as that was the word he hated the most.

n'WEAKLING'.

n.

nWhen Landon was still around, he wasn't the weakest.... but after Landon's departure, everyone kept comparing his achievements with that of his brothers.

nAnd no matter how hard he tried, no one had ever appreciated his efforts... unless he bribed them to do so.

nIn a way, he felt lonely... as he didn't have any real friends as well.

nHe lived his entire life trying to please this father of his..... and at the end, it was totally worthless.

nIn everyone's eyes... he was still a weakling.

n.

nLike magic, that word made him forcefully feel sensation in his numb fingers.

nAnd soon, he gripped his sword while gritting his teeth in anger.

n

"Don't you ever call me that!

" He said, while running and carrying his staggering body towards Alec.

n.

nHe swung his sword at full force towards Alec's neck, as he tried to kill the giant in one full swoop.

nBut of course, Alec ducked, and punched his belly once more..... and his spat out blood again.

n

"Are you joking right now?

nIs this the best you can do weakling?

"

n

"SHUT UP!!!

nIf.... if....if you hadn't crippled me earlier, I'm sure I would've defeated you by now.

"

n

"Hahahhaha..... not even in a million years.

nAlright!

nSince you can't fight anymore, then there's no need dragging this on for so long.

nFather is done playing with you now.

nSo go to sleep.... Forever!!!!

"

n.

nIn a flash, Alec ran up to James... and took out a dagger from his back pocket.

n'Slice!!'

nIn one swift move, the dagger sliced the front of James' neck MIDWAY.

nAnd soon, the head fell backwards... while still hanging from the back of his neck.

n.

nJames' eyes were still wide open from shock, as he didn't think his father would kill him without any warning.

nBut he did!

nThe bastard finished him off just like that!!

n'motherf***er!!!', he thought... as he saw his life flash before his eyes.

n.

nDuring his final moments, for some inexplicable reason.... he soon began to think of his mother.

nIt was at this moment that he realized that the person he loved and wanted to see the most was actually that mad woman.

n'I'm sorry!' He said to himself, hoping that she would somehow get the message.

nThose were his last thoughts... before he lost consciousness, and slowly left the Hertfilian world.

n.

nEli, Connor and Cary.... had all witnessed their brothers fall from their individual hideouts.

nPreviously, they had been waiting for him to come along.

nBut when he didn't show up, they sent out teams to secretly check out the situation.

n.

nAnd when they heard that James had made a move, they decided to wait in the shadows and kill the victor as well.

nBut seeing how prepared alec was... who knew how many more if his men were hiding out in the bushes?

nJust from watching all this go down, instantly..... they knew that tonight, they would have no chance at dealing with this father of theirs.

n.

nOnce James fell, his 300 guards all knelt down and waited for their own verdict as well.

n

"Bosco!

"

n

"Yes your majesty!

"

n

"Don't you think that it's a waste to kill perfectly good war weapons?

nTorture them for a year, before sending them to our base instead.

" Alec said, while wiping the blood off his dagger with his clothes.

n.

nAlec's mind kept wandering around.... as he thought about the secret message that he had received 2 nights ago.

n

n

n1 of your sons is planning to take your life.

nBring at least 600 guards with you wherever you go.... or else you'll die on your birthday.

nOf course, the message was longer than that.

n.

nAnd at first, he thought it was a joke.

nBut when he thought of his own past, he decided to abide by the note's instructions.

nLucky for him..... he was saved by this mysterious stranger.

n.

nIn his mind, this person had good Intel and resources.

nSo if the note said 1 of his sons wanted to kill him... then didn't that mean that his other sons didn't want him dead?

nThinking like that, it was just James that was the bad seed here.

nBut of course, Alec couldn't be more wrong.

nUnbeknownst to all those around.... and even all those hiding within the bushes, the organizers of the whole event were watching as well.

nThey were having their own Private Show with the snacks that they had gotten from Baymard.

n.

n'Crunch!' Crunch! Crunch!

n

"Sh!!!!!... keep it down.

nThis is the best part!!

" Someone said in a whispery tone.

n

"Sorry.... but they're so good.

"

n'Cruuuuuuunchhh! Cruuuunnnnch!'

n'_'

n

n