-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Kaaaah!"
Kane let out an animalistic roar.
But Nueves's arm, pulled tightly towards his body, wouldn't budge easily.
Thick veins popped out all over Kane's face.
"This punk!"
Bonita, watching the scene, shook her head.
"He'd be better off concentrating the strength he's using to shout into his wrist."
On the other hand, Nueves didn't make a single groan, focusing all his nerves on his right arm.
'S... Strong!'
Nueves planned to end the match as quickly as possible.
So, as soon as it started, he put all his strength into chopping down on Kane's wrist with the side of his hand.
However.
Kane's wrist didn't move an inch.
'Could it be that his forearm strength is so strong that press techniques don't work?'
Feeling Kane's strength, Nueves took a moment to catch his breath and then attempted a toproll.
"Kaaaah! No way! Punk!"
He tried to turn his wrist to the left, putting all his body weight and strength into it, but it failed again.
'I can't let my guard down here!'
A directive that Davian had repeatedly emphasized.
When an attack launched with determination fails, the moment your mind or posture wavers, you become vulnerable to the opponent's counterattack.
"Not bad, you little punk!"
Kane was also trying to somehow get past his opponent's arm.
He was only a seventeen-year-old punk, but his arm was as hard as a rock.
From his shoulder to the tip of his thumb, it was fixed so firmly that no matter how hard he tried to get past it, it wouldn't budge.
Liber watched the scene and nudged Davian.
"It doesn't look like a victory will come easily."
"I know. That mercenary captain is impressive too. Against Nueves..."
Bellum chimed in.
"Look at the size of that guy. Isn't Nueves amazing for holding out?"
"I guess so."
After several attempts, Nueves gave up on getting past Kane's arm.
He was screaming unnecessarily and twisting his body this way and that, but he couldn't ignore the skills that came from long experience.
Not to mention his incredible strength.
"I've...! Overpowered hundreds of people in arm wrestling...! You punk!"
But after locking arms, Nueves was confident that he wouldn't be overpowered either.
He felt the opponent's attacks coming in strong several times, but he succeeded in holding firm, following Davian's advice.
'If I hadn't learned arm wrestling from Davian yesterday, I would have lost for sure.'
Actually, he thought that he wouldn't be pushed around by strength anywhere now.
But after locking arms, it wasn't the case.
Mercenary Captain Kane's strength was by no means inferior to Nueves's.
'I can't overpower him, but I won't be overpowered no matter what!'
Nueves gritted his teeth.
"Let's have Nueves go out for the first match. ......Why, don't you trust Nueves?"
Had anyone ever trusted him this much?
Other than his parents, it was the first time.
'I absolutely can't disappoint Davian, who trusts me and sends me out as the first player.'
How much time had passed?
His arm was going numb and losing sensation.
Looking at the ground, he saw that the sweat flowing from his body had formed a puddle.
Mercenary Captain Kane was also covered in sweat.
"Stop holding out now! Punk! Your arm is going to break!"
Nueves spoke for the first time.
"I'll hold out even if my arm breaks."
"What?"
"I'll hold out even if I die. I won't give in even if all my bones break!"
"You vicious bastard!"
A lot more time passed.
It had been quite a while since the two men's clasped arms had started to tremble.
Luna asked in a worried tone.
"Is Nueves okay? It seems like he's been doing that for over thirty minutes already..."
Bellum nodded.
"I know. Shouldn't we stop it now? No one's going to get overpowered anyway."
Davian said firmly.
"No, wait."
"What? Can't you see Nueves's body trembling? What about the sweat on the floor? He's really going to get hurt at this rate."
"The effect should be starting to show soon."
"What effect?"
"The energy drink."
"Ah...?"
An energy drink made from Hydra's regenerative stems.
A wonder drug that Davian, Nueves, Luna, Bellum, and Bonita each had 50 of.
Every time you take one, your stamina increases by 10% cumulatively.
Now that he's taken five, Nueves's stamina is more than 61% higher than at the beginning of the semester.
"No matter how strong and experienced that mercenary captain is, he can't beat youth and stamina in the end."
"Really?"
That's when it happened.
Liber pointed at the two people arm wrestling and shouted.
"Look over there!"
The two men's arms were trembling.
Little by little, they were tilting to one side.
"Nueves is overpowering him!"
"Oh! Nueves! You can do it!"
"Just a little more!"
Perhaps gaining more strength from his friends' enthusiastic cheers, the muscles in his back could be seen twitching.
"Ugh... Uaaaaah!"
Nueves's loud roar echoed.
The first roar to come out in over thirty minutes of battle.
"This bastard!"
Kane, panicked, tried to raise his arm again, but once it had started to go over, it would only become harder to hold on.
In the end.
Thud.
Mercenary Captain Kane's wrist slammed down on the stone table.
Bellum jumped up and down and ran to Nueves.
"Wow! Nueves! Nueves, you won! You beat that huge guy!"
Liber also ran to Nueves, massaging his arm and congratulating him on his victory.
Following them, Luna quickly ran over and cast a healing spell on Nueves's arm.
"Oh, thanks, Luna. I really thought my arm was going to break."
"Nueves, good job. You were amazing."
Judge Baron Billy raised his hand high.
"Match 1! Gray Bear Expedition wins!"
"Waaaaah!"
Cheers and applause erupted from all directions.
Nueves, returning to his party, met Davian's eyes.
"Thanks, Davian. For believing in me."
"What are you talking about? I'm the one who's grateful. For winning."
Meanwhile.
"We will no longer be able to do business with the Big Man Mercenary Guild."
Mercenary Captain Kane looked at Leonel Specula with a startled expression.
"Lord Leonel! I will take responsibility for what happened today. Cutting off business with our entire guild over something like this? That's absurd."
"Responsibility? What responsibility are you going to take, and how? After losing to a mere Academy first-year punk."
Kane's expression instantly crumpled and then quickly smoothed out.
He shouldn't create any more unnecessary trouble with Leonel right now.
A wrong move could cause significant damage to the Big Man Guild, which had hundreds of members.
The Specula family was that big of a client to the Big Man Guild.
'If things go even more wrong here, it might not end with simply quitting the mercenary business.'
Kane knew better than anyone what the end was for mercenaries who had caused great damage to the guild.
'At the very least, I'll become a cripple with a lame leg and have to live the rest of my life in a chair.'
If the guild leader or guild executives' anger was deeper than expected...
'I might die without anyone knowing.'
He had to fix this situation somehow.
"Our mercenary corps can step up and win both the second and third games!"
It wasn't completely over yet.
A best-of-three match.
All they had to do was win the remaining two matches.
With Leonel's mood completely soured, even if someone from Leonel's side came out and won the next match, it wouldn't ease his feelings towards the mercenary corps.
The remaining matches had to be won by members of the mercenary corps no matter what.
"Kane."
Leonel Specula beckoned Kane to come closer.
Kane, clutching his right arm that was still throbbing, approached Leonel.
"I hate losing bets."
"So we will win the remaining two matches... Kuhup!"
Leonel reached out his right hand and grabbed Kane's cheeks tightly.
His grip was so strong that Kane briefly thought his jaw might be torn off.
"But what if you mercenary bastards go out again and lose again? Why should I take that risk? We have warriors from our family and talented mages we brought from the Magic Tower."
Leonel released his grip.
"Hah, hah. I just, I just let my guard down this time. It will never happen again."
"So. What are you going to do if something like that happens?"
Kane's pupils shook.
If he backed down here, Leonel would definitely try to cut off business with the Big Man Guild.
Cutting off business with Leonel wasn't that scary, but the Specula family was different.
'I absolutely can't back down.'
A desperate mind always clouds judgment.
"It's unlikely! But if we lose even once more, I, Kane, will do whatever Lord Leonel tells me to do. If he tells me to leave the mercenary guild and become his servant, I will become his servant, and if he tells me to commit suicide, I will commit suicide on the spot."
An own goal.
He hadn't planned to talk about suicide, but as he spoke, his emotions became heated.
"Ho..."
Only then did the corners of Leonel's mouth lift slightly.
'Another bet has been added.'
In addition to the bet with the Gray Bear Expedition over the traces of the Great Magician, one more bet had been added.
This time, a bet over Mercenary Captain Kane's life and death.
Moreover, Leonel had nothing to lose even if he lost in the newly added bet.
No, in the first place, it wasn't a bet of winning and losing.
Just entertainment to hold and shake Kane's life and death.
'There are still many traces left. Even if I lose the fifth trace to those guys, I can just take it back during the next trace. Well, it wouldn't be bad to have another bet then. That would be fun in its own way. A revenge match...'
Thanks to the desperate Kane, the situation flowed strangely, and everything turned out to Leonel's advantage.
If Kane's mercenary corps won against the Gray Bear Expedition, Leonel would be winning the bet with the Gray Bear Expedition.
If Kane's mercenary corps lost, then Leonel would be winning the bet with Kane.
Moreover, the responsibility for the match result would be solely on the mercenary corps.
Leonel could just pass that responsibility on to the Big Man Mercenary Guild.
'This is why I keep these stupid mercenaries around. They can't see beyond their noses.'
This battle wasn't going to completely end the search for the traces of the Great Magician, and there would be many opportunities in the future.
'It's so much fun to have a cannot lose situation set up for myself every time.
Leonel laughed loudly.
"Hahaha. Good. Then do it that way. But if you lose even one of the remaining two matches, you are now mine. Even that life."
Now there was no turning back.
"Leave it to me. Mercenary Captain Kane, as I have always done, will never disappoint the client."
"Good. I'll try to believe you."
In fact, Leonel didn't believe Kane at all.
He was just having more fun with this bet.
'A bet that's fun whether I win or lose. Interesting. Very interesting.'
In the meantime, another noble walked between the two groups.
He had a long sword at his side.
"Greetings. I am Cleon, the Security Captain of Mane City. I have been chosen to be the judge for the second battle between the two expedition teams. I look forward to working with you."
Comments
Post a Comment