Chapter 72: The Might of the Thigh

"—One more round!"

Yoshioka snapped out of his daze; how could he possibly accept defeat.

This loss wasn't just about losing teeth—if his first mission couldn't be completed and the lost territory couldn't be reclaimed, then before my lord Chester he would have absolutely no future to speak of!

"Let me knock your teeth out first."

Baimu sidestepped the topic, only locking onto his target with no intention of letting up.

Yoshioka ground his teeth in hatred—after smashing them all, how much fighting power would he have left? Who would carry out the next gamble match?

Those little brothers behind him who only knew how to cheer?

Save it!

Or maybe… little brothers fighting little brothers might have a chance of winning!

Baimu's bunch of misfits were all fresh out of the training class, utterly lacking in fighting ability—he knew this much.

Yoshioka's thoughts spun rapidly, like a man plunging off a cliff grasping for a lifeline, and he seized tightly upon this point. "You have to promise me one more round first!"

That's right!

He had to find a way to make Baimu agree to little brothers versus little brothers!

"You want to go back on your word?"

Baimu frowned. Seeing Yoshioka's bloodshot eyes and panting like a bull, he figured the guy had probably gone mad with rage, and said unhurriedly: "Before the match there was no rule about a rematch. You want to break the rules?"

"On Copper Ingot Street, our Crystal Faction is the rules!"

The latter had already thrown away all face, ignoring the jeers from members of other factions around them, and clenched his fist. "Are you fighting or not? If not, I'm leaving, and your big brother's dignity won't be recovered!"

Dummy.

You going back on your word in public like this—not only have I recovered Master Liu Ge's dignity, but your big brother's dignity has been thoroughly thrown away by you too.

Baimu muttered inwardly. With so many spectators and him being the victor, no matter how you looked at it, Yoshioka—the one trying to back out now—was the clown everyone would laugh at.

But this guy had clearly decided to take back the territory, and to achieve his goal he was already willing to use any means.

The laughter of bystanders was probably just treated by him as seasoning for his bitter endurance.

Absurd enough.

He couldn't help but show a strange smile and said: "Really? This is a rule set by the boss, you know. You don't even care about the boss anymore?"

The latter roared as if gone mad:

"The boss? Apart from my lord Chester, what other bullshit—"

Before the words were finished, two of his little brothers rushed forward with horrified faces and desperately clamped their hands over Yoshioka's mouth.

"Big brother! Shh! You can't say that!"

"He's setting a trap for you!"

Yoshioka struggled twice at first, but quickly realized that the "boss" Baimu had spoken of was not the Cang Zhi Lang or Master Liu Ge he had understood, but the one at the very top.

Cold sweat instantly soaked his entire back.

Yoshioka looked around and immediately saw many people giving him strange looks; their whispered exchanges inevitably mentioned his disrespect toward the boss.

One had to know that in the Quicksand Team the boss was a god. The fact that they could engage in internal fighting while opposing other forces and still live so prosperously was all thanks to the boss's powerful strength and terrifying connections in Silicon Beryllium City.

Even the mayor of Pyrite Town had to give the boss three parts respect.

The fact that they, a bunch of small fry, had what they had today was all thanks to the boss's blessing, so within the Quicksand Team whoever dared speak half a bad word about the boss would pay dearly for it.

"Fine! You set me up!"

Yoshioka poured his fury onto Baimu.

"Don't slander a good man. Everyone's listening—it's only you being unreasonable and refusing to acknowledge the wager. Who heard me set you up?"

The latter tilted his head and chuckled lightly, waving his hand casually. "Alright, I'm too lazy to keep wasting words with you, Loudred."

"Chiiido!"

A crisp shout.

Loudred suddenly turned into a blur and appeared before Yoshioka. Without using any technique, that iron fist slammed hard into his cheek.

Bang!

"Big brother!"

Yoshioka and the two little brothers flanking him had no time to react.

The Hoothoot that had saved him earlier was also asleep, completely not expecting to be attacked. On the spot his head lolled to one side and drooped; half a mouthful of teeth were smashed out, falling from his mouth mixed with fresh blood.

"Pfft!"

He hung his head, dazed and confused from the shock to his nerves.

"Remember to tell Yoshioka for me—I'm collecting half of those teeth now, the other half I'll come collect when there's a chance."

Baimu looked at the furious and wary members of the Crystal Faction, smiled indifferently, then glanced at those trembling bosses, patted Loudred's head upon its return, and said to Cheng Hong and the others: "Let's go."

Cheng Hong and the others exchanged glances.

"Go!"

"Total victory!"

"Someone's in for big trouble!"

They shouted and hollered, while not far away the group of bosses' faces grew paler and paler.

The situation developing to this point was something the bosses were unwilling and did not dare to see, but the die was cast. Seeing Baimu so young yet so brutal and decisive, sitting on the fence was no longer an option.

Recalling the conditions Baimu had previously set—

Double the quota.

They couldn't help but shiver.

——

After the dismissal.

All Baimu warned Cheng Hong and the others that members of the Crystal Group might stir up trouble lately, and if anything happened, they must not shoulder it alone — they had to tell him.

"There might be some scheme or plot; if we delay, they might just succeed at it."

"Understood!"

"Got it!"

Facing a chorus of cheerful replies, he swung himself onto the motorcycle; Bibarel also hopped excitedly into the sidecar. "Right, take these and split them up."

All Baimu handed over the envelopes he had previously taken from the bosses.

The group exchanged glances — not one of them stepped forward to take them.

"What? Take them! You want me to stand here with my arm outstretched awkwardly?" He shook the envelopes, finally placing them into Cheng Hong's hands.

Cheng Hong scratched his head awkwardly. "We all said we were going to give Big Brother his share — we figured we'd hand the envelopes over to you in a bit, but instead you gave yours to us."

"No need. I'm not short of this hundred or two hundred thousand; you lot need the money more."

All Baimu swept his gaze over the group. "A month of training burns through a lot, right? The reward money from the promotion is probably just about spent. Take this money.

"Use it to improve your lives or strengthen your Pokémon — either is fine. But I don't want you wasting it on pointless stuff — playing around when you've got money is fine, of course."

The glittering world dazzles the eye; for people starved of entertainment, just some of the things seen today are enough to make them smitten.

"I'll periodically test your combat strength and your Pokémon's. That's all — I'm off to report in."

All Baimu didn't linger any longer; he twisted the throttle and headed toward the Sand Group's main base.

He left a group of young men gathered around a thick stack of envelopes, beginning to discuss how to split the money.

The underground city.

Inside a familiar office.

All Baimu met Master Liu Ge and the King Scorpion again.

But before he could speak, his big brother took the initiative: "Nicely done. The territory in Districts One and Two is considered thoroughly stabilized now."

"... As long as you're satisfied."

He nodded — it was only natural for the other party to know "in advance"; who on the surface didn't have a pair of eyes or two?

Mastering the world's affairs without stepping outside, and thereby strategizing from afar — that was basic skill for a big shot.

And judging which piece of information was false was another matter entirely.

"Don't worry about Yoshioka — it won't be his turn to come after you for revenge." Master Liu Ge took a casual sip of tea. "Haven't moved in too long; one or two of them think I'm dead. Take a rest for a while, and just wait and watch."

All Baimu's eyes widened slightly. "—Got it!"