Stephen's eyes narrowed as he glanced at his shoulder. He barely felt the attack due to the dullness of his skin, but he could sense the force behind the kick.
"I guess even the royal army has something to their name." He chuckled, his eyes narrowing at the disdain in Heinrich's gaze.
He seems confident. Is he bluffing? Or does he have a reason behind his pride?
Jaden, Jason, Timothy, and Thalia looked surprised. They stared at Gilbert and Heinrich, their relaxed demeanor shifting to tension. They began to reassess their take on both figures.
"Stephen, what do we do?" Timothy asked, and all eyes immediately fell on him. He quickly raised his hand to his mouth, his eyes wide. Cold sweat pooled on his forehead as he realized what he had just done.
Stephen didn't have time to care. Unlike Heinrich, who wasn't eager to attack, he couldn't afford to wait. Although he thought his father was exaggerating about the Bloodhounds, he knew better than to take any chances.
"Change of plans, guys. We deal with these two geezers as quickly as possible and then get rid of the evidence."
Stephen moved the moment he finished speaking, dashing towards Heinrich with his large frame.
It was like a rhino charging toward a hyena, its tusks glistening in the light. The battle had begun, a fierce one at that.
Stephen swung at Heinrich, a low whistle following as his fist sliced through the air. Although it looked like he had swung wildly, Heinrich could tell that he was as tight as an aged bolt.
His posture was perfect, and he had no openings. He left nothing for Heinrich to exploit and instead laid a trap for him.
"Brat! I might be young, but how long do you think I've been fighting? You dare dangle your bait at me?" Heinrich laughed, his slender legs moving as he took a large step towards the charging figure.
"I'll bite!"
Heinrich slapped Stephen's hand to the side, throwing out a punch of his own. He wanted to see exactly what Stephen had in mind.
Stephen's hand suddenly paused right after being slapped, as if he had purposely reduced the force of the swing. It was a true feint.
He leaned his body in, using his hard skin to knock Heinrich backward, off balance. He didn't even flinch as the latter's punch landed on him.
Heinrich staggered back, a smile on his face. He didn't try to stop himself, instead using the momentum of the fall to roll off the ground and immediately get back up.
He moved again, this time taking the initiative in his attacks. Unlike Stephen, who was bulky, Heinrich was lean and agile. He smoothly danced about, landing multiple hits on Stephen while dodging and redirecting a few.
After a short moment, he retreated a few steps.
"I see. Your body is special, so you aren't afraid of my punches. After all, I don't have as much force in my arms as I do in my legs."
Stephen didn't reply; he didn't feel the need to. Heinrich was right—Stephen's body was extra sturdy due to his special situation, and he made sure to use it to his full advantage.
"Well, I guess I'll just have to go all in on defense. Haha, let's see if you can get past me when I'm focused on tiring you out."
This is troublesome… Stephen thought.
Meanwhile, over at Gilbert's side...
"Attack from the side!"
"Hey! Go after his legs!"
"Jaden! Press harder!"
"Don't you dare command me!"
The four of them attacked Gilbert at once, sending multiple hits his way. But Gilbert was like a professional, expertly dodging and blocking while also pushing them back bit by bit.
Although the battle had been going on for a few minutes, Gilbert had yet to move away from his original position.
While he wasn't as strong as Jaden and Jason, he had a few things in his favor. One was his vast experience in combat, something that not even Stephen or Heinrich could compare to.
The other was the fact that the four fighting him weren't as coordinated as they should be.
At first, they seemed like a perfect team, but once Gilbert began dancing around them and causing them to make mistakes, they quickly started yelling at each other.
This would be easier if I had a weapon.
Gilbert sidestepped, barely dodging Jaden's punch. He bent his knees as a kick flashed past where his head had been, his hand scraping the floor in the process.
Timothy threw a punch at Gilbert, and Thalia attacked from his back, but Gilbert didn't seem fazed.
Ptui!
Gilbert spat in Timothy's face, temporarily blinding him. He sidestepped Thalia's attack, grabbed her hand, and used her as a meat shield against Jaden's next punch.
Jaden's eyes narrowed, and he grunted, barely managing to redirect his attack. Jason immediately attacked, trying to cover for Jaden, but Gilbert was prepared.
His hand, which had touched the floor earlier and was now clenched, opened. Gilbert blew heavily on it, sending sand, dust, and pieces of debris into Jason's face.
"Ahh!" Jason shouted in pain. Gilbert flicked his leg, kicking Jaden, who was destabilized from the earlier mistake, in the ankle.
Jaden staggered, falling fist-first to the ground. Gilbert twisted Thalia's hand, turning her toward Timothy, who could now see and had been sneakily approaching from behind with a staff.
Timothy was caught off guard and could do nothing as Thalia slammed into him, sending both of them crashing to the floor.
Jaden was about to get up to attack again when Gilbert kicked his hand, sending him back down.
"Naive little bastard. Don't you think it was foolish to take me on without your weapons? You think I'm easy bait? Or that I'm a geezer? I'll let you know that I'm just in my early thirties!" Gilbert rambled on, his face twisted in anger. He was furious at being called a geezer.
He bent down, about to reach for the weapon on Jaden's back, when something suddenly flashed past his head.
The space suddenly became quiet, not the usual kind of quiet but the kind that made it seem like all the noise in the environment had been sucked out.
Then there came a high-pitched frequency, followed by a massive explosion!
BOOM!!