Chapter 153: The Champion

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: The Champion

After the thick smoke cleared, the three fighters who had been knocked flying by Daniel stepped back out.

By now, silence fell over the arena once again. The spectators widened their eyes, terrified of missing a single second of the action. No one even dared to breathe loudly as every pair of eyes remained glued to the ring.

At this point, the situation seemed pretty clear. That Cyclops possessed overwhelming, dominant strength, and the other three fighters weren’t even a match for him.

Most of the audience had already switched sides and started cheering for Daniel, though a few stubbornly continued to support their favorite fighters.

"Get back up."

"Keep going. It’s three against one, what are you afraid of?"

"Gang up on him!"

"Yes! Jump him!"

...

Shouts and cheers rang out from all around the arena. They knew the chances were slim, but with so much money riding on the fight, they could only keep cheering and hope for a miracle.

They had gone into this hoping to turn their gamble into a fortune, but now, forget making a fortune, they couldn’t even save their base investment.

...

Bi-Beast, Beta Ray Bill, and Ares stared dead at Daniel, each adopting a battle stance.

Bi-Beast raised his bare fists, Bill gripped a hammer in each hand, while Ares held a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. The three slowly spread out and began circling Daniel, carefully searching for an opening.

The strange part was that Daniel didn’t seem to be guarding himself at all. He simply stood there, completely relaxed, without even bothering to take a proper stance. To any other opponent, his entire body would have been one giant opening. With their years of combat experience, the three could have found countless ways to exploit his lack of defense.

But this wasn’t just any opponent.

This was Daniel.

Just moments ago, he had eliminated Man-Thing with such effortless ease that it had looked like he was slaughtering a weak animal.

All three of them had fought Man-Thing before, so they knew exactly how strong he was. Although they had managed to defeat him in the past, Man-Thing was still an extremely formidable opponent, only slightly weaker than the three of them. If not for his slow speed, they might not have been able to beat him at all.

And yet, just moments ago, the same Man-Thing had been completely vaporized by the man standing before them.

"Hurry up. I’m getting sleepy waiting for you guys." Daniel yawned.

He’d been so excited thinking about the billion units that would soon be deposited into his account that he had barely slept over the past few days.

Seeing Daniel cover his mouth as he yawned, the three exchanged glances before charging at him once again, their movements perfectly synchronized without a word.

Bill leaped into the air and brought both hammers crashing down toward Daniel’s head. Bi-Beast drove a massive fist straight toward Daniel’s chest. At the same time, Ares thrust his spear forward, aiming directly for Daniel’s knee.

Bill’s twin hammers reached Daniel first.

Clang!

The impact sent Bill flying backward, while both of his heavy hammers were completely crushed, the mangled heads of the weapons still wedged against Daniel’s forehead.

Ares’s spear struck Daniel’s knee immediately afterward, but it couldn’t even pierce his skin. His face flushed red as he poured all his strength into the attack, desperately trying to drive the spear forward, yet it refused to move.

Instead, the shaft began to bend under the immense pressure, eventually curving to nearly a ninety-degree angle.

Finally came Bi-Beast’s punch, his fist slammed into Daniel’s chest with a sharp CRACK. Only it wasn’t Daniel who was hurt. Bi-Beast’s arms were bent at unnatural angles, the bones clearly shattered by the impact.

Daniel looked at Ares, who was still trying to push forward. "Tired yet?" he asked.

Hearing this made Ares grow even more desperate. He poured every ounce of his strength into the thrust, causing the shaft to bend further and further until, unable to withstand the stress, it snapped right down the middle. The force of the breaking spear bounced Ares backward, throwing him over ten meters away.

The three fighters lay scattered across the arena, a deep sense of defeat settling over them.

’How are we even supposed to fight someone like this?’

They had thrown everything they had at Daniel, yet they hadn’t even managed to break through his defenses. He hadn’t truly fought back once. They had attacked him with everything they had, only to end up injuring themselves.

’Where the hell did this monster come from?’

The exact same thought ran through all three of their minds.

.....

"Woah!"

Seeing the three fighters knocked down yet again, the spectators gasped in unison before the entire arena erupted into a chant.

"Cyclops! Cyclops! Cyclops!"

Daniel had been feeling pretty good about his victory, but the moment he heard the name "Cyclops," that feeling disappeared.

’That’s the best Quill could come up with?’

Every time he heard "Cyclops," he couldn’t help thinking of a certain guy whose girlfriend was pretty damn attractive. Unfortunately, she didn’t exist in this universe.

Or did she?

.....

"Who are you, really?" Ares dropped the shield in his hand and stood up.

"I’m just a normal guy," Daniel said with a smile.

"Someone with strength like yours wouldn’t be completely unknown across the universe. How is it that I’ve never heard of you before?" Ares asked.

"Probably because I like to keep a low profile," Daniel replied.

Hearing this, Ares was left entirely speechless, as there was really nothing, he could say to that.

"Then kill me. It would be an honor to die at your hands." Ares gave up completely, unbuckled his armor, and stood there, waiting for Daniel’s attack.

"Kill you?" Daniel shook his head. "I don’t feel like killing anymore."

With that, Daniel floated into the air and flew straight toward the highest balcony in the arena. Once he reached the Grandmaster’s level, he looked over and asked, "So, did I win?"

The Grandmaster glanced down at the arena. Ares had completely lost the will to fight, Beta Ray Bill was lying flat on his back and couldn’t even get up, while Bi-Beast was off to the side, groaning in pain.

Swallowing hard, he said, "Of course, you won. You are the champion."

Technically, the fight hadn’t followed the usual rules of Fight Night since it was supposed to continue until only one fighter remained alive, but what else could the Grandmaster do?

This guy had appeared out of nowhere and was now standing just a few meters away from him. To be honest, having Daniel stare directly at him was making the Grandmaster a little nervous.

He quickly pulled himself together and projected his enormous image over the arena once again.

"Everyone! We have our champion! The invincible warrior standing beside me... Cyclops!"

The Grandmaster’s voice echoed throughout the arena, and the Sakaarans, who worshipped power above all else, erupted into wild cheers.

"CHAMPION! CHAMPION! CHAMPION!"

......

Daniel couldn’t care less about the cheering below, as none of that mattered to him; what mattered right now was the cash.

He rubbed his hands together, and the intimidating aura he’d carried throughout the fight disappeared completely, replaced by a slightly shifty grin.

"So, uh... shouldn’t we settle the payout?"

"What?" The Grandmaster stared at him in confusion.

"You ran the betting pool, right?" Daniel asked.

"Yes," the Grandmaster nodded.

"Then we’re good." Daniel grinned. "I put fifty million on myself to win. So, go ahead and figure out how much you owe me."

Daniel handed his betting slip over to the Grandmaster, completely unconcerned about the possibility of him going back on his word.

Even though he had been reflecting on his actions lately and trying not to do bad things, if someone tried to cheat him out of his money?

Well, that was a different story... but he’d strip them down to their underwear.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t done that before. He and Quill used to pull that kind of stunt all the time. They would suppress their powers and disguise themselves as ordinary people, then walk around town carrying huge amounts of cash, practically begging someone to rob them.

And when someone inevitably took the bait, they usually regretted it.

The Grandmaster looked down at the betting slip and saw the payout odds. Seeing that his heart immediately sank.

He desperately wanted to go back on his word, but the moment he hesitated, the atmosphere around him suddenly changed.

The air seemed to grow heavier by the second, while the temperature in the room dropped rapidly. A terrifying pressure settled over him, making him feel as though he could die at any moment.

"Transfer him the money," the Grandmaster ordered the woman beside him; his heart aching at the thought of the fortune he was about to lose.

The woman, who had been acting so arrogant earlier, was just as quiet now. She immediately transferred the money to Daniel without saying a word; she had felt that pressure too.

As soon as the money went through, the surrounding atmosphere relaxed. Daniel even patted the Grandmaster on the shoulder and turned to leave.

"Hey, how about I buy you dinner?" the Grandmaster called after him.

"Ten million per meal," Daniel replied casually.

"No problem," the Grandmaster answered without hesitation, as he had already taken quite a liking to Daniel.

The intense, burning gaze he shot toward Daniel made Daniel feel deeply uncomfortable, causing him to quicken his pace and leave the area immediately.

Unfortunately, the intense, almost burning look in the Grandmaster’s eyes made Daniel deeply uncomfortable, so he quickened his pace and left without looking back.

’Damn, that guy’s eyes are seriously creepy.’ Daniel thought to himself.

-----------------------

Guys do leave your comments and reviews.

And if you want some extra Chapters, be sure to check out my Patron page, it’s 30 Chapters ahead of webnovel and the Chapters are also long so you can check it out.

p at reon . com / NovaScribe

(Just remove all spaces and then search)