"Never insult a soldier; you don't understand their mettle." - Former Federal Commander Bessi Wu....
Reno's erect posture suddenly froze, his body poised like a coiled predator. His gaze turned icy as he stared at Poke, devoid of warmth but filled with a chilling intensity.
Only those who truly knew Reno understood that this was his moment of true anger. When enraged, he didn't transform into a roaring lion but into a lurking viper, waiting for the opportune moment to strike fatally.
However, before that, Reno intended to give his opponent a chance. He said, "Correct your words, apologize to the Federal soldiers, and I might consider sparing you."
"Apologize?" Poke chuckled, his laughter dripping with mockery. "Sorry is the one thing I don't know how to say!" Finding his own words amusing, he burst into laughter, brazen and unrepentant. He even escalated, shouting loudly, "Listen up, you worthless piece of trash. You Federal soldiers are nothing but useless fools, fit only to be slaughtered by the gods on the battlefield!"
Reno's face darkened gradually. Just as he was about to act, a burly figure rushed over from the side.
Like a mountain, the dark figure soared past Reno, reaching Poke's side in a flash.
The next moment came with a resounding crash. Poke's body flew through the air like a toy, arcing before crashing heavily onto a nearby table, sending soup and shattered glass flying in all directions.
Octavia whistled, "The show begins, time to settle scores."
The four-armed Synctanvian swiftly prepared to tally the damages, muttering, "This is my favorite part, humans fighting each other."
Reno, meanwhile, looked on in astonishment at the man who had appeared beside him.
He was a man with thick sideburns, clad in a worn chainmail jacket, resembling someone straight out of a primeval wilderness. Despite not being tall, he was unusually robust, exuding an immovable solidity when he stood there.
Like a colossal concrete pillar.
His nickname was Fortress.
"Stark!" Reno exclaimed in surprise.
Stark's face broke into a genial smile, his bushy sideburns framing his expression. "Hey, boss."
Jeff Stark, a member of the Abradite Mech Infantry under Reno's command, was also one of the few soldiers aboard the Abradite who had not been injured.
After leaving the Abradite, Reno was forced to part ways with his soldiers and had lost contact with them for a while. He hadn't expected to encounter Stark here.
"I didn't expect to see you here," Reno patted Stark on the shoulder.
As he spoke, Poke, the bald man, had already been helped up by his companions.
Roaring, he charged at Stark, but Stark remained unmoved. He looked down at Poke, who was struggling to push him away, and chuckled, "You can't budge me."
With a casual push on Poke's shoulder, Stark sent him flying again.
"Seems like you've gotten stronger," Reno praised. It wasn't easy to withstand a full-force tackle from a giant like Stark.
Stark scratched his head modestly. "Probably because I've been eating well lately. Earth's food isn't bad."
Just as Reno was about to say something else, the call of "Ah!" came, and Poke's companions rushed at them together.
Reno shook his head helplessly. "Looks like we have to settle this before we can talk."
Grabbing a bottle at hand, Reno swung it at the fastest approaching thug's head. The bottle shattered, and red liquid streamed down the thug's forehead as he collapsed weakly to the ground.
"Nice strength, boss," Stark chuckled.
"As you said, Earth's food is good," Reno replied, shaking his wrist.
The thugs surged forward in anger, but Reno and Stark exchanged a glance and laughed as they met them head-on.
One thug lunged at Reno for a hug, but Reno agilely dodged and delivered a punch to his abdomen. While this thug curled up in pain, Reno swiftly sidestepped another thug's embrace, kicked him away, then grabbed another bottle to hurl.
Watching the bottle explode on the thug's head, Reno sighed, "Another bottle's worth, damn you, Bissil."
A small blue spirit, Milly, flew over and hovered above Reno's head, shouting, "Go, Reno!"
"Get lost!" an angry thug threw a bottle at Milly, startling her, and she quickly dodged.
The next moment, Reno had knocked the thug to the ground with a punch and stomped on his face, saying coldly, "You shouldn't lay hands on ladies."
Using combat techniques learned in military school, Reno effortlessly took down these opponents who could hardly be considered threats, while Stark acted like a heavy mech, absorbing blows without flinching. When Poke's fist landed on his face, Stark merely tilted his head and then grinned at Poke.
That grin sent shivers down Poke's spine.
And then he flew into the air for the third time.
Followed by the fourth and fifth times.
When he crashed to the ground for the sixth time from the ceiling, Black Rose Bar was littered with thugs, each one groaning loudly.
Reno and Stark's strikes were calculated, ensuring they wouldn't maim the thugs, but they certainly wouldn't make it easy for them either.
"Well done, Stark," Reno gave Stark a thumbs-up.
Stark looked around. "Looks like we'll be paying quite a bit, boss."
"Don't worry, losers pay up according to the rules," Reno chuckled.
He approached Octavia. "Two bottles of Amber Estate, put it on Poke's tab."
Black Rose glanced at him deeply, took a long drag of her cigar, blew a smoke ring, and then spoke deliberately, "Seems like you understand the rules around here."
"I've had some good memories related to this place," Reno replied.
The bartender from Cinctavia handed the drinks to Reno and Stark.
Taking his drink, Stark grinned. "I like this."
Glancing around, Reno said to Stark, "Looks like this isn't the place for chatting anymore. Let's go outside and talk."
"Copy that, boss," Stark headed towards the door.
As he reached the door, Poke, the bald man not far away, staggered to his feet. He glared at Stark, his voice hoarse with anger, "I haven't lost yet!"
The humiliation of defeat fueled his anger, burning away his remaining rationality. In that moment, Poke suddenly raised his mechanical prosthetic arm, and from the fake hand emerged a gleaming blade, flashing cold under the lights. With all his strength, he lunged at Stark, the blade aimed at his throat.
"Stark, watch out!" Reno shouted, rushing towards Poke with a punch.
Stark realized something was wrong, but it was too late to evade. Just as the blade was about to slice his throat, there was a loud clang.
Poke's body flew into the air again, this time harder than before. He crashed into the wall, then fell heavily to the ground, unable to get up for a short while.
The incident happened too quickly, the ambush barely unfolding before it was resolved. Everyone's vision blurred momentarily; they hadn't even seen what had happened exactly. All they saw was Reno standing behind Stark, retracting his fist slowly.
"Well done," everyone applauded Reno together.
Stark rubbed the back of his head with a simple smile. "You saved me again, boss."
Reno looked up. "I didn't even touch him."