The Protector (The Return Of The God of War) novel Chapter 181

The Return of God of War Chapter 181

Abigail realized that she had let the cat out of the bag.

“Does Levi have any other identities?”

Zoey looked at Abigail dubiously, wondering if they were hiding anything from her.

Levi laughed it off as he joked, “Abigail was just worried that they’d found out that I was an ex-convict.”

“Yeah, I thought that was the reason the alarm went off,” Abigail reacted swiftly to Levi’s cover-up, which managed to temporarily ease Zoey’s suspicion.

“What happened just now? Were you carrying anything that caused the alarm to sound non-stop?” Aaron asked.

“Oh, it’s just my lighter that is made of brass, that’s why it got picked up by the metal detectors!” Levi replied, as he took out his lighter and showed it to Aaron.

“Oh, let’s go then, Bailey had sent someone to pick us up. The car had been waiting outside for a while!”

Caitlyn was also raring to go.

The group was driven to the Hilton Hotel.

Due to the large number of guests invited to the birthday banquet, the guests were temporarily arranged to stay at the hotel.

“It seems like dad and mom had not yet completely gotten over what happened last time! Otherwise, we would be staying at the Black family mansion instead of the hotel, together with the rest of the guests!”

Caitlyn’s disappointment was apparent as she said that.

“Don’t worry, honey, we’re going to impress your family members later. I guarantee that their opinions of us will change for the better after that!”

Aaron was brimming with optimism as he comforted his wife.

It was important to the couple to be recognized by the Black family.

After everyone settled down in their hotel rooms, Abigail went to look for Levi and Zoey. “My cousins from the Black family are having a gathering tonight, do you guys want to tag along?” She asked.

“Sure, we’ll go!” Levi and Zoey accepted the invite readily.

Abigail drove them to the venue in her pink Maserati.

The gathering was held at the Scarlet Aegis Hotel.

A meal there costs at least ten thousand.

Different models of luxury cars could be seen parked in the hotel’s parking lot.

Abigail led Levi and Zoey to the private room, where dozens of people had already gathered and were engaged in animated discussions with each other.

“Hey, Abigail is here! Let’s welcome her!”

As Abigail was also a part of the Rogers family, she was very well-liked and popular among her cousins in the Black family.

For everyone else in the room, it was their first time meeting Levi and Zoey.

When they saw Zoey, most of them were stunned by her beauty and were eager to know her.

“Abigail, why are you not introducing your friends to us?” One of Abigail’s cousins urged.

“This is Aunt Caitlyn’s daughter, Zoey. She’s our cousin too! This is Levi, Zoey’s husband,” Abigail said.

“Oh! So it’s our cousin Zoey!”

Abigail’s brothers were the first to greet Zoey.

As for Levi, he was being treated as though he was invisible.

There were also a few attendees at the gathering who did not belong to the Black family, which meant that they were not blood-related to Zoey.

The men who belonged to that category couldn’t keep their eyes off Zoey. After all, it was not everyday that one would come across such an exquisite beauty.

After some mingling with the others, Levi found out that tonight’s gathering was organized by Zoey’s cousins, Keane and Quintus.

As the both of them were direct male descendants of the Black family, they were both held in high regard by the rest.

Naturally, they were also the main focus of every discussion topic which went on that night.

Keane laughed as he said, “Zoey, I heard that your husband, Levi, was previously a dark horse of North Hampton’s business arena. Even the business moguls and owners of leading enterprises in South City knew his name. What’s he up to these days?”

Quintus chuckled and said, “Yeah, I remember that too. But we haven’t heard any news about him in a long while.”

The two men were not trying to take a dig at Zoey, but were genuinely curious.

The Black family was among the wealthiest in the city. Naturally, Zoey and her family would not be important enough for them to pay any attention to.

They did try to find out more about Levi, during the days when he used to be a rising star in the business arena.

However, no one had news about Levi after he went to jail.

The Return of God of War Chapter 182

People stopped being curious about him after that. After all, no one would waste time inquiring about a nobody.

Hayden Zeller, a distant relative of the Black family who was from North Hampton, joined in on the conversation and said, “Oh I know what happened! Levi was sentenced to jail after he was convicted of taking advantage of his sister-in-law! If I’m not mistaken, he was only released a few days ago?”

“That’s right! It was one of the biggest news in North Hampton when it happened!” Some others, who were listening to the conversation, concurred.

Keane’s expression changed when he heard that, but still remained friendly as he asked, “So, Levi, you’re currently unemployed?”

Levi nodded and replied, “Kind of!”

After getting the man’s answer, Keane and Quintus had totally lost interest in continuing the conversation.

Even Zoey, who had just secured an investment of a few hundred million, suddenly seemed boring to them.

The men changed topics and carried on with their own conversations. Zoey hardly had anything to contribute to their subsequent discussions.

“Oh, by the way, is Russell back yet?” Keane asked all of a sudden.

Russell was his dad’s godson. The man had been outstanding since young, and he’s currently the leader of a subdivision of the Special Security Unit.

Word has it that he was going to be promoted to the Chief of the Special Security Unit next year.

“Speaking of Russell, he’s truly the pride and joy of our grandma!”

Quintus laughed.

That was indeed the case.

Even though Russell was not related to the Black family by blood, he was the elderly Mrs. Black’s favorite.

He had always been conscientiousness and performed well in every endeavor he partook in.

Russell would only be twenty eight next year, so it was an impressive feat that he was already the Deputy Chief of the Special Security Unit.

The Black family had an abundance of wealth, but what the family lacked however, was a talent like Russell.

He was the perfect missing piece to the puzzle for the Black family.

Shortly after his name was mentioned, Russell Black arrived at the gathering, still dressed in his uniform.

“Hi everyone, so sorry that I’m late. I have been really busy with the preparations for the upcoming economic summit these few days! I even had to specially apply for leave to attend grandma’s birthday banquet tomorrow!” Russell explained, and let out an embarrassed laughter.

“Russell is such a busy man, but he knows he’s the apple of grandma’s eye, so he has to be here by hook or by crook!” Someone teased, and everyone else laughed along.

However, Keane switched the topic abruptly, asking, “I heard that there was an incident at the train station today, that even your Chief had to handle the matter personally?”

Russell nodded and replied, “Yeah! You heard about it too? That’s actually the reason I was late for tonight’s gathering!”

“Russell, tell us what happened! I’m sure everyone wants to know about it,” Quintus said.

Russell scanned the curious faces in the room and chuckled, before elaborating, “There was a super big shot who visited the train station today! He came to examine our security measures without informing anyone beforehand. Thank goodness we discovered that it was him!”

Russell let out a gasp, as he recalled the dramatic events of the day.

“So how did you guys find out that it was him?” Everyone was eager to know what happened next.

“When he went through the metal detectors while exiting the train station, the alarm sounded! We stopped him from leaving and did a body check on him. Guess what we found?”

Everyone held their breaths as they waited for Russell to continue.

“We found out that there were 13 bullets and 7 grenade shrapnel lodged inside his body! One of the bullets was even in his skull and another one in his heart! It’s the metal from the bullets and shrapnel that caused the alarm to sound!”

Even Russell himself found it inconceivable.

“What??? 13 bullets and 7 grenade shrapnel???”

Everyone was shocked by what Russell told them and sharp inhales could be heard all round.

“What’s even scarier was that his entire body was covered with scars. From my estimation, there were definitely no less than a thousand of them!”

Everyone went pale with disbelief at Russell’s description of the man. It was unimaginable as to what kind of horrors he must had gone through.

“What was the time when he was there?” Zoey suddenly asked.

“It was around 2.10 in the afternoon!” Russell replied.

Zoey turned to look at her husband. She had registered that it was the same time Levi was held up at the security check earlier today.

Besides, Levi had nothing on him which could have caused the alarm to sound.

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After Russell’s description of the event, Zoey suddenly realized that it could have been the metal pieces lodged inside of Levi’s body which caused the metal detectors to go off, instead of the lighter, which was what he had told them earlier on!

She wished that she could see through Levi’s clothes, and verify what Russell said with her own eyes that very instant.

Quintus, who was intrigued, asked, “How’s that even possible? Russell, who is this guy?”

“We don’t exactly know who he is, as his files had been classified as 5s level, which means no one in the entire of South City would have access to it! But I heard from our Chief that he used to be an officer from the Iron Brigade!” Russell replied excitedly.

“Iron Brigade? Isn’t that the team that’s personally led by the God of War?”

“Exactly! That’s the strongest military unit in Erudia! Every soldier who’s part of that team is a man of indomitable spirit!”

…

The men at the gathering were all stirred at the mention of the ‘God of War’ and the ‘Iron Brigade’.

Every men, regardless of age, would have dreamed of becoming a soldier at some point in time of their lives.

Being in the Iron Brigade was the greatest recognition and highest honor for every soldier.

“Yeah, when I was at the military academy, my goal was also to join the Iron Brigade and fight alongside the God of War!”

Russell was no exception.

Abigail was feeling proud when she saw the longing expressions of those men in the room.

At that moment, she really wanted to stand up and tell everyone that the God of War, who was revered by all, was none other than her cousin-in-law, Levi!

“If those warriors from the Iron Brigade could be present at grandma’s birthday banquet, I bet grandpa and grandma would both be delighted!” Keane said.

“Yeah, grandpa and grandma were once guards as well! They’ll definitely be over the moon to meet someone from the Iron Brigade!”

“Exactly! Grandpa and grandma love the special alcohol and cigarettes provided by the war zones, but nowadays they hardly have the chance to enjoy them anymore.”

…

Everyone was contributing to the lively discussion going on in the room.

Quintus looked at Russell and said, “Russell, do you think you can pull some strings and invite just one of the officers from the Iron Brigade to join us at grandma’s birthday banquet tomorrow?”

“Yeah, if you can do that, it’ll definitely be the best birthday present for grandma!” Keane added.

Russell hesitated for a second before nodding his head and said, “OK, I’ll try. Hopefully, we can give grandma a surprise tomorrow!”

Even though he agreed to ask around, Russell was not confident at all that he’ll succeed in his task.

The main reason for that was because his Chief, Perry, had told him earlier on that the man who appeared at the train station in the afternoon was someone out of his reach, not to mention Russell, who was only a leader of a subdivision of the Security Unit.

No one at the gathering bothered to talk to Zoey or Levi for the rest of the night, it was just as if the both of them were invisible.

To a big family like the Blacks, they were merely nobodies.

After the dinner gathering ended, Russell specially paid Perry a visit to tell him his thoughts.

Perry was scared out of his wits when he heard the idea. He pointed at Russell and said, “Y-y-you… you have the audacity to invite that man???”

Russell was trembling with anxiety at his Chief’s reaction and replied, “Chief, is that guy someone very important?”

As the information was classified, Perry was unable to divulge any details to Russell.

“That’s right, anyway, you should really stop thinking about it. I’m not even qualified enough to invite Captain Steele from the North Hampton Dragon legion, let alone that man from this afternoon. Just drop the idea completely!”

Perry rejected Russell’s request without giving it any consideration.

“Alright then. But Chief, you have to be there with the Deputy Chief tomorrow, deal?” Russell said.

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t miss old Mrs. Black’s birthday banquet for the world!”

Everyone was disappointed when Russell conveyed the negative outcome to them, but they did not blame him.

After all, the Iron Brigade had a special status in the military. No one expected that it would be easy to invite them.

Meanwhile, Zoey started having major suspicions about Levi after the gathering.

The Return of God of War Chapter 184

Even though they had been sleeping on the same bed, they had not been intimate, so it was only natural that Zoey had not seen Levi’s naked body.

As such, she had planned to examine Levi’s body tonight, in order to verify if he actually had those scars on his body.

However, Abigail had requested to share her bed, so in the end, Zoey was unable to carry out her plan.

The next day arrived and it was the day of old Mrs. Black’s birthday.

Levi and the rest were being woken up early in the morning, and were all gathered at the hotel lobby.

Shortly after, transportation arranged by the Black family arrived to pick them up to the Black family manor.

Aaron clutched the birthday gift for his mother-in-law in his arms. He was looking forward to impressing his wife’s family at the banquet later on.

Caitlyn had also checked with Levi if he had prepared any gift, and only felt at ease after confirming that he had not done so.

The scale of the Black family was comparable to the Garrison family, which was recently listed.

The family manor was extremely posh and grand.

The various luxury cars that were parked at the front porch were sufficient to form an auto show.

The three brothers from the Black family stood at the entrance to receive their guests personally.

The head of the Black family household, Robert Black, and his wife Meredith, were in the main hall of the manor. They were both dressed in red, all ready for the auspicious occasion.

After they were discharged from the military, the both of them started from scratch and managed to build a successful business empire over the years. Because of their hard work and efforts, the Black family had become one of the wealthiest family in the city.

In addition to that, the family was also flourishing. The couple had expanded their family and was joined by their many children and grandchildren.

The two esteemed elderly of the Black family were very contented with their current state of life.

“Dad, mom, look who’s here!”

Bailey led Aaron’s family to Robert and Meredith.

“Dad, mom!”

Caitlyn was overwhelmed with emotions and shed tears of joy when she met her parents.

Aaron was also feeling emotional and was ready to greet the two elders.

But Robert merely gave a slight nod, while Meredith let out a cold snort and only took a glance at them, before looking away.

Caitlyn and Aaron were both stunned to be given the cold shoulder.

Caitlyn immediately realized that, even though her mom had invited them to her birthday celebration, it would still take some time for her to fully accept them.

However, Caitlyn was already feeling grateful to be able to see her parents again.

The atmosphere in the room turned awkward for a moment.

To ease the tension, Pamela said, “Oh, mom and dad, weren’t you two looking forward to meeting Zoey?”

While saying that, she shoved Zoey in front of the two elders.

“Hi grandpa, hi grandma!” Zoey greeted her grandparents politely.

As it was her first time meeting her grandparents, Zoey was a little nervous.

After sizing Zoey up carefully, Robert and Meredith said in satisfaction, “She seems like a good kid, We like her!”

“Oh, I heard that Zoey is really capable. She even managed to secure a few hundred millions of investment for her company!”

The two elders of the family thought rather highly of Zoey, especially Meredith.

That was because the old lady was a successful woman herself, and had never shown preference for boys over girls.

Instead, among her children and grandchildren, she actually valued the females of the family more.

Back in the days, she had also placed high hopes on Caitlyn, but her daughter ended up eloping with Aaron, which broke Meredith’s heart.

That was the reason why the mother and daughter had not seen each other for over twenty years.

Bailey shot a glance at Levi and said, “Why are you still standing there? Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”

With a grin on his face, Levi walked towards the elderly couple and said, “Hi grandpa and grandma, it’s a pleasure meeting the both of you. I’m Zoey’s husband, Levi!”

Robert observed Levi for a few seconds, and felt that there was a mysterious aura surrounding him.

But he wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly why.

Either Levi is trying to conceal something, or he is just someone who usually goofed around, was what Robert thought.

“I heard that you were once the rising star in the business circle of North Hampton, but was sent to jail for six years! You just finished serving time recently, right?” Meredith spoke.

Even though Meredith appeared to be unconcerned, she was, in fact, very in touch with what was going on in Aaron’s family.

“That’s right, grandma, I just got released from prison.” Levi answered truthfully.

“So, what are your plans going forward?” Meredith asked.

“Since Zoey is doing so well, my plan is just to assist her whenever she needs me! I’m a lucky man to have a wife I can depend on!”

Everyone froze upon hearing Levi’s words.

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Looks of shock appeared on everyone’s faces.

Especially Caitlyn who was seized by terror.

Everyone was well aware of Meredith’s stern and stiff personality. She couldn’t tolerate people who behaved in a boisterous manner like Levi.

Someone with a military police background like Russell would be well-liked by her.

Besides, how could a mere foundling gain a foothold in a wealthy family?

Meredith gave Levi a deep look before she left, obviously disappointed in him.

Robert let out a deep sigh before following suit, lamenting about how Zoey, given her status would marry such a husband.

“What the hell are you doing? You’re challenging the authority of the old lady. She hates people who fool around like you the most!”

Bailey and Pamela glared daggers at Levi.

“You’ve ruined us! The old lady has finally accepted us because of Zoey, but you just had to provoke her again, didn’t you?!”

Caitlyn almost cried from exasperation.

Would the old lady have accepted us immediately today if our son-in-law weren’t Levi, but someone else?

Aaron hugged Caitlyn. “Honey, don’t cry. We’ll regain our dignity and make the old lady acknowledge us when the birthday banquet officially starts later.”

“I supposed that’s all we can do.”

Caitlyn was physically and mentally frustrated.

Shortly after, most of the guests had arrived, apart from the big shots.

Robert and Meredith personally greeted them at the door, with Levi and the others following behind them.

Soon, several cars marked with the SWAT logo appeared.

Russell was the first to come down. He ran to the back, opened the car door, and greeted the leaders one by one.

“Grandpa, Grandma, let me introduce you. This is Shane Young, the captain of the Special Security Unit; Hugo Gibson, the vice-captain; Frankie Wimmer, the political commissar; Quincy King, the vice-captain of the City Patrol Unit…”

Russell introduced them to about seven to eight leaders in one breath.

There were about a dozen more leaders behind who were at the same level as Russell, all of whom held official positions such as team leaders.

Perry led everyone forward, extending their blessings, “Mrs. Black, may you be blessed with longevity and great prosperity…”

“Welcome, Captain Chapman. Welcome…” Robert and Meredith grinned from ear to ear, seeing the support of so many leaders.

Keane and Quintus chuckled. “You really outdid yourself there, Russell!”

“Mr. and Mrs. Black, I would like to commend Russell,” Perry said. “He has so much potential! I’ll make him vice-captain next year! The Black family will have something to be proud of again.”

Hearing those compliments coming straight from Perry’s mouth, Meredith and Robert were all the more exhilarated as they looked at Russell with satisfaction.

“Haha, isn’t that a given, Captain Chapman! Russell has always been the pride of the Black family,” said Meredith unabashedly.

This made everyone envious, especially Caitlyn and Aaron.

How nice would it be if Mrs. Black could be proud of them someday?

Too bad they couldn’t do it by themselves and could only rely on their daughter and their son-in-law.

But could a useless son-in-law like Levi ever make them proud?

Never!

“Grandpa, Grandma, I was going to invite the big shots from the Warzone, but there’s only so much I can do,” Russell said humbly.

“This is more than enough, Russell,” Meredith smiled approvingly. “It’s enough that Captain Chapman and the others could make it!”

“Indeed! With you, Russell, plus Jennie and Logan, it’s the right degree of pomp!” Keane and Quintus both laughed.

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Levi had heard of Jennie and Logan just now.

Jennie was the daughter of Xaiden, the eldest son of the Black family, and she was currently the deputy governor of New Alliance Bank in South City.

Her husband, Logan Zachs, was all the more powerful. His grandfather, who had now retired, once served on the front lines of South City.

His father was the deputy director of the Ministry of Economy and also served as a leader in the Ministry of Commerce.

Jennie and Abigail were both Meredith’s favorite granddaughters.

As expected, Jennie and Logan arrived shortly after, together with Logan’s grandfather, Graham, and his father, Felix.

Graham was also a big shot who was formerly the deputy leader at the South War Zone. He had many disciples but had since retired.

Felix was in the prime of his life, holding an important position.

Their attendance had greatly elevated the Black family’s social status.

“Happy birthday!”

Graham and Felix extended their wishes one after another.

Meredith grasped Jennie and Logan’s hands, smiling brightly with narrowed eyes.

Envy!

They were filled with envy!

Both Aaron and Caitlyn had been dreaming about the day their son-in-law could set the Thames on fire just so they could keep their head up.

But unfortunately, their son-in-law can never compare to that of others!

Just their luck to have met such a son-in-law like Levi.

“Haha, the younger generation of the Black family is full of talents! Let alone our grandchildren, how many people in South City have as many talents and skills as our grandson-in-law?” Meredith said proudly in front of hundreds of guests.

“That’s right,” Russell and the others chimed in. “How many are there who are as gifted as Logan in South City?”

Logan adjusted his tie, smiling, “I don’t deserve your praise, Grandpa, Grandma. The sons-in-law of the Black family are all outstanding! I heard that there’s a son-in-law from North Hampton. Isn’t he very powerful? He’d built a multi-billion conglomerate from scratch! Is he here?” Logan asked, looking around.

Knowing that Logan was referring to Levi, Aaron and Caitlyn suddenly felt ashamed. They lowered their heads and pulled Levi aside, wanting to hide.

“Aunt Caitlyn, Uncle Aaron, why are you guys hiding? North Hampton’s son-in-law, Levi Garrison, is over here!”

Someone mercilessly pointed out Levi’s position.

Everyone around retreated, revealing a large open space showing only Levi and his family.

At once, all eyes zeroed in on them.

“So you are Levi Garrison?” Logan smiled. “I heard that your net worth was over a billion. How about now? I bet it’s now worth more than the entire Black family.”

“Yeah, with your potential, hitting ten billion is pretty attainable!” said Jennie.

Being watched by hundreds of noble relatives, Aaron and Caitlyn broke out in a cold sweat.

They were too anxious.

This moment was too humiliating.

It was evident to Zoey that they were deliberately putting Levi in a tough spot.

Just as she was about to speak up for him, Levi blurted, “To answer Jennie and Logan’s questions, yes, it has definitely surpassed that of the Black family since long ago!”

Money was just a number to him.