From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 625

Chapter 625: The Apex of the Trio

Seeing Ramon stride out onto the main stage with such unearned confidence, Max felt two conflicting thoughts collide in his mind. The first was a cold, sinking dread: either Aron had been defeated by this mechanical monstrosity, or he had been pinned down in a situation so dire that he couldn’t break away to assist.

What surprised Max most, however, was his own visceral reaction. The moment his eyes locked onto Ramon, a surge of raw, protective anger boiled over. It was a heat he hadn’t expected, a protective instinct for his team that threatened to cloud his judgment.

Taking a sharp, steadying breath, Max forced himself to calm down and analyze the man in front of him. He looked at Ramon’s white lab coat, it was far too clean. There were no tears in the fabric, no scuff marks from the gym floor, and no bloodstains.

He knew Aron’s capabilities intimately; in fact, he suspected Aron was still hiding depths of skill he hadn’t yet revealed. With the level of training Aron possessed, there was simply no way Ramon could have emerged from a true fight to the death looking so pristine.

’He’s fine,’ Max thought, his heart rate leveling out. ’Aron is still in the game. But it just means these guys are even more dangerous than I thought. They aren’t just strong; they’re tactical.’

The worry on Max’s face slowly pulled into a sharp, predatory smile, which eventually gave way to a low chuckle that echoed through the arena.

"I guess this is how things really should be, right?" Max claimed, adjusting his stance. "The leaders of each faction, The Gilt Rats, The Black Hounds, and the Billion Bloodline group, all standing on the same stage, ready to settle the bill."

"I think you’re wrong about one thing, kid," Ramon said, the hydraulics in his leg actuators hissing as he shifted his weight. "This isn’t some honorable free-for-all. This is us two against you. Actually, forget the numbers, I think I’m the only one that’s needed to put you in the ground!"

Ramon kicked off from his position with a violent burst of speed. The floorboards beneath his reinforced boots groaned as he sprinted ahead, a white blur of motion closing the distance to Max in a fraction of a second. But as he charged, a look of sudden dread crossed one person’s face.

"Wait, Ramon! Don’t!" Darius called out, reaching a hand as if to pull the scientist back.

Max was ready. He had poured staggering amounts of wealth into his own development, and the result was a body that sat at the very cusp of what was considered superhuman. He wasn’t at the legendary peak, he wasn’t Hercules yet, but he was close enough to bridge the gap. Even against a man encased in a full-body exoskeleton, he had the eyes to track the movement and the nerves to react.

Ramon threw a massive, assisted fist, but it met nothing but empty air. Max had vanished from his line of sight. When Ramon looked down, he saw Max’s entire body coiled and bent low. Like a released spring, Max’s leg shot up, his knee crashing with pinpoint accuracy into Ramon’s face.

The momentum of Ramon’s own forward charge proved to be his undoing. The impact was sickening. Max’s knee crushed into Ramon’s nose, the force causing his teeth to dig painfully into his upper lip. Ramon’s head snapped back, his equilibrium shattered, and his body slumped heavily to the stage floor.

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