From Bullets To Billions

Chapter 724: Inhuman

With how quickly and fiercely Max had dealt with the ones who first rushed him, the rest of the massive crowd was now hesitant to push forward. They were looking at the groaning men who were laid out on the floor, some of them completely knocked out others rolling in pain not wanting to get up again.

What made it so terrifying was the fact that Max was only taking one or two hits to completely lay out each opponent. Maybe it wouldn’t have been such a big deal if they were ordinary street thugs, but these weren’t regular people. This was a crowd made up of hardened convicts who had escaped the prison alongside Dipter and Hugo, mixed with experienced gang members Donto had hired. These people had actually been in real fights before, yet they were being swatted aside like flies.

”Are you all fools!” Dud shouted, his voice echoing over the deck. ”He’s just one man! He will eventually tire out! You get hit, you get hurt, but you won’t die from a punch. Get in there and take him out!”

Dud’s words weren’t exactly inspiring, but they did give the crowd a small bit of hope. Still, nobody wanted to be the first person to charge back into Max’s striking range.

”What are you useless idiots doing!” Donto screamed, slamming his hands on the railing. ”If anyone successfully knocks him out, I’ll personally pay you a bonus of one million dollars!”

That was clearly enough to light a fire under their bellies. Knowing that someone else might snatch the grand prize right out from under them, the greed took over and they started to charge forward again.

I guess I can’t just tell them I’ll pay them to stop fighting me? Max thought as he watched the wave of bodies rush him. But then again, who would believe me? And besides, I want to keep all my money to myself. That hard-earned money is mine!

Max charged forward again, ducking cleanly under a high kick aimed straight for his temple. He countered with a brutal strike to the man’s groin, sending him instantly to the ground in a heap.

As he recovered his stance, two solid punches landed on his chest. They barely did anything to him. Max grabbed both of their arms, twisting them to lock them in place, and swung a heavy fist right into their ribs, breaking them on the spot. With a sharp twist of his shoulders, he hurled one of the men directly into a group of mercenaries trying to make their way toward him.

He didn’t slow down for a second. Sprinting forward, he ducked under a barrage of swings from those wielding weapons, slipping past them and escaping the center of the crowd. He delivered a heavy kick right to a mercenary’s knee, snapping the joint, and followed up with a single, devastating punch to the face that took him out instantly. Max kept moving like that, showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.

”So that’s our main target in all of this, huh?” Popper said, watching from the ship. Popper was one of the few inmates who had actually managed to match up to Dipter during their time in prison.

Despite their strength being equal back then, Popper had decided to follow Dipter and help him with his goals. Even though they had fought to a draw their first few times, Popper could tell that Dipter, driven by a pure, obsessive grudge, had far more passion and talent. It was only a matter of time before the kid surpassed him.

”I’ve never seen someone so skilled at such a young age,” Popper commented, his eyes tracking Max’s fluid movements. ”It’s no wonder you had so much trouble taking him down before.”

”It’s fine,” Dud said coldly, his face expressionless. ”He will eventually tire out, or someone will get a lucky hit that does major damage to him. When that time comes, we will step in and take care of him.”

”Cowards,” Chad spat from the side, his hands bound. ”I can’t believe it. You guys are even more cowardly than me. There’s only one person out there, and all of you brag about being so strong, yet you’re hiding behind all of these men. You won’t even fight him yourselves until he’s exhausted. What kind of garbage is that?”

Those words seemed to hit a nerve with a few of the fighters on deck, but for Max, this setup was actually better. Otherwise, the stronger fighters would have been a massive distraction while he was trying to clear out the fodder.

As for why Dud wasn’t moving, he was simply being cautious. No matter what happened, he was going to make sure Max Stern died today, and he still couldn’t believe Max would be stupid enough to show up to a trap like this completely on his own.

However, Max never looked like he was tiring. He continued to tear through the crowd, taking down man after man. Before they even realized it, thirty of their men had already been beaten.

The promise of Donto’s massive wealth and Dud’s harsh words kept the mercenaries moving forward. Taking a hit for a chance to earn one million dollars was a risk they were willing to take, but as the minutes ticked by, it was looking less and less likely that Max would ever slow down.

And that was when Dipter jumped up, standing balanced on the metal railing of the ship.

”I... will deal with this,” Dipter said, his eyes locked onto Max. ”And I want to do it alone.”

”You can fight him on your own,” Dud replied, not taking his eyes off the battlefield. ”But the second there’s any trouble, we are all stepping in. This is the only chance I’m giving you.”

Dipter understood the terms. He leaped from the railing, starting his descent down to the concrete docks. He was going to prove to everyone, and to himself, that he was better than Max now.