From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 466

Chapter 466: Blood and the Pit

The deafening roar of the audience felt like a physical weight pressing down on Joe. He stood in the center of the Pit, the flickering spotlights harsh on his skin, but the crowd’s energy was focused on something else, the blood.

Only hours ago, they had watched him, the ’weak-looking kid,’ walk away from his first match unscathed. The audience, a ravenous, cynical mob that lived for the thrill of the brawl, had kept a close, calculating track of him precisely because of his seemingly fragile appearance. Now, seeing him drenched in crimson, blood covering his shirt, smeared across his jaw, and clinging to his knuckles, it was all they could talk about.

"Did he get jumped or something? A revenge hit?" a voice shrieked, barely cutting through the din.

"Don’t be an idiot, look at his hands! The blood’s right on his fists, man. He must’ve been in a nasty fight with some other individuals just to get here," another retorted. The guesses were wild, the tension a live wire.

Joe didn’t hear them. The betting was officially closed, and the second the announcement faded, he’d dropped without a second of hesitation into the Pit. His gaze was locked on the person opposite him: Razor.

Razor, a fighter who had earned his name with slicing speed, stood there, grinning, a truly devilish smile cutting across his face below a defiant, blonde-colored mohawk. Joe knew this guy was fast, dangerously so, and had performed well in his own preliminary bout.

Up in the stands, the polished steel of the railing felt cold beneath Wolf’s fingers. His mind was racing, a silent, frantic analysis running on repeat.

’That’s my bad,’ he thought, his jaw tight as he watched Joe. ’I should have known. I should have known they might try something. I just honestly never expected them to move so early on in this stage. I would have suspected them to do something after this.’

Wolf quickly used his own logic and battlefield experience to connect the dots. It almost certainly had something to do with Chad. Chad had only bet on two people during the matches, Joe and Wolf, and in a high-stakes arena like this, that kind of singular focus was enough to set off every alarm bell in the back channels. They wanted to take out the assets, and they’d gone for the one they thought was easiest.

He watched Joe, covered in blood that wasn’t all his own, and a small, almost grim smile touched his lips. ’Well, if there is one person I wouldn’t have to worry about dying on me, that would have to be you, Joe, right?’

The opening bell shrieked, and the energy in the Pit exploded.

Razor, living up to his moniker, came rushing out like a blur, a whirlwind of speed and aggression. The first move was a wide, looping swing from the side. Joe’s head dipped, dodging the hit by mere inches, but before he could recenter, a second swing came slashing in from the opposite direction, a lightning-fast pendulum.

Joe lifted his arm instinctively, barely in time to block the attack. But the fist was thrown with such blinding velocity that it walloped the side of his head anyway. His entire neck whipped, a sickening, sharp snap, and a collective, sharp "Ooooh!" of imagined pain swept through the crowd.

Yet, Joe didn’t go down. He planted his feet, a sudden, immovable column, his solid foundation holding fast against the brutal impact.

He instantly tried to retaliate, snapping out a quick, punishing jab. It managed to just skim Razor’s cheek, drawing a thin line of sweat and possible blood.

"What a good jab you have!" Razor sneered, his tone dripping with mocking admiration. "Unfortunately for you, I was also a boxer!"

’What is he doing?’ Wolf’s internal alarm was ringing louder now. ’Usually, when Joe fights opponents like this, just as fast, just as talented, he relies on something else he has: his stamina. He should be moving around him in circles right now, throwing out his jab to wear them down. But he hasn’t done any of that.’

"If you just keep your guard up all day, then I’ll just go for your body!" Razor yelled over the roar. "At some point, it willdrop!"

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