The Valkia in charge of the Black Market here on the station tapped at his wrist device for a moment, and the announcer suddenly looked down to receive a message. His professional look turned to a smile, and he lifted the microphone to his mouth.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the audience, hold your bets. The fights will go on as scheduled, but up first, we have a challenger in the ring. The big boss has found what he claims is a worthy fighter to overturn our reigning champion, a mighty warrior from a species called Humans.
Now, I am told that they aren't the largest of species, but you all know that size and might aren't always the same. Their species fought a Lead Huntress to a standstill and is well known among the Government sorts for their violent tendencies that saw them denied membership, despite holding hundreds of patents.
I would like to welcome to the ring Commander Keres of the Terminus Trading Company, and his opponent, the six-time champion, unseated only one month ago, Jericho."
Max smiled and shook his head at the Valkia, who just shrugged. "If you want to impress them, you need a real opponent, not some amateur that we pulled from the crowd to get his ass kicked."
Max stepped out of the room and onto the balcony, then hopped down to the ring using the gravity control function of his armour. It only took a second to stow it and leave himself in a pair of cargo pants and combat boots, with a tank top on. The rest of his outfit was stored in his flat space, and he wouldn't need it for a fistfight, so Max decided to just stay as he was.
"Forget the fight. I'm more interested in where he found that armour." The announcer laughed as the crowd cheered for Max's arrival.
"My Company makes it. It's available for public purchase in a light armour configuration, so if you're interested, have the boss make the arrangements later." Max told him, not realizing at first that the microphone would broadcast it to the whole crowd.
"Not only a renowned Commander, but a savvy businessman as well, it seems. But can he fight? Let's welcome Jericho to the ring." The announcer replied.
The side door of the ring swung open, and a massive man entered the octagon. Standing just over four meters tall and sharing the same blue skin that the Narsians had but having four arms and a much more powerful build, the former champion was a monster of a man, no matter the species.
"Do you think you can even land a blow above my knees, little man?" The mighty Titan laughed as the ring girls held up the betting odds displayed on their cards.
"Care to wager on it? We might not be allowed to bet in the cage, but a little wager between us shouldn't break the rules." Max countered.
ραпdαn૦νel It was not allowed for you or your close companions to bet on your match in the ring since it could be used as a way to get rich by throwing the fights. That meant that most of the fighters would actually make less on their own fight than they did on every other fight that night unless their bets were way off, but it kept the fights a bit more honest.
"I'm taking my title back tonight since you gave me the chance to fight. How about we go double or nothing? Ten thousand Grey Credits." The Titan suggested.
"That works for me. Ten thousand Grey Credits." Max agreed and held out his wrist device to the Referee to hold for them during the fight.
If there was any constant in a fight, it was that the Referee was required to look impartial, so he could be trusted with the money until the fight ended. He would likely want a tip for his service, but that was no big deal to either of these fighters, and the credits were quickly verified, much to the joy of the crowd.
"Combatants, get ready. Fight!" The Referee called once they moved to face each other and then leaped back to the wall of the cage and out of the way.
Four mighty fists came rushing down at Max, much faster than an unaugmented human but far slower than Max was capable of.
He launched himself upward at the Titan's chest and threw a hard right uppercut into the tough blue hide, sending his opponent flying up into the air to crash against the cage.
The crowd roared in shock and appreciation as the former champion was thrown from his feet, but he didn't fall. Once he hit the wall, he pushed off with two arms and charged at Max, crouched low, like a Gorilla, so he could use two hands to balance while the other two attacked.
Max braced himself for the attack and rapidly blocked the flurry of punches, then rolled right, in between his opponent's chest, and kicked up into his ribs, aiming for the same spot that he had punched.
The kick stood the Titan up straight, and Max spun into the air with a kick to the back of his knee that sent him crashing down.
The Titan seemed to have flexibility issues due to the extra arms, so Max went for the back and wrapped his arms around the Titan's neck, aiming to choke him out.
He was violently slammed into the mat when the Titan flopped over backward, and it loosened his hold just enough for the man to pull him free and throw him across the ring.
Max twisted in the air and leaped ten meters up to get the timing right for his next attack.
Once he reached the apex of his jump, where his momentum naturally came to a halt, the Titan leaped up and grabbed him, just as Max had predicted. Against a lesser opponent, that would be the end of the fight. They would be pinned in place and pummeled. But Max was the stronger of the two of them, and when he grabbed the Titan by the wrists, the two hairy arms, each larger than Max's thigh, twisted around and released him.
Max's follow-up kick was thwarted by the Titan tossing him again, this time at the ground, so he couldn't get a bounce off the wall of the ring, and again the Titan launched a four-handed flurry of attacks at him.
Even though he could block them, his arms were getting numb and sore from the constant impacts until, eventually, one punch slipped by and hit Max in the ribs with a sickening crunch of a broken bone.
He healed incredibly quickly, but that would still be sore for hours, assuming that he didn't break any more bones during this fight. The Titan pressed his advantage while Max hugged his left arm to his side to avoid stressing his ribs while the nanobots set them in place and began to mend them.
Missing flesh and burn damage took ages to repair, but broken bones were just a single line that needed fixing, and the System could fix that sort of damage much more easily than organ or muscle damage, like the bruise that was spreading all across Max's torso.
Max flicked a kick up to the Titan's chin that sent him reeling and took the time to circle his opponent and let his body recover from the damage it had taken. This species was incredibly durable. Max's last kick would have taken the head off a human or even a Klem warrior, but it had only cracked the Titan's jaw.
They traded a few more testing blows, both cautious of their opponent's power, while the timer counted down and the three minutes of the first round came to an end. The Referee didn't step between them but moved closer and yelled out his orders when the bell marking the end of the round rang.
"Break! Fighters, return to your corners. We will have assessment medics and water waiting for you.
What a fight this is shaping up to be. The mighty Jericho will be facing the second round for only the second time in his career and against the diminutive human challenger known as Commander Keres.
The odds are updated, and your bets may now be placed for the intermission break. We will return to the match in two minutes, so be sure to return to your seats on time."
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