Wine dripped from Lin Yue’s clothes.
With a flick of his wrist, he flung the remaining drops of wine that were still running over his fingers straight onto Reno’s face.
Then he slowly took out the handkerchief from his chest pocket and wiped the damp stains from his shirt.
Calm and composed, as if the man in front of him had never been worth his attention from the beginning.
“No wonder people say the heirs of the Kris Chamber of Commerce are all useless.”
“Seems they’re not wrong.”
“…Though that only applies to the men.”
Reno was stunned by this brat who had suddenly jumped out.
He hadn’t expected that this woman who always kept to herself would actually have someone willing to stand up for her.
The anger in his heart burned even hotter.
“I’m dealing with my own family matters. Since when does some outsider get to stick his nose in? Who the hell are you? Family matters—”
He turned his head, using his eyes to ask Mapel what she thought.
But he discovered that she, who had just been arguing so fiercely, now seemed trapped by some unpleasant memory.
It had clearly shaken her state of mind.
“Sigh…”
Lin Yue hated seeing people look this fragile the most—especially Mapel, who was usually so lively and mischievous.
He turned his head and replied coldly: “Someone like you… actually dares call himself her brother?”
Reno gave a cold laugh and began hurling insults without restraint.
“Heh… That bastard child should feel honored even to call me ancestor. Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong!”
Lin Yue stepped forward, just about to retort, when several people sitting nearby hurriedly stopped him.
“Both of you, calm down…”
Most of the people present either had no magic at all or had only just touched the threshold of becoming a warrior or mage—at most first-tier beginners.
Reno’s combat strength was practically a dimensional difference compared to them.
Looking at Lin Yue, who appeared so young, they assumed he probably didn’t have much fighting power either—at best similar to Mapel.
If a fight broke out, who knew how badly the place would be wrecked.
Some people around them rubbed their foreheads and sighed, while others quietly shifted their seats two places back, as if they were already used to scenes like this.
Reno, drunk, sized the two of them up.
He noticed that Mapel—who usually stayed far away from men—had unconsciously moved closer to Lin Yue, even placing her hand on his back.
He immediately sensed that their relationship wasn’t ordinary.
“Oh… I get it now. You were lured here by this little fox spirit, weren’t you?”
His gaze swept up and down Mapel’s body with an extremely unpleasant look, not treating her like a sister in the slightest.
“Heh, no wonder she’s a bastard. Even the things she does are just like her mother.”
Mapel seemed to have had the most painful part of her heart stabbed.
Her hand trembled slightly, and the intense unease she felt transmitted itself to Lin Yue.
She hadn’t expected this man to go mad like this in front of so many people.
She didn’t care what the others thought—many of the core members of the Chamber already knew about it.
But having her wound exposed in front of Lin Yue…
That feeling… was unbearable.
“Just like mother, just like daughter. Nothing but a cheap street whore—”
Slap!
Before he could finish the sentence, Lin Yue’s hand came whistling across.
The crisp, resounding slap echoed through the room.
At that moment, the sharp sound of the slap rang in everyone’s ears like a strangely pleasant piece of music.
The people around looked at Lin Yue with shocked expressions, their eyes wide as if to say: This kid’s got some nerve!
“Lin Yue…”
The one most shaken internally was undoubtedly Mapel, who was being shielded behind him… At this moment, a hundred different emotions surged within her heart.
Lin Yue’s actions had instantly filled the empty unease inside her, leaving her unsure how to process it.
Time seemed to stop, and that indescribably racing heart fell upon her once again.
“Have you said enough…?”
Lin Yue’s gaze was colder than the distant snow-capped mountain peaks, and suppressed beneath it was a fury on the verge of eruption.
The dissatisfaction building up deep inside him was even greater than when he had rescued Airella back then.
SMACK!
Lin Yue slapped him to the ground again.
Before Reno could react, he fell flat on his face.
“Don’t think that just because you’re on your home turf, no one dares touch you.”
“Using such disgusting language to insult your own sister… It just shows you’re nothing but an ill-bred brat yourself.”
Reno, who had never suffered a loss before, covered his face from the ground, his worldview seemingly shattered, his expression unreadable as he clenched his teeth tightly, his pupils trembling.
He slowly climbed to his feet, the murderous intent in his voice like a ferocious demon trying to devour Lin Yue.
“Fine… You’ve got guts, daring to hit me…”
Since you’ve slapped my face in front of all the shareholders and that bastard, you must be prepared to be beaten into mincemeat…
In an instant, the battle aura of a peak Tier 1 warrior burst forth from his body.
Even though he’d been drinking and his aura was somewhat diminished, the oppressive force could still be felt.
…
“Hiss… Wait a minute, you’re that guy from the market!”
The man, sobered up by that slap, finally look carefully at the guy standing in front of you.
Clearly saw the person in front of him…
“So what if I am?”
Lin Yue hadn’t wanted to show his teeth, but if he didn’t act now, Mapel’s future authority would be further weakened.
Added to that, the identity of an ‘older brother’ weighed as heavily as a thousand-pound burden in Lin Yue’s heart—how could it be defiled by scum like this?
He couldn’t fathom that there really were men in this world who addressed their own sisters like that; it had struck his deepest nerve, and he could no longer remain calm.
Whether it was bullying others using power at the market, or provoking Mapel’s authority in front of so many shareholders—he couldn’t stand for it!
Besides, Mapel wasn’t a character strongly tied to the main plot.
If managed well, perhaps she could become the key to his return.
And he couldn’t swallow this anger either.
“Hahaha, I couldn’t touch you outside… but in my own home, I won’t let you act so arrogantly!”
Lin Yue didn’t move.
He just stood there with his arms crossed, calmly waiting for him to strike.
Reno, now in front of him, put all his strength into a punch aimed at Lin Yue’s face, even using a battle skill to enhance his physique, determined to smash that handsome face to pieces…
He hit Lin Yue, but felt no solid impact—only that his fist had extended into emptiness.
When he came to his senses, it had already smashed through the glass elsewhere in the conference room…
“You…”
Before he could react to what had happened, Lin Yue’s knee followed swiftly, kicking and breaking a rib on the side not reinforced by his battle skill.
He saw it at a glance—this was the most basic warrior skill: Battle Aura Coating.
Only this fool had only coated his hands and legs; his skill was incomplete, his aura unstable.
Lin Yue seized the opportunity and sent him flying.
Reno’s pupils contracted.
Before he could even cry out in pain, Lin Yue struck with a knife-hand blow that shattered his nasal bridge, showing no sign of holding back.
He staggered from the blow, and just as he tried to stand again, he was kicked in the chest, sliding across the carpet all the way onto the broken glass he had shattered, leaving him covered in blood.
None of the surrounding shareholders understood what had happened; Reno, considered strong among Tier 1 warriors, had been taken down, their eyes filled with shock.
Just as Lin Yue, his face dark, stepped forward to continue, the middle-aged man named Luca called out to him: “Young man, I don’t know what Mapel sees in you, or what you’re trying to gain… Take my advice, don’t wade into these muddy waters.”
He stood with arms crossed, seemingly seeing through the future of this so-called top-tier force at a glance.
“I admit you have courage, but… the Chris Chamber of Commerce is not what it used to be.”
“You’ve also seen this ugly scene inside the within the chamber of commerce… internally , inside the guild. You have no reason to stay here anymore.”
“Leave now. I believe Mapel won’t let him come after you.”
He took a deep look at the emotionally conflicted Mapel, having said both the kind words and the harsh ones.
“Thank you for the advice.”
Lin Yue stopped in his tracks, standing still.
“But I… don’t need it.”
With that, he approached Reno, grabbed him by the collar…
“What are you going to do? I’m warning you, the Emp—PFFT!“
Lin Yue didn’t wait for him to finish his threat; he slammed his fist directly into Reno’s face, knocking out several of his teeth.
Adhering to the principle of left fist for high damage, right fist for even higher damage, he practically embedded Reno into the glass shards, blood pooling all over the floor…
The bodyguards outside wanted to intervene, but with the conflict being between the Third Miss and the eldest young master, it was difficult for them to step in…
Although Reno was the one who hired them, they were still aware that Mapel was the true head of the Chamber of Commerce.
After a while, when the situation behind them seemed to have escalated enough, the bodyguards tried to enter and help Reno up.
But Lin Yue mistook their intention as a hostile move.
The magical power of a Tier 2 mage surged forth, his brown pupils slowly beginning to shift to crimson as he shot them a fierce glare…
“Th-this… No mistake! He’s actually a Tier 2 mage!”
At this moment, even those who had been most contemptuous of Lin Yue had to admit that this young man Mapel had brought in was no ordinary person…
On the continent, compared to warriors, mages were still relatively few in number—one could say they were rare.
Most people’s bodies were only suited for training as warriors; even if they possessed innate magical power, it was difficult to channel.
Because of Avelina’s presence, the Empire had far more mages than other places.
But overall, they were still rare.
Scarcity breeds value.
[Lin Yue Hawk] might be said to have lackluster talent, but that was only in comparison to Avelina’s students—his potential was capped.
Compared to those beneath him, he was still incredibly impressive.
Being able to advance to Tier 2 so quickly couldn’t be separated from Lin Yue’s continuous hard work and the encounters he’d experienced.
An eighteen-year-old Tier 2 mage… even in all of Avelina, there were only a handful like him, let alone elsewhere.
Upon witnessing the quality of Lin Yue’s magical power, it was as if they were seeing a brilliant supernova rising…
“Who the hell are you?!”
Reno, his words mixed with bloody spittle, looked up weakly with his swollen eyes at the man standing over him.
To possess such combat power at such a young age—just what was this person’s identity?
Lin Yue let out a cold snort, finally removing his wig and revealing his identity, his brown pupils scanning the reactions of those around him.
“Lin Yue Hawk…”
Seeing that conspicuous black hair, all the relatively calm and well-informed shareholders present were stunned, some even rising to their feet involuntarily.
“What?!”
“That once renowned warrior family…”
“Mapel actually chose them…”
“But why is this man a mage?”
Several of them began to murmur among themselves, realizing that his presence here signified something utterly insane.
Lin Yue glanced at Mapel and noticed she gave no further instructions, tacitly approving his actions.
“Nobility…”
Reno glared at this man through gritted teeth, as if this black-haired man were the very culprit responsible for ruining his family.
Then, like a stray dog, he fell unconscious.
“Take him out.”
Mapel finally composed herself, resuming control of the meeting…
Upon hearing her command, the a few soldiers or several warriors immediately hoisted the barely-breathing Reno and took him to find a healing mage.
After the surrounding mess was quickly cleaned up, the chaotic conference room returned to order once more.
However, the oppressive atmosphere was even heavier than before.
“Mapel… Are you serious?!”
The shareholders’ expressions darkened, knowing this was no joke—this could truly decide life and death for them.
Mapel hadn’t originally intended to blow things up so quickly, letting these shareholders learn Lin Yue’s true identity right away.
But the situation had changed in an instant…
She looked at Lin Yue and had to force herself to remain calm as she spoke: “That’s correct. Allow me to introduce him—this is the Chamber’s future primary partner, of the Hawk Family… Mr. Lin Yue Hawk.”
Hearing Mapel’s own admission, the room immediately exploded into chaos.
“Mapel, you’ve lost your mind! Letting a family with top-tier combat power that’s been pushed to the brink by the Empire bind itself to us? We wouldn’t have enough heads to lose!”
“If the Christoliers want to die, don’t drag us down with them!”
What’s the difference between this and maintaining a private army?!
These old foxes naturally understood the severity of this matter bordered on rebellion; how could they easily agree?
Mapel knew this was a necessary process, patiently waiting for them to vent and question.
Suddenly, Lin Yue took a step back, moving closer to her, using half his body to shield her intentionally or unintentionally.
All the surrounding noise became like white noise.
Yet this man’s actions were like a gentle pair of earmuffs,
covering her ears, helping her filter out the harsh frequencies so they could no longer touch her in the slightest…
“Feeling a bit better now…?”
Lin Yue asked softly, unwilling to disturb what might already be her tumultuous heart.
That black figure still stood before Mapel, his expression unchanged.
As always, he radiated a reassuring presence.
In the eyes of this young, charmingly sly girl, it seemed that he, dressed in black, was the only splash of white in the darkness.
No matter what happened, he stood there, unwavering.
Was it to help vent my anger… that he did all this?
Mapel looked at this seemingly aloof yet thoroughly warm-hearted man, her lips trembling slightly…
“Much better, thank you…”
…
She owed him a huge favor now…
She swept her gaze across the room, knowing she had to handle the meeting first before properly thanking him.