Chapter 165

Bianca luxuriated in a five-star hotel's presidential suite, six miles from the Aquila family villa. Her phone lay beside her as she hummed contentedly. Unaware of, and unconcerned about, the Aquila family's fate, she felt confident her plan was unfolding as intended. She had always despised Dustin, and even his changed circumstances didn't alter her disdain. She believed the "last resort" she'd provided the Aquilas was sufficient to control him.

"I told Brennan to keep Dustin alive," she sneered. "I'm going to toy with him for my cousins until he's broken!"

Her phone rang. The news that followed transformed her expression.

"What? Dustin left the Aquila family unharmed?!" she exclaimed, incredulous.

Confirming the report, she rose from the bath, water cascading down her pale skin. She raced to the Aquila villa. No one greeted her; only the heavy scent of blood met her. Stepping through the gate, she was confronted with a horrifying scene: the villa was filled with corpses. Everyone was dead.

Bianca's eyes widened in shock. Brennan had promised to capture the Fox family's last surviving member and deliver him to her for punishment. Yet, in less than two hours, the Aquila villa had become a charnel house.

"What happened here?" she demanded, her face darkening as she surveyed the carnage. She recognized several highly skilled fighters among the dead—individuals she'd borrowed from the Winter family to assist the Aquilas. All were killed with a single, swift blow.

Meanwhile, Dustin ordered his men to secure the sole surviving Aquila and keep him under constant surveillance, certain the mastermind wouldn't remain idle.

Chapter 165 (Continued)

Two days passed. Dustin personally guarded Brennan's grandson, Hansel Aquila. On the third night, while Dustin kept watch, faint movements disturbed the silence. Someone entered stealthily. Hansel slept soundly. The intruder paused by his bed, seemingly confirming his identity. Then, the intruder raised a hand to strike the sleeping boy.

Suddenly, Dustin intervened, his hand intercepting the blow. A resounding clash filled the room, sending the intruder stumbling back.

"You're a Sovereign-grade fighter!" they both exclaimed simultaneously.

The intruder was astonished to find a Sovereign-grade fighter, especially one so young, guarding Hansel. Dustin was equally surprised. The mastermind's willingness to risk a Sovereign-grade assassin for a child like Hansel spoke volumes about their power.

"What's your connection to the Aquila family?" the intruder asked coldly.

Dustin responded with an attack, aiming to subdue and interrogate the assassin, even resorting to torture if necessary. The intruder, initially dismissive of Dustin's seemingly weak punch, countered. Their fists collided, but the intruder, a formidable Sovereign-grade fighter himself, remained unconcerned. His eyes remained fixed on Hansel, planning to eliminate the boy once he’d dispatched Dustin.

But the impact of their blows shocked him.

"Cough!"

The intruder's hand disintegrated at the knuckles, the force of Dustin's blow sending him reeling backward, coughing blood. His vital organs suffered significant damage.

Chapter 165 (Continued)

"Impossible" The intruder stared in disbelief. Such a powerful fighter in Lannopolis, seemingly in his twenties?

He quickly recovered his composure, studying Dustin before fleeing. With Dustin present, killing Hansel was impossible.

"Did I say you could leave?" Dustin scoffed, pursuing him.

Dustin's speed was overwhelming. He quickly caught up. Another blow sent the intruder sprawling, coughing blood. Escape was futile.

"Who are you?" the intruder demanded, desperately searching his knowledge for a young, powerful martial artist, finding nothing. "Do you know whose path you're blocking?"

Dustin sneered, silent as he launched an attack, pinning the intruder's joints with a volley of pebbles. Immobilized, the intruder could only speak. His face turned purple, blood gushing from his mouth and nose before he died.

Dustin's face hardened as he examined the body. The Sovereign-grade fighter had used poison to commit suicide, readily sacrificing his life—a shocking waste of a valuable asset.