"You flatter me, Elyrixa. I am but a businessman." Orso looked at Kyrexiel, they sized each other up and took from each other what they could.
What Kyrexiel learned was this man was ruthless and shrewd. He didn't know much but Kyrexiel knew at least that to be a crime lord in the Crumbs then you had to be more than ruthless even.
And he also knew that Orso didn't know him or at least pretended not to.
Orso smacked the ass of the naked woman coiling around him as if he was a snake she was trying to swallow. "Business." The woman muttered but she stood, pouted at him, and glared at Elyrixa before going.
Urlk watched her retreat with great interest.
"You like?" Orso asked Urlk, blowing smoke that smelled like spice and herbs. "I can send her to you but...."
"But he'll have to pay with something that we can't afford." Elyrixa finished for him, lips pressed tight.
He shrugged his impressive shoulders. "I deal in all kinds of services. And I receive all kinds of payments."
Urlk snorted and shook his head. "I've seen better."
Orso waved lazily. "As you wish. Sit. I want to know the end of this match. Part of my territory is at stake. See that man with the bright yellow spots on his skin? That's my fighter."
They sat on the chairs arranged close to the edge. Kyrexiel soon learn that the fight is between two Teir three, rank three. And that it has been going on for a while now.
Both fighters were tired, they were sweating and breathing hard. The man with the yellow bright spots like maps on his skin was built like a swimmer while his opponent was like a heavyweight fighter.
"Maybe you should have gone with someone with a little more muscles?" Elyrixa asked.
"You and I know that Rashaka's strength depends on far more than that. Our bloodline technique is the deciding factor. It's what decides how powerful our Clans will be." Orso said. "And that man has an interesting bloodline technique."
Urlk leaned forward. "We came at the right time. They are both tired from using normal physical fighting methods. It's time for bloodline attacks!"
The thing about the bloodline technique is that a lot of people like to keep theirs hidden. And with a good reason too, it's an edge.
The heavyweight opponent planted his feet solidly, eyes narrowed to slit then he extended his fist forward, energy gathered there in a bust of white, then he snapped it forward.
Yellow spots ran forward towards the attack coming towards him as if want to take it head first, but at the last minute, he dodged to the left and was caught with a blow that connected solidly to his nose because his opponent had followed his own energy attack.
"Seems...ordinary," Urlk said.
Orso snorted. "It'll look like that to you because you are what? Tier two, rank three? But those fighters can tear out your head with just their raw strength. And wherever bloodline technique you have now will be too weak to worth mentioning."
Bloodline techniques start manifesting when you hit tier two. Tier one is for the foundation of the body, it's only to build the muscles and bones for other tiers.
The yellow spots kept bending around the heavyweight attacks, dodging at the last minute. The heavyweight growled, and instead of attacking him straight he punched the ground with his fist covered in mana.
Shockwave rose like waves and blew yellow spots backward, he stumbled and the heavyweight used the opportunity to try and bring his opponent down with a blast that slammed into his stomach and nearly threw him out of the ring.
But one of the yellow spots on his back glowed and something shot out with force, stabilizing him.
'Is that a bullet?' Kyrexiel thought, watching yellow spots swaying. A small hole has been punched into the edge of the platform, joining the other damages done to it.
"See that?" Orso asked and without waiting for a reply he continued. "He can shoot out anything that he wants from his body through all those yellow spots on his body. How unique is that? Better than all those gathering and releasing energy!"
"Before this match I had him swallow coins."
Yellow Spots groaned and straightened as best as he could, he spread his hands apart as if going for a hug. All the spots in his body glowed and then began firing.
Coins coated with yellow energy blasted out with force.
'No way heavyweight can dodge that!' Kyrexiel thought. And he was right. Instead of dodging, heavyweight gathered energy in his hands and started hitting the coins out of the air.
'No shit!' Kyrexiel thought to himself as the coins collided with energy covered fist with a sound like a bullet ripping through metal but it was the coins that were bent and crushed, hitting the floor with a ping, still smoking.
The rest of the fight was simple and fast after that. Heavyweight waited until yellow spots ran out of coins and then he moved closer and finished him off with a direct blast to the head.
Yellow spots crumbled silently.
Orso blew out smoke lazily. He didn't seem that bothered, Kyrexiel thought, considering that his territory was at stake. He waved. "That's disappointing, I thought he was a unique one. But turns out his Bloodline is weak."
'That's the problem with tiers. It's sometimes inaccurate because of the strength of the individual bloodline. And the strength of the shorv also depends heavily on that too.
Elyrixa shook her head. "Maybe you should find someone more capable. See the lots fighting like a bunch of tier twos. Pathetic."
Orso swallowed more smoke. "I agree. But not a lot of people will agree to fight in a ring. And I'm running out of slave fighters. Say what, what if your clan members fight for me? Just for this night? I still have one match before I lose the territory."
The thick hair on Elyrixa swung in Orso's direction, their tips stiffened, coiling like snakes. "I can't allow that." She said flatly and her aura rose, sharp and pointed.
"That so." Orso drawled. His aura was like a predator staring at you as he matched hers. Tension clashed as they looked at each other but then Orso smiled in a way that Kyrexiel didn't trust and looked at him.
"What of this one? He's not from your clan."