Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 369 - 352: The Most Ferocious Number One

Chapter 369: Chapter 352: The Most Ferocious Number One

"A soldier dies for those who are worthy of his service, a woman adorns herself for the man who delights in her."

Donkey didn’t want to die for Gao Yi, but once Gao Yi stepped in front of him, Donkey felt that Gao Yi was a man he could get along with.

Donkey didn’t want to hide behind the boss, for if he showed cowardice this time, he would never be able to mix in the mercenaries’ circle again.

More importantly, if he chickened out this time, how would he earn enough money to retire?

A mission worth tens of millions doesn’t come by every few years, and with Gao Yi, 10 million and 30 million were mentioned as casually as any other number. Donkey could let go of those tasks worth a few hundred thousand or two million, but he would rather die than give up a mission worth tens of millions.

Every industry has a ceiling.

The PMC market is significantly larger than that of mercenaries, with large PMC companies earning several hundred million or even over a billion a year, but for a group of mercenaries, it’s really good if several dozen of them can earn tens of millions in a year.

Mercenary groups like War Axe Mercenary Group, famous for valuing money over their lives, earn just a few million a year, even with their constant flow of tasks after gaining fame.

So while Gao Yi himself didn’t think much of it, for Donkey and Sherkin, a wealthy and somewhat foolish employer was someone they would break their heads to maintain a relationship with, and would fight to the death to not lose.

Finally, Donkey spoke up.

"Please step back."

Donkey courteously came out from behind Gao Yi and said to Sherkin, "It’s fine if you want to compete for the business, but don’t point your guns at the employer. Now, we’ll ask the boss to leave, then we’ll have a fair fight. You might kill all of us, but you can’t steal my mission from my hands!"

Because Gao Yi was willing to stand in front, although the War Axe Mercenary Group was outnumbered and their men were exhausted, they still managed to aim their guns at the brazen Sherkin.

Stubborn, Sherkin was stubborn, and so were Donkey and his War Axe Mercenary Group.

In fact, being at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers and firepower made Donkey even more stubborn.

Sherkin was silent for a moment, then finally said after seeing that Gao Yi had no intention of moving aside, "How about this? Out of respect for the boss, I can settle this the Russian way with you. You have six men, I’ll take on six as well. If I put you all on the ground, then you take your men and leave."

What Sherkin meant was no shooting, no guns, just fists to do the talking.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Donkey said, "Fine, let’s do it!"

Donkey began to remove his helmet and bullet-proof vest, and seeing this, several men from the War Axe Mercenary Group began grumbling and laying down their weapons, taking off their vests.

Gao Yi waved his hand, and so Lucy put away her gun.

Sherkin started to unbuckle his bullet-proof vest, took it off, and threw it to the ground, then watched as the members of the War Axe Mercenary Group followed suit.

But Sherkin was the only one on his side who took off his vest.

Gao Yi was puzzled and slightly tilted his head to Feng Biao, asking, "What does this mean?"

"I don’t know!"

Feng Biao was also puzzled and said, "The Russian way usually means when two Russian-led mercenary groups are competing for business, they settle the score with fists instead of guns. But these are rules from years ago, nowadays this doesn’t happen. If they’re going to fight, it should be even numbers, whether it’s a group fight or one-on-one. Does he mean one against many?"

Indeed, as the members of the War Axe Mercenary Group disarmed themselves, Sherkin confidently said, "You’re tired, I won’t take advantage of you, so you all come at me together. I’ll take you all on alone."

That confident?

Gao Yi began to regard Sherkin in a new light.

How confident Sherkin was, to think there was someone else in this world who dared to take on many alone, other than himself.

Indeed, Donkey felt humiliated and yelled, "None of you move!"

Though at least a decade younger than Sherkin, Donkey was injured, but it wasn’t to bone or muscle and shouldn’t affect him if a fight really took place.

Donkey was trained in standard military fighting skills. He rushed to Sherkin with a boxing stance, feinted with his left fist, and just as it seemed he might throw a heavy right punch, his right leg silently kicked out.

Two feints followed by a roundhouse kick—given the speed and coverage of Donkey’s kick, Sherkin had no way to dodge and had to take it head-on.

Sherkin did take on Donkey’s kick directly.

He bent his arms, crouched, and used his forearms to block Donkey’s kick, then took the opportunity to push forward with his right arm swinging laterally in a short arc, landing a punch directly in Donkey’s abdomen.

Donkey immediately bent over and fell to the ground, his body curled up like a shrimp, unable to move.

Donkey was good in combat, capable of giving commands, but when it came to fighting skills, he was just so-so.

He was considered skilled, and although he wouldn’t last two moves against Gao Yi, taking on numerous little underlings should have been easy for him.

But in front of Sherkin, Donkey was just not up to par.

Sherkin dusted off his left arm and said to the shocked and angry members of the War Axe Mercenary Group, "All of you come at once, hurry up."

After speaking, Sherkin even had the leisure to turn to Gao Yi, "In war, I say... nothing, but when dealing with special agents... you need me, let me show you... my strength."

Sherkin’s speech was intermittent because he had to deal with the rush of adversaries while he spoke.

It wasn’t one-on-one combat, but Sherkin taking on the entire War Axe Mercenary Group by himself. He took down one after each pause, and after three sentences, three men lay on the ground.

Gao Yi watched, invigorated.

Sherkin’s fighting skills were very concise; his only advantage was his ultra-fast speed, coupled with a strong ability to take hits. He had no specific style to speak of—just breaking down each movement into individual actions, precise and clear.

He was among the strongest Gao Yi had ever seen, taking practical fighting skills to the extreme, with no trace of showmanship, but able to knock down all his opponents in the shortest time possible.

Donkey lay on the ground, consumed with extreme hatred. "You’re Bomb Man, you... you’re the Bomb Man who destroyed the Mercenary Group!"

Sherkin had just felled the last standing man of the War Axe Mercenary Group with a hand chop.

Hearing Donkey’s words, Sherkin shook his hand and chuckled, "You’re right, Bomb Man is one of my many nicknames. Since you know my background, I’ll spare your lives."

Having said that, Sherkin turned to the men behind him, "Don’t kill them. Just cut off an ear each, leave them with enough to wear a headset."

Two men with big beards and small black hats each pulled out a small knife; one of them approached Donkey.

Experienced and calm, he squatted beside Donkey, and just as he was about to put the knife to Donkey’s ear, Gao Yi finally said, "Wait!"

Sherkin looked at Gao Yi again, spread his hands out, and said, "I gave them a fair chance in a duel, and I spared them. If you still want to stop me, then you are in the wrong."

Gao Yi calmly looked at Sherkin, "Bomb Man? Why ’Bomb Man’?"

Sherkin smiled, "Because when I was younger, not only did I have a fiery temper, but I also had explosive physical strength. It’s nothing special, just a casual nickname."

Gao Yi was simply curious, so he casually inquired.

"Did you get my approval to decide who would stay by fighting?"

Gao Yi asked Sherkin seriously.

Sherkin spread his hands again, "I know this upsets you, but I believe you’re a reasonable man. What you need to do isn’t to play peacemaker but to recognize who can help you with the rest of your tasks. As I said, you pay the money, you give me the target, and you don’t need to worry about the rest. Isn’t that good?"

After saying this, Sherkin pointed to Donkey, "I respect your dignity as an employer, but since he dared to offend me, cutting off one of his ears is the most merciful punishment I can give."

"Merciful? You dare use the word ’merciful’?"

Gao Yi had a newfound appreciation for Sherkin’s arrogance, and with a scornful laugh said, "Okay, then. You beat me, and I’ll give the task to you, and then I’ll pay you a commission of 50 million dollars. If you’re beaten by me, then the task will be War Axe Mercenary Group’s, and you... you can work for me for free."

Sherkin’s eyes widened in astonishment, "You want to fight me? And then... you want to use this task as a bet?"

"Can’t I?"

"Of course, you can! Plus, if I win I won’t kill them, but I’ll cut off both their ears."

Gao Yi excitedly began to take off his Bullet-Proof Vest.

Before taking off the vest, Gao Yi first pulled out the war hammer and casually passed it to Feng Biao at his side.

Sherkin immediately said, "Didn’t you just smash a tank with the hammer? No problem, you can use the hammer."

Gao Yi couldn’t be bothered with Sherkin.

Shedding all the cumbersome gear, Gao Yi walked towards Sherkin. Any problem that a fist could solve, he absolutely wouldn’t waste words on.

Donkey saw a glimmer of hope. He looked at Gao Yi and said from the depths of his heart, "Hammer God... take him down with your hammer!"

Sherkin said with a smile, "Hammer God... ha... uh!"

Gao Yi was intrigued, so his first move was his masterstroke.

He leapt with a punch.

Cannon hammer, the fiercest first strike.

Sherkin couldn’t dodge in time. His arms instinctively protected his chest, but Gao Yi’s fist had already penetrated his arms and struck his chest.

Gao Yi withdrew his fist; Sherkin grunted, his arms crossed, and then he punched straight at Gao Yi’s chest.

Gao Yi slightly sidestepped the punch, closing in. His arm swung in short arcs, and then boom, another punch.

Sherkin took two punches without falling, not even stepping back, his left arm sweeping toward Gao Yi’s ears.

Up close, trading blows, Sherkin’s endurance was like nothing Gao Yi had seen before. Taking two punches without falling and even counterattacking, Gao Yi admitted Sherkin was one of the strongest opponents he’d ever encountered.

Out of respect for a powerful opponent, Gao Yi put in his full strength for the first time.

Crouching low, dodging Sherkin’s held punch, Gao Yi bent and lashed out with a long arm.

The true, fiercest first strike—cannon hammer at full power.

With a bang, Gao Yi pulled back his fist.

Sherkin stepped back. He tried to speak but couldn’t open his mouth, then stepped back again once fully balanced.

Trying to speak again, but there was no sound.

Sherkin’s mouth movements were comical.

He staggered back another step, then his straight back began to crumple.

"You..."

He finally made a sound, but simultaneously, blood spurted from Sherkin’s mouth.

"I..."

Sherkin began to wobble, and as he collapsed, he murmured indistinctly, "Falke..."