Chapter 21: Victory

“Intermediate warrior?” Upon seeing the opponent’s condition, Rod quickly assessed his strength. Instead of panic as expected, he showed a hint of excitement—such an opponent was extremely rare for him at this point. He pushed off the ground forcefully and counterattacked Jerome, who was charging at him.

The two clashed again, trading punches and kicks in a chaotic fight. Clearly, Jerome wasn’t very skilled either; otherwise, he would have used his advantage to finish Rod quickly. Yet, he was forced by Rod into a nearly even match.

Amidst the chaos, thanks to his extraordinary physique, Rod took a few hits but wasn’t severely affected and could continue fighting. He pushed his combat energy to its limit—now, it burned like flames through his meridians! In his excited and exhilarated state, his combat energy reached its peak!

His eyes narrowed slightly. Stimulated by the combat energy, he could clearly see every move Jerome made. Instantly, all of Jerome’s actions seemed to slow down—no more confusion!

With a sudden burst of strength, he dodged an attack. With his potential fully unleashed, Rod’s speed now nearly matched that of an intermediate warrior. His body’s changes made him feel lighter, making combat much easier. He discarded his stick and fought bare-handed.

Thuds echoed once again as dust flew. In the darkness of the night, those dull collision sounds sounded like an enticing melody. Punches flew, roars rang out, and the fight grew more intense.

The battle attracted many spectators. Jerome and the others were both worried and excited. They hadn’t expected Rod to have progressed so far after some time apart. They had thought it was already remarkable for the three of them to reach the beginner level in just two months thanks to “Red Lotus Combat Energy” and their talent. But seeing Rod now, they realized their ignorance.

Rod’s strength was clearly superior to any of them. The fact that he could confront an intermediate warrior head-on at close range was beyond doubt.

As the fight continued, the more they fought, the more panicked Jim became. His earlier confidence seemed to have vanished completely, leaving only shock and confusion. Before he could deliver each move, it seemed as though Knightrod could predict it in advance, always blocking at the perfect moment and in the perfect way, effortlessly neutralizing Jim’s attacks and draining his strength. This situation made Jim feel frustrated; every punch felt like hitting water, leaving him unable to exert any force. At first, he was a bit unskilled, but over time, Rod became more and more proficient and confident. At that moment, he acted like an unparalleled master, displaying a presence that made even Jim feel anxious.

“It’s my turn!” After fighting for some time, Rod realized that Jim’s moves were limited and he had almost mastered them all. Taking advantage of the moment when Jim’s center of gravity shifted after another of his attacks was blocked, Rod narrowed his eyes, aimed at Jim’s abdomen, and kicked.

“No good!” Seeing this, Jim panicked inwardly. He had been too focused on attacking and neglected defense, leaving his abdomen completely exposed to Knightrod. Sensing the fierce kick, he instinctively tried to dodge to the side.

“Thud…” Unfortunately, with less than a meter between them, no matter how hard he tried to dodge, he couldn’t avoid it and was unfortunately hit by the kick. As he tried to dodge, his own momentum combined with Knightrod’s kick sent him flying. This immediately drew out cries of shock from everyone, and the atmosphere of the scene changed drastically.

Jim’s face turned red as he crashed hard to the ground. But instead of getting up right away as others expected, he curled up, clutching the injured area tightly as he rolled on the ground, his face completely red.

Rod’s behavior was also somewhat strange. Instead of pursuing him, he stood there with a complex expression, looking at Jim on the ground with a pitiful gaze. After a moment, his brows and corners of his mouth trembled slightly as he tried hard to hold back his laughter.

“O omnipotent god, I didn’t mean to!” After a while, Rod muttered to himself, then slowly approached Jim, who was still rolling on the ground.

“You lost!” Rod said calmly as he reached Jim, who was lying on the ground with a red face.

“You… you…” He glared fiercely at Rod, wanting to say something but failing to utter a word. His twisted, red face showed the pain he was experiencing—seemingly to the point where he couldn’t even speak. He gasped for air desperately.

Crouched on the ground, he watched Jim, his lips twitching as he tried hard to hold back laughter. He was truly afraid he might burst out laughing. He had originally intended to kick this guy in the abdomen, but who would have thought that after realizing what was happening, instead of blocking it, he would back away? As a result, unfortunately, his strength wasn’t enough to dodge successfully. Instead of creating some distance, it made Rod’s attack angle lower, hitting the man’s most vital area directly!

Perhaps due to the extreme speed, others couldn’t see clearly, but as the one who actually carried out the attack, how could Rod not be aware? The moment he hit his target, he sensed something was wrong. Then, seeing Jim’s appearance and expression, he immediately understood what had happened.

“I’ve taken over this territory. My goal isn’t to destroy you all, but to form a team that can fight against that bastard Vidoc. If you’re interested, we can become comrades!” Rod declared proudly.

He glanced around and said calmly, “If anyone has enough loyalty and shared ambitions, they can stay! If anyone’s tired of living and wants to die heroically, I welcome them with open arms. As for the rest, if you don’t want to suffer, get lost!”

Additionally, he warned, “If you do anything to betray everyone after staying, I, Rod, promise I’ll chase you even to your grandmother’s house and won’t let you go!” His tone while saying this sounded quite icy.

At these words, everyone widened their eyes in disbelief. It took a while before they finally reacted. The first to choose to stay was one of Jim’s low-level warriors, followed by another low-level warrior and three thin young men.

Satisfied with the five who stayed, Rod knew that by choosing to stay, they were accepting his terms!

Leaving Jerome to handle the situation, Rod headed toward the courtyard. Jim was taken away by Kambi, as Rod still had matters to attend to.

“The battle is over now. You’ve seen the result. So, what do you say? Consider fighting together? Don’t think I don’t know—you and that guy Vidocq don’t get along at all; otherwise, last year’s incident wouldn’t have happened!” Without resting, Rod went straight to Jim’s room and entered without invitation. He spoke to Jim, who was sitting by the bed.

At that moment, Jim seemed to calm down a bit. His face lost its previous redness and distortion, returning to normal as he gasped for breath in the room.

Looking up at Rod, Jim remained silent, seemingly pondering his words, while Rod waited quietly. He knew he needed to give Jim time.

“Is Vidocq your goal?” After what seemed like some time, Jim asked in a slightly low voice.

“Vidocq? Him? He doesn’t have the qualifications yet. He’s just the first obstacle in my way!” With a cold snort, Rod spoke in disdain. Indeed, Vidocq wasn’t his ultimate goal. If it were that simple, he’d be too weak—his ambitions were too great for Flaming City to contain. At that moment, Rod’s eyes burned with fierce confidence and overwhelming ambition.

Jim was stunned by Rod’s words. He stared at him for a while with a complex expression, as if trying to figure something out. It was hard for him to imagine that such a young person could have such an expression at this moment.

“Fine, I’ll follow you. Anyway, there’s no choice now—since you’ve taken over everything here and dismissed my brothers, how can you expect me not to?” After a while, Jim let out a silent sigh and spoke with a helpless, bitter smile.

“I won’t!” Still with the same expression, Rod looked at Jim seriously and replied firmly.

“Hahaha…” In the next moment, cheerful laughter filled the room.

The battle was over. By now, the entire southern part of Flaming City was in their hands. From start to finish, it had been a bit faster than the planned three months.