The fighters in the cells erupted into chaos.
The commotion even startled Bill, who had been resting. He clutched his wound, slowly walked over, and asked, "What's going on?"
Mags made room for him so he could see outside, and said excitedly, "We've got a chance to win!"
He clenched his fist, as if the one fighting out there wasn't Bant, but himself.
Bill peered through the gap. In an instant, two crimson figures made his face go pale, and he felt like life was hopeless.
"Redwind Queen… there are two of them?"
Isn't this over?
he thought.
One Redwind Queen was already more than he could handle. Add another one, and what, he's supposed to fight with a hammer?
"No, the bigger one is Hacker!" Korg grabbed Bill's hand and said.
Hacker was a codename Bant made up on the spot.
Actually, ever since he got mistaken for Spider-Man last time, he'd been thinking about what his hero name should be. But almost every alien hero had a title anyway, so he didn't really care, and just picked one at random.
This time on Sakaar, he hadn't said his real name either.
"Hacker?"
Bill remembered the little guy from yesterday who held his hand and comforted him gently, and he froze.
"Didn't you see? He can transform!" Xiloy said excitedly.
Even though they weren't the ones actually in the arena, even though they knew that even if Bant won, the one who would gain freedom still wouldn't be them.
They still couldn't help feeling thrilled and excited.
Because the champion wasn't invincible!
In the arena, the fight continued.
This time, Bant truly, personally felt what it meant that female Tetrumans were stronger than male Tetrumans.
This was not some tiny difference.
It was a massive gap, like the difference between men and women on Earth.
And while female Tetrumans were far stronger, their bodies were also slimmer. That meant she wasn't just strong, she was more agile too.
Agility had always been the four-armed tyrant's biggest weakness, but for Luma, it wasn't a problem.
She snapped a fast punch into Bant's abdomen, forcing him to hunch forward. Then Luma clasped her two hands together and hammered down in a crushing smash toward the back of his head!
Boom!!!
The ground instantly sank several dozen centimeters.
Luma's move didn't succeed, because Bant lifted both upper arms and crossed them into an X above his head, blocking the blow.
Then the two arms under his ribs shot out. Huge hands clamped around Luma's slender waist and lifted her high in the air in an instant.
"Ah!"
Then Bant leaned back and slammed her down in a suplex, like he was planting rice seedlings, smashing Luma's head straight into the arena floor.
Boom!
That scene left everyone staring, not just the other spectators, even Red King and the rest were stunned.
"Does he have a grudge against Luma?" Kayla could not help thinking.
Before, after Bant transformed, she thought Bant and Luma were of the same race, and maybe the two of them wouldn't have that much hostility.
But now it looked like they were fighting to the death.
Hearing Kayla's guess, Red King also felt it made perfect sense. He relaxed a little, his body loosening.
"Maybe he really is Luma's enemy. Otherwise, Luma is an imperial princess. How could she be exiled to a place like this?"
Thinking that, his mind became lively again.
If he helped Luma take down this enemy, maybe she would look at him differently.
So he pulled out the remote control, his fingers rubbing over it.
But Red King didn't press it yet. Luma was still enjoying the fight. If he waited until she showed signs of decline and only then intervened, he would win more favor.
In the arena.
Luma, whose head was harder than iron, sprang up from the ground. The look she gave Bant was filled with excitement.
"This is the first time I've ever met a Tetruman as strong as you!" she said excitedly. After several exchanges, she felt her blood boiling.
Back in the Redwind Empire, she hadn't only defeated every male Tetruman, even the female Tetrumans had all bowed under her iron fists.
Luma had thought there simply wasn't a Tetruman in the world who could trade blows with her.
Who would have guessed that in this bizarre place she would meet another master?
"I love this planet!"
"When I beat you, I'll bring my legion and take this place." She was so excited she was practically glowing. "Oh, and you too!"
Luma stretched out a hand and pointed at Bant.
"I want you to be my husband too!"
No matter how this match ended, Bant was already the strongest male Tetruman Luma had ever seen in her life. If she had to choose a husband, no one else was more suitable than him.
"Princess Luma, I'm not even an adult yet," Bant said.
He had no intention of offering himself up. Aliens were like desserts. Sampling them once in a while was fine, but how could they be your main course?
Fair-skinned, pretty girls were what he truly loved.
"When I beat you, you won't be able to refuse even if you want to!" Luma didn't care about what Bant wanted at all.
Tetrumans only cared about one thing from beginning to end: whose fists were bigger!
With that, she let out a battle roar and slammed all four palms together.
A massive shockwave surged toward Bant like a tidal wave.
In an instant, the air twisted and the battlefield floor cracked apart.
"Boom!"
Bant countered the same way. The moment the two shockwaves collided, the ground at the center of the arena turned completely to powder.
The earth shook violently. The shockwave even affected the crowd watching.
For a moment, the entire arena felt like it had been thrown into the eye of a typhoon, being torn by savage winds.
Kayla's face changed sharply. Blue lightning erupted around her body. The Ancient Power burst inside her, letting her ignore that vast energy.
At that moment, even Red King swayed in the gale. Only she stood unmoving, like a divine pillar.
It was as if she was the true master of this arena. As she strode forward, she issued an order to all guards.
"Open the energy shield immediately!"
At once, a pale blue energy barrier rose, piecing together like a honeycomb and covering the arena.
Only then did the violent wind finally die down.
Red King let out a breath, but the way he looked at Bant turned colder.
Putting aside the humiliation this slave caused him, this kind of power was not something that could be easily controlled.
Killing intent surged in his heart.
But for now, he suppressed it.
After the probing clash, Bant and Luma tangled together again.
Both of their fighting skills were extremely strong. Luma went without saying. She had fought since childhood, a true battle-hardened warrior.
And Bant, back when he was younger, had gotten into plenty of fights to help Peter vent his anger.
He swung with all his strength, smashing a punch into Luma's head and breaking off half of the horn on the left side of her helmet. Luma answered with an elbow strike that shattered his chest armor in one blow.
Neither of them cared.
To them, armor was decoration far more than protection. Their skin was tougher than most metals.
Boom!
Boom!
Thunderous impacts kept exploding across the arena.
At this point, the spectators were so engrossed they forgot to cheer and even forgot to breathe.
They watched those two red shadows blaze from one corner of the arena to the other, pounding the ground down by nearly half a meter, still unable to decide a victor.
But those with real eyes could already see Luma's fatigue beginning to show.
"Is he really going to win?"
Inside the cell, Bill's pupil-less white eyes, wrapped in bandages and shadow, filled with unbelievable shock.
Not only him. It was as if a fire ignited in everyone's eyes.
Can he win?
For sure.
Bant really wanted to say that.
But from the moment he saw Luma, winning stopped being his goal.
Pulling this powerful combat force to his side and making her hate Red King was what he needed to do.
At this moment, the relentless struggle was nearing its end.
Bant and Luma stood extremely close, close enough that their fists could smash each other's faces.
Luma's eyes were already full of affection.
She knew she was about to lose, but she wasn't truly upset, because she'd found something even better than victory.
That said, until Bant beat her so hard she could not stand, she would never surrender.
Eight eyes met eight eyes. In each other's gaze, they saw nothing but fighting spirit.
Luma forced herself back up, letting out a clear battle cry. Then her four arms fired like machine guns!
Fast as a sudden downpour, fierce as thunder!
Bant met her head-on.
Their fists collided, kicking up a violent wind in an instant!
Boom!!
Boom!!
Under their feet, only the tiny patch of ground where they stood remained intact. Everything else had collapsed under the shockwaves created by their punches slamming into each other.
In the blink of an eye, only a single stone pillar remained beneath them.
Their armor had been completely shattered as well. The fragments shot out like bullets, hammering into the energy shield.
Under that extreme burst, Bant's fists went numb. The massive force traveled from his knuckles into his bones, making him feel sharp pain.
But at the same time, it made his bloodline roar.
His heart felt like it had turned into a pump, making the blood in his body surge like a torrent.
He grew stronger and stronger. The optimized Tetruman genes from that little broken watch displayed their superiority to the fullest at this moment.
In contrast, Luma was already showing clear exhaustion.
"Roar!!"
Bant let out a battle roar. In an instant, his body, several times larger and more muscular than Luma's, crushed forward, and the power of his fists shattered Luma's barrier!
Boom!
The impact exploded outward. Even the energy shield nearly glitched, screeching with crackling current.
"This power… it's probably dozens of times stronger than a Deathflame Shot," Kayla said, shaken.
Even she felt that way, let alone Red King.
At this moment, seeing Luma about to lose, he could not hold back anymore. His finger finally hovered over the controller, ready to play dirty in secret.
However, before he could actually press it, Bant suddenly began to convulse and dropped to the ground.
Red King: ???
Bant's convulsions were so sudden that Luma, who had been resisting with difficulty, did not stop her punch in time and blasted him flying.
In an instant, the entire arena fell silent.
No one was stupid.
Anyone with eyes could see Bant had just taken the upper hand. Now he lost out of nowhere. What happened was obvious.
Especially the fighters who had personally suffered neurotoxins. They understood Red King's methods too well.
"Despicable beast!" Bill punched the wall in fury.
In contrast, the others were much quieter.
To be blunt, they were used to this kind of thing. Seeing it happen again wasn't news.
"He can beat the Redwind Queen, but he can't beat the Red King…"
In the arena, Luma also clearly realized something was wrong. She leapt and landed beside Bant, her eyes full of affection and concern as she reached out to help him up.
"Are you okay?"
But Bant slapped her hand away.
"Don't touch me, you despicable woman."
He faked anger in his eyes. After silently saying "sorry" to Luma in his heart, he continued acting.
"You've stained the great traditions of the Tetruman people. You've stained the duel. You've stained the honor of being a warrior!"
"What? No, I…" Luma looked shattered by the string of accusations. She took a step back, face twisted in pain.
But Bant kept pressing. One hand covered the device on his body as he said, "Winning like this, do you feel no shame?"
"No, I didn't do it. This wasn't me!" Luma protested.
At the same time, she thought of the real culprit.
In an instant, her eyes, burning with rage, locked onto Red King.
"Just wait! This match doesn't count. I'll fight you again, completely fair!" After speaking, Luma sprang upward, leaping hundreds of meters, crashing down onto the high stands.
She strode toward Red King with murderous momentum, her furious voice echoing through the entire arena.
"An-Mo Yashan, you dare interfere in my battle and ruin my reputation, Luma the First!"
"Wait, it wasn't me!" Red King hurried to defend himself.
He had intended to rig things, yes, but at that moment his finger had not pressed the remote at all. Bant had collapsed on his own!
He had pain he couldn't speak. Then he looked at Bant and immediately saw Bant, who should have been lying on the ground, grinning at him full of energy.
Red King instantly realized he'd been played.
Damn it, this kid is coming for me!
But now, arguing with Luma was impossible. The enraged Luma only wanted to tear him into pieces!
Fortunately, Red King still had one loyal subordinate.
Kayla, glowing with Ancient Power, stepped in front of Luma.
"Calm down, Luma!"
"Move, Kayla. I'm clearing my name!" Luma's rage exploded.
Kayla also disliked Red King's petty tricks, but as a subordinate, she could not disobey.
"This match was never according to the rules in the first place. His Majesty stopping you is reasonable."
Red King wanted to say it had nothing to do with him, but after thinking it over, he still kept quiet. A ball of fire clogged his chest, yet he had no way to vent it at Luma.
Not because he liked Luma so much, but because Luma did not have a controller.
She was a savage beast without a chain.
So he cleared his throat and said, "Kayla is right. This match didn't follow procedure. He needs to complete the second challenge first before he can duel you."
"Fine." Luma nodded. "But you need to remove his control device first. And from now on, he lives with me, so you can't secretly play dirty again!"
Hearing Luma say Bant would live with her, Red King felt not only less red, but a little green.
But right now, he could only grit his teeth and agree.
/-\
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