Simon Forrester pressed Zachary Grant firmly to the ground with one leg, raising his blood-soaked fist and smashing it onto Zachary’s face.

Punch after punch...

Zachary used a knee to strike Simon’s abdomen. As Simon fell backward, Zachary took the opportunity to mount his waist, landing a punch on his face.

Seeing this, Tobias Blackwood strode forward to pull Zachary away, but Simon quickly got up and kicked Zachary back to the ground.

The henchmen rushed in, and one of them kicked Simon to the ground.

Kevin Chaucer and Vincent Zollner immediately dropped the Grant brothers they were holding and rushed forward, grabbing and throwing to the ground the two henchmen who were about to subdue Simon. The other henchmen charged forward, collectively attacking Simon.

Seth Sutton sprinted over, leaping into the air and kicking several henchmen to the ground.

At that moment, Simon suddenly ran towards the door, landing another punch on Zachary, who was hastily trying to flee the living room.

Zachary retaliated with a punch to Simon’s cheekbone.

Just then, Quentin Thorne stormed in from outside, grabbing Zachary’s suit collar and half dragging him to the sofa.

Zachary was thrown headfirst into a single sofa chair, and before he could get up, Quentin grabbed his collar with a fist, lifting him entirely off the ground to face him.

"You have some nerve, huh?" Quentin whispered harshly, "Bully my daughter? Do you believe I can’t bring you down by tomorrow?"

His voice was so low that amidst the chaos, no one could hear what they were saying.

Zachary’s face turned pale, and the hands that were gripping Quentin’s fists tightly gradually loosened their hold.

"Enough!" Old Man Blackwood, who had been observing the chaotic fight coldly, suddenly shouted, "Everyone stop!"

Seth threw his last punch at a henchman’s face before withdrawing his fist. Seeing Simon still grappling with two henchmen, he rushed over, grabbing one in each hand and throwing them into the corner.

Elsewhere, Kevin Chaucer and Vincent Zollner, who were brawling with the Grant brothers, also retracted their fists.

Simon, eyes bloodshot, seeing Zachary sitting on the sofa, leapt up and kicked Zachary’s shoulder blade.

Zachary was attacked from behind and pitched forward, but quickly stood up. He raised his fist, but before he could throw a punch, Quentin knocked him to the ground.

Quentin roared, "Seth Sutton! Grab Zachary for me! I want to handle him personally now!"

Seth and Simon rushed over, each securing Zachary to the ground.

Old Man Blackwood, unable to bear it, frowned and sternly looked at Quentin, shouting, "Thorne!"

Quentin, gritting his teeth, threw down a ruthless remark: "Old Man, if you protect Zachary today, you’ll be making an enemy of me, Quentin Thorne!"

Old Man Blackwood softened his stance, "Thorne, let’s discuss this peacefully."

The old man turned to Shane Grant, "Shane, take us to the study."

The edges of Shane’s mouth were bruised and bloody. He looked at Quentin, nodding.

The group followed Shane to the study.

Old Man Blackwood led the way, with Quentin closely following.

Zachary’s arms were twisted behind him like a pretzel, restrained by Quentin’s two sons-in-law as he was escorted into the study.

Once in the study, everyone sat down. Old Man Blackwood ordered everyone unrelated to leave, leaving only Zachary, Quentin, and his two sons-in-law present.

The old man sat, leaning on a dragon-headed cane. Despite his age-clouded eyes, they gleamed as he surveyed each face in the room.

"Rex!" the old man sternly addressed Simon Forrester, "Why did you use violence against your elder?"

Simon gritted his teeth in silence.

Seth, visibly angry, retorted, "His uncle bullied my sister-in-law!"

Simon clenched his bloody fist once more, the joints cracking loudly in the quiet study.

The elderly man frowned at Zachary.

Zachary, face white, dared not speak.

The old man quickly understood the situation.

He had watched Zachary grow up and understood his nature better than even Old Master Grant did.

The old man sighed, "Tonight has made us the laughingstock twice..."

He used the word "laughingstock" to try to downplay the night’s conflict. Quentin, guessing what he would say next, immediately interrupted, "Old Man, keeping this person around won’t necessarily be good for Leo in the future."

Implying that Zachary’s conduct would hold Tobias back.

In Old Man Blackwood’s plan, Zachary would endure for another ten years. After ten years, Zachary would retire, and Shane would rise up to begin supporting Julian Shepard, Tobias Blackwood, and others.

If Zachary fell now, given Shane’s current climate, he absolutely couldn’t rise; Zachary’s position might likely be seized by another faction.

Once the power was handed over, reclaiming it later would require significant effort.

The old man’s plan extended far and wide, and Quentin understood the stakes involved. However, given Zachary’s disgraceful actions, Quentin wanted to seize this opportunity to take him down!

The old man leaned on his dragon cane, closing his eyes in thought. After a moment, he opened his eyes and grinned, "Thorne, how about this: let’s swap Zachary and Jordan; Zachary goes to the Western Army, and Jordan comes to the northern region?"

Quentin didn’t respond, sizing up Zachary sitting opposite him.

The Western Army was mainly responsible for border security, under permanent lockdown. Kevin’s father had been stationed there for over two decades, summoned back only two or three times, each lingering half a day before rushing back. Everyday presence there was a must. Sending Zachary there seemed fitting, as the next time he returned to Brimfield, he’d likely be an aged and spent force.

Seeing Quentin did not object, Old Man Blackwood exhaled with relief, tapping the ground with his dragon cane and laughing heartily, "Then it’s settled! Thorne, this time I owe you a favor! If you or your daughter and son-in-law ever need anything in the future, just say the word! If I’m not around, Leo will fulfill this favor on my behalf!"

Quentin still didn’t respond, turning to Simon, "Can you accept this result? If not, raise it now, and with Old Man Blackwood here, we’ll stand by you."

Simon, eyes red, studied Zachary, contemplating other plans, and thus entrusted Quentin to take charge.

...

Leaving the Grant residence and on the way back to the Forrester family mansion, Quentin admonished Simon, "You can’t be this impulsive in the future! You almost suffered a huge loss tonight!"

Simon gritted his teeth silently.

Following behind, Seth agreed, "Exactly, exactly! That old man Zachary planted so many henchmen in the house tonight, and you dared to go challenge him alone? You should have at least called me to help out."

Seeing both Quentin and Simon were silent, he added, "I realized earlier that this old man is bad news! Never mind his harmless smiles, people like him who grin while harboring malice are always waiting to strike when you least expect it!"

————

Group scenes are hard to write; I’ve been writing for a whole night, crying.

And Shadowsweet made recommendations today, so it’s still the basic two more updates.

The additional Chapters owed from last month are nearly done, just 4.5 to go, which will take four or five days, estimated to finish around the 20th. Then the additional Chapters in November will start, so everyone cast more monthly votes for more updates, still one additional Chapter (2000 words) for every 30 votes.