Empire of Shadows

Some people are destined to shine while others are still exploring the world.

Lance was such a person. A large quantity of liquor represented wealth and interests, and no one could refuse it in this highly commercialized country.

When everything is labeled with a price and placed on a shelf, money becomes the standard by which all things are measured!

No one could refuse Lance, just as they could not refuse wealth.

A larger organization began to form around Lance, and at the same time, a network of interests was being woven.

It would become larger and larger, penetrating deeper and deeper, pulling more and more people into this great net to become a part of it!

A few days later, in the Golden Port Sports Arena, a boxing match was about to begin.

In the locker room, the invited fighter was making his final preparations.

“Iron Fist” Logan was his nickname, describing his fists as being as unbearable as steel.

Almost all somewhat famous fighters have their own nicknames. A nickname is not necessarily a negative label; it can also be a manifestation of acceptance and recognition.Before a fighter enters the ring, they need to wrap their hands with bandages.

The purpose of wrapping the hands is mainly to protect the fighter’s fists, to protect the muscles of their hands and wrists from strains and dislocations due to various reasons.

Logan’s coach took out a roll of special bandages from his backpack.

These bandages looked much thicker than ordinary ones, not just a little bit, but a lot.

They were loaded; there was some plaster sewn into the bandage hand wraps.

At first, there would be no problem. They were soft and fluffy.

But as the match progressed, with sweat, or even the fighter deliberately drinking water or pouring water on his body to let the water get into his gloves…

The plaster, after absorbing the moisture, would become hard as a rock, like cement!

This was also the origin of the name “Iron Fist.” He was a cheater, and a habitual one at that.

But because he had always hidden it quite well, and at the same time, he would not challenge the top-ranked fighters, over time, people actually didn’t think there was a problem.

Those ordinary fighters lacked sufficient social influence. Even if they had some doubts about Logan after the match, no one would stand up for them.

The organizers had also inspected Logan’s gloves before and had not found any problems. People no longer checked, only thinking that it was some people’s unwillingness to accept defeat.

Most people acknowledged that Logan’s punches were very hard, and the nickname “Iron Fist” gradually spread.

But some people knew about this, and Logan had also become a “stumbling block” in the eyes of some, especially when people needed him.

After wrapping his hands, his coach put on his gloves. “The referee won’t open your gloves, so you don’t have to worry at all.”

“The big lug on the other side has some strength. Steel Jaw’s jaw was just broken by him. Before your fists get hard, try to avoid a head-on fight with him as much as possible.”

“Use your footwork to move around quickly. After five rounds, we’ll show him some color.”

Logan nodded and bit down on his mouthpiece.

The coach patted his shoulder to relax him. “It’s an ordinary match. Take down your opponent, and go home with a victory!”

In the opposite corner, Ethan’s coach was also arranging tactics. “Logan’s performance is actually very ordinary, but his punches are very heavy. Everyone who has fought him has said so.”

“He’s used to saving his stamina for the later rounds before he starts to exert his strength. So in the first few rounds, he will mainly be moving around, trying to wear down your stamina. Don’t fall for it.”

“Your rear-hand punch has a lot of killing power. It’s definitely harder than his. If you have a chance, don’t be stingy!”

Ethan nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll let him know that I’m the real Iron Fist, not him.”

The coach liked Ethan’s strong confidence and his powerful physical talent. “Good, use one victory after another to tell people that an ‘Ethan storm’ is forming.”

Many people came to the match today. Ethan’s fame was constantly increasing with his victories. Iron Fist Logan also had many fans and anti-fans. In addition, with the Kodak family promoting it from behind, everyone in Likalai State believed that this would be an exciting boxing match.

More than a thousand people came to the scene. At the same time, the Kodak family had also opened telephone betting. Before the match began, the total betting amount had exceeded $2,000,000.

As the two fighters entered the ring, the referee began to inspect their gloves.

They wouldn’t just untie the fighters’ gloves. They would only confirm that there were no foreign objects in the gloves through touch and other methods. Then he explained the rules.

The two fighters touched fists and then separated.

Ethan had a good feeling about Logan. Logan was very polite and didn’t make any offensive gestures, nor did he say anything unpleasant.

He even took the initiative to greet Logan.

With the ringing of the bell, the match officially began.

In the first round, both sides were obviously fighting very conservatively, mainly probing and moving around. Most boxing fans also knew that Logan’s matches would only get into a state after four or five rounds, so they were not in a hurry at all.

Logan maintained an evasive attitude throughout the first round. Except for trying not to fall behind in technical points through technical strikes, he was avoiding the fight the whole time.

This made Ethan a little confused, but he respected the other’s fighting style. After all, everyone had their own views.

Some people just liked to trade blows from the very beginning, as if they were in a hurry. The winner raises his hand, the loser falls.

There were also some who fought with more style and technique. They would deliberately show an opening to let the opponent attack to consume the opponent’s stamina.

The more heavyweight the match, the more important stamina management is. Don’t look at the fact that each round doesn’t have much time, but just those few punches could exhaust a fighter’s stamina and put him in a passive position.

The first two rounds were very uneventful. In the third and fourth rounds, the two sides began to have some substantial contact, and the match also became more exciting.

Some of the collisions between fists and bodies made the audience scream continuously, and the atmosphere was instantly heated up.

After the fourth round, Ethan’s coach told him to be careful, because next was “Logan time.”

This was a saying among Logan’s fans, representing that Logan was about to start exerting his strength.

And his anti-fans called this period “cheating time.” Even though the organizers and even the league had never caught him cheating, many people still believed that he had cheated.

Although there were no particularly fierce attacks from either side in the first four rounds, just the constant dodging and punching had also consumed a lot of their stamina.

Ethan, panting slightly, nodded and said, “I’ll be careful.”

Sure enough, Logan’s aggressive actions and desires became more obvious. He began to actively look for Ethan’s openings and tried to hit him a couple of times.

Ethan, who had taken a few punches, also felt that Logan’s punches felt heavier and harder.

At the same time, he was also a little puzzled. Everyone’s stamina was being consumed. Why were his punches, on the contrary, becoming heavier?

Shouldn’t they have become lighter due to the consumption of stamina?

He didn’t understand, nor did he think too deeply about it. At this moment, all he wanted was victory.

Stone, sitting in the corner, watched the match in the ring. The Lance Family had once again bet $500,000 on Ethan to win.

Because Iron Fist Logan was, after all, a character who had been famous for a long time, and Ethan was just a fighter who had fought a series of small characters, so from the public’s acceptance level, Logan’s odds were lower, because his chances of winning were greater.

And Ethan, because he was just starting to become famous and hadn’t proven himself by fighting any strong opponents, his odds were slightly higher.

About $1,600,000 of the bets were on Ethan. If Ethan won again, then this time they would lose big.

After deducting the other part of the income, they would roughly have a loss of about $700,000.

He lit a cigarette, squinted his eyes, and looked at Ethan, at Logan who was looking for an opportunity, hoping that this time they wouldn’t jump out of the script.

With the sound of the bell ending the time, the fifth round was over. The two fighters returned to their positions. Ethan’s breathing speed had clearly increased.

The coach poured some water on his head. He couldn’t help but ask, “How are his punches getting heavier and heavier?”

Many people had studied Iron Fist Logan’s matches and had more or less discovered these strange things. But the league said he had no problems, so naturally, everyone could only think that his stamina pool was very deep and his stamina management was very good.

When you have no strength, your ability to withstand external damage will decrease. This was the only explanation.

The coach had nothing good to say either and could only tell him to try not to get hit.

The sixth round began. Everyone could see that both sides’ stamina had clearly not recovered. Their footwork had clearly become heavier.

In one exchange, Ethan failed to dodge in time and was hit squarely in the face by a punch.

For the first time, his whole person was hit so hard that he staggered back and almost fell to the ground. The referee quickly pushed away Logan, who was preparing to pursue, and ran to Ethan’s front to ask about his condition.

“How many is this?”

Ethan shook his head. He had a little ringing in his ears now. He looked at the referee who was constantly gesturing with his fingers, blinked hard, “Three.”

The referee looked at him for a few seconds. “Can you still fight?”

Ethan nodded. “I can.”

He touched his fists to his forehead to show that he was still okay, and the referee announced that the match would continue.

Ethan carefully dodged the punches from Logan and dragged it out until the end of the round.

He returned to his corner and sat down, panting heavily. The constant dodging and blocking had made his stamina drain even faster—

When your opponent just feigns a punch, and you have to use most of your strength to defend, and at the same time, you have to step back to create distance and coordinate a series of changes in your body, the stamina consumption is multiplied.

“His punches are too heavy, like an iron hammer.”

The coach’s face was also a little gloomy. Reading the match records and the commentary records was completely different from actually facing him.

The words in those records had become more vivid and three-dimensional, and also more difficult for people to endure.

“His punch felt like I was hit by a car,” and actually being hit by a punch are definitely different.

The coach could only ask, “Can you still hold on?”

Ethan’s cheekbones and the corner of his forehead were already swollen, his cheeks were also swollen, and there were several red marks on his abdomen, all swollen and with burst blood vessels.

He looked back at the boxing fans behind him who were supporting him, at his brothers sitting in the front row. He nodded. “I can.”

On the other side, Logan’s coach frowned slightly and said, “Stop playing around. Finish him this round.”

Logan was a little bewildered. “I’m not playing with him. I’m really doing my best. Didn’t you see my punches?”

“An ordinary person would have been knocked down long ago.”

Logan’s coach was also a little worried. He observed that Logan’s stamina was also running a little low.

“Anyway, as soon as possible.”

The two rested. There were no technical or tactical arrangements. At this point, it was a competition of willpower.

The seventh round began. Ethan’s steps were even heavier. He had consumed too much stamina and couldn’t even do a quick shuffle. His feet were as if glued to the ring.

His opponent didn’t seem to have much stamina left either, but his punches were still as heavy as ever.

The battle between the two sides entered a white-hot stage. Ethan didn’t want to dodge anymore and began to fight a positional battle. The number of times and opportunities for the two to trade punches became more.

With the sweat flying from the fist-to-flesh blows, the enthusiasm of the entire audience was about to lift the roof of the stadium.

People were super excited about the result of this match. Regardless of who won or lost, they had contributed an unforgettable match.

At this moment, Ethan, who was highly focused in the ring, couldn’t notice anything happening around him at all. He realized that if he continued to fight like this, it would be very difficult for him to win, because his punches would become weaker and weaker.

The opponent’s punches had also weakened a little, but the weakening was limited.

He had to, while he still had the ability to deliver a knockout blow, give the opponent a decisive punch.

He was going to deliberately show an opening.

In one offense and defense, Ethan, as if he couldn’t even lift his arm, lowered his body by half a position. The coaches on both sides, who had noticed this situation, one showed a terrified expression, while the other waved his fist and let out a heavy breath.

The next second, Logan’s hook hammered hard on Ethan’s chin. Ethan even heard the sound of a bone cracking.

But at the same time, Ethan had bet all his strength on a lead hook. He wasn’t very good at this, but he knew how heavy his punch was.

This moment seemed to be frozen. Everyone’s eyes widened. Many people stood up, stunned, even forgetting to shout.

The two giants fell at the same time. The entire ring made a violent shaking sound.

The next second, the referee, as if he had just reacted, began to check the condition of both sides.

Then he began to count.

In such a situation, if someone could stand up, then the one who could hold on would be the winner.

People began to shout the fighters’ names. The vast majority of people in the entire stadium were shouting for Ethan.

Not only because Ethan was a local of Golden Port, but more importantly, they had placed heavy bets on Ethan.

At this moment, a cut had been opened on Ethan’s cheap flesh, and blood was constantly flowing out. Amidst the shouts of the people, he opened his eyes.

The whole world was dim. He moved his hands. The shouts around him grew louder. He could feel that people were calling his name.

He glanced at his opponent who had fallen on the other side and began to try to get up.

The referee stopped counting and looked at this giant Ethan, watching him struggle, little by little, to sit up, turn over and kneel, then straighten his upper body, and slowly stand up, supporting himself on his knees.

In an instant, the entire stadium erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.

And on the other side, Logan had also woken up. He also tried to get up, but in the end, he gave up.

Ethan’s hook was too vicious. He at least had a severe concussion now. Let alone getting up, even sitting up was difficult.

“This match, Ethan wins!”

The referee did not ask Logan to stand up, but had him carried away on a stretcher. The coaching staff and Lance and his crew all rushed into the ring, patting his body and hugging him. Ethan also showed a simple, pure smile.

He had won again.

“Damn son of a bitch!” Stone stood up and forcefully threw the cigarette he had just taken two puffs of on the ground. In front of him were all the people who had lost their bets, cursing Logan loudly because Logan had made them lose money.

But more were the gambling dogs and boxing fans who were holding up their betting tickets as if they had seen their parents.

Some even knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Ethan.

They believed that this match would surely become an important moment in the history of boxing. The final exchange of blows had made everyone who had witnessed that scene get goosebumps with excitement.

Lance was also celebrating Ethan’s victory. However, Elvin suddenly patted his arm and signaled for him to go to the side.

“I hear that Logan’s gloves have plaster in them.”

Lance frowned. Even if he was stupid, he knew what it meant for gloves to have plaster in them.

Someone had cheated.

What was even funnier was that he had cheated and still hadn’t won.

He licked his lips, glanced at Ethan, who was already being helped off the ring to go to the hospital, and gave Elvin a look. The latter nodded slightly and left.

On the way to the hospital, Logan’s gloves were taken off by his coach and casually thrown into a trash can at the stadium.

Then he chased after Logan, who was being pushed into an ambulance.

They were not short of money. They still had the money to call an ambulance.

“I lost,” Logan’s eyes were a little dazed. “Even… with that, I still lost.”

“Am I not suitable for this sport?”

The coach’s face was also not very good. He had cheated and still lost. What else could be said?

But he couldn’t tell Logan, “You are a waste.” He had to comfort Logan, because Logan would bring him wealth.

“That kid Ethan is talented. We all know that. You losing to him… I don’t think it’s your problem.”

“You should think of it differently. You were already like that and still no match for him. It can only be said that he is already beyond the scope of the light heavyweight division. He should go to the heavyweight division.”

These words seemed to have comforted Logan. Logan recalled the look in Ethan’s swollen eyes at the end, a look that had shocked him. He suddenly felt a sense of guilt for cheating in his boxing.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have done this.

Perhaps, if he didn’t rely on cheating, he might also be able to become an excellent fighter.

(End of chapter)