"Kid." A deep voice sounded, and Feld looked over to see the towering muscleman stand up. The crowd around them quickly made way, and the muscleman approached Feld.
"Our boss isn't someone anyone can see, and certainly not some little punk who popped out of nowhere can call by his name," he stood in front of Feld, his massive frame a size larger than Feld's, his face full of ferocity.
Chi-Chi hid behind Feld, her fur slightly bristling, but Feld was all smiles as he asked, "So how can I address your boss then?"
The muscleman clenched his fist, his eyes growing sharper, and Feld narrowed his eyes as well, sparks seeming to fly between the two behemoths.
Ten seconds later...
"Come, come, place your bets!" the bartender called out, and the mercenaries in the tavern responded eagerly, making the atmosphere incredibly lively.
In the center of the crowd, a sturdy table was set up, and two big guys sat facing each other, their large hands clasped together, excitement evident on their faces.
"The rule of the Iron Tavern, if you want to drink here and take on work, you need arms as strong as iron!" the big guy with a broad smile said.
"Come on, kid, let me see if you're up to par. Let's arm wrestle!" he continued.
"Haha, I like this rule!" Feld laughed, his right arm muscles stretching his sleeve taut.
"Is it the newcomer or Ironfist John?" the bartender called out loudly. "Betting's closing, place your bets quick!"
The crowd placed their bets, clearly favoring Ironfist John.
Chi-Chi watched with wide eyes, thinking a fight was about to break out. But soon she was caught up in the excitement, cheering along with everyone else and even betting all her money on Feld.
Feld chuckled at this, then looked at John. "Ready?"
"Bring it on!" John replied immediately.
The two behemoths struggled harder, everyone watching with bated breath. Within seconds, however, the cheering for John started to die down, and soon everyone's faces showed shock.
They saw John's hand being slowly pushed down by Feld.
John was clearly exerting all his strength, veins bulging, his bald head turning red from the effort.
Meanwhile, Feld, though straining, still maintained a confident smile on his face.
Finally, John's hand was pushed down to just a hair's breadth from the table. Everyone knew John couldn't turn the tables now; this newcomer was going to win!
But just then, the sturdy table couldn't handle the pressure and cracked with a loud snap.
"Oops," Feld feigned surprise, then shrugged and looked at John. "Looks like it's a tie."
John, hearing this, grinned, his sore arm relaxing. "No need!"
"Losing is losing, everyone's seen it!" he said.
"Exactly, honor the bet!" someone chimed in, and the entire tavern erupted into cheers, rooting for Feld.
However, they weren't chanting Feld's name; they were chanting "Newcomer!"
As for the money they lost in the bet, it was evident that they didn't care much. After all, it was just a few gold coins, and everyone here didn't really bet big money; the emphasis was on participation.
Feld laughed heartily, and Chi-Chi, carrying a large bag of gold coins, came excitedly to Feld's side.
"Big guy, we're rich, meow!"
"Eighteen thousand gold coins, meow!"
"So much money, meow!"
While others had placed small bets of ten or twenty gold coins, all on John, Chi-Chi had put her entire fortune of eighteen hundred gold coins on Feld to show her support.
With odds of ten to one, Chi-Chi made a blood profit of ten thousand eight.
Feld burst into laughter, rubbing Chi-Chi's little head. "We're newcomers, shouldn't we offer a little greeting to the old folks at the tavern?"
Chi-Chi nodded eagerly in agreement.
With Chi-Chi's approval, Feld turned to the bartender and shouted, "Hey buddy, fill everyone's glasses with high-quality rum on me!"
The whole place paused for a moment, then all the mercenaries raised their glasses, cheering for Feld. Even the tavern's band immediately got lively, playing upbeat tunes.
This time, they were truly having fun. Losing a dozen gold coins but gaining a ten-gold glass of top-notch rum felt like only spending half the money for a good drink, so it wasn't a loss.
With over four hundred people present, over four thousand gold coins were spent in an instant, but Feld didn't bat an eye because it was Chi-Chi's money.
But Chi-Chi seemed to have picked up Feld's habits, not caring much about money anymore. At this moment, she was immersed in the lively atmosphere of the tavern, sitting on Feld's shoulder, swaying to the tavern's spirited music.
"Haha, kid, I like you!" John, who was even bigger than Feld, took a sip of his drink, then laughed heartily and patted Feld on the shoulder.
"Thanks, but I like women," Feld joked.
John paused for a moment, then laughed and cursed, "Get out of here, I like women too!"
Laughter echoed around them.
"What's your name?" John asked.
"Feld."
"You're Feld?" John exclaimed, and the people around them widened their eyes.
"Is he the Feld who wiped out the Sea Serpent Gang?"
"So this is the guy, no wonder he could beat John in arm wrestling!"
"I heard there's a monster mercenary in the outer city, but I never thought his strength was truly monstrous!"
Listening to the discussions around him, Feld chuckled. "Didn't expect my reputation to reach the inner city."
"Haha, kid, you're really making waves lately. Everyone in the Sea knows your name," John said with admiration, his eyes shining.
Feld had only been here for a short while, but they had all heard about him. This kid had been promoted from Brass to Gold in less than half a month, and they were willing to bet that Feld's strength was definitely more than just Gold. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to single-handedly wipe out the Sea Serpent Gang, let alone win against Ironfist John, who was also known for his strength!
"Follow me, Raymond Boss is already waiting for you," John finished his drink and gestured for Feld to follow him upstairs.
Feld then led Chi-Chi up as well.
Soon, they arrived at a private room on the second floor.
Pushing open the door, Feld saw a handsome middle-aged man about 1.8 meters tall sitting on the sofa, with a well-proportioned body and a stubbled chin. One of his arms gleamed with a metallic sheen, likely the Iron Arm that Seinz had mentioned.
The room had one-way glass windows, allowing them to see the view downstairs without being seen from outside.
When the middle-aged man saw Feld, he smiled.
"Boss, the person is here," John said.
"You go out first, I'll chat with this young man," Raymond smiled and said.
John nodded and closed the door.
Feld, on the other hand, sat down on the sofa with Chi-Chi, looking relaxed.
"This is much more comfortable than a wooden chair," he remarked.
"If you like it, the Steel Tavern can reserve a private room for you with the same setup," Raymond said with a smile, pouring two glasses of wine, one for Feld and one for Chi-Chi.
Seeing that Raymond didn't ignore Chi-Chi, Feld nodded, raising his opinion of Raymond.
"So, let me be straightforward," Raymond began. "I hope you can do something for me."
Feld: "I refuse."
Raymond: "..."
Raymond's eyes flashed with surprise. He had just finished speaking, and Feld directly refused. Was he really that decisive? Didn't he have any face to give? Couldn't he at least politely decline? However, the next moment, Feld spoke up.
"Raymond Boss, as you know, I'm a mercenary, and mercenaries don't belong to any side. And the thing I hate most is someone trying to boss me around. So, I won't do anything for anyone."
With that, Feld's tone changed, and he chuckled. "But as long as the commission is right, I'm happy to handle anything for you."
"Isn't that still doing something for me?" Raymond asked.
"No, no, no, it's different. This is the rule of mercenaries. It's for the money, not for you," Feld replied with a smile, picking up his glass and gesturing to Raymond.
"If you were a pretty barmaid, I'd be happy to do things for you, but you're not, so I can only be willing to do things for the gold coins in your pocket. How about that?"
"Haha, actually, I'm thinking the same thing!" Raymond laughed, raising his glass and clinking it with Feld's, and they both drank.
Chi-Chi held her glass, took a sip, then shrank her neck and put the glass down. She still preferred milk...
"Now, is there any work available?" Feld put down his glass and handed Raymond a cigarette.
Raymond took it, about to take out his lighter to light it, but then he saw Feld leaning back on the sofa. Chi-Chi, on the other hand, skillfully took out a beautiful lighter, clicked it open, and lit Feld's cigarette.
Feld didn't even lift a finger.
Raymond raised an eyebrow slightly.
Wow, what a gesture.
But his attention wasn't on Chi-Chi lighting the cigarette; it was on the lighter in Chi-Chi's hand.
"Is that a lighter you're using?" Raymond asked.
"This isn't a lighter, it's a lighter. I made it myself, but now it belongs to Chi-Chi," Feld took the lighter and played with it.
The beautiful lighter rolled between his fingertips, looking very skillful, then he flicked it.
A drop of flammable oil flew out of the lighter, landing perfectly on his fingertip. At the same time, he flicked the flint, sparks flew out, and a flame ignited between his fingers.
Three seconds later, the oil ran out, and the flame extinguished. Feld then handed the lighter back to Chi-Chi.
Chi-Chi looked admiring, and Raymond was also somewhat intrigued.
A man who doesn't smoke can't resist a beautiful lighter.
So Feld smiled. "How about it, want one? I can make one for you."
"Of course!" Raymond said immediately.
Feld: "What pattern do you want? An angel or a boob?"
Raymond: "???"
Such a wide range?
"What else besides these two?" Raymond asked.
"You can have someone draw a design, or you can tell me what you want. Just let me know," Feld said.
Raymond thought for a moment. "Then I want the whole fist imprint, like a fist hitting steel!"
Feld nodded. "Okay."
"How much?"
"Hey, what are we talking about money for, bro?" Feld waved his hand.
Raymond raised an eyebrow.
Wow, are we already on such familiar terms?
But Raymond chuckled and accepted. "Well, I can't let you do it for nothing."