Chapter 14: Ten Billion

Words : 1712 Updated : Dec 17th, 2025

Zayden Lyson was completely dumbfounded. He had woven an airtight dragnet to stop anyone from wrecking his sixtieth birthday banquet. To Jaden Waller, that dragnet might as well have been paper. "You think a gun is enough to kill me?" "Ridiculous." Jaden spoke with open contempt, his eyes cold and scornful. "You… you're in the Innate Realm!" Zayden's face drained of color, and he began to back away. "So what if I am? So what if I'm not?" He did not even know his exact realm. He only knew Nier was roughly at Grandmaster, and he stood far beyond any Grandmaster. "Dad, what do we do?!" Louie Lyson blurted, panic all over his face. He had never imagined even a sniper rifle could not do a thing to Jaden. How could anyone be this strong? "Young man, do me a favor and let this end here," an aquiline-nosed elder stepped out from the crowd and said. "It's the deputy master of Schipp Manor, Aaron Schipp!" "Zayden actually got him to come? No wonder the Lysons are one of the Four Great Families!" "Schipp Manor is the strongest force in Jenos's underworld!" "On par with the Wolf Gang!" "More importantly, both forces have Innate Martial Artists sitting in town. Their strength can't be underestimated. Even the Four Great Families avoid provoking them lightly!" "What are you to me? Why should I give you face?" Jaden said flatly. The entire hall was stunned. The air turned to ice. "Bold brat, how dare you speak to me like that? Do you even know who I am?" Aaron Schipp's face went dark as he glared at Jaden. "I don't give a damn who you are. If you don't want to die, get out of my way," Jaden said, voice like frost. "You're courting death!" Aaron struck first, raising a palm and slamming it toward Jaden. "You're the one courting death." Jaden appeared in front of him in a blink. His kick snapped out like lightning and sent Aaron crashing to the floor. He lifted his foot and stomped down hard. Crunch! Aaron's body bent like a bow. Blood burst from his mouth. His eyes bulged as if they might pop. "Y-you… even your father back then didn't dare talk to me like this!" Aaron coughed blood as he spoke. "Don't mention my father. You're not qualified." Crunch! Jaden's heel came down again. Aaron Schipp's chest caved in with a wet crack. Blood sprayed across the floor. Silence fell over the room once more. "Aaron Schipp was an Innate Martial Artist, and he got one-shotted!" "Is that guy even human?" "Aaron had only just stepped into the Innate Realm. It makes sense he wasn't a match." "I'd say Jaden Waller is at least mid-stage Innate." "Anyone else want to stand up for the Lyson family?" Jaden asked, sweeping the room with his gaze. People averted their eyes. No one dared meet his stare. Feet shuffled as the crowd edged backward. "You… you killed the deputy master of Schipp Manor! Prepare to face our wrath!" one of the hook-nosed elder's men shouted, pointing at Jaden. In the next instant, Nier appeared behind them like a wraith. "Don't point at the young master." Splat! They died without even knowing who killed them. Staring at the fresh holes that had opened in their bodies, they toppled into a pool of blood. "Jaden, spare me today!" Zayden Lyson dropped to his knees. "From now on, the Lyson family will bow to you. We will have no second thoughts." "When you bowed to the Waller family back then, didn't you say the same thing?" Jaden smiled. "No second thoughts? An opportunistic turncoat like you has the nerve to say that?" "I have one question. The people who came to seize my father and drove my mother to her death that night-who were they? Who did the Waller family offend? Tell me, and I will let you live." That was why he had come today. "I truly don't know who the Waller family offended," Zayden said, not daring to hide a thing. "I swear to the heavens. That night, the entire city of Jenos went into lockdown. The streets around the Waller estate were sealed tighter than a drum. Not even a fly could have slipped through. No one could get close. I did send people to dig for news, but they found nothing. All we learned was that the troops seemed to have come from Berton." "You have three days to produce ten billion dollars. If you don't, I will wipe out the Lyson family," Jaden said, his voice ringing in the hall. "T-ten billion!" Gasps rippled through the crowd. Jenos's entire annual GDP was only a little over twenty billion. Three days to gather ten billion? Impossible. It was a death sentence in disguise. "We really don't have that kind of money," Zayden said helplessly. "Your Lyson family doesn't, but the Four Great Families together do. Borrow it or find another way. I don't care how. If you can't raise it, you die," Jaden said. "Back then, you four turned traitor. You plundered the Waller family's holdings while we were down and made our servants' lives hell. Ten billion is already letting you off easy. "And one more thing. In three days, find every person who left the Waller estate back then. For every one missing, I will kill one member of the Lyson family, until none are left." "Yes. I will raise the money and find the people," Zayden said through gritted teeth. "Let's go. The wedding should be starting," Jaden said to Nier. They vanished a second later. Only after Jaden left did the black cloud over the Lyson estate finally disperse. Zayden let out a long breath, then slapped a nearby table to splinters. His sixtieth birthday banquet was ruined. There was no point in continuing. "Everyone, show yourselves out," Zayden said, issuing the order to clear the hall. The guests took the hint and hurried away. When the last of them left, only corpses and a handful of servants remained in the Lyson estate. "Carry the bodies away," Zayden told a servant. "Bury them properly." "Yes, Master." "Louie, call your sister. Tell her if she doesn't come back, I'll be killed," Zayden snapped. "Understood, Father." Louie clenched his teeth. "Once Sis hears, she'll rush back. Once brother-in-law arrives, Jaden Waller is as good as dead." "Send word to the Four Great Families immediately. Have them come to the Lyson estate to discuss how to deal with that Waller remnant."

Chapter 14: Ten Billion

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