As he was about to slide his phone back into his pocket, suddenly, a lady bumped into him. Roderick raised his head and saw Bella Roy, Felicia's secretary.
"Isn't it too early for you to be drowning in thoughts because you got dumped like the trash that you are?"
Roderick didn't bother to give Bella a second glance as he ignored her and walked away.
Bella was pained but headed into the living room with annoyance.
Meanwhile, as soon as Roderick stepped out of the Santos Villa, a convoy of exotic and military cars hurriedly halted before him.
An army of soldiers led by Tony Hoggs, a cold-looking lieutenant, along with a group of men dressed in well-tailored suits led by Paul Ashley, the chairman of Ace Company, jumped down from the vehicles.
They all rushed towards Roderick and fell to their knees. "We honor you, Lord Roderick! Even on our last breath, we will never cease to serve you, The Invincible War King!"
Roderick's face frowned as he stared at them all before turning to Tony, to whom he had sent a text message a few moments ago.
"What's the meaning of this, Tony?"
The lieutenant sensed the anger in his leader's tone and bowed more respectfully, with an intense fear in his heart.
"Forgive me, my lord. You are the Invincible War King, the Unconquerable Warrior whose name has made a hundred thousand elite army enemies hang themselves before you reach them. If not for your sake, Kentland County won't be at peace. You are meant to be worshipped and deserve more honor!"
"Cut the crap, Tony! Now, send the soldiers back to wherever they came from."
Roderick is the famous mysterious War King of Kentland County; however, his identity remains unknown.
"Yes, my lord!" Tony trembled under his leader's order. He turned to the army of soldiers and signaled them to take their leave.
Instantly, they all rushed into their vehicles and drove away.
Then, Roderick said to Tony, "Let's go. We have a lot of important matters to deal with."
Tony hurriedly opened the back passenger door of a black Rolls Royce among the group of cars, and Roderick entered.
Paul jumped into the driver's seat of the Rolls Royce, and Tony sat next to him.
As soon as the cars were about to move, one of the Santos Villa security guards, who had been in a daze witnessing the scene, rushed into the villa's living room.
"Madam! Miss Santos! Roderick is about to leave in a convoy of exotic cars!" he shouted at the top of his voice. He was still in the middle of bewilderment.
Clara, Bella, and Felicia exchanged glances of disbelief.
"Are you sure you've not been drinking again? Perhaps you're hallucinating!" Bella snapped at the guard.
"I'm not hallucinating, ma'am. The group of cars is still outside; you can come and have a look at them." The guard was trying his best to convince them.
Clara couldn't hold it any longer before she barked at him, "What rubbish! Get out and stop saying nonsense here!"
The guard sprang into action and ran outside in embarrassment. He felt pained that it was hard for them to believe him.
At this time, Bella disclosed in the living room, "Miss Santos, since we have Mr. Quinton backing us now, we will have the opportunity to attend the Ace Company charity dinner tonight. Also, an announcement for the company's forthcoming grand project will be made too."
Clara's face lit up as she turned to her daughter, whose face remained bland. "That's good news. As long as we will be collaborating with the White Group soon, through the help of Jonah, there's a high chance for us to have a little pie from Ace Company's forthcoming project too."
Clara couldn't contain her happiness. "Haha! I can see the Santos family climbing up the social ladder in the meantime."
Meanwhile, Felicia's mind was in a pool of thoughts. Despite her strong determination to elevate her career, she couldn't stop feeling bad about the divorce.
....
Inside the Rolls Royce, Roderick was sitting quietly in the passenger seat when Paul hurriedly asked,
"My lord, since the Santos family happens to be an ingrate, should I revoke all the support we have secretly created for them?"
"No, it's not necessary," Roderick replied calmly.
Paul was taken aback. "My lord, I dare not question your opinion. But the Santos family just cut ties with you despite all you have done for them. If not for you, they would have remained insignificant in the business world."
Roderick turned to look out the window and said, "Everything I have done for the family wasn't for their sake. It was all because of their grandpa, Oliver Santos."
Paul fell into silence after Roderick's response.
Twenty years ago, Oliver Santos was a butler in the Holmes family in Nexton City.
One day, the enemies attacked Nexton City, and the Holmes family was their major target.
After the enemies gained access to the family's assets, the Holmes villa was burnt down to ashes with the family members tied inside, making them all burn along with it.
Except for Roderick, who was able to escape with the help of Oliver Santos, risking his life for him.
With the pain of such a great loss in Roderick's mind, he vowed to avenge his family's death.
Then, he joined the military when he was eighteen. Seven years later, he retired as a War King after conquering many wars, keeping Kentland County at peace.
Immediately after Roderick retired, he found out that Oliver Santos was still alive but in an unbalanced health condition. This was due to his good heart, risking his life for Roderick on that fateful day.
Roderick returned to Glacia City that same day to return the favor. Also, with the help of the old man, he would be able to navigate his father's anonymous enemies.
However, on the first day Oliver saw Roderick, he was so overjoyed that he married him to his beloved granddaughter that same day.
Unfortunately, that night, Oliver got sick and fell into a coma.
This triggered Roderick even more, and he transformed the old man's small-scale company into a success within a short period.
The transformation happened effortlessly with the help of Paul Ashley, the owner of Ace Company, who secretly paved the way for Santos Corporation.
Paul's loyalty to Roderick started from the day he single-handedly rescued him and his crew from the abduction by a deadly gang.
Upon finding out that Roderick had married into the Santos family, Paul was willing to do anything to help their company.
With that, Roderick was able to help the Santos Corporation climb up the social ladder.
After a long silence, Paul finally asked as he reached a junction, "My lord, where should I head?"
Roderick raised his head and replied, "House of Majesty."