Chapter 95

"Wait!" Louis suddenly interjected with a voice that was uncharacteristically firm.

"Renzo, I know you’re angry, and I know you want him dead by today. But if there’s one thing that every Chinese martial arts novel has taught me, it’s that underestimating a nobody with special abilities is one of the quickest ways to end up in a coffin."

Renzo narrowed his eyes.

"Are you suggesting that I’m being reckless?"

"No, no. I’m merely suggesting we be Kades," Louis said, walking closer. "Cousin, sending two Early Realm fighters is kind of predictable if you ask me. If Alex is a genius, or if he’s been hiding his true realm, those two might just become cannon fodders that’ll just boost his damn ego."

"And we can’t afford to send the Ascendant monster, he’s too high profile, besides the family elders won’t agree. And the two vanguard Realm protectors are crucial for your father’s safety. But..." Louis paused as a cunning glint appeared in his blue eyes.

"Your father is the Family Head. He adores you like crazy. So if you tell him that an Awakened has publicly humiliated the Kade name and threatened our interests with Nyx, he’ll surely let you borrow one."

Renzo grew more and more surprised by Louis’ idea.

"One Vanguard Realm Awakened," Louis continued, his voice dropping to a conspirational whisper. "And two Early Realms Awakened to back him up. It creates a foolproof trap. If Alex truly is just a novice in the Early Realm, the two Early Realms will slaughter him before the vanguard Realm expert even has to lay a finger."

"But if he proves to be a freak that is somehow beyond the Early Realm, the Vanguard Realm Expert will engage him directly while the other two provide the distraction and flanking advantage. It’ll turn the fight into a one sided slaughter with zero margin for error."

Louis tapped his temple.

"And the thing is that we just don’t send them now when he’s still high on his victory over the Black Mambas. All we do is wait for a couple of days, make him think he is safe and let him go back to his pathetic life. Then in three or four days, when he least expects anything, we will hit him with the combined force of a vanguard squad. He won’t even have time to manifest his ability before his head is separated from his shoulders."

There was a long silence on the pool deck. The ocean breeze tugged at Renzo’s clothes as he weighed the proposal.

The sheer overkill of sending two Early Realm Awakened and a Vanguard Realm Awakened after a single person was almost absurd, maybe even crazy. But the logic was undeniable. And most of all it kind of appealed to his sense of absolute dominance.

"A vanguard and two Early Realms, heh," Renzo mused, a slow wicked grin spreading across his face. "Total annihilation. I like the sound of that. It’s not just a kill; it’s like a statement to the entire city that no matter how special you think you are, you are still nothing beneath the heel of a Kade."

Desmond looked at Louis with newfound respect from the bottom of his heart, and bowed again.

"That is a truly brilliant and terrifying strategy, Master Louis. It accounts for every possible variable. The family’s strength lies not just in power, but in wisdom such as this. With Young Master Renzo’s command and Master Louis’s insight, this Alex Walker’s fate is all but sealed."

Louis offered a modest smile, though pride and satisfaction gleamed in his eyes.

"I just wanted to help my big cousin. Besides, we can’t keep allowing some random Awakened trash to embarrass us. It’s high time the pretty face get what’s coming to him."

Renzo suddenly stood up from his seat, with his silk robe swirling around him as he walked a few steps along the deck. The sun had now begun its slow descent toward the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and gold that reflected off the crystal clear pool’s surface.

Yet the beauty of the scene felt distant as it was overshadowed by the calculations running through his mind. He imagined the stupid face of Alex twisting in shock as a team of superior forces descended upon him without warning.

Just the thought alone brought a cruel smile to Renzo’s lips.

"Desmond," he said, turning back to the butler. "I need you to prepare a full report on everything Ivan managed to say before the call died, if possible I want you to send your men toward the warehouse. If we’re lucky Ivan might still be alive. It is compulsory I get every detail of Alex’s full capabilities. We’ll also brief the chosen Awakeneds personally. And make sure you keep this quiet and hidden. No one outside this circle must know about this plan until we execute it."

"Yes, Young Master. I’ll be going at once now." Desmond bowed again and swiftly retreated toward the main resort building with his earlier panic now replaced by a sense of purpose.

Left alone with Louis, Renzo placed a hand on his cousin’s shoulder.

"You really surprised me today. I even thought you’d be more eager to rush in. I guess those novels of yours aren’t totally useless after all."

Louis chuckled lightly.

"Well they do teach about patience, cousin. That the villains like Lin Feng who always charges blindly almost always meet a tragic end. So it’s better to be the unseen blade in the dark."

Renzo’s grip tightened briefly before he released it.

"Indeed. In four days, Alex Walker will die. And once he’s gone, Nyx will have no choice but to crawl back to where she belongs. With me! At the end of the day the Kades will always win."

"But first, to convince my father to lend me one of his Vanguard Realm Awakened, I need to do this!"

Renzo suddenly took a deep breath, gritted his teeth really hard, and punched his face fiercely. Louis tried to stop him but he pushed him away and instructed him not to interrupt before continuing to bash his fist against his face.

After a couple of brutal punches he stopped to reveal a face with a black eye, swollen cheek, and blood dripping out of his nose and lips.

"Why the hell did you just do that Renzo!!!"

"I did this because I need my father to think that that trash Alex Walker did this to me. If he thinks that his beloved son was beaten by an Awakened commoner he’ll spare no effort in agreeing to lend me one of his Vanguard Realm Awakened."

Louis stared at his cousin like he had completely lost his freaking mind.

Renzo’s handsome face was now a bruised mess, with blood dripping slowly from his split lip onto the floor while the swelling around his left eye had already begun turning dark purple.

The sight was really shocking, after all this was The Renzo Kade!

The arrogant golden heir who had more than often exploded with rage if someone merely splashed a drop of water on his designer shoes. Now that same person had just willingly beaten himself bloody without any form of hesitation.

"You’re insane, man," Louis muttered while shaking his head slowly. "Like full blown insane."

Renzo merely grabbed a towel from a nearby chair and calmly wiped the blood from his mouth. And despite the injuries covering his face, his light blue eyes were still frighteningly composed.

"No," he replied coldly. "I’m just making sure that there is no possibility of failure, ever."

Louis frowned and watched as Renzo tossed the bloodstained towel aside before walking toward the edge of the pool.

"My father loves power more than anything else in this world," Renzo explained. "But do you know what he values even more than power?"

Renzo’s lips curled slightly.

"It’s the Kade family’s pride."

The ocean breeze swept through his damp hair as murderous intent flickered in his eyes.

"If I merely tell him that some Awakened commoner embarrassed me, he might only lend me two Early Realm fighters and call it a day. But if he sees his favorite son standing right before him looking all bruised and humiliated by a nobody..."

A dark chuckle escaped his throat.

"Then it’ll become personal."

Louis slowly began understanding the depth behind Renzo’s thinking. The Kade Family’s Head was notorious for one thing above all others.

He was an extremely possessive man who viewed the Kade bloodline as sacred. So any insult toward one of his direct descendants was treated as an insult toward the entire family itself.

And since Renzo was his most favorite son, he definitely wouldn’t let things go without a fight.

"So you’re basically trying to provoke your father into overreacting using his one weakness against him."

"Exactly." Renzo said before turning back slowly. "And once he becomes angry enough, lending me a vanguard Realm expert won’t even be a discussion anymore. He will practically hand one over himself without me needing to even ask."

Louis whistled softly.

"You know that’s actually pretty terrifying."

But then he glanced again at the swollen bruises on Renzo’s face before grimacing.

"But still... You didn’t have to hit yourself that hard."

Renzo shrugged casually.

"If the injuries look fake, my father will notice immediately. You should know how sharp his eyes are."

That alone made Louis shiver slightly. The Kade Family Head was not someone ordinary people even dared speak about casually. The man literally and figuratively ruled over countless corporate businesses, underground networks, and Awakened subordinates with an iron grip.

Even his own father, who was a step brother of The Family’s Head would usually become nervous around him.

Suddenly, Renzo’s expression darkened again as Alex’s annoying face appeared inside his head. He could see the bastard smug face, sharp tongue, and worst of all, the figure of Nyx standing beside him.

Just the image alone made jealousy twist violently inside his damn chest.

"I’ll make sure he regrets ever crossing paths with me," Renzo murmured softly, though the murderous hatred in his voice made the atmosphere noticeably colder. "First his limbs, then his pride. And after that... I’ll make sure to take everything he thinks belongs to him."

Louis nodded slowly. But honestly, he kind of felt bad for Alex now. Because facing an unhinged person like Renzo was honestly terrifying. It’ll be a miracle if he could somehow manage to survive the attack that was heading his way.

Renzo suddenly changed directions and started walking toward the resort mansion.

"Come on," he said calmly while adjusting his robe. "Let’s head back home."

Louis blinked.

"Already? But what about the ladies, I thought we would do all this later."

"No. I need my father to see these injuries before the swelling goes down."