The Rise of Dragon Temple

Chapter 25

“Dad… I knew you’d be back today. Heehee!” Throwing herself into Joseph’s arms, Chloe said happily

while kissing him on the cheek. At this moment, Joseph had mixed emotions. Although he was sad

deep inside, he was also delighted to be able to hold his daughter. Because of his complex emotions,

he remained silent all the while. Joseph planted a kiss on Chloe’s face. Enduring his sorrow, he replied,

“That’s right. You have such good instincts. I’m sorry, Chloe. I came late. I’m really sorry…” Shaking her

head delightfully, Chloe replied, “It’s fine as long as you are back, Dad. Mom and I plan to have dinner

now. Come and join us…” Joseph suppressed his emotions and nodded with a smile, “Sure. Let’s have

dinner together.” Then, he looked up at Paige, who was standing in a daze with teary eyes. Joseph

could not help but feel even more guilty. At this time, Chloe turned back and waved happily at Paige.

“Mom, let’s have dinner together. Heehee! We’re having dinner together as a family…” As Paige

covered her teary eyes, Joseph nodded slightly at her. “Let’s go for dinner now. Don’t let Chloe

starve…” Paige agreed. Thus, she wiped her tears and followed closely behind Joseph, who was

holding Chloe in his arms. Joseph then asked Chloe with a smile, “Since it’s daddy’s treat, what do you

want to eat? Shall we go to a nice restaurant?” Chloe responded with great excitement, “Dad, let’s

have some delicious instant noodles. Is that okay?” Joseph was stunned. Instant noodles? With his

current wealth, how could he treat his daughter to junk food? Before he could say anything, Paige

smiled and answered, “Of course. We can have instant noodles with you…” Overjoyed, Chloe

immediately made a peace sign. Then, she pointed to a restaurant not far from the hotel. With her eyes

sparkling, she said, “We should go there…” Joseph frowned slightly. Initially, he wanted to take Paige

and Chloe to a nicer restaurant, but since his daughter was so excited about this place, he remained

silent as he followed them to this relatively small restaurant. At the dining table, Chloe happily ordered

three bowls of instant noodles with eggs. When the dishes were served, Chloe immediately passed the

poached egg in her bowl to Joseph. Displaying a smile, she said to Joseph, “Dad, you should eat more

because you are an adult. I can’t finish all this food anyway. Otherwise, you will be hungry when you

sleep at night…”

Hearing this, Joseph could feel his heart skipping a beat. He vaguely felt something was off, but he was

not sure. He looked at Paige in curiosity. However, she lowered her head and continued eating with

teary eyes. After the meal, the three returned to the hotel. Chloe lay in Joseph’s arms and talked a

variety of things with him. At night, Paige took Chloe to take a bath. Then, Chloe lay on the bed and

asked Joseph to tell her a story. Earlier, she waited for him all day. Since she did not take an afternoon

nap, she was incredibly tired. After less than half an hour, Chloe fell asleep. Carefully covering her

daughter with a quilt, Joseph noticed that Paige was quietly sobbing at the balcony. With a frown on his

face, he went to her. Noticing that Joseph was approaching, Paige asked while crying, “Are you really

okay? Why would the Kennedys let you go so easily? Why don’t you leave quickly? Since Chloe is

asleep, you should go now. Leave Frogua and hide. Don’t return for the time being…” Hearing this,

Joseph fell silent. After a long while, he took a deep breath and looked at Paige. “It’s okay. Everything

is settled now. Maybe I’m lucky. The Kennedys made a huge scene this time and angered the Police

Department in Apren City. This afternoon, the Police Department came over and arrested them.

The Kennedy family’s crimes over the years have caught up to them.” “What? Is the Kennedy family

completely wiped out?” Paige looked at Joseph with incomparable shock. She had never thought that

this would be the outcome. Joseph nodded. “Indeed, the Kennedy family is gone, so I can come back

safely. I don’t have to leave anymore. It’s okay. Don’t worry…” Glancing at Joseph, she heaved a sigh

of relief, “Thank goodness. Why didn’t the Police Department arrest you for what you’ve done to

Jaylah?” After pondering for a while, Joseph answered, “I’m from the military, so the Police Department

can’t touch me. In any case, it should be the military who would punish me…” Paige asked worriedly,

“How will they punish you? Will it be very harsh?” Joseph paused and said, “It’s fine. At most, they will

expel me. It’s no big deal. The moment I found out that I have a daughter, I do not wish to stay in the

military anymore. I just want to stay with Chloe…” Paige became even more emotional. Indeed,

perhaps this was the best outcome. Although he was expelled by the military, Joseph was able to

return safely. At the moment, both Paige and Joseph were silent. After a while, Joseph said to Paige

with great guilt, “Paige, I’m sorry, I… I really don’t know how I’ve hurt you back then. You’ve led a tough

life in the past few years with Chloe all by yourself. It’s all my fault. I’m sorry…” Shaking her head,

Paige then turned to look at Joseph. “Let’s not talk about that. It’s

all in the past. Chloe is a gift from the heavens. She is a good kid. You can’t even imagine how sensible

she is…” After a pause, Paige continued, “Joseph, do you know why Chloe took you to eat instant

noodles tonight?” . Joseph shook his head subconsciously. Paige continued, “In her heart, instant

noodles and eggs are the best food in the world. She never asks me for snacks. Even if she often

secretly looks at other children when they have snacks, she would never ask for them.” The tears

started to well up even more in Paige’s eyes. She looked at Chloe, who was asleep with a smile. Paige

added, “Chloe also likes eggs in instant noodles very much, but do you know what she thinks? Before

you came back, she told me that she would give you her favorite poached eggs, so you would not

leave when you were full…”

Taking a deep breath, she looked at Joseph emotionally. “Joseph, Chloe has never met you before, but

she doesn’t hate you at all. On the contrary, she likes you very much. To prevent you from leaving, she

is willing to give you all her favorites.” “Joseph, Chloe is very young, but she tried her best to give you

the best things she can think of…” At this point, Joseph started tearing up. Earlier, he felt that

something was off during dinner. It turned out that his instincts were accurate. Upon hearing how Chloe

thought, he felt both guilty and touched at the same time. “I’m sorry…” Joseph said to Paige while

sobbing. Paige took a deep breath and replied, “Phew… Joseph… We’ve never had feelings for each

other from the start. What happened that night was because of your lack of consciousness. When I

found out that I was pregnant two months later, I initially thought of abortion. However, I could feel the

baby moving one day, so I decided to give birth to Chloe. No matter how hard life would be, I’ve

decided to raise her. I did not expect that she would like you so much. Despite starvation and

exhaustion, she still waited for you at the hotel entrance all day…” “Joseph, we’ve never loved each

other. You have your own career, and I don’t want to use Chloe to threaten you and drag you down.

Joseph… I won’t ask you to marry me. I only beg you to treat Chloe well. She is your daughter and a

person who needs to rely on you most in this life, so… Please… I beg you… I beg you not to leave her.

Please be with her until she’s all grown up, okay? Even if in the future you meet someone you like, you

can marry that person. I wouldn’t mind, okay?” Paige looked at Joseph with teary eyes. At this moment,

Joseph was completely stunned. Hearing such earnest words from Paige, he even wanted to slap

himself to death. He had been fighting in foreign territories for all these years. He was even the leader

of Dragon Temple, which was one of the most powerful organizations globally. However, he had never

imagined that his wife and daughter were leading such miserable lives in Frogua… Indeed, he had

regarded Paige as his wife. Even if she had never given birth to Chloe, Joseph still intended to marry

her once he returned. After all, she was the one who gave him hope at the most desperate period of his

life. Despite having many things on his mind, he could not utter a single word to Paige as she seemed

depressed at the time. “You should get some early rest as you must be tired as well. Don’t think too

much and put too much pressure on yourself. Your relationship with Chloe is totally a separate issue

from our relationship…” Paige said before going back to sleep. Standing alone on the balcony, Joseph

closed the door and lit a cigarette. He stayed alone on the balcony for a long time. In the room, Paige,

who was equally exhausted, soon fell asleep. When Joseph noticed that Paige fell asleep, he took out

his mobile phone and dialed Alpha l’s number. “Alpha 1, how are the arrangements for Oplen?” At the

same time, in a top private club in the center of Oplen. There were hundreds of bodyguards outside the ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

club. In the hall, there were only three people. One was Alpha 1, and the other two were the two most

powerful figures in the city. One of them was Dennis Drake of Gempoint Group, the largest

conglomerate in Oplen. The other was Ernie Green, the leader of the largest underground forces.

However, at this moment, both Dennis and Ernie were extremely frightened. The mysterious Alpha 1

had the strength of an elite soldier and massive funds. In just one afternoon, he had acquired all of

Gempoint Group. What made them more fearful was that the leaders of Oplen did not intervene at all.

After some background research, Dennis and Ernie finally learned that members of Dragon Temple, the

strongest international organization, had all gathered in Apren City, which was not far from them. They

also discovered that the Kennedy family had been wiped out by the Police Department. How could that

be? This was only a lie to the commoners. Both Dennis and Ernie refused to believe such a blatant lie.

Moreover, they also heard that the military commander, who was in charge of central Frogua, was

previously ranked 34th in Dragon Temple. At this moment, Alpha 1 said to Dennis and Ernie with a

smile, “Haha. I’m sorry, you two. I don’t have much time left. My boss is still waiting for my reply. I’m not

in the mood for any delays. I think you have arranged hundreds of men outside. They can either come

in to fight or submit to us. Please tell me the answer now. Have you made your decisions?” Dennis and

Ernie traded glances at each other. They forcibly suppressed the idea of ordering their subordinates to

fight Alpha 1 head-on. Ernie cautiously asked, “It’s

fine to make a choice, but could you at least tell us who will we be submitting to? Otherwise, we will be

anxious…” Looking at Ernie with a smile, Alpha 1 replied, “Mr. Green, stop your petty tricks. Haven’t

you already find out? Actually, there’s no need to hide this matter. I don’t think the two of you would

have the guts to tell anyone. My name is Alpha 1!” As soon as Alpha 1 finished speaking, his imposing

aura instantly filled the whole place. . Dennis and Ernie’s faces instantly turned pale. They

subconsciously stood up in fear. In front of Alpha 1, they were incredibly intimidated. After all, he was a

member of Dragon Temple, an organization full of military experts. In fact, the commander in central

Frogua was ranked 34th in Dragon Temple. Meanwhile, the man in front of them was Alpha 1. At this

moment, both Ernie and Dennis were drenched in a cold sweat. Dennis suddenly thought of something.

Did Alpha 1 ask them to submit to his leader? Did that mean… Thinking of this, Dennis cautiously

asked, “Mr. Alpha 1, are you saying that your boss is here in Oplen?” As Dennis asked the question,

Ernie hurriedly looked at Alpha 1. Taking a sip of his tea, Alpha 1 responded, “Haha… Ask only what

you should. Or else, you may die after finding out more…” Ernie and Dennis were so frightened that

they both fell to the ground. Although Alpha 1 did not say it directly, it was a tacit admission. The

legendary leader of Dragon Temple was, in fact, in Oplen! “We surrender. We’re willing to die for you!”

Dennis and Ernie quickly knelt and shouted. On the one hand, they were afraid, but on the other, they

also knew that this was a great opportunity. This was a path to success. At this time, Alpha l’s phone

rang. When he saw the caller ID, he quickly stood up. Upon hearing Joseph’s instructions, he

responded respectfully, “Sir, everything is settled. Dennis and Ernie have submitted…” As such, Dennis

and Ernie became even more certain that the legendary big shot had truly arrived at Oplen. Both of

them were extremely shocked. “Very well then..” On the hotel balcony, Joseph nodded and hung up the

phone. Glancing at Paige and Chloe, he took a deep breath and muttered, “Don’t worry, I am back. In

this life, no one can bully you anymore!”