Chapter 1 The Return Of The Great Marshal
- Oakheart International Airport, which had always been hustling and bustling, had no signs of tourists at all. The entire place was so silent that one could hear a pin drop.
- Only thousands of men dressed in camouflage uniforms were present with loaded weapons, waiting in anticipation.
- “Zone one, clear!”
- “Zone two, clear!”
- The colonel who carried two stripes and three stars on his shoulders, Lone Wolf, let out a long sigh of relief after hearing the report.
- “The coast is clear. You may alight now, Great Marshal.”
- Zeke extinguished the cigar in his hand before he slowly walked out of the private jet.
- He was decked out in a fur coat that rustled in the cold wind. His expression was bland, but it instilled fear in others, nonetheless.
- He exuded an aura like that of a monarch overlooking the world, which made people hold their breaths.
- Thousands of soldiers shifted their gaze to him uniformly, their eyes brimming with admiration.
- He was a living legend and their faith.
- “Welcome back, Great Marshal!” Lone Wolf hurriedly greeted.
- Zeke nodded indifferently.
- “Great Marshal,” Lone Wolf continued gingerly, “Your family has sent some people to meet you. They are waiting in the lounge.”
- “They seem desperate for you to return to the family.”
- Zeke stood rooted to the ground as he looked toward the lounge.
- There was indeed a row of people in suits, anxiously awaiting his return.
- As their eyes met, the people inside shuddered and couldn't help but kneel on the ground with pleading eyes.
- It would be a major shock to anyone who saw this scene.
- Did the dignified and influential Williams family of Atheville just get down on their knees?
- Zeke snorted, his mind wandering.
- He, the original young master of the Williams family in Atheville, had been forced by the head of the Williams family to take his twin brother's place in jail fifteen years ago.
- No one had spoken up for him in the family, including his parents.
- He was released from prison five years later.
- And in just a few years, he became a marshal with unparalleled power and the world's number one God of War.
- In the past, when he had experienced the cruelty of life, the Williams family had shown him no concern at all.
- But now that he was rich and powerful, they finally remembered him.
- How ridiculous!
- A sense of self-deprecation flashed across Zeke's face as he responded coldly, “Tell them the moment the Williams family made me go to jail on behalf of my brother fifteen years ago, Zeke Williams died. The Zeke Williams right now has nothing to do with the Williams family of Atheville. Tell them not to disturb me again or they'll see torrents of blood before their eyes! Take care of it, Lone Wolf. Don't interfere with my wedding reception.”
- Lone Wolf nodded hastily. “Yes, Sir!”
- Zeke walked up to the wedding car on the side.
- He stroked the jade pendant hanging on his chest. His anger then vanished, tamped down by an obvious act of will.
- He couldn't help but think about the origin of that jade pendant.
- Ten years ago, when he had finished serving his time in prison, no one from the Williams family had come to pick him up; no one even sent their regards.
- They had completely forgotten about him.
- He was penniless and living on the streets. Starving and dying from the cold, he wanted to end his life there and then.
- But at that critical moment, a little girl passing by had given him a cotton-padded coat and a jade pendant.
- “This cotton-padded coat will keep you warm from the cold, and this jade pendant will bring you good luck. As long as you're alive, there is hope.”
- She had rekindled that spark of hope in Zeke who, in turn, affirmed his determination to make a name for himself.
- So, he had dusted himself down and embarked on the journey of becoming a soldier.
- There were countless times when he was on the brink of death with no hope of survival whatsoever. Whenever he was in jeopardy, that beautiful and kind silhouette would flash across his mind.
- She was Zeke's conviction to live and motivation to keep striving.
- After serving in the military for only five years, he had become the marshal of the armed forces.
- In the midst of a national crisis, Zeke had been entrusted with a mission to lead thousands of troops and make a clean sweep across the borders of nine countries. He also had to force them into signing the Nine Nations Treaty of Alliance.
- For five years, Zeke had not been allowed to make a comeback. He was prohibited from using his wealth and power in exchange for fair competition for Eurasia enterprises in those nine countries.
- Since then, the Great Marshal had disappeared.
- Only the ordinary man, Zeke Williams, returned to Oakheart City. Thereafter, he found the girl, Emily Clemons, who gave him the jade pendant back then and courted her madly.
- After five years of dedication, it finally came to fruition.
- Today was the day he was going to marry Emily.
- And the day when the Nine Nations Treaty of Alliance expired.
- For the first time in five years, he had left Oakheart City and headed to the United Nations to terminate the Nine Nations Treaty of Alliance yesterday; today was the day he rushed back to attend his wedding.
- After tonight, his power and wealth would be automatically reinstated.
- “Great Marshal,” Lone Wolf called, handing him a list. “Your Grand Comeback Ceremony is scheduled in three days. Here's the invitation list. Please have a look.”
- Zeke glanced at the list and said, “Send three invitation cards to my fiancée, Emily. I want her to know that in three days, her husband will be the powerful Great Marshal who overturns the world. Not just some man on the street!”
- ...
- One hour later, the wedding hall was bustling with noise and excitement.
- The guests were discussing what had just happened.
- A moment ago, a team of fully armed troops had sent three invitation cards to the Clemons family.
- It was not an ordinary invitation card, but an invitation from the Great Marshal, the legendary God of War, to his Grand Comeback Ceremony.
- The entire world knew who the Great Marshal was. He was rich and powerful, the idol of many boys and girls.
- Those eligible to attend his Grand Comeback Ceremony were either the officialdom tycoons or the consortium tycoons.
- However, there was only one slot for ordinary people!
- And it went to the Clemons family!
- It was the ultimate honor one could ever receive!
- The Clemons family was destined to have their own Cinderella story, going from rags to riches!
- The crowd was overwhelmed with envy and jealousy.
- Of course, they were even more envious of the bridegroom today, Zeke Williams.
- How lucky was he to be able to marry Emily at this time!
- In the boudoir, Emily's mother, Madeleine Clemons, was weeping with joy as she held onto the three invitation cards.
- “Our family has finally succeeded, Emily. After we attend the ceremony in three days, our status in Oakheart City will definitely rise. By then, there will be countless rich and powerful people who will suck up to us. Our family will likely become part of the upper-class society!”
- Emily was full of pride. “Yeah, mom. This is really beyond my expectations.”
- “Emily,” Madeleine suddenly said, her voice stern. “Our family is about to climb the social ladders, and it's a bit too easy for that poor boy, Zeke, to marry you with just a dowry of three hundred thousand, don't you think? How about this? We'll ask for another three hundred thousand, and if he can't give us that, he doesn't deserve to marry you!”
- Emily nodded. “Whatever you say, Mom. I'll listen to you.”
- In no time, Zeke arrived.
- With hope and fear written on his face, he walked into the boudoir with flowers in his hand.
- “Emily, I'm here to marry you.”
- However, the atmosphere in the boudoir was relatively cold.
- Zeke felt a little embarrassed when Emily didn't accept the flowers he had brought.
- “Zeke,” Emily's mother, Madeleine, started, “If you want to marry my daughter today, you have to give us a dowry of another three hundred thousand.”
- Zeke frowned. “Haven't I already given you a dowry of three hundred thousand? Why do you want another three hundred thousand?”
- Truth be told, a few hundred thousand meant nothing to him.
- As long as Emily wanted it, he could grant her the greatest wealth she could ever imagine.
- However, his wealth wouldn't be reinstated until after midnight. He really couldn't get three hundred thousand at that moment.
- “I'm sure you've heard that our family has received an invitation from the Great Marshal,” Madeleine began.
- “Our family is about to climb up the social ladders and become a noble family. Wouldn't it be disgraceful to my family if word gets out that you became my son-in-law with just a dowry of three hundred thousand?”
- Zeke was speechless.
- You think I'm disgraceful just because you received an invitation from the Great Marshal?
- But I'm that Great Marshal!
- He looked at Emily. “Emily, what's your take on this?”
- “I think my mom is right,” Emily replied.
- “Once we attend the Grand Comeback Ceremony, there will definitely be a myriad of rich people proposing to me. Forget about three hundred thousand. I'm sure they can even afford three million. We're already going easy on you by only asking for three hundred thousand.”
- Zeke sighed. “How about this? Let's just get married first and not keep the guests waiting. After that, I can give you thirty million, let alone three hundred thousand.”
- Emily rolled her eyes peevishly.
- “Who are you trying to fool? Isn't that just an empty promise? Get the money quickly and borrow it if you have no money. Otherwise, we aren’t getting married today.”
- Zeke felt helpless. When he was about to tell them that he was the Great Marshal, the bridesmaid, Lacey Hinton, couldn't stand it anymore.
- “Emi, I think it's best if you get married first. The guests are waiting outside. If you're going to haggle over the betrothal gifts and make a scene now, Zeke will only become a laughingstock. How can he raise his head in front of his relatives and friends in the future? They will make fun of him for a lifetime.”
- Zeke glanced at Lacey gratefully.
- Although she was just a bridesmaid and only wearing light makeup, she was superior to Emily, regardless of her look and figure.
- Zeke was very fond of her because she had helped him pursue Emily before this.
- But unexpectedly, Emily had a fallout with Lacey.
- She was jealous of Lacey's good looks and had been using her. Their friendship was completely superficial.
- “How could you stab me in the back, Lacey? Do you even treat me as a friend? It's fine that you're speaking up for Zeke, but you didn't even get me any gifts on my wedding day. Oh yeah, I forgot. You gifted me a jade pendant ten years ago. A poor sister like you isn't worthy of being my friend now. Take your stupid jade pendant and leave.”
- Emily removed the pendant and threw it to Lacey.
- Bang!
- Zeke stared at that jade pendant, his brain rumbling.
- What?
- Lacey is the owner of that jade pendant?
- It wasn't Emily who had helped me back then, but Lacey?