Chapter 92: Gentle Giant

  The heavy iron bell rang loudly, entirely signaling the start of the next bout.

  Zeno stepped completely over the thick iron chains and directly into the absolute center of the hard-packed sand ring. He rolled his broad, massive shoulders again, entirely trying to get used to the complete, unnerving freedom of movement without the heavy weight of his gauntlets actively dragging on his arms.

  The massive crowd roared with a chaotic mixture of sheer excitement and absolute derision. Many of the veteran gamblers were entirely dismissing the young, cheerful-looking boy, heavily placing their silver on his significantly older, incredibly mean-looking, highly experienced opponent.

  "Iron-Jaw" Brutus stepped heavily into the ring opposite Zeno. He was a massive, completely bald man, his entire torso covered entirely in thick, spiraling blue nautical tattoos. He easily had fifty pounds of sheer mass on Zeno, though significantly less dense, functional muscle definition. His most prominent, terrifying feature was a massive, heavy iron plate completely bolted directly over his lower jaw, replacing the bone he had undoubtedly lost in a previous, highly violent pit encounter.

  Brutus sneered viciously, violently smashing his massive, taped fists together. "You're entirely in the wrong place, kid. I'm going to completely break both your arms and use you to wipe the bloody sand."

  Zeno completely ignored the generic, highly predictable threat. He dropped smoothly into his wide, perfectly balanced brawler's stance, raising his dark-wrapped fists.

  "Lyra told me not to permanently break you," Zeno stated entirely cheerfully, his voice carrying clearly over the screaming crowd. "So I am going to be incredibly, absolutely gentle. But you still have to go to sleep now."

  The sheer, utter condescension of the statement, delivered with absolute, innocent sincerity, completely infuriated the veteran brawler.

  With a massive, entirely uncoordinated roar of pure rage, Brutus charged directly across the sand. He absolutely didn't use footwork; he entirely relied on his overwhelming mass, throwing a massive, completely wild, sweeping right hook directly aimed at shattering Zeno’s head.

  Zeno didn't even engage his Flowing Step. The attack was entirely too slow for a Vanguard who had regularly fought assassins.

  He simply stepped a single half-pace entirely inside the massive, sweeping arc of the punch. He raised his thick left forearm, completely absorbing the heavy impact with absolute zero effort, his monstrous Strength stat of 26 easily neutralizing the heavy momentum.

  Before Brutus could even begin to pull his massive arm back for a second strike, Zeno struck.

  He absolutely didn't pull a surge of blue Tena into his fist. He entirely held back his terrifying D-Rank power. He knew exactly what a fully powered punch would do to a normal, un-enhanced human skull.

  Zeno utilized a tiny fraction of his raw, physical power. He delivered a short, incredibly fast, perfectly placed palm strike directly upward, entirely targeting the heavy iron plate bolted to Brutus's jaw.

  CLACK!

  The impact was sharp, incredibly precise, and entirely devastating. The sheer, concentrated kinetic force didn't break the iron, but it transferred entirely through the heavy metal and violently, aggressively rattled the brawler's skull.

  Brutus’s eyes instantly rolled back entirely into his head. His massive body went completely, permanently limp in mid-air, the neural shock completely shutting down his entire nervous system in a fraction of a second. He collapsed heavily face-first into the hard-packed sand, entirely unconscious before he even hit the ground.

  The entire highly anticipated bout had lasted exactly four seconds.

  The roaring crowd fell utterly, completely silent, staring in absolute, paralyzed disbelief at the massive veteran brawler lying entirely motionless at the feet of the cheerfully smiling boy.

  Zeno looked down at the unconscious man, entirely satisfied with his extreme restraint. He had successfully delivered the message completely without breaking any vital bones.

  "I was very, very gentle," Zeno announced proudly to the silent warehouse, cheerfully cracking his heavy knuckles.

  Outside the ring, Lyra was entirely struggling to maintain her professional, highly stoic demeanor. A massive, incredibly thrilled smile threatened to break completely across her face. She turned immediately back to the pale, completely stunned bookmaker.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "I believe," Lyra stated smoothly, tapping the wooden table with a single, gloved finger, "my fighter just won flawlessly. The odds on the newcomer were incredibly high. Pay up."

  The bookmaker, grumbling entirely under his breath about fixed fights and magical enhancements, reluctantly counted out twelve solid silver coins from his lockbox and handed them heavily to the scout.

  Lyra took the coins. She absolutely didn't let it all ride. Her tactical, highly cautious survival instincts completely overrode the sheer thrill of gambling. She pocketed her original four silver, plus an additional two silver for a safe profit, completely securing their capital.

  She pushed exactly six silver coins entirely back across the table.

  The bookmaker sneered, entirely regaining his arrogant composure. "Playing it incredibly safe, little girl? Don't completely trust your own monster?"

  "I absolutely trust him with my entire life," Lyra replied coldly, her emerald eyes boring directly into the corrupt man's soul. "But I absolutely do not trust you, or your incredibly filthy pit. Play with my half, and I will safely keep my half."

  For the next two incredibly chaotic hours, the underground fighting pit transformed entirely into Zeno’s personal, entirely unbothered, highly lucrative training ground.

  Lyra maintained her flawless, highly disciplined betting strategy, securing half the profits and betting the rest, slowly and safely amassing a massive fortune.

  Fighter after fighter stepped confidently into the ring, entirely determined to utterly crush the upstart boy. Heavyweight dock workers and disgraced mercenary veterans all tried their absolute best to entirely dismantle the massive teenager.

  Zeno entirely dismantled them all with gentle shoves and perfectly executed throws.

  Finally, as the afternoon wore on, a completely different type of challenger stepped over the iron chains. It wasn't a massive brute. It was a lean, incredibly wiry, highly athletic man wearing simple loose trousers and cloth wraps.

  "Last bout of the day!" the bookmaker yelled over the cheering crowd. "The Sledgehammer versus The River Viper!"

  The Viper didn't roar or smash his fists. As the bell rang, Zeno stepped forward, casually throwing a highly restrained, completely telegraphed right jab.

  The Viper didn't try to block. He dropped entirely into a flawless, high-speed crouch, entirely dodging the punch. He violently grabbed Zeno’s extended arm and, utilizing incredible agility and the boy's own forward momentum, flawlessly flipped the massive Vanguard entirely over his shoulder.

  Zeno crashed heavily into the sand with a loud THUD.

  The crowd absolutely erupted, completely shocked to see the giant finally fall.

  Zeno sat up in the sand, entirely uninjured, wiping a grain of sand from his nose. He looked at the lean fighter, his amber eyes completely lighting up with genuine, profound excitement.

  "You are incredibly fast!" Zeno laughed happily, standing up smoothly. "You move exactly like a very, very annoying fly!"

  Zeno completely dropped his casual brawling stance. He entirely engaged his Flowing Step.

  The Viper charged, attempting a highly complex, spinning high kick entirely aimed at Zeno’s temple.

  But Zeno was no longer standing there. Moving with a terrifying, entirely unnatural speed that completely defied his massive size, Zeno blurred entirely inside the Viper's guard. He didn't throw a heavy punch to crush the agile fighter.

  He completely adapted his strategy. Zeno shot his massive arms forward, catching the incredibly fast fighter in a flawless, inescapable, heavy grappling hold. He effortlessly lifted the Viper entirely off the ground and gently, but absolutely firmly, pinned the squirming man directly flat against the hard-packed sand, completely neutralizing his agility.

  "Now," Zeno grinned cheerfully down at the trapped, highly frustrated fighter, "I have officially caught the fly."

  The bookmaker violently threw a heavy white towel completely into the center of the ring.

  "The pit is closed for the afternoon!" the bookmaker yelled entirely over the wildly cheering crowd, aggressively locking his heavy cash box.

  Zeno stepped completely over the heavy iron chains, entirely unbothered by his massive winning streak. He wasn't even breathing heavily, and he hadn't broken a single drop of sweat. He walked over to Lyra, entirely offering his signature, bright smile. "That last one was very fun, Lyra! It was exactly like an incredibly active dance."

  Lyra smiled, turning entirely back to the bookmaker's table. "Cash us out. That's a total of one hundred and ten silver."

  The bookmaker absolutely didn't reach for his lockbox. His arrogant smirk completely vanished, replaced by an entirely malicious, highly predatory sneer. He snapped his fingers.

  The two massive, heavily scarred bouncers from the front entrance immediately stepped up, completely flanking Lyra and Zeno, drawing their heavy iron cudgels.

  "You won the fights, yes," the bookmaker stated smoothly, stepping entirely back from the table. "But the 'early exit fee' from my exclusive pit costs exactly... all of your accumulated winnings. Leave the silver, or my boys will break your legs."

  Lyra let out a long, incredibly heavy, completely unsurprised sigh. She looked entirely up at the massive, cheerful boy standing beside her.

  "Well, sledgehammer," Lyra noted calmly, completely ignoring the massive bouncers. "It entirely looks like you actually have to hit someone seriously now."

  Zeno frowned deeply, entirely cracking his heavy knuckles as he looked at the incredibly rude bookmaker. "You are being very greedy, and you are entirely ruining our shopping trip."

  Zeno completely engaged his blue Tena, entirely done being gentle. He effortlessly shattered the first bouncer's iron cudgel with a single, heavily powered backhand, sending the massive guard flying violently across the warehouse.

  Five minutes later, Zeno and Lyra stepped completely out of the dark warehouse and entirely back into the bright, warm sunlight of the Lower Docks. The warehouse behind them was completely silent, the bouncers unconscious, and the bookmaker securely tied to his own table.

  Lyra happily bounced a massive, incredibly heavy leather pouch in her hand. It contained their rightful winnings, plus a highly substantial "inconvenience tax" they had confiscated entirely from the corrupt bookmaker's personal stash.

  "Well," Lyra laughed genuinely, feeling entirely invincible as she tied the heavy fortune securely to her belt. "We absolutely have enough silver for all the apples in the city now. Let's go completely buy out the market."