From Bullets To Billions

Chapter 736: Worst Match

One of the most tricky things about fighting the Black Hand members wasn’t just their refined technical skill, but their sheer breadth of combat experience. Having been plunged into life-or-death situations for their entire lives, trained exclusively for the art of killing, they possessed an uncanny ability to adapt to any battlefield on the fly.

And now, Darno’s Vow—which had served him so well up until this point—was actively being turned against him. The sharp pain radiated across his back from the fresh gash, but he was honestly even more frustrated that his brand-new Ranger blazer had been damaged in the process.

"Man, I was really hoping I’d be able to walk back to base bragging about how the jacket didn’t get a single tear in it," Darno muttered, gritting his teeth as he adjusted his stance. "I thought these things were supposed to be made from some special tactical material, but it broke so easily. Maybe we really need to get the Gilt Rats to work on something a bit more heavy-duty next time."

He continued to systematically slap away a fast barrage of strikes from Agent Two, but he knew that sooner or later, another precise blade strike was going to find its way past his guard. In a lot of ways, he was starting to regret the harsh conditions of his Vow. Why did his ability have to be so rigid and complicated, especially in a chaotic brawl where he was forced to fight continuously?

I also have a sinking feeling that I’ve been handed the absolute hardest and most dangerous opponent out of the whole damn lot, Darno thought, his mind racing as steel flashed inches from his eyes.

A single knife stab was no joke to almost anyone in the Rangers. Joe was probably the only exception with his freaky regeneration, but after everyone saw the sheer volume of brutal knife strikes Aaron had put Joe through during their training sessions, the kid deserved a break from dealing with bladed assassins.

Damn it, damn it! And of course, being one of the newer members in the group, the Gilt Rats’ lab team said they didn’t have enough high-grade resources left for me! They promised they’d make me something special next time, right after they finished their massive main project!

Taking a moment to dwell on all his frustrations and the subtle unfairness of his situation wasn’t going to help him survive this duel. If anything, if he wanted to prove to everyone that he was worthy of standing among the elite in this organization—that he truly deserved the next high-tech gear the Gilt Rats forged—he was going to have to prove it right here with his own raw grit.

After staying on the defensive for a while longer, several shallow cuts managed to slip past his guard, slicing through the ruined fabric of his blazer and leaving stinging lines across his torso and arms. The cuts were all relatively shallow, but the cumulative pain was beginning to build up. Anyone watching could tell that Agent Two was deliberately pacing his attacks, probing Darno’s defense until he could guarantee a flawless opening for a lethal strike.

Time was definitely not on Darno’s side. His assessment proved entirely correct when Agent Two suddenly lunged straight forward, twisting his lead dagger with terrifying speed, aiming directly for the center of Darno’s chest.

"I’ve tracked every single one of your micro-movements!" Agent Two declared, his eyes cold and confident. "I have no idea why you refuse to move your feet, but this is a guaranteed hit!"

Under normal circumstances, the assassin’s calculation would have been flawless. But Agent Two didn’t account for the fact that Darno was capable of pulling off something far more absurd than standard martial arts.

Instead of trying to dodge or bring his hand up to block, Darno swung his entire forearm down directly into the path of the incoming blade. Based on the tight timing, a normal block would have failed—and Darno was never intending to hit the assassin’s arm in the first place. He deliberately slammed his own bone straight into the point of the dagger.

The sharp steel pierced through his skin, but the moment it hit the underlying layer, the blade came to a jarring, sudden halt.

His Vow had made his skeleton incredibly dense, reinforcing his bones to a point where a standard dagger couldn’t even dream of cutting through them. At this level of density, standard steel was completely useless. With the sheer density of his frame combined with the downward force of his swing, it was as if a heavy iron bat had been swung directly into the assassin’s weapon.

With a metallic clang, something happened that had never once occurred in Agent Two’s career: the shockwave shattered his grip, forcing him to drop one of his prized daggers onto the stone floor.

However, an elite operative of the Black Hand was trained to react to the unexpected. Even though he couldn’t comprehend how a human forearm had just stopped a thrusting blade dead in its tracks, Agent Two instantly fluidly shifted his weight and slashed his remaining dagger straight toward Darno’s throat.

Darno simply pushed his palm wide open directly into the incoming blade.

The tip of the dagger dug ever so slightly into the tough skin of his palm before hitting dense bone and stopping cold. Darno then snapped his wrist to the side with explosive force, wrenching the weapon out of the assassin’s fingers and flinging it far across the courtyard floor.

"You know," Darno panted, wiping a trickle of blood from his hand, "even though I’m completely confident in my body’s durability, throwing your bare flesh directly into a knife like that still takes a hell of a lot of guts!"

With Agent Two completely disarmed and frozen in shock, Darno seized his opening. He drove two massive, heavy fists forward simultaneously—one crashing straight into Agent Two’s temple, and the other bashing violently into his solar plexus.

It was the very first time Agent Two had taken a direct hit from Darno, and the sheer impact felt like being struck by two speeding cannonballs.

"Haha, what’s this? You take one solid hit and your posture completely collapses?" Darno scoffed, stepping into the opening. "I guess I’m either a lot stronger than I thought, or you’re way weaker without your little toys!"

Positioned right over the staggering assassin, Darno clasped both of his hands together into a heavy double-axe handle and slammed them down with full force onto the top of Agent Two’s head, driving him face-first into the hard ground.

The stone cracked on impact, leaving Agent Two completely unconscious and unmoving. The victor was glaringly clear. The Rank Two agent was exceptionally skilled with his daggers and had earned his terrifying reputation for good reason, but he had run headfirst into the single worst physical matchup imaginable.