Michael was pretty confused for a moment except when he saw the hooded figure staring at both him and Holman, he began to doubt that this might be the hooded figure's handy work.
"He's good" Michael couldn't help praising the hooded figure. Although he kept his eyes on him, the hooded figure still somehow managed to orchestrate something to make Holman pissed off at him. What was on the piece of paper Holman's holding was still a mystery for him yet it was enough to make Holman and his crew very angry.
"Ah shit here we go again" Gaya rolled her eyes. She was too focused on filling her belly that she failed to notice the hooded figure.
"Cool your pants Holman, fighting is not allowed here" the bartender lady yet again shouted at Holman. It somewhat slowed down Holman's walking pace towards Michael but it didn't evaporate the anger in his eyes, not at all.
Meanwhile, everyone in the tavern seemed extremely excited to see some action, including Michael's own crew. Unlike the rest of the pirates, his crew knew the result of the upcoming fight yet they wanted to see some fancy magic again.
"Oh this is gonna be good"
"Who is that guy? I've never seen him before"
"Look at the way he dressed, he might be someone from the Northern continent"
"Who cares where he's from, let's enjoy the show"
"Go get him Holman"
"Yeah fuck him up!"
The pirates were drunk, they wanted to have some fun besides drinking and what was happening right in front of them began to quench their thirst for blood and chaos.
"You and me, outside"
"The fish is tasteless anyways" she wiped her mouth with a white cloth as Gibson just stared at her stunned because there was nothing but fish skeletons on her plate. She almost licked the plates clean yet she seemed so disappointed, her appetite really did shock Gibson.
"David, let me go talk to him" Gibson whispered to Michael who was still leaning back on his chair as nothing happened.
"I like where's this going" Michael took a glance at the hooded figure sitting at the bar counter before standing up. He brushed off some of the dust on his dress as Gaya and Gibson stood up to follow him behind.
In a couple of minutes, the whole lively tavern became empty as everyone went outside to see the fight, even the bartender quickly cleaned the glasses to get outside.
"Is it too early to show us who we really are?" Gaya asked while walking behind him towards the door.
"Way too early"
When Michael opened the door, he was welcomed by a large crowd consisting of children, pirates, ladies, and surprisingly a couple of dogs. The crowd was standing in a circle, in the center of the circle was Holman. Michael immediately got all the attention when he stepped outside.
"I don't know who set you up but I'm gonna find out" Holman removed his shirt showing his scar-filled torso. He was flexing his muscles, kicking the sandy mud on the ground and snarling his teeth at Michael. All of his gestures really made Michael wonder what the hell was on that piece of paper that Made Holman so mad.
Michael stared at the crowd, searching for the hooded figure. It took Michael a couple of seconds to find the figure standing on a balcony of the building next to the tavern. The balcony had drying clothes that helped the hooded figure hide behind.
"I don't know what's on the paper but I had nothing to do with it" Michael calmly said while the crowd opened up to make way for him to the center of the circle.
"Let me be the judge of it" Holman however did not listen to Michael. He seemed like he wouldn't back off without a fight.
"Fight!"
"Fight!"
"Fight!"
"Fight!"
The pirates lost their patience as they began to chant the word 'fight' over and over again. Right at the moment, Michael was standing just a couple of meters away from Holman. Gibson and Gaya were standing right behind Michael while Michael's crew stared at the scene with a rum bottle in their hands.
"Who wants to bet? " Shorty shouted at the people, taking out a pouch of coins.
"Place your bets and win five times the coins" Shorty used the pirates' drunk status to his advantage.
"Hell yeah"
"50 coins on Holman"
"100 on Holman"
"Five times you bastards! Take out your coins and be a man" Shorty riled up the pirates to bet more. Shorty picked up one of his fellow pirate's hat to collect all the coins along with the bidder's name. He was surprisingly quick to get coins from almost everyone except a couple of dogs in the crowd. After collecting the coins, Gaya saw Shorty tug her sleeves
"Can you tell Cap to take a few punches before finishing him off?"
"You are one little fucker" Gaya chuckled seeing Shorty's courage and stupidity. He really surprised her by asking her to ask Michael to take a few punches just because Shorty wants more people to bet on Holman.
He may be a little crazy but Gaya liked his quick wits and courage.
"We'll split the coins, fifty-fifty"
"Really? I mean yeah sure" Shorty wanted to keep everything to himself but what Gaya said freaked him out yet he had to agree with her. He was not that stupid to argue with a woman who could kill him using her pinky.
"Take a few hits" Shorty saw Gaya place her hand on her ear, whispering something. Shorty then noticed Lucifer turn his head for a second and nod.
"Alright, are we doing this or what?" Michael asked Holman who was still flexing his muscles to attract the ladies in the crowd.
"We're doing it" Holman finally stopped flexing his muscles after hearing Michael's words. After reaching 89% mastery over the fighting technique Gaya taught him, he could predict almost every possible move Holman would make in the next few seconds. If Michael wanted to he could knock out or kill Holman in just a kick to his neck. However, he decided to take a few punches from Holman, not because Gaya asked him to but because he wanted to see how strong are these people compared to those in the Northern continent.
Since they were unable to use Arch energy or any kind of energy, he wanted to see if they were blessed with some other powers such as strong bodies.
Holman rushed at Michael, slightly covering his face like a boxer. He was obviously expecting Michael to throw a punch but unlike he expected, Michael just stood there. Because he never put up his guard, Holman quickly threw a punch at Michael's face.
Thop!
The very moment Holamn's fist connected with Michael's face, it produced a thopping sound as the force of the punch pushed back Michael several steps backward. At the same time, the APD kicked in, injecting the healing potion into his bloodstream.
Michael was stunned by the punch, it felt like someone hitting him with a sledgehammer using all their might. The force behind the punch gave Michael a piece of valuable information, the Southerners definitely blessed with more raw power compared to the people of Northern Continents. This meant that although they lack the ability to cultivate, they were not as vulnerable as Michael thought.
In other words, Holman had the strength of a Body Refining stage cultivator. The pain he felt quickly disappeared thanks to the APD yet a small trickle of blood flowed out of the corner of his lips.
Michael spat the blood as a small smile emerged on his face.
"Who taught you to throw a punch? Your grandma?"
"Oooh"
The crowd laughed, which made Holman more furious as he rushed at Michael again to close the gap between them.
Thop!
Thop!
This time Holman punched Michael in the jaw with his right hand and landed a blow to his left rib cage using his left hand. Yet again, Michael felt an excruciating pain for a second before the APD injected the healing potion into his bloodstream.
"You! I'll bet 200 more on Holman"
"400 on Holman!"
"The return has gone up, ten times the coins people, ten times!" Shorty kept shouting while the pirates stupidly fell for his trick. Soon, they started to pour out the gold coins excitedly.
Meanwhile, Michael continued to take a few punches to fully comprehend the extent of Holman's raw strength and stamina.
"Why aren't you going down?!" Holman couldn't believe he was smiling even after receiving his punches. He definitely felt the youngster's rib broken by one of his punches yet he showed no expression of pain on his face.
"I'll now show you how to throw a punch" Michael cracked his knuckles.
However, before taking a step towards Holman, he turned back to throw a glance at the hooded figure standing on the balcony.
Holman rushed at him again to finish him off while he was staring at somewhere else. As Holman threw the punch aiming straight at Michael's nose, he swiftly evaded the fist. The next second, Michael uppercut him in the jaw using just enough force to knock him out. Considering he gauged Holamn's strength, he put enough Arch energy to give him the power to knock him down.
Thop!
"Ooh"
"What the?!"
The moment Michael's fist met Holman's jaw, he was immediately knocked out by the force. His body hit the sand producing a thud sound as the onlookers were made speechless.
"Get up!"
"Hey!"
Gibson and the crew were yet again stunned by his display of strength. They kinda expected him to use some magic spells but they never imagined him to knock Holman out in a single punch.
"That's how you throw a punch"
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 300 badass points]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 500 badass points]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 300 badass points]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 600 badass points]
…
"Sweet" Michael grinned. When he killed Captain Laars and his men, he never received experience points. Considering they were not cultivators, it didn't surprise him, he was only kinda disappointed. However now after receiving almost 3000 badass points just by knocking out Holman, he began to feel the excitement rising inside him.