From Bullets To Billions

Chapter 768: Breaking Them Down

Dipter and Popper were surprised to see Dud getting up from the ground while the person they had all come to defeat remained standing, seemingly unharmed.

When their group had first gathered, there had been plenty of disagreements. Every one of them wanted to go after Max, but they also had their own pride. Bringing so many strong personalities together had led to arguments, and occasionally those arguments had turned into fights.

There was a reason they had eventually agreed to follow Dud.

It wasn’t only because he appeared to have the best plan for taking Max down. Through those scuffles, they had also learned how strong he was. Dud possessed enough power and skill to make the others listen when he spoke.

Perhaps the only person they feared more was Hugo, but he had never shown any interest in leading them. That responsibility had been left to Dud.

Now, however, their leader had been thrown across the docks.

"You seemed pretty confident that you could defeat him even if you fought him alone," Popper said. "What’s wrong? Has something changed?"

"Yeah," Dud replied, looking towards Max. "Can’t you see? The situation has changed quite a bit. Damn this kid. He always thinks he can get one over on me!"

When Dud moved forwards, Popper and Dipter moved with him.

Even if Max now possessed enough strength to overpower Dud, surely he couldn’t handle all three of them attacking together. They were still skilled fighters, and combining their attacks had caused him plenty of trouble earlier.

The nearby Fallen Rose members prepared to intervene, but Max ran past them before they could join him.

"Don’t help," he said. "I’ll deal with this."

As Max approached, Dipter leapt into the air, Dud brought his fist forwards, and Popper thrust the pointed end of his umbrella towards him.

Max moved directly into their attacks.

One arm knocked Dipter’s approaching leg aside while his other hand caught the head of the umbrella. He pushed the weapon away with ease, then extended his leg and drove a kick into Dipter’s stomach.

The impact sent Dipter flying backwards, breaking apart their combined attack before they could overwhelm Max.

Much of what Max had just accomplished appeared to come from the full exoskeleton suit supporting his body. However, the equipment alone didn’t explain how easily he had dealt with them.

Normally, there would have been an adjustment period after putting on something so powerful. A person needed time to get used to the increased strength and speed of their arms and legs. Their mind also had to learn how to process those changes and use them effectively.

If everything about a fighter suddenly doubled, their movements wouldn’t necessarily become twice as good. They might use too much force, move farther than intended, or struggle to judge the timing of an attack.

Until they adjusted, they could fail to make full use of their new abilities.

That wasn’t happening to Max.

Throughout his journey, he had repeatedly shown how quickly he could learn and adapt. He was doing the same thing now, adjusting to the suit while using it against the opponents in front of him.

Max still held Popper’s umbrella. He yanked it towards himself, forcing the man to stumble forwards, then drove the heel of his palm upwards into the underside of Popper’s jaw.

The blow slammed his lower jaw against the upper one. Something cracked, and a violent ringing filled Popper’s head.

Max hadn’t only broken his jaw. The force of the strike knocked him unconscious, sending him down before he could attempt another attack.

Max immediately turned towards Dipter.

Despite the kick to his stomach, Dipter was already trying to respond. He spun his body and threw a kick backwards, aiming to catch Max as he approached.

Max ducked beneath it. The moment the leg passed above him, he pushed forwards and caught it, holding Dipter’s kicking leg high in the air.

Dipter was left balancing on his other foot, unable to pull away.

Max snapped his own leg forwards, adding the power of the exoskeleton to the strike. Rather than targeting the knee as he usually would, he kicked directly into Dipter’s shin.

The bone snapped on impact.

Part of it tore through the back of Dipter’s leg, and when Max released his grip, the injured man collapsed to the ground. His screams rose above the surrounding battle as he clutched at his ruined limb.

"Those legs of yours will never be the same again, Dipter," Max said.

He looked down at the man who had once been among the first enemies he faced in this new life.

"I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to do to you. You’re part of the reason I started this journey the way I did. But looking at you now, I can see how obsessed you’ve become."

Dipter remained on the ground, unable to stand.

"You’ll never be able to use your legs again," Max continued. "And I’m taking you to the detective, who can put you right back where you belong. You were the ringleader of that damn prison escape."

Max had no intention of giving him another opportunity to pursue his revenge.

"You can rot in there and spend the rest of your life thinking about revenge you’ll never be able to carry out."

With Popper unconscious and Dipter unable to get back up, Max turned towards the only opponent still standing.

Dud remained in front of him. Unlike the other two, broken bones wouldn’t be enough to stop him. His body could heal, and without pain to hold him back, even a severe injury might only interrupt him for a moment.

"For you, Dud, things are different," Max said. "You’re too dangerous, and you’ve already caused too many deaths. There’s only one answer for the crimes you’ve committed."

"Big talk, Max," Dud replied. "But can you actually do it? Can you really kill me?"

"I’ve killed people who were far less deserving," Max answered. "So this won’t be a problem at all."