Chapter 24: Fight! Fight!
Three days passed in a flash!
After three days of Belus's promotion, everyone knew today would feature a high-level competitive match. The Mercenary Arena's atmosphere was absolutely electric.
On the arena floor, Turles stood in new form-fitting battle armor, expression serious as he regarded his distant opponent.
The armor was designed by Turles based on Vegeta's later style—more flexible, breathable, and aesthetically pleasing.
His opponent belonged to a warrior race as famous throughout the universe as Saiyans—the Domu tribe. This Domu warrior had blue skin, green hair, and a physique far more exaggerated than Turles's.
Just then, the arena announcer took the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
"Next, we have a competitive match between warriors with 50,000-class battle power! Our combatants are from the Saiyan race of the North Galaxy and the Domu tribe of the West Galaxy—both renowned warrior races throughout the cosmos! When two warrior peoples collide, what sparks will fly? Let's find out together!"
"Now, let's count down together!"
The crowd's energy surged. Everyone began shouting!
"5!"
"4!"
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"BEGIN!"
The announcer declared the match started, then immediately leaped from the stage—experience taught him that battles at this level made remaining there extremely dangerous.
As the announcer departed, an energy barrier rose around the entire arena. Only Turles and the Domu warrior remained inside.
The two watched each other intently. Terrifying pressure gradually spread across the platform. Even the audience seemed affected, gradually falling silent.
Whoosh!
A black streak flashed. Turles vanished from his position, appearing ghost-like before the Domu warrior in an eyeblink. A heavy straight punch drove toward the Domu's head.
"HAH!"
The Domu warrior showed no inferiority. Instantly catching Turles's movement, he countered with his own straight punch, meeting Turles's fist head-on.
BOOM!
A dull impact. Shockwaves exploded outward from both fighters. The arena surface instantly cracked. Debris continuously burst outward, striking the energy barrier and creating ripples.
Attack blocked, Turles showed no surprise. His knee immediately followed up, slamming viciously toward the Domu warrior's abdomen.
The Domu immediately retracted his fist, both hands dropping to block the knee strike.
Two attacks, two blocks. The fighters had reached temporary stalemate.
After these two probing exchanges, both had rough estimates of each other's strength. Neither held back anymore. Attack speed accelerated continuously, force grew increasingly heavy. Intense combat truly erupted.
BOOM! BOOM! CRACK! SMACK!
Thunderous sounds began echoing constantly across the arena. Both figures moved beyond visual tracking—only black shadows could be seen appearing and vanishing across the platform!
Fortunately, the Mercenary Arena had organized many expert matches and had considerable experience with such situations. The large screens outside the arena provided live footage, finally letting spectators see both fighters' movements clearly.
"Wow! That Saiyan is incredible!"
"Yeah! Though Saiyans are called a warrior race, this is the first time I've seen one with 50,000 battle power!"
"Looks like Doria's met his match. His previous opponents never lasted this long. Whoa! Blocked again!"
"Indeed, indeed!"
"..."
Turles had long since stopped noticing the audience's cheers. Right now, he only felt his blood boiling throughout his body. A sense of exhilarating satisfaction surged through his chest, sending his spirit into euphoria.
'This feeling! This is the feeling!'
Turles roared internally, his expression growing somewhat manic.
"Hahaha! Again!"
Once more repelling the Domu warrior's assault, Turles laughed loudly and charged forward again!
Whoosh!
Just as he was about to reach his opponent, Turles's figure suddenly vanished from the Domu warrior's vision. Then his form appeared continuously around the warrior, each image performing different movements.
Afterimage Technique!
The Domu warrior lacked ki-sensing ability, so the Afterimage Technique directly disrupted his judgment. In his vision, every Turles appeared real. Though he knew intellectually only one was genuine while the rest were afterimages, he couldn't determine which was the real body.
After observing briefly, unable to distinguish, the Domu warrior accelerated and rushed at one afterimage. A kick directly dispersed it. Then the next one. He continued systematically eliminating these afterimages.
SMACK!
Another punch struck an afterimage, but this time produced a solid impact sound.
"Found you!" The Domu warrior's heart leapt with joy. But before he could react, overwhelming force suddenly transmitted through. This power far exceeded their previous exchanges. Caught off-guard, the Domu warrior's body involuntarily retreated. Then Turles directly slammed him from the air into the ground.
BOOM!
A massive explosion. The ground cratered deeply. Tremendous dust clouds spread across the arena.
This dust couldn't block Turles's ki sensing. Energy began gathering in his hands. A massive energy sphere quickly formed, which he gently pushed forward. The blast descended toward the ground.
The terrifying pressure directly scattered the smoke, revealing the Domu warrior's figure in the crater.
Suddenly, the energy sphere's descent violently stalled. The Domu warrior's entire face had turned bright red, no longer blue. Both feet had sunk deep into the ground. Veins bulged on his arms as he desperately held back that incredibly massive energy blast.
"AAAH!"
The Domu warrior couldn't help roaring, continuously squeezing his body's potential.
But this energy sphere's power far exceeded his imagination. Even exerting full strength, he couldn't stop its continuing descent.
Turles stood in midair, both hands forcing the energy blast downward. Feeling resistance, his aura surged suddenly. The previously slowed sphere accelerated downward again!
BOOM!
A massive mushroom cloud erupted across the arena. Shockwaves continuously expanded outward. The arena's energy barrier trembled precariously under this impact.
"Gasp!"
"Impossible!"
"Will the barrier break?"
"..."
Seeing this scene, every spectator collectively gasped, then immediately worried the barrier might fail.
Fortunately, arena staff increased energy output. Before the crowd panicked, they stabilized the barrier.
"Whew!" With no incident occurring, everyone exhaled in relief—coincidentally synchronized.
The arena's smoke had now cleared. A circular crater occupying nearly half the platform appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Gasp!" Another collective sharp intake of breath from the entire audience.
"Cough, cough." A coughing sound rang out. The Domu warrior slowly rose from the crater. His clothes were long destroyed. Exposed skin was covered in wounds. Blood continuously seeped from the injuries.
All spectators familiar with the Domu warrior's strength were stunned. They could hardly believe what they were seeing!
Turles landed not far from the Domu warrior, calmly watching his opponent.
"Saiyan, you've won."
After a long mutual stare, the Domu warrior conceded to Turles, expression somewhat dejected.
Hearing the concession, Turles nodded and turned to walk off the arena.
"My name is Doria. May I know yours?" The Domu warrior watched Turles's back, unable to help asking.
Hearing that name, Turles couldn't help glancing back. After considering, he spoke: "Turles."
With that, he turned away and departed directly.
Doria stood in place, watching until Turles's silhouette vanished. Only then did he plop down, looking at his wounds with a bitter smile and head shake.
"Truly terrifying."
---
The same reception room. Turles had changed into fresh clothes, sitting on the sofa watching Belus pace back and forth before him.
"Mr. Turles, you're simply too powerful! You even defeated Doria, this arena's 50-win streak holder! You're my lucky star! Hahaha!"
Belus continuously praised Turles, smile never leaving his face since Turles had arrived.
"Oh? How so?" Turles asked with interest.
"You don't know—Doria, as a genius of the warrior Domu race, arrived at Obsidian a year ago. At the Mercenary Arena, he's continuously challenged expert fighters from various races, maintaining 50 consecutive victories. Each match, his betting odds kept dropping, but still couldn't stop the Union's losses. This time you ended his streak! Plus, you're a newcomer with high odds—the Union made a massive profit! Of course, I also made a small fortune, hehe!" By the end, thinking of his own gains, even Belus couldn't help feeling excited.
"Really?" Turles remained indifferent to Belus's excitement. He was still contemplating the recent battle. Though brief, the stimulation had been significant. Thinking about his somewhat abnormal mental state during combat, Turles felt troubled.
Turles considered himself a calm person. But during that fight, his blood had boiled, his mood becoming extraordinarily euphoric. This drastically differed from his usual behavior. He couldn't help suspecting something was wrong with his body.
"Belus, are there any fighters of similar strength to me in the near future?" To verify his suspicion, Turles wanted another battle.
"Eh?" Turles's sudden question startled Belus. He quickly recovered, slapping his chest: "Rest assured! If you want another match, I'll arrange it immediately!"
"Good. Try to schedule it three days from now. Notify me then." With that, Turles stood and left the Mercenary Arena, flying toward his ship.
***
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