Outside the training ground.
Before Raymond even walked in, he heard the thud of something heavy hitting the floor.
Then came Milton’s sharp voice: "Quentin, you bastard, you actually brought a half-beast to hurt my men!"
Raymond slowly pushed the door open and saw the area around the ring in the middle of the training ground was a mess.
Junior guards lay on the ground, their faces twisted in pain. Every one of them was injured. The worst had a broken arm.
Raymond looked up. In the center of the ring stood a half-beast nearly three meters tall. His junior guard uniform stood out harshly.
Across from the ring stood a guard captain with a terrifying face. The two scars on his face were very scary.
The junior guards who had followed Bucky to mess with Raymond earlier stood behind the guard captain, grinning proudly at Milton and his two companions.
"Milton, you lost, so just admit it. Don’t make excuses for your useless men. According to the bet, if no one from your side steps up to fight, then from now on, whenever you three see me, Quentin, you’ll call me ’Daddy’!" Quentin grinned, enjoying the helpless rage on Milton’s faces.
The junior guards behind Quentin started mocking them even louder.
"You idiots over there, too scared to fight? What a bunch of cowards!"
"Back when Captain Quentin wasn’t here, you were pretty cocky, weren’t you?"
"Come on up and taste what our half-beast brother can do!"
"If you don’t dare to fight, just give up now. From now on, each of you gives us 30 copper coins every week, and we promise we won’t mess with you!"
...
The junior guards behind Quentin got worse and worse. The junior guards in front of the three captains were too weak to fight back, so they could only sigh quietly.
"Damn it! You little bastards, you really think we’re afraid to take you on?" Hilton was the first to lose his temper. He released his bronze-colored fighting spirit, which shocked everyone into silence.
"Quentin, it’s boring to just let the Black Iron Stage guys fight. Do you have the guts to step into the ring and go a round with me?" Carlton also released his bronze-colored fighting spirit, his eyes locked on Quentin.
Quentin didn’t take the challenge. He laughed and spat, "If you can’t handle losing, just say so. I recorded the whole bet with a memory stone."
Then he took out a memory stone and projected the scene where they had made the bet and sent their men to fight.
Milton and the other two watched the images, their faces dark.
Even the junior guards lying on the ground lowered their heads.
Seeing this, Quentin said smugly, "You’ve got one minute. Get on your knees and call me ’Daddy’ right now, and I’ll give you back the memory stone. Otherwise, I promise that tonight, this memory stone will end up on the bar of the Floating Tavern. Guess what - when the executive officers who drink there see it, do you think they’ll laugh at how useless Grayson’s men are?"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Milton and the other two instantly drew their longswords, their faces full of killing intent.
"Quentin, you’re asking for death!" Hilton narrowed his eyes, his longsword already pointing at Quentin’s throat.
"You fat idiot, you think I’m scared of you?" Quentin laughed out loud, pulled out the twin blades from his back, and started fighting Hilton.
Raymond watched this scene and quietly shook his head.
It was obvious. Milton and the other two had been set up by Quentin.
Quentin had first provoked them, tricked them into agreeing to a ring match, and then both sides sent their Black Iron Stage men to fight.
But then, Quentin somehow found a half-beast who completely crushed Milton’s team.
Thinking about it, Raymond sighed. "The gap in physical strength between races is just too big."
In a one-on-one fight, a normal human could never beat a powerful half-beast.
But then again... I’m not exactly a normal human.
With that thought, Raymond walked straight toward the ring.
When Milton and Carlton saw Raymond, they were shocked.
"What are you doing here? Don’t you dare step into that ring! That half-beast is ten times stronger than Barron! He’s definitely at Black Iron Stage, level 20!" Carlton grabbed Raymond’s shoulder and whispered a warning.
"That bastard Quentin is Marcus’s lackey. He found some half-beast to join the junior guards, and he’s been picking fights these past few days. I’m sure he’s after you! Don’t fall for it!" Milton said through gritted teeth, afraid Raymond would act rashly.
"Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing." Raymond gently pushed Carlton’s hand away with just a little force.
Carlton’s eyes went wide. He stared at his own hand in disbelief.
Milton punched Carlton hard and cursed, "Why didn’t you hold him back?!"
"I did! But that kid... how is he so strong?" Carlton muttered, still unable to believe it.
"You’re telling me he broke free from your grip with sheer strength? You must be joking!" Milton shouted.
He tried to grab Raymond, but Raymond had already jumped onto the ring.
The half-beast across from him narrowed his eyes into slits. "What? You looking to die?"
Raymond turned to look at Quentin and Hilton, and called out loudly, "Captains! Can the match still go on?"
"No! Get down here right now! That half-beast is a Berserker, not an Archer! Even up close, you can’t beat him!" Hilton shouted. He didn’t dare let Raymond face a half-beast Berserker.
"Hahaha! Kid, you’ve got guts! Of course, the match can still go on! If you win, I’ll get on my knees and call all three of them ’Daddy’!" Quentin laughed loudly and kicked Milton aside.
He walked back to the other side of the ring and gave Raymond a thumbs up. "The match continues, kid. Just make sure you last a while!"
Hearing this, the junior guards lying under the ring panicked.
"Raymond, get down! Don’t fight him!"
"That guy is a werewolf half-beast! His speed and strength are way beyond what a normal human can handle!"
"Unless you’ve mastered fighting spirit or magic, you’re no match for him! Don’t be a hero!"
...
Raymond waved his hand with a smile. "Don’t worry. I’ll go a couple hundred rounds with him first and see how it goes. If he’s too weak, I’ll just knock him out in one punch."
Raymond had gained a sudden burst of strength and urgently needed a real fight to get used to this new power.
But the way he said it caused an uproar among the others.
"Hahaha! That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard! I’ve never seen a rookie this cocky! Everett, make sure you humor him - don’t kill him until after the two hundred rounds!" Quentin laughed so hard he was crying.
"Kid, you want two hundred rounds with me? I’ll give it to you! I’ll break every single one of your two hundred bones, one by one! You’d better hold on and not surrender early!" The half-beast, Everett, stared at Raymond, his chest heaving, his eyes burning red with anger.
Behind Raymond, the junior guards lying on the ground looked at each other, completely dumbfounded.
"Man... I’ve never seen anyone this arrogant in my whole life."
"Raymond’s got such a strong presence when he talks. For a second there, I actually thought he might win."
"Don’t be ridiculous. Unless he breaks through to Bronze Stage, there’s no way he can beat a half-beast at the same level."
"Whatever. When he gets hurt later, maybe Barbara the priestess will feel bad and give us a few extra seconds of Healing Magic."
Around the ring.
Milton tugged at his earlobe, his eyes wide. "Did I hear that right? Did Raymond eat some bad mushrooms and start hallucinating?"
Hilton pointed at Raymond’s empty belt, panicking. "Forget that! The kid doesn’t even have a decent longsword! How’s he supposed to fight?"
Carlton stomped his foot in frustration. He took off his own sword and tossed it onto the ring. "Raymond, your longsword isn’t ready yet. Use mine!"
Raymond caught the longsword, then casually drove the blade into the floor of the ring, leaving only the hilt sticking out. "I won’t need a sword for this fight."
Thud!
Carlton saw Raymond throw away the sword and fell to the ground in shock. "This kid has really lost his mind!"
Quentin was laughing so hard he was rolling on the floor, his stomach muscles cramping up. "Someone help me! This is too funny! I’m gonna pass out from laughing!"
On the ring, the half-beast Everett gritted his teeth so hard they creaked. "You want to die? Fine! I’ll tear your leg off first!"
Everett moved like lightning. In just a few steps, he was in front of Raymond, his sharp claws slashing straight at Raymond’s knee.
"Nice!" Raymond didn’t dodge. Instead, he raised his hand and caught the claw head-on.
Just as the two were about to clash, the junior guards behind Raymond covered their faces in fear.
Even Milton and the others closed their eyes. They couldn’t bear to watch the bloody scene that was about to happen.
Bam!
Everyone felt the ground shake beneath their feet.
They slowly opened their eyes, only to see that Everett’s deadly claws had been caught in Raymond’s single hand - and weren’t moving at all.
The once-arrogant Quentin stood frozen like he’d seen a ghost, his mouth wide open, big enough to fit a whole fist.