CHAPTER 251: THE ONES HE’S GATHERED

The man Wolf had knocked down earlier, the one who had tried to bring Max his jacket, was somehow back on his feet.

Wincing, he pressed a hand to his sore chin and glanced around to get his bearings. That’s when he noticed Max. The black-jacketed teen was already moving, heading down toward the area where the manager stood.

The man didn’t think twice. It was the first thing he saw, the first thing his instincts screamed at him to stop. He vaulted over a row of seats, landing hard as he prepared to jump again,

, but mid-leap, a golden blur intercepted him.

Wolf’s hand clamped down on his face, gripping it like a basketball. Without hesitation, he slammed the man straight into the row of chairs, splinters flying from the force. The metal creaked under the impact.

And then, without missing a beat, Wolf twisted his body and followed up with a spinning punch, his fist connecting squarely with the side of the man’s skull.

The hit was clean. Powerful. Final.

The man collapsed, unconscious. Hopefully, for a much longer time this round.

Wolf stood over him for a moment, brushing his knuckles together. His voice rang out across the hall.

"Anyone who even thinks about going after the one in black..." he announced, "...you’ll have to deal with me, the one in gold!"

He cracked his neck and pointed toward the crowd, his grin wide.

"I’m gold for a reason. If you’re not convinced, step up and try me. I dare you."

With that declaration made, Wolf turned back and started making his way toward Max’s position. Back to the VIP area, where someone else was starting to move.

His eyes narrowed.

"You," Wolf said coldly.

Chad froze.

"You’re staying right here. Don’t even think about moving. Unless you want to force my hand."

Chad didn’t move. He couldn’t.

His heart raced as he stared into Wolf’s eyes. Who were these terrifying people? Even Dipter had stood tall against the guards before. But these people, these strangers in black and gold, were something else entirely.

Scarier. More dangerous.

Elsewhere in the arena, the fight was heating up.

The Bloodline Rangers and the Pit members were all in the thick of it now, clashing hard with the Black Hounds.

The Hounds were clearly more difficult than the high schoolers they’d dealt with before. More trained. More tactical.

But to the Pit members’ surprise... not by much.

In fact, many of them were genuinely impressed. The high schoolers from before had clearly been through their share of fights. Despite their age, they knew how to handle themselves.

The Black Hounds, on the other hand, had become something else. Ever since being recognized as a formal group, they had grown softer. Their time in structured power had distanced them from real fights.

The Pit members, meanwhile, thrived in the chaos. They’d lived it. They were it. And their experience was starting to show.

They were finding ways to win. One fight at a time.

Still, there were a few standouts in the Black Hounds, a few who made the Pit hesitate.

Like Sniper.

With his long, whip-like limbs, he lashed out and struck a Pit member clean in the face before they could even close the gap. His reach was incredible, unpredictable, and no one had yet figured out how to deal with him.

Then there was Hawk.

The towering man bulldozed forward, tackling one of the Pit members to the ground and pinning him down with overwhelming strength. It looked like that fight was already over, until a sudden uppercut slammed into Hawk’s jaw.

The hit rocked him, and he stumbled back, breaking his grip. He landed hard, then rolled back up, eyes darting around in confusion.

Standing before him was a man in a red tracksuit.

"It looks like there’s a ring right over there just for the two of us," Steven said, cracking his knuckles. "How about you and me go mash it out, one-on-one?"

Hawk rubbed his chin. The punch had landed well, but not enough to take him down. He had been injured slightly earlier in a rigged fight, but he was far from finished.

He had no real reason to follow Steven’s lead... but something about that suggestion appealed to him.

A ring. A confined space. That was familiar territory.

With his size and strength, restricted movement was to his advantage.

So, Hawk moved. And Steven moved with him.

Just before stepping into the ring, Hawk glanced back, and saw Joe caught in his own mess.

"Damn it, long limbs!" Joe cursed, trying to dodge Sniper’s rapid strikes. Each blow barely missed him by inches.

He threw a punch back, but it whiffed, nothing but air.

"Come on, man!" Joe shouted. "I’m just a teenager! Do you really wanna be the guy who goes down in history for beating up a kid?"

Sniper didn’t reply.

Joe kept ducking, twisting, barely keeping up.

’Man... and Steven’s already gone off to fight in that ring. Not even gonna give me any tips or advice?’

But it wasn’t just his current situation bothering him.

No, Joe had seen who Max was about to face. And that fact sat heavy in his chest.

He knew who it was.

Meanwhile, on another side of the battlefield, something else stirred.

A massive figure entered the fray, one whose right arm gleamed with metal.

Almost mechanical. Almost too large to be real.

Aron, calm and focused as ever, had been keeping control of his end of the battle with his baton, whipping it across faces, breaking guards. But now,

CLANG!

His baton slammed into metal.

A thick, bionic arm had blocked the strike effortlessly. The echo rang through the arena.

"That arm’s real, huh?" Aron muttered.

He tried to pull the baton back, but it didn’t budge.

The man known as Elephant had caught it. And with a simple squeeze, he snapped it in two.

"I’m the most dangerous man in this whole place," Elephant said, his voice cold and assured. "Which is why it’s such a shame... that you’re the one who has to face me, Silver Boy."

Aron’s eyes narrowed. He tossed the broken baton aside, undaunted.

He didn’t speak. He just got ready.

Watching from above, Wolf had seen the entire exchange.

And he smirked.

You’re wrong, Wolf thought. The most dangerous man in this room... is the one you’re about to fight.

His gaze drifted across the battlefield.

This is the group Max has been building, he realized. I’ve already re-evaluated him recently... but maybe it’s time I reassess his whole group too.

Let’s see how far they’ve come.

And most of all,

Let’s see how Max plans to handle an A+ class threat.