Samuel''s eyes zed red as he roared, "Die!"

His fist shot forward, a strike so fierce it seemed to tear the world apart.

The garden exploded into chaos. Trees bent and cracked like dry twigs, nts were ripped from the earth, and a storm of dust swirled upward as if a tornado had been born from his rage.

Then-boom.

The thunderous sound shook the ground as Alex calmly raised a single hand.

His palm met Samuel''s earth-shattering punch, and the force vanished like smoke in the wind.

Samuel froze. His strength drained in an instant, leaving him standing there, hollow-eyed, staring at Alex in shock.

The garden fell into a deathly silence. Not a breath, not a whisper-just stunned faces watching the impossible unfold.

No one could believe it. Alex had stopped Samuel Prescott.

Samuel, the grandmaster. Level ny-nine.

The man whose fists could splinter mountains, whose kicks could carve canyons. Across the nation, there were few-if any-who could take his strike head-on.

And within the Prescott family? No one.

"D... Did he just block it?" Frederick stammered, his eyes stretched wide, his disbelief in as day.

To him, Samuel wasn''t just strong—he was the peak of human power, the mountain no one could climb.

He had once watched his grandfather reduce a mountain peak to rubble with a single punch.

To imagine anyone-let alone a young doctor-standing unscathed after meeting Samuel''s full force was madness.

"Oh, my God!" the butler gasped, his jaw ck.

The Prescott guards were no better, staring with mouths open.

They had dismissed Alex as just a genius physician—nothing more. Yet here he was, not only alive, but holding his ground against Samuel''s deadliest blow.

"Who... who the hell is this man?" Henry muttered, sweat trickling down his temple.

Only moments ago, he had been certain Alex would be torn apart. Instead, Alex stood firm while his father''s strike had copsed into nothing.

Even Benjamin recoiled, his body trembling. "No... impossible!"

He shook his head as if denial could change what his eyes had seen. If this young stranger was stronger than his father, then death was already wing at his throat.

"Father''s strength must''ve burned out. He''s spent from the rampage. That''s the only reason!"

"Yes! That must be it!" Frederick jumped on the excuse, voice loud, desperate.

"Grandfather''s been tearing this mansion apart for minutes. His strength is drained. That''s why Alex could block it."

The otherstched onto the thought like drowning men grabbing driftwood.

Nods spread through the crowd. Yes-Samuel had weakened. Yes-Alex was lucky. Yes there had to be an exnation.

Samuel himself stood trembling, his gaze locked on Alex. "Who... are you?"

His voice cracked with disbelief. He had poured everything into that strike.

Yet hitting Alex felt like striking the ocean-endless, immovable, swallowing his fury without leaving a trace.fn296a The source of th?s content is find?novel/fn296a

Alex''s voice was steady, calm. "I''m Alex. The man who saved your life. The doctor they brought here."

Samuel blinked, his bloodshot eyes narrowing. "You... you''re the one who awakened me?"

"I told them to let you rest for an hour," Alex said, his voice cold, steady. "But someone ignored my words and forced you awake."

Henry stepped forward quickly. "Father, it wasn''t him. He pulled you out of thata and ordered everyone not to disturb you. I was with him when you woke up. If anyone''s to me, it isn''t him."

Samuel''s eyes swept across the crowd, hard and cutting like steel. "Then who did it?"

"Yeah!" Frederick barked, his voice breaking with fury. "Who woke my

grandfather? Whoever it was, you''re dead once I find you!"

He jabbed a finger at one of the nurses. "It must''ve been you!"

The nurse flinched, shaking her head wildly. "No! It wasn''t me—I wasn''t even in the room!"

"Shut up!" Frederick snarled. His hand whipped across her face with a sharp crack.

"If not you, then who? Don''t think you''ll hide from me. The one who made my grandfather suffer-I''ll tear them apart myself!"

Benjamin''s eyes zed with suspicion. "It must be you," he snarled, jabbing a finger at the doctor. Without warning, his bootshed out.

The crack of bone echoed as the doctor''s leg snapped under the force, his scream ripping the silence.

"You''re the one who woke him, aren''t you?" Benjamin roared, mming his fist into the man''s face.

The doctor''s head whipped sideways, limp, his body copsing like a ragdoll.

No one could tell if he had only fainted—or if Benjamin had beaten him past the edge of life.

"It must be you!" Frederick bellowed next, his fury unchecked. He seized another nurse by the arm, dragging her forward with murder in his eyes.

He raised his fist, ready to strike.

"Calm yourself, Frederick!" Benjamin barked, cutting in sharply.

"But Father-!" Frederick protested, his rage boiling over.

“Shut up,” Benjamin snapped. Then he turned to Samuel, lowering his tone into something steadier, respectful.

"Father, I''ll handle this. But with the mansion in ruins, the security''s finished. Every camera, every drive-gone to ash. There''s nothing left for us to see."

He lowered his head, his voice burning with false loyalty. "But I swear, we''ll find

the one who dared wake you. And when we do, they''ll beg for death."

"Yes, Father!" Frederick echoed fiercely.

Samuel''s re hardened. "Search the ruins. Whatever''s left of the cameras, bring it to me."

"Yes, sir!" The Prescott guards and staff bowed and hurried out into the wreckage. Benjamin and Frederick exchanged a quick nce, their faces pale but resolute, then rushed after the others.

They had to destroy the evidence before anyone saw the truth.

When the area emptied, Samuel raised a hand. "Everyone else leave me. I want

to speak with this man alone."

"Yes, Father," Henry and Lawrence said at once, bowing before following the others.

Now it was just Samuel and Alex.

Samuel studied him with sharp, knowing eyes. "I know who you are."

Alex tilted his head. "And what do you think you know?"

"You''re Alex," Samuel said firmly.

"Once the king''s most trusted executive in Kingswell. But you betrayed that trust You used the power of Kingswell to wipe out the Guise family-for a woman named

Sophia."

s

Alex gave a small shrug, almost careless. "Seems like everyone knows that story."

Samuel''s jaw tightened. "You were

cast out, stripped of your rank. They called you the ''God''s Hand,'' the greatest healer of your age. Now they call you nothing A mans, disgraced. A man forgotten."  s

"You''re right," Alex replied evenly.

"I''m nothing more than a doctor

small clinic now, And you, Governor Samuel, would would be wise not to tangfe

Sself with trouble like me.”

s

Samuel''s breath trembled in his chest. Then, slowly-he dropped to one knee.

"Thank you," he said solemnly, bowing his head. "For saving my life... My king." Alex''s face froze for a moment. Then he barked out augh, sharp and mocking. "You''re joking. I''m just a small-town doctor."

But Samuel didn''t flinch. "I am a level ny-nine grandmaster. Few in this country can even stand against me. Yet you caught my full strike as if it were nothing." "You''ve already surpassed the hundredth level. In this nation, there is only one who could stand above that threshold. And it is you... my king." Alex''s voice dropped, steady and cold. "What are you saying, Samuel?"

“I, Samuel Prescott," he said, his voice heavy with oath, "swear loyalty to you. From this day, I am your man. Command me, and all that I am is yours."

Alex took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing.

"Then hear mymand, Samuel. I want Kingston destroyed."

Samuel bowed lower, his voice a vow. "Then Kingston will fall."

Alex''s eyes narrowed, his tone colder than steel. "Start with Kelly Kingston."

Samuel didn''t even flinch. His head dipped in obedience, his voice low and certain.

"Then by tomorrow... she''ll draw herst breath."