Battle! Battle!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye!

After Bels spent three days promoting the event, everyone knew there would be a high-profile arena battle today. The atmosphere at the Mercenary Arena was even more electric than usual.

On the arena platform, Turles stood in a brand-new, form-fitting Battle Suit, his expression serious as he studied his opponent, who stood some distance away.

Turles had designed the Battle Suit with Vegeta's later model as a reference. It was not only softer and more breathable, but also more stylish.

His opponent was a member of the Dom Race, a fighting race as famous across the universe as the Saiyans. The Dom before him had blue skin, green hair, and a far more imposing build than Turles.

Just then, the host stepped onto the arena platform.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

"Coming up is a tournament battle between two fighters with a power level of 50,000! One is a Saiyan from the North Galaxy, and the other is a Dom from the West Galaxy. Both are renowned fighting races. What sparks will fly when these two meet? Let's wait and see!"

"Now, let's count down together!"

The crowd's excitement surged, and everyone began to shout!

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Let the match begin!"

The host announced the start of the match, then promptly leaped off the platform. Experience had taught him that staying up there during a battle at this level would be extremely dangerous.

As the host left, an energy barrier rose around the entire platform. Only Turles and the Dom fighter remained inside.

The two stared each other down as a terrifying aura gradually spread across the platform. The spectators seemed affected too, and the crowd slowly fell silent.

"Whoosh!"

A black streak flashed past. Turles vanished from where he stood, then appeared in front of the Dom fighter in the blink of an eye, like a phantom. His heavy straight punch shot toward the Dom's head.

"Ha!"

The Dom fighter was just as quick. He immediately caught sight of Turles and threw a straight punch of his own, meeting Turles's fist head-on.

"Boom!"

A dull crash rang out as a shock wave exploded around them. The platform's surface cracked in an instant, and shards of stone flew into the energy barrier, sending ripples across it.

His attack blocked, Turles wasn't surprised in the least. He immediately followed up with a knee, slamming it toward the Dom fighter's abdomen.

The Dom fighter quickly pulled back his fist and lowered both arms, blocking the knee strike once again.

Two attacks, two blocks. For the moment, they were evenly matched.

After testing each other with two attacks and blocks, they had a rough sense of each other's strength. Neither held back anymore. Their strikes grew faster and heavier, and the fierce battle was fully underway.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Smack!" "Smack!"

Roars echoed across the platform. Their movements had become impossible to follow with the naked eye; all the spectators could see were shadows appearing and disappearing across the arena!

Fortunately, the Universal Mercenary Arena had hosted many battles between powerful fighters and knew how to handle situations like this. They broadcast the match on the giant screens outside the platform, allowing the crowd to see the fighters' moves!

"Wow! That Saiyan's strong!"

"Yeah! Saiyans are known as a fighting race, but this is the first time I've seen one with a power level of 50,000!"

"Looks like Doro's finally met his match. His previous opponents never lasted this long. Whoa! He blocked it again!"

"Yeah! Exactly!"

"..."

Turles had long since stopped paying attention to the crowd's shouts. He could feel the blood throughout his body boiling, and a rush of exhilaration surged through his chest. His spirits soared.

"That's the feeling! This is it!"

Turles roared inwardly, his expression growing almost crazed!

"Hahaha! Again!"

After forcing the Dom fighter back once more, Turles laughed and charged in again!

"Whoosh!"

Just as he was about to reach the Dom fighter, Turles suddenly vanished from his opponent's sight. Then his figure began appearing all around the arena, each afterimage making a different move.

Afterimage Technique!

The Dom fighter had no ability to sense ki, so the Afterimage Technique completely confused his judgment. Every Turles he saw appeared real. He knew perfectly well that only one was the real Turles and the rest were afterimages, but he couldn't tell which one was genuine.

After watching for a while, the Dom fighter still couldn't figure it out. With no other choice, he sped toward one of the afterimages and kicked it, dispersing it. Then he went after the next one, continuing to strike the afterimages one by one.

"Smack!"

His fist struck another afterimage, but this time it landed with a solid impact.

"Found him!" the Dom fighter thought with delight. But before he could react, an overwhelming force suddenly hit him—far greater than the force behind their earlier exchanges. Caught off guard, he staggered backward, then Turles slammed him out of the air and into the ground.

"Boom!"

The ground exploded, leaving a huge crater as clouds of dust filled the arena.

The dust did nothing to block Turles's Ki Sense. Energy gathered in his hands, quickly forming a massive Ki Blast. He gave it a gentle push, and it began descending toward the ground.

The terrifying pressure swept away the dust, revealing the Dom fighter in the crater.

Suddenly, the Ki Blast's descent slowed to a halt. The Dom fighter's face had turned bright red, no longer blue, and his feet were sunk deep into the ground. Veins bulged across his arms as he braced himself against the enormous Ki Blast.

"Arrgh!"

The Dom fighter let out a furious roar, straining every ounce of strength from his body.

But the Ki Blast's power far exceeded his expectations. Even as he gave it everything he had, he couldn't stop it from slowly bearing down on him.

Turles hovered in the air, using both hands to push the Ki Blast down. When he felt resistance, his aura surged. The Ki Blast, which had slowed almost to a stop, began to descend faster once more!

"Boom!"

A giant mushroom cloud erupted over the arena. The shock wave spread in every direction, and the energy barrier around the platform began to waver under its force.

"Hiss!"

"How is that possible?"

"Is the energy barrier going to break?"

"..."

At the sight, everyone in the stands sucked in a breath. Then they began to worry, afraid the barrier wouldn't hold.

Fortunately, the arena staff increased the energy output and stabilized the barrier before the crowd could panic.

"Phew!" Nothing unexpected had happened, and everyone let out a long breath in near-perfect unison.

The smoke had cleared from the platform. A circular crater, nearly half the size of the arena, lay before them.

"Hiss!" Everyone present sucked in another breath.

"Cough, cough." The Dom fighter coughed as he slowly rose from the crater. His clothes were in tatters, and his exposed skin was covered in wounds, blood seeping from them.

All the spectators who knew the Dom fighter's strength were stunned. They could hardly believe what they were seeing!

Turles landed a short distance away from the Dom fighter and calmly watched his opponent.

"Saiyan, you win!"

After staring at Turles for a long while, the Dom fighter conceded, his expression dejected.

Hearing him give up, Turles nodded, turned, and headed for the edge of the platform.

"My name's Dodoria. May I know yours?" Watching Turles's back, the Dom fighter couldn't help asking.

At the name, Turles turned to look at him. After a moment's thought, he answered, "Turles!"

Then he turned back around and left.

Dodoria remained where he was, watching Turles disappear from sight. Only then did he plop down onto the ground. He looked at his wounds and shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Terrifying!"

It was the same reception room. Turles had changed into a fresh set of clothes and sat on the sofa, watching Bels pace back and forth in front of him.

"Mr. Turles, you're incredible! You even defeated Dodoria, the arena's record holder with fifty consecutive wins. You really are my lucky star! Hahaha!"

Bels showered Turles with praise, his smile never fading from the moment he had seen him.

"Oh? How so?" Turles asked with interest.

"You might not know this, but Dodoria was a genius of the Dom Race, a renowned fighting people. Ever since he came to Obsidian Planet a year ago, he'd challenged powerful fighters from every race at the Mercenary Arena. He'd racked up fifty consecutive wins. The odds on him kept dropping with every match, but the Alliance still couldn't avoid taking a loss. This time, you ended his winning streak. And since you're a newcomer, the odds were high, so the Alliance made a fortune. Of course, I made a little money on the side too. Hehe!" Thinking of what he'd won, even Bels couldn't help getting excited.

"Is that so?" Turles wasn't particularly interested in Bels's excitement. He was still thinking about the fight. It had been brief, but it had affected him deeply. The uncharacteristic state of mind he'd entered during the battle left him unsettled.

Turles considered himself a calm person, but during the fight, his blood had started to boil and his mood had grown abnormally excited. It was completely unlike him, and he couldn't help wondering if something was wrong with his body.

"Bels, are there any fighters around my level available to compete soon?" To test his theory, Turles thought he should have another fight.

"Uh?" Bels was taken aback by Turles's sudden question, but quickly recovered and thumped his chest. "Don't worry. If you want another match, I'll arrange one for you right away!"

"Good. Try to schedule it for three days from now. Let me know when it's arranged." With that, Turles got up and left the Mercenary Arena, flying toward the spaceship.