Chapter 174

Morix Sable frowned as he stepped into the kindergarten courtyard, taking in the chaos. Landon Krane's bodyguards were sprawled across the tiled ground, groaning in pain, clutching broken limbs and twisted joints. One of them was bleeding from the nose; another looked like he'd lost a fight with a freight truck.

Morix's jaw tightened. His eyes snapped to Landon Krane, who was leaning against a post, blood smeared across his lips and forehead, his hair disheveled, suit half torn.

"What the hell happened here?" Morix asked, his voice cold and thunderous.

Landon pointed a trembling, bloodied finger at Jaden. "That bastard," he hissed. "He humiliated me! He laid hands on my family, beat up my men, and-" his voice cracked with fury "--forced me to kneel in front of everyone. Me!"

Morix's gaze followed Landon's finger. His eyes landed on Jaden, who stood calm and unbothered, hands behind his back, his expression cool as steel. Their eyes met.

A flicker passed across Morix's face. Recognition.

His posture subtly shifted. That flicker became a storm.

Landon, oblivious to the shift in atmosphere, kept ranting. “He turned me into a joke

in front of the entire Eastern District! If we don't crush him now, my name is finished!"

He turned and puffed his chest, facing the onlookers like a politician on a podium. "Since I already promised to break his arm, I'll raise the stakes. Break both of them! And as for that woman—" he sneered toward Selena "—rip the teeth out of her lying mouth!"

Mrs. Krane jumped in, screeching, "Yes! Slap that slut until she's unrecognizable! They deserve to be made an example of!"

Morix's lips curled into a grin.

"Beautifully said," he remarked.

He turned sharply to his soldiers. "You heard them."

He raised a finger and pointed.

"Break his arms. Knock her teeth out."

There was a heartbeat of silence.

Then chaos.

"What?!" Landon blurted.

Before the words had even settled in the air, two of Morix's soldiers surged forward and grabbed Landon by the collar. He barely had time to scream before the first arm snapped like dry wood.

"Arghhhh!"

Crack!

The second arm followed, and his scream became an unholy shriek that echoed through the building.

Mrs. Krane didn't even get the chance to run. Two soldiers pinned her down while another delivered a slap so savage her head snapped sideways and blood spurted from her gums. Then another. And another.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

Her teeth hit the floor like marbles rolling across tile.

The spectators froze. Not one person dared speak. Parents clutched their children tighter. Teachers turned pale. No one could comprehend what they were witnessing.

Landon writhed on the floor, his arms limp like broken branches. His wife sobbed, her mouth a mess of blood and shattered enamel.

Morix turned and walked toward Jaden.

Every step he took was heavy with reverence.

Then, in front of everyone, the fearsome military commander got down on one knee.

"I am Morix Sable," he declared.

"I once served directly under General Kaelus of the Northern Iron Regiment was there the day you arrived in Ironvale City. I was there when the clouds parted and the entire Eastern Division lined the streets for your arrival. I stood among those who saluted you."

He looked up, eyes gleaming. "That man is standing right here."

Gasps exploded from the crowd.

Jaws dropped.

The color drained from Landon's face. He stopped screaming. He stared at Jaden as if seeing a ghost.

Jaden raised a hand, stopping Morix from going any lower.

“You're no longer under my command,” he said quietly. “No need for this.”

But Morix shook his head, his voice

shook

trembling with conviction. "Once a soldier of yours, always one. I owe you my life, my honor, and my

future. You saved me in the No. ne

when others would've left me to rot. vedd

swore back then I would follow you to the grave."

A tear slipped from the corner of his eye.

"This... this is the proudest day of my life."

The entire atmosphere had flipped. Jaden, the so-called "hooligan," wasn't just a man. He was a legend. A ghost from the battlefield. The kind of man whispered aboutir military camps, whose name was never spoken unless followed by reverence.

Landon's lips trembled. "H-he's above General Kaelus?" he whispered, eyes wild.

Mrs. Krane gurgled through broken teeth, her horror visible even through the blood.

They knew they were finished.

Utterly, irrevocably finished.

Gone was the arrogance. Gone was the entitlement. What replaced it was primal fear, pure and raw.