Early the next morning. Dustin received a phone call from Nelson when he
woke up.
"Hi, Mr. Rys. Are you up yet?"
"I just woke up. What's up? Any results?" Dustin asked.
"Our gang leader would like to meet you. We can slowly chat then." Nelson
smiled apologetically.
"Sure. Where?" Dustin responded bluntly.
"At the Flame Dragon Dojo."
"Alright. I'll be there soon." Dustin hung up, did a simple freshening up
, and left in a taxi. He had already
expected that the gang wouldn't give in so easily, and since he had some
spare time on his hands, he didn't
mind having some fun with them.
After thirty minutes, his taxi pulled up in front of Flame Dragon Dojo.
Dustin got out of the car, and Nelson immediately brought his men over to
greet him with a smile. "Welcome.
Mr. Rhys. This way, please."
Dustin hummed and nodded in response, walking straight in.
Hundreds of the gang's
elites had gathered inside the dojo, each of them sturdily built and with
ferocious attitudes. As soon as Dustin entered, everyone turned their pi
ercing glares toward him, as if they were staring
at a prey.
"Hey, kid. You're the one who wants to challenge my gang?" A paunchy, fat
man emerged from the crowd. holding some beads. Following behind him wer
e four large, bald men whose black singlets did nothing to hide
their toned, rippling muscles.
"I guess. I'm just interested in the gang leader's seat." Dustin nodded.
"How dare you!" The elites of the gang immediately cried out indignantly,
dying to flay Dustin alive for saying
such nonsense.
"You've got
balls, kid." The bald man signaled for his men to quiet down
before continuing. "It took me over a decade to get to where I am now, so
why should I let you take my position?"
"Nelson asked the same thing yesterday, and I've already given him my ans
wer," Dustin replied,
"I know you've got some skills, but that doesn't mean you can treat our g
ang however you want." Harry Hall said with a smile that
didn't reach his eyes. "You'll have to prove yourself if you want to be t
he gang leader. I'll give you a chance right now. If you can defeat our F
our Guardians, I'll step down willingly! Similarly, if you lose to them,
you'll serve our gang for ten years. How about that?"
The Four Guardians were all High–
level martial artists who had impeccable skills. When fighting together,
they were as strong as a Divine–
level martial artist, which meant taking care of a young man would be a p
iece of
cake.
"Sure. I like doing things the simple way too." Dustin agreed.
"Great. Sign the papers, then." Harry waved for his men to bring out a li
ability waiver form, which Dustin signed.
without hesitation.
"Things seem to be fun in here."
Right before the battle began, a young, suave man walked in casually with
beautiful ladies hanging off him,
"Mr. Hill?" Harry immediately greeted the other man with a smile. "What b
rings you here today?"
"I heard that someone challenged Flame Dragon Gang, so I thought I'd enjo
y the show." Patrick Hill replied
with a smile.
"We get idiots who challenge us every year. They eventually end up crippl
ed or dead, so this is nothing new."
Harry shook his head.
"I'm curious, Sir Hall. Who would dare to challenge your gang?" Patrick l
ooked around.
"It's him." Harry pointed at Dustin. "He's talking big just because he ha
s some skills, and now he even wants
my position. How foolish."
Patrick was surprised when he saw Dustin. "Sir Hall isn't an easy opponen
t, young man. You should just spar
for fun. It'll be unfortunate if you die because of this."
"Thanks for the advice, but I'm confident I can win, or I wouldn't have c
ome in the first place." Dustin smiled
softly.
"Being confident is a good thing, but you shouldn't be too arrogant. Ther
e are always people stronger than you.
"Patrick advised.
"Maybe." Dustin responded.
"Whatever. I won't stop you if you insist." Patrick shook his head.
"You shouldn't waste your time on foolish people."
"She's right. Some people are just too arrogant. He'll have time to cry w
hen he's crippled."
The girls in his embrace sneered, looking down on Dustin, who they though
t was acting all high and mighty.
Dustin had it coming if he ended up dead anyway.
"Have a seat, Mr. Hill, Enjoy the show." Harry smiled before leading Patr
ick and his companions to the seats in
front. Then, he turned toward Dustin with a cold attitude. "Please step i
nto the battle ring."
"Sure." Dustin smiled and walked toward the platform.
"You four can deal with him. Don't hold back, and be careful of cheap tri
cks." Harry instructed the Four
Guardians.
"Yes, sir!" the four men answered in unison before heading toward the bat
tle ring as well.
"How many blows do you think that punk can stand?" one of the women asked
Patrick.
"The battle will most likely end within after ten rounds," Patrick answer
ed calmly.
The Four Guardians were quite famous in South City. Alone, they weren't t
he strongest, but once they worked together, their strength increased tre
mendously. Besides, as martial artists with impenetrable skin, their body
was incredibly strong, so Dustin was bound to struggle against them.
"You think too highly of them. Look at how skinny he is. I bet he'll be d
efeated with five blows."
"I say three."
The ladies jeered.
Everyone knew how powerful the Four Guardians were, so there was no way a
young man in his twenties could withstand their attacks.