REACHING OUT FISTS

Subtle sparks of fire screeched out of Aziz's fist, "You brought this upon yourself." With a swift bend of the knee, he sprang forth, his twisting arm firing at Lirzod's face from behind like a fiery wolf pouncing on its prey.

With Sariyu standing by his side, holding a hand, Lirzod's body instinctively moved, and his forearm met the hot punch head-on. Blazing steam burst out of Aziz's fist during the impact and facilely ignited its way through the still-wet sleeve and scalded Lirzod's skin, pressuring his torso to bend astern. "Nggh!" a flush of adrenaline tingled through his body, and his foot rose in response, crunched into Aziz's chin before a mid-air backspin assured his safe landing.

Nevertheless, Aziz's muscles and veins still strained against the skin, his chin unhurt.

"Wow," a few people among the crowd slapped their hands against their cheeks. "Nice move in return, but his arm must have already received significant damage in the collision."

"Not bad, but it's futile against the brothers."

"Yeah, he's trying to plant a ladder on the heavens[1]!" some among the crowd backed Aziz. "Bring that little fella down!"

"Whoa, whoa," the referee quickly ran to the spot before another exchange of attacks took place between the two, "hold it right there." He glared at Lirzod, "You can't fight in the hall. Don't you even know that?"

"Why are you blaming just me?" Lirzod squinted his eyes and vociferated, not reflecting the pain in his hand on his face. "He's the one who attacked me first."

"Quiet," the referee coldly said, his tone a breeze that breathed bad news, "you passed the deck test, so just leave through whichever exit you want, either the Winners Street or the Champs Street." He swept an arm gesture.

"Leave?" Lirzod knitted his brows and replied in a held-back yet noisy breath. "Who are you to tell me to leave? I'll leave whenever I want to. The walk down the victory lane can wait."

The referee's posture stiffened from hearing that. What Lirzod had just said was utterly true after all. As long as an entry didn't create unwanted trouble, the referee didn't have the power to kick them out. Only a commander of the deck had such authority. Still, unable to hide their displeasure, the referee's eyes protruded as he spoke, "Then do not fight in the hall."

"You should tell that to them, not to me," Lirzod grunted, owing to his temper that gradually worsened from the moment the referee had made the entrance, "or are you just too lily-livered to remind them the rules?"

The referee's shoulders jerked from hearing that, and his inability to meet Lirzod's eyes for that brief moment further solidified Lirzod's statement. Regardless, it was an open secret that referees favored the strong entries for trivial reasons.

"This hall is full," Lirzod continued, sporting a somewhat hard jawline, "go home. Hopefully, someone more capable will take your place."

The audience got astonished by hearing his needling words. For him to tell the referee to leave the hall, with what seemed like an almost poker face, how burly must his bowels be?

"You..." as the referee's grudging gaze met Lirzod, the rumbling rage in his stomach forced the intestines to squeeze out acids that could dissolve chicken bones. He clenched his fists, wanting to punch in Lirzod's stomach, but knowing that he would only be making himself look silly by doing that, he loosened his fist with a great effort before turning to Aziz. Though he said nothing, his eyes relayed much more information than his mouth could in as short of a time as it would take one to blink thrice.

The hotness around Aziz's fist simmered down; his heart, however, still squirmed in suppressed fury. "I'll let him leave this hall in one piece."

The referee thanked him with a blink of his eye before turning to Lirzod and discoursed in a raised voice, portraying the previous icy look, "You are the one who first attacked him with your words. The wrong is on your side. For your good, I'd say that you touch his feet and beg for mercy, or else you're gonna get in trouble once you leave the hall."

"What?" Lirzod knitted his brows, his shrewd gaze piercing up at the referee, "You entirely ignored the fact that these five attacked me during the test." He crossed the arms, "I wonder how you got this position." Shaking his head, he turned away from the referee and the brothers and began to walk, "Besides, I just said how their story was understood or misunderstood by us. They are the ones who don't have the guts to clarify things. And if they are hurt by the truth, then I'm not responsible for it, at least not for the most part. Maybe, if they were kids, then I would have helped them digest the truth, but in truth, these brothers are easily twice as old as me." He subconsciously tried holding Sariyu's hand, but she moved her arm away just in time with a casual look on her face. After all, it wasn't the first time for her when Lirzod tried to hold her hand in the middle of a conversation.

Having had wasted his time on the affair at hand, the referee just shook his head in displeasure. At least, things settled a lot more peacefully than he thought, and it made him feel a bit proud of his achievement.

"Sorry, Big Brother..." Betts' voice came across Aziz's ears, deepening by the second. "He insulted our past before this crowd." Betts' brows squeezed together, his expression exhibiting a grimace of agony. "Unless I disfigure his face in front of the very same crowd, I cannot peacefully sleep at night."

"You picked the words right out of my mouth, brother," Divas' face had long reddened, and he could no longer rein in his temper.

Centry, on the other hand, had already stepped past Aziz, letting his chagrin govern him.

Following those three, Fimbry also tagged right behind.

Together, they cut off the referee as he tried to speak to them, and the four of them hastened their feet toward Lirzod, their tightened hands prepared to pummel the target pitilessly. The crowd gawked with mouths open, for they had no doubt—if those four fists were to land in full, there would be no tomorrow for the boy with the charming copper and yellow ombre hair.

Before any of the three youngsters could react to the reaching out fists, a weighty figure whooshed its way in and took the four jeopardous fists by the belly, "Mountain Jam!" The crash reverberated in many an ear; howbeit, at the same time, the one who just blocked the attacks released a mass of gas through his mouth that resembled a brief burp, but then when he turned around and showed his back to the brothers, a horrid fart followed and hushed most noses and mouths in the hall. It was no regular gas dispossession, for it lasted full fourteen seconds and not just rivaled the earlier impact sound but thoroughly won over it by seeping through the noses of many, badly affecting even some nearby people, one of which also happened to be the red-haired girl.

Throughout the fourteen long seconds, different people felt either endangered or overawed by it for different reasons, but most hid their faces in tight spaces. Whoever dared to keep their eyes, noses, and mouths open suffered in various ways: itching in noses, burning in eyes, and an awful taste in mouths.

After the ear-upsetting sound finally died out, most men inwardly cursed the first face they had seen after waking up that morning.

"I have never seen someone expel gas for as long and as deadly as this!" the crowd was petrified, to say the least, for all they could do was cover their noses as hard as they can but still couldn't help themselves from speaking out. "Look, many people are passing out."

"Who said that sound farts don't smell? My nose is now flaring worse than after I sneezed a thousand times!"

"Forget about cows—he even puts elephants to shame."

"Yeah, it's beyond horrible. Even gravediggers can't stand this shit."

"I guess this means... Brown hill is on an entirely different level even in the class of farting."

"Weather forecast for the next minute: whiffy," Limon said, eyes flaring, but his nose was still shut. "I advise everyone to keep their noses shut and also refrain themselves from drinking lemon juice for the next minute."

"One minute is too long! And only you would want to drink lemon juice even in this situation," some people, who couldn't bear holding their noses shut anymore, had to open them, knowing full well that they'd suffer.

777, meanwhile, had an alarmed expression. (Just now, he flew in like a feather!) He narrowed his eyes. (So he was hiding his strength after all.)

Hundred, who had been dragged into a discussion with the men near the betting counter, only just took a look toward the source of the scandalizing sound and got utterly puzzled by what was happening.

"Brown Hill!" Centry ground his teeth as the rest of the brothers also pulled back their fists. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Uncle Piggy!" Lirzod's eyes broadened a bit. Boksa would surely not be on Lirzod's list as to whom he would have expected to intercept the brothers in case if it were to happen. Seeing Boksa's gesture, he felt a thickness in the throat and became unnaturally quiet.

Boksa glanced back at Lirzod and spoke in a firm voice, "Buzz off before I change my mind." As Lirzod paused a moment before starting to leave, Boksa looked back at the brothers, carrying his anger—an old snakeskin—to this moment, made known his bitter rage with his expression alone yet backed it with words, "Thanks to your stupid mist, I'm in an awful mood right now, bubbly brothers. I'd watch myself if I were you." Though it was a warning, his voice soothed over the brothers' ears like the melody of a harp performed by a heavenly being.

"Get lost!" all the four brothers sprang at him like bulls sick in the head but not necessarily in the body.

Boksa bent his torso forward and lunged ahead, "Knoll Chain Song!" An explosive series of palm thrusts slapped on the brothers' bodies at different parts—face, chin, throat, and chest—sending two of the brothers three steps back while the other two crashed on their backs.

Many members of the crowd were slack-jawed, for most of them have never seen Hardy Brothers fall in such fashion. "H-He just struck the four of them in one move!" However, the brothers got themselves together and attacked Boksa again in no time, thereby easing the amazement of the crowd just as fast.

"H-He's keeping up with their attacks!" the man standing beside Limon still couldn't let go of the bewilderment on his face. "How fast can his hands get?"

"Yeah, for a mini-giant, his hands sure are fast," Limon said, his nose still closed as he licked on a half piece of lemon.

"But he's significantly bigger than Hardy Brothers. How can he move faster than them?"

"He's got more muscle after all," Limon casually answered.

"Muscle? Don't joke," the man retorted, "he's well-stocked with fat."

"Idiot. Look carefully. He has well-developed muscles hidden underneath that fat."

"That's..." Upon some inspection, the man was still unsure. "I'm not sure. Either way, I still can't believe it."

"Hmph, you think you can freely move around such a figure if it's fully made of fat? Without muscle, you'll be tired right away," Limon said, staring at Brown Hill. "That bastard is similar to Darling Twins. Though they are heavier than Hardy Brothers, they are still better at balancing their bodies." He lightly clenched his fists. (I can't even imagine how much they must have trained for it. How long will it take for me to catch up to these freaks?)

"B-But Hardy Brothers aren't bad movers at all. You are talking as if they are nothing compared to Brown Hill."

"Well, Hardy Brothers are strong, but compared to Brown Hill, they seem to be lacking in both training and experience," Limon said. "Looking at how two of those brothers couldn't even keep their eyes open when Boksa attacked them, I must say, they have a lot more room to improve."

"What?" the man refused to believe Limon's words. "Don't talk like you've seen if their eyes were open or not from this far."

Limon chortled. "I agree that I didn't see, but still, if you can't see the incoming blow, your body won't brace itself for impact. That's probably the reason for their fall and not solely due to Boksa's strength. After all, some sacrifice of power is necessary for throwing four fast and consecutive punches."

"Then, he can't severely injure them all at the same time, which means the brothers are still at an advantage," the man seemed a bit excited.

"Of course, most can't fight their way through the advantage in numbers. An alpha wolf may be the strongest of the group, but it still can't easily fight four fearsome wolves at the same time. If Brown Hill isn't careful, he'll probably get taught a nice lesson." Some expectations could be felt in Limon's words. "Either one or five stretchers will be in use by the end of their fight."

"You have said so much," the man raised one of his brows, "but... didn't you get one-shotted by Brown Bill in the last round?"

Limon was startled, for each word of that man felt like a needle that penetrated his pride. "Shut up." He squeezed lemon juice in the man's face. "Smug Spray!"

"Ack! What the hell is wrong with you, dude!" the man ran away from the spot in annoyance.

"Tch, he made me waste so many drops," Limon resumed licking the lemon piece.

Meanwhile, Boksa pumped his fists against each other, having warded off the brothers' attacks once again. "Stop right now if you don't want your useless fat made into candles." His cocky smile rubbed up the brothers' faces the way it should.

"Brown Hill, don't butt in our business," Betts rebuked, his blood pressure steadily spiking. "Move if you don't want to get beaten like a dog."

"But the thing is... I do want to get beaten like a dog," Boksa said, taking even breaths. "Still, no one even wants to bother me."

Betts could see that Lirzod had already made quite some distance from them, and it boiled his blood. He looked at the other three brothers, "You three—leave this one to me and go after that brat."

"Yes, brother," Centry, Divas, and Fimbry took off in different directions, irking Boksa.

Right away, Boksa chased after the Centry, the closest one, but Betts blocked his way.

"You have to get past me first, dog," Betts put his fists to work.

In the meantime, Lirzod, Sariyu, and Burton were still yet to disappear out of the brothers' sight. Because Sariyu's breath was laboring—thanks to inhaling an unpleasant gas earlier—they couldn't pick up their speeds any further.

"Let me carry you," Burton suggested, "and we can get out of here fast."

"No," Sariyu straight out turned down his offer, "the brothers may be faster in the ice dumpster but not here. Even at our current pace, we can make it."

All the three brothers converged on them from behind.

Sensing the increasing presence of the brothers on their tail, Lirzod felt like escaping without a fight was impossible.

"Stop those three," Centry shouted. "Whoever stops them will get one gold."

The audiences, who relished the spectacle until that moment, now sprang into action, their eyes sparkling with a lust for gold.

"I'm gonna get them!"

"No, the early bird gets the worm."

"I'm the early bird. Those worms are mine!"

"Haha, you can have the worms—the gold is mine!"

In under five seconds, people blocked off all the paths of the three youngsters, but just as fast, they began to fight among themselves on who should get the prize money.

As the brothers closed in with smiling faces, Sariyu and Burton clenched their fists as they looked at each other's faces. Just then, Lirzod walked past the two and yelled, "I'm Lirzod." His voice didn't have an effect on the arguing men; however, he continued with an even louder voice, "I'm Lirzod, and whoever halts the brothers while howling my name out will get a chance to apply to become her bodyguard!" he pointed his fingers toward Sariyu, producing a dumb look on her visage.

"Eh?" some men suddenly shifted their attention toward Lirzod.

"What? I didn't hear clearly."

"Me too. I heard something about being a bodyguard or something. Can you come again?"

"I'm Lirzod." Lirzod roared, "Beat the brothers in my name, and you might just become her bodyguard." He pointed his forefinger toward Sariyu again.

Everyone around those three fell into silence upon hearing that.

"Hehe, as if such a stupid tactic would work!" Centry dashed through the masses, and he was the closest to the three, but just as he got within twenty feet distance, men abruptly made a stiffer wall between him and the three youngsters. The same was the case for the other two brothers. "You bloody bastards! What are you all doing?" Centry barked at the men.

"Isn't it obvious? In the name of Lirzod, we bloody bastards will be beating you," the men attacked the brothers without a second thought. "Nothing personal, brothers."

Generally, not many would have dared to fight the brothers, but given that their emotions were running high, and given their numbers, they didn't back away. Though the brothers could still fight the ones around them, the number was just too much for them to handle in so short of a time. All they could do was watch as their foes swiftly snaked through the masses and distanced themselves.

Lirzod, meanwhile, chuckled as he spoke with Sairyu. "Look how I've turned everyone against them."

"You've certainly overplayed things this time," Burton said, eyes narrowed, and his stare boring into Lirzod. "Who knows which guy will come to us afterward saying that he wants to become her bodyguard?"

"I am not taking any bodyguard," Sariyu hastily said in a sharp tone, "if someone comes to me, I will send them to you."

"Haha," Lirzod grinned. "Then, their day will be a total waste of time."

At the same time, seeing that his plan didn't succeed, Betts frowned inwardly as his fists stormed into Boksa's face nonstop. (You might escape from us now, but our fists will one day reach your face without a shred of a doubt. And that day is not far, and I swear, we'll make it your worst nightmare.)

Thoughts drifting elsewhere, Boksa took the punches without even worrying to block them. (Lirzod—the fire in my belly cannot be quenched until your bones bathe in it. For now, have fun and fatten up. One day, I will make a good lizard soup out of you.)

.........

[1] Planting a ladder on the heavens: This is an idiom mostly used by the people of the East. Trying to plant a ladder on the ground is deemed to be prudent; trying to plant a ladder on the sky is deemed to be ardent; trying to plant a ladder on the heavens is deemed to be imprudent.