I’m Just Strong

It was an early morning, the rising sun swiftly shines upon the darkness left by the cold night. The old rundown shops and stalls were opening one by one. The streets weren't busy, only a few people were out. A young man walking down the road caught the attention of the few people nearby.

He was wearing ragged and dirty clothes. His hair was golden and his eyes were brown. His face was quite charming and his skin was fair. He wears a necklace with a ring.

While walking, the sounds of coins clanging onto each other made noise in the silent street. For the people nearby, it was a beautiful noise that arouses their spirits.

"Young man, I'm Jin, I own a shop full of oddities that you have never seen before. Would you like to pay my shop a visit? You won't be disappointed" Jin said delightedly.

"Hello Mr. Jin, I'm Alexius, do you sell food that I haven't eaten before?"

"I don't think I sell that kind of food" Jin said with a confused expression.

"Then goodbye mister."

As Alexius kept walking, Jin kept pestering and inviting him to go to his shop. He started to shout and cuss when Alexius was already far away from him. A few moments later, a group of people consisting of bulky and injured men armed with weapons passed by.

"Have you seen a person carrying a lot of coins pass by here?" The bulkiest man among the group said.

"A person with a lot of coins? Oh! He passed by here earlier and went up ahead."

"Let's go men! We'll beat him up badly this time."

"That'll teach you a lesson, you stingy kid" Jin thought to himself.

***

In a small tavern named Cross Ant Tavern, Alexius looks at the interior of the Tavern. Seeing simple but intricate wooden chairs, tables and furniture. A large bulletin board full of bounties, posters, advertisements, and news. The furniture inside were only made of cheap quality but is masterfully crafted making the decoration look high-end but all pales in comparison to the portrait of a woman of incredible beauty on the wall.

Only a few people were inside, he proceeds to walk in and take a seat on one of the chairs in front of the bar.

"Hey Cross, Give me your most expensive and delicious breakfast" Alexius said in a serious tone.

Cross is a towering muscular man, he has black skin, no hair on his head but boasts a magnificent beard. He wears a white shirt, a brown apron, brown pants and leather boots.

"If it isn't Alexius., I'm sorry but I can't, your gramps told me not to sell you anything" Cross also said in a serious tone.

"I'll double it"

"Do you think doubling your payment would make me break my promise to your gramps? Do you think so lowly of me Alexius, my promise can't be broken with mon…"

"Fine! I'll pay you four times"

"Ms. Lin, can you bring out the breakfast special" Cross said in a cheerful and lively manner. "We have a very important customer right now."

"It's nice doing business with you and don't worry gramps won't know" Alexius whispered as he winks to Cross.

The tavern door suddenly slams open, the group looking for Alexius earlier finally made their way to him. All of them had a menacing presence. Even the few customers in the tavern felt as if death was lingering near them.

"Hey aren't they the black hounds? one of the top gangs in the district?" a customer with a pointy hat whispered.

"Yeah, why the hell are they here, who'd dare mess with a gang like that" his friend whispered back.

One by one, the gang looked at each of the customers carefully finding Alexius. He wasn't hard to find since there were only a handful of people. The gang surrounded Alexius. They all raised all their weapons up and was ready to attack at a moment's notice.

"You've brought trouble again huh? Just take it outside, I don't want my tavern to get destroyed again"

"Ok but will the breakfast I ordered be finished after the fight?"

"No problem with that, Ms. Lin is a fantastic cook. So go out there and kick some ass"

Alexius stood up from his chair and went to the bulkiest guy in the gang and talked.

"You're the leader right? Let's take this outside, I don't want to pay for the damages if we do it here"

The bulky guy had bulging muscles as big as Alexius' head and doesn't wear any clothing on his torso to showoff his iron like body. He has a long black beard and a shiny bald head. His body has multiple scars while his cheek has a long horizontal one.

"You're not thinking of escaping are you?"

"Why would I? this would be a good exercise before I eat my meal"

Veins appeared in the forehead of the bulky guy. He was angered by what Alexius said. Even the other gangs in the district pay him respect.

"You may be strong but I, Yu Mengyao, will make you fear my presence. Stand down men, I'll take him down on my own"

"But he beat us up earlier boss and took our money, we'd like to avenge ourselves" one of the injured men said.

"After I'm done with him you can take turns in beating him up"

"Really boss! Thank you!"

Alexius and Yu Mengyao went out of the tavern. The gang surrounded the two forming a circle as if it was an arena. Puzzled by what was going on, the people nearby grew curious and went near them to look.

"Give me my Wendy quickly" Yu Mengyao said "You don't mind me using a weapon right?"

"Let's just be done with this already"

Several bulky men brought out a giant heavy iron hammer with such difficulty that every vein that could appear can be seen throughout their body. The people around them had their eyes wide open as they thought of a gruesome outcome in the end of the battle.

"You're not afraid now are you? HA-HA-HA" Yu Mengyao laughed with full confidence. "with my Wendy, I'll crush your limbs one by one. HA-HA-HA"

Alexius readies himself and took on a fighting stance while Yu Mengyao walks slowly towards Alexius carrying his heavy hammer with one hand on his shoulder with ease.

Inside the Tavern, seeing an opportunity, Cross made a bet with the customers inside on who's gonna win the battle between the two. As expected, everyone in the tavern bet on Yu Mengyao. In everyone's perspective, it was a battle between a man and a lion. Cross was the only one who made a bet on Alexius and puts all of the bets placed in a chest for safekeeping as the battle outside has begun.

In front of Alexius, Yu Mengyao liftted up his Wendy high up in the air and strikes down with all his might. Even the people around them watching felt terrified as they see the heavy hammer falling down on someone with such power. Seeing the attack, Alexius casually dodges to the side and taps Yu Mengyao's shoulder.

"You definitely have some power but you're slow" Alexius said with a sigh. "You can't beat what you can't hit"

Veins appeared on Yu Mengyao's forehead. That tap was nothing for him physically but the damage it did to his pride was immeasurable. He felt immensely humiliated especially to his members that look up to him.

"How dare you humiliate me, you little insect" Yu Mengyao said in anger. "You want speed, I'll give you speed"

As the heavy hammer was lifted, it left a mini crater on the ground. Yu Mengyao took a step back and lifted his hammer with both of his hands. He spins it with ease and as it gains momentum. Using the momentum, he struck Alexius quickly barely missing him.

"Ohh that's really fa…" Alexius said as he was interrupted.

Alexius barely dodged the spinning hammer again. His facial expression shows that he was surprised by the unexpected attack. Yu Mengyao's attacked didn't stop when he missed Alexius. He used the momentum of the hammer to his advantage launching another attack.

"How do you like that you insect?" Yu Mengyao said. "Fast enough for you?"

"Your pretty good aren't you" Alexius said with a smile."Give me everything you got"

Yu Mengyao started spinning again with his hammer but this time it was twice as fast. Everyone in the surrounding area took a lot of steps back and felt the terrifying power of the hammer. It was as if a single hit can destroy almost every bone in your body.

Alexius is barely dodging the spinning hammer but in his face was a wide smile that couldn't contain his enjoyment. As the fight goes, little by little, Alexius finds his groove and is efficiently dodging the spinning hammer of Yu Mengyao.

"Thank you, it's been so long since I felt excitement like this" Alexius said with a wide smile on his face.