Chapter 20

The operation on Devil Island could be considered a success, but Damien still wasn't satisfied. Celestial Temple hadn't been completely wiped out, and they would have to face off again sooner or later.

But now wasn't the time for a direct attack.

"Celestial Temple has become even more cautious now. Their defenses are probably even stronger than ever. We can't attack them head-on."

Damien said, looking at the message that had just come in.

"So we just let them be?" Ironclaw asked, clearly unwilling to accept that outcome.

"Keep close watch on everything Celestial Temple does. For now, let's have some fun with the Assassin Alliance."

A sharp glint flashed in Damien's eyes. He'd been fed up with the Assassin Alliance for a long time. Whether it was Celestial Temple or the Assassin Alliance, he'd take down whichever one he could.

Damien got up and headed out, talking as he walked.

"We can't let them join forces again, or things will get really tricky."

Ironclaw nodded, but just then, a voice came through his earpiece. He listened carefully, and his brows slowly drew together.

"Lord, we just got word that Milo and Clio were taken by Ares. They're probably going after Mrs. Shaw."

Damien stopped in his tracks, his expression darkening.

The Supreme King now had something to care about, and because of that, he now had a weakness.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Pick a few people from Panther Squad and send them to Sophia and Faye."

"Don't tell them who these people are. Train them well before sending them over, so they don't scare them."

Everyone in the assassin group, men and women alike, had killed before. The murderous aura they carried was far too heavy. Forget about Faye, even Sophia might not be able to handle it.

"Yes."

Ironclaw's expression looked conflicted, but he still spoke up.

"About Mrs. Shaw, should we give her a heads up? After all, Milo and Clio..."

After all, Milo and Clio had been Sophia's family for over twenty years. Women were always emotional, and Ironclaw worried that Sophia might go soft.

"No need to worry. Just go handle it."

"Yes."

Ironclaw turned and left.

But Damien's heart couldn't calm down. He would never allow his woman and child be harmed again. Not by anyone!

Celestial Temple Headquarters

Ever since the last meeting, where they decided to lay low for a while, the atmosphere in Celestial Temple had been strange. After all, they'd been at the absolute top for so long. Suddenly being attacked at their home base and forced to flee in panic, left everyone struggling to adjust.

Especially since the new headquarters had poor conditions and was short-staffed. Even keeping Celestial Temple running was barely manageable.

Finally, after a period of chaos, Celestial Temple decided to fill the vacant elder positions, selecting and promoting people from below.

At present, two of the five elder seats were empty. Ares, one of the twelve main gods, was missing and possibly dead, and the middle management had suffered the most losses. Even worse, Celestial Temple now had a serious shortage of funds.

Damien's crackdown had hit Celestial Temple from every angle. In the past, they would never have given a small player like the Ford family a second thought, but now they desperately needed someone like that.

With no other choice, after discussion, four of the twelve main gods had to personally go out to find funding.

So Demeter, Hephaestus, Hestia, and Hermes had to take action themselves.

Not every one of Celestial Temple's twelve main gods was skilled at combat. Like Aphrodite, who was famous for her beauty and best at seduction and assassination.

Lily, on the other hand was known for her unmatched cunning, and able to kill without leaving a trace.

The four chosen were also known for their wisdom, each with different specialties.

"Why can't I go?"

"Aphrodite, you're too impulsive. Damien isn't an ordinary man. Your methods might not work," White looked at Aphrodite coldly.

"You won't even try, so how do you know it won't work? As long as he's a man, as long as he likes women."

Aphrodite dismissed White's words.

Damien was even willing to go against Celestial Temple and the Assassin Alliance for Sophia. Wasn't that all for a woman? Aphrodite didn't believe she couldn't compare to Sophia.

But White and the elders rejected her approach, and Aphrodite was very unhappy. In the end, she could only watch as the four reluctantly went out to handle things.

Since none of the four would be willing to submit to the other, they had no choice but to act separately. What they didn't know was that from the moment they left Celestial Temple, Damien had already received the news.

"You're saying four of the twelve main gods personally showed up?"

Damien looked at Ironclaw, seeming to confirm the information.

"Yes, Lord. One Ares was already so hard to deal with, and now there are four."

"Good that they came. If four of them came out at once, it proves Celestial Temple has reached a life-or-death moment."

Damien smiled slightly, looking somewhat pleased.

"Find a way to stop them. What Celestial Temple needs most right now is a source of funding. We can't let them get another Ford family."

Damien's slender index finger tapped on the table, "It would be best if you could bring their heads back to me."

The aura around Ironclaw suddenly intensified, "Yes!"

After watching him leave, Damien got up and headed back to his room.

Sophia had personally cooked a whole table of dishes. Seeing Damien return, she took off her apron and went to greet him.

"Done with work?"

She reached out to take Damien's coat and hung it on the rack, asking with a smile.

"Yeah. Why did you make so much food today?"

The warm atmosphere in the room made Damien feel momentarily dazed. After living on the edge for so long, he was actually a bit unaccustomed to something this peaceful.

"I wanted you to try my cooking."

Although they had a child together, they'd spent so little time together that Sophia hadn't even had a chance to cook for Damien. So after things were settled, she made a whole table of dishes to thank Damien.

"Thank you for not giving up on me and Faye, and for bringing us home."

Sophia looked up and planted a kiss on the corner of Damien's mouth. Damien wrapped one arm around her waist and held the back of her neck with the other hand, forcefully deepening the kiss.

"Daddy, Mommy, are you kissing?"

Faye's tender voice rang out. Only then did Damien release Sophia, letting her breathe rapidly and greedily.

Damien laughed. She was already a mother, yet she still didn't know how to breathe while kissing.

He walked over with a smile, scooped Faye up, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Now you've been kissed too. Let's go eat."

The family of three ate together. Sophia's cooking was quite good, and Damien felt the warmth of a home-cooked meal for the first time.

After dinner, Faye was taken back by her tutor for lessons. Damien and Sophia discussed returning to New York.

"Ever since I can remember, I've been the daughter of the Brown family. Although Mother wasn't that good to me, I never thought I wasn't the Brown family's daughter."

Sophia's smile was somewhat bleak. Damien felt his heart being squeezed painfully. He put his arm around Sophia's shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely help you get to the bottom of this."

"Did they adopt me because of my blood type? Will Faye be hurt again?" Sophia couldn't help but worry about Faye.

Damien pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Thinking of adorable Faye, where Sophia couldn't see, his gaze became as sharp as an unsheathed blade.

"No, I will definitely protect you both well."