The Supreme Overlord

Chapter 8

"Oh? Is there someone in Meriland that I can't afford to mess with?" Tanner sneered, his tone dripping with contempt as he listened to Landon's words.

But Landon thought Tanner was being reckless, assuming that just because he could fight, he could take on anyone.

He sneered back, his voice filled with disdain. "Tanner, even if you kill me today, I still won't reveal his name. So what if you're strong? That person has status, guns, artillery, and the power to command the military. And what do you have? Just your two fists? Crushing you would be as easy as squashing an ant for him!"

"So he can even mobilize the military, huh? Such a high status. Should I be scared now?" Tanner scoffed even louder, then slowly turned around, his back to Landon.

He then continued, "A month from now marks the anniversary of the day my family was slaughtered five years ago. My family was falsely accused of treason and wrongfully disgraced! So, a month from now, I want you, Landon, to livestream in front of everyone in Caridonia. Make it clear that my family was wrongfully killed, return all the assets you stole from us, reveal the name of that government official, and finally, take your entire family and die."

With that, Tanner turned and left the scene, his presence so commanding that no one dared to stop him.

"What? That's outrageous!" The moment Tanner left, many of the guests erupted in anger.

"Making so many demands of Mr. Price, and even telling his entire family to die? Tanner is way too domineering!"

"Then why didn't any of you speak up earlier? Why wait until he's gone to voice your opinions?" Landon snapped, his voice sharp and furious.

When they were celebrating his birthday, these same people had been all about sharing blessings and hardships together.

But just now, when Tanner threatened to kill him, not a single person had dared to stand up.

The crowd, cowed by Landon's anger, immediately fell silent.

"Wait, where's the Commander?" Landon suddenly frowned, his expression shifting to confusion.

The Commander was supposed to have arrived. But he hadn't shown up even after Tanner caused such a commotion.

The butler, trembling with fear, hesitated for a moment before summoning the courage to report. "Mr. Price, the military sent word. They said the Commander did come, but he left shortly after. He also said everyone here is a bunch of fools."

"What!" Landon exploded in rage upon hearing this. He cursed loudly, convinced that Tanner's actions had offended the Commander, driving him away.

The Price family had suffered a huge loss this time, Landon thought.

What was supposed to be a grand 50th birthday celebration ended on a sour, humiliating note.

***

Landon was seated in the hall when his personal doctor arrived and began tending to his wounds.

The doctor had attempted to stitch up his severed arm, but it was impossible. The flesh had been completely crushed by Tanner.

Landon closed his eyes, his expression complicated and grim.

The surveillance system at Jaxon's villa had been destroyed, so he didn't know exactly what had happened there.

But he knew that not only was Jaxon dead, but all of his bodyguards had been wiped out as well.

There was no way Tanner could have taken on so many people alone, he thought.

For the first time, Landon started to question his assumptions.

'Could it be that Tanner has experienced something extraordinary in the past five years? Is his background now deep enough to even challenge that figure in the government?' A sense of unease crept into Landon's heart.

"Dad!" At that moment, a squad of fully armed soldiers wielding rifles stormed into the hall. They were all strong and radiated a murderous aura.

Leading them was a thirty-year-old colonel. When he saw the chaos in the hall and noticed that Landon had lost an arm, his face filled with shock. "Dad, what happened? Who would dare to do this to you?"

"Owen, you're finally back." Landon, who had been sitting dejectedly, immediately perked up at the sight of the man in front of him.

This was his most capable son, Owen Price.

Jaxon had been nothing more than a spoiled rich kid. Without the Price family's wealth and power, he wouldn't have had the skills to survive on his own.

But Owen was different. He had joined the military at sixteen and climbed the ranks through his own efforts. By thirty, he had already become a colonel.

"Owen..." Seeing Owen, Landon couldn't help but feel emotional. He quickly recounted everything that had happened.

"What?" Owen's face darkened with rage as soon as he heard the story.

Bam! He slammed his hand down on the heavy mahogany table next to him—a table so solid it would have taken several strong men to lift it.

Boom! The table shattered instantly, reduced to dust under the force of his blow.

Gritting his teeth, Owen made a firm promise to his father. "Dad, I'm sorry I got here too late. If I had arrived just a little earlier, Tanner would have already been dead! Don't worry. I'll find him and kill him to avenge you and Jaxon!"

Landon, however, still felt a lingering sense of unease. "Owen, don't underestimate Tanner. Your uncle was very skilled too, and yet..."

Before he could finish, Owen shook his head confidently. "Dad, you've never trained in combat, so you don't understand. My uncle's skills might have been impressive to ordinary people, but compared to me? I could defeat him with just one finger. If Tanner crosses paths with me, I'll crush him with one hand, no problem."

He continued, "Besides, I'm now the colonel of the provincial special forces brigade, overseeing over a thousand elite troops. With just one word, I could obliterate him."

"Good." Hearing Owen's words, Landon finally felt a sense of relief.

That's right—he was the richest man in Caridonia. With his wealth, his connections, and the people at his disposal, how could Tanner, a mere upstart, possibly defeat him?

What kind of miraculous encounter could Tanner have had in just five years?

'Tanner, you want my apology? You didn't kill me on the spot, and you'll never be able to kill me! In fact, I'll be the one to kill you! You ruined my chance to curry favor with the Commander. You're dead!' he thought.

At Caridonia Healing Harbor Hospital, Tanner arrived at a VIP ward, carrying a bag of fresh fruit thoughtfully in hand.

"Tanner!" Inside the room, Gavin and Laura had already regained consciousness. They had thought their lives were over, but to their surprise, they woke up in a hospital.

Now, seeing their son safe and sound, all their worries melted away.

Ryder, now dressed in casual clothes, immediately stepped forward to report as soon as he saw Tanner.

"Sir, your parents are in good health now. The doctor said they only need some nutritional IVs."

"Nutritional IVs?" Tanner glanced at the prescription but frowned slightly, thinking the IVs were too basic.

Without hesitation, he picked up a pen and began writing a new prescription himself. Just as he finished, the attending doctor for his parents walked into the room. Tanner handed the prescription to him. "Doctor, please administer these nutritional IVs to my parents."

"Oh my! How could I have forgotten that these medications can be combined to speed up recovery?" The doctor was stunned as he looked at the prescription, then turned his gaze to Tanner. "Young man, do you know medicine? Looks like your skills are better than many of the doctors in our hospital!"

Ryder, standing to the side, smiled and shook his head. "Doctor, you don't know the half of it. He isn't just knowledgeable about medicine—he's a legendary healer. Surgeries, treating terminal illnesses, prescribing life-saving medications—these are all routine for him. Many world leaders have spent fortunes trying to get Tanner to treat them, but they never even got the chance."

"Tanner, where have you been these past five years? How did you become so skilled?" Gavin asked, looking at him in astonishment.

Laura was equally curious, her eyes wide with wonder. "You're truly amazing. You can fight off so many people on your own, and now you're a medical expert too."

"Dad, Mom, it's a long story." Tanner handed his parents a peeled apple slice as he began recounting his experiences over the past five years.

He told them how he had been recognized by a benefactor, enlisted in the military, braved gunfire, fought enemies for his country, and endured countless scars along the way.

"Tanner, you've been through so much." Hearing how their beloved son had spent the last five years risking his life, Gavin and Laura were heartbroken. Tears welled up in their eyes, and they couldn't hold them back.

Ryder, standing nearby, also wiped his eyes. Their young commander had lived such a hard and painful life.

However, Tanner didn't tell his parents that he was now the Commander of Meriland. Instead, he told them he was a doctor in the military.

Given their fragile health, he worried that revealing too much too soon might overwhelm them and harm their well-being. He decided to share the full truth gradually.

Even so, Gavin and Laura were overjoyed to hear that he was a military doctor. "We're so proud of you! With such incredible medical skills, you'll surely restore the glory of the Morgan family!"

"Dad, Mom." Tanner's expression suddenly grew serious as he brought up something that had weighed heavily on his heart for years. "Where is Rebecca's grave? I want to visit her."

Rebecca, the woman he had loved for fifteen years and who had been pregnant at the time, had died. Her death left a wound in his heart that had never healed.

"Rebecca's grave?" Gavin frowned deeply. "What grave? She's not dead."