Empire Building With Infinite Warehouse-Chapter 66: The Calm Before the Storm

Chris didn’t wait for Kyle to recover.

The B-Rank hunter pushed off his back foot, clearing the distance between them in a single, explosive bound.

He threw a heavy right cross.

Kyle blocked it with his thick forearm, but the impact sent a visible shockwave through the air, shaking the nearby weapon racks.

Kyle countered with a sweeping kick aimed at Chris’s knees, but the potion-fueled rookie jumped over the strike, bringing both fists down like a hammer onto Kyle’s broad shoulders.

The floorboards groaned under their combined weight.

What followed was a non-stop, brutal exchange of blows.

Chris was fast, his muscles working overtime as the berserker draft pushed his physical limits past anything he had ever experienced.

He took a hard punch to the jaw, spat out a mouthful of blood, and returned the favour with a brutal knee strike to Kyle’s ribs.

Kyle didn’t look angry anymore.

Instead, a genuine, terrifying smile stretched across his face.

The A-Rank hunter was having the time of his life.

Every time Chris landed a solid hit, Kyle laughed, his deep voice booming through the arena as he swung his massive fists with lethal intent.

The chat feed was moving so fast the holographic text was starting to glitch.

[Mana_Addict]: Are we sure this isn’t a secret S-Rank?!

[xX_Hunter_Xx]: The shockwaves are shaking the camera!

[DihSlayer99]: I have never seen Kyle take this many hits.

[Sword_Saint_Fan]: J.A.C.K Market is the future.

For four glorious minutes, it looked like Chris might actually win.

He was matching an elite hunter blow for blow, his dented armor holding together just enough to keep his vital organs safe.

But then, the red glow beneath Chris’s skin flickered.

His next punch was a fraction of a second slower.

Kyle easily dodged it, slipping to the right.

Chris tried to pivot and guard his side, but his arms suddenly felt like they were made of paper.

The hyper-focused energy flooding his brain evaporated, leaving behind a crushing exhaustion.

His mana pool was dry.

The five-minute timer was up.

Kyle noticed the shift right away.

The giant stepped inside Chris’s guard and delivered a punishing blow to the stomach that forced the air from Chris’s lungs.

"That’s it?" Kyle laughed loudly, his voice echoing off the blast-proof walls.

"Only five minutes, huh? And here I was just getting warmed up!"

Kyle pressed his advantage, his fists raining down on the exhausted rookie.

The strikes were turning fatal.

Chris could barely keep his hands up, stumbling backwards as his vision blurred.

On the sidelines, the panic returned.

Kiara bit her lip, her fingers flying across her datapad as she watched Chris’s vitals plummet.

Alice moved forward again, the temperature in the room dropping as her form began to glow brighter, ready to intervene.

Julien gripped the edge of the arena barricade, his expression unreadable.

"Go slow, Kyle!" Mira yelled from behind the camera, genuine worry creeping into her bubbly voice.

"He is not on your level anymore."

"Haha, I’m going to crush you like an ant!" Kyle roared.

The giant reached out with his massive, calloused hand and clamped it directly over Chris’s face.

His fingers wrapped around the rookie’s jaw and skull, fully intending to lift Chris off his feet and slam him headfirst into the cracked floor.

Chris felt his boots leaving the ground.

The exhaustion was threatening to pull him into unconsciousness, but the stubborn survival instincts he had honed sparked to life one last time.

With a sudden, desperate burst of movement, Chris swung his heavy legs upward.

He hooked his feet behind Kyle’s knees, wrapping his thick thighs around the giant’s legs and locking them together like a vice.

Kyle grunted, his balance suddenly compromised.

The giant couldn’t lift his opponent without falling over himself.

Taking advantage of the sluggish movement, Chris pried Kyle’s massive fingers off his face.

He ducked under the A-Rank’s thick arm, sliding rapidly to his opponent’s back.

Chris locked his hands tight around Kyle’s thick waist, planted his boots firmly on the floor, and arched his back with everything he had left in his tank.

"AHHHHH"

He lifted the massive, three-hundred-pound hunter clean over his own head and slammed him backwards into the floor in a picture-perfect German suplex.

The impact shook the entire upper level of the Association building.

The floor shattered into small pieces, sending a cloud of white dust into the air.

The chat feed turned into a professional wrestling commentary board.

[DihSlayer99]: WATCH OUT, WATCH OUT, WATCH OUT!

[Barn_Addict]: SUPLEX CITY!

[God_Killer]: HE BROKE HIM IN HALF!

[QW_Hunter]: B-RANK FROM THE TOP ROPE!

When the dust finally settled, neither man was moving.

Chris lay flat on his back, his chest heaving as he gasped for air.

He didn’t even try to stand up.

The berserker crash had drained every ounce of strength from his bones.

A few feet away, Kyle groaned.

The slam had momentarily scrambled his senses, but the A-Rank hunter was built tough. He rolled over, pushing himself up to a seated position and rubbing the back of his neck where it had collided with the floor.

Kyle looked over at Chris, seeing the blonde rookie in a completely defeated, dazed state.

The giant let out a long sigh and slowly got to his feet. He dusted off his sweat-soaked tank top and walked over to where Julien was standing.

"I guess this is your win, little fellow," Kyle said, his deep voice calm and respectful.

Mira gasped, nearly dropping the camera rig.

She didn’t expect her boyfriend to accept defeat so easily.

Kyle held up a hand, stopping her protests.

He looked down at Julien.

"Your product does exactly what you claimed. It let a rookie go toe-to-toe with me. But I will tell you this..."

Kyle’s expression turned serious, the battle-crazed smile entirely gone.

"As much as your potion helps a person in a dire state, one cannot survive solely relying on those things. That is exactly why I never use them, neither from the official Guild stores nor the black markets. Make sure you don’t get people addicted to your product, merchant. If they stop training their own bodies and rely only on your liquids, it will soon become their downfall."

With that heavy piece of veteran advice delivered, Kyle walked over to his discarded gear.

He picked up his gym bag, walked past Chris, and gently patted the exhausted rookie on the head.

"Good fight, kid," Kyle rumbled, before pushing the heavy steel doors open and walking out of the arena.

Mira stared at the closed doors, then slowly turned her shocked gaze toward Julien.

She had lost the bet.

"Thanks for the free advertisement," Julien said, flashing her a bright, highly unapologetic thumbs up.

He smoothly stepped back in front of the camera lens, adjusting his collar to look professional.

"We will be officially opening tomorrow at the unlisted basement of the Association headquarters here in District 5! First-come, first-served. But don’t worry, we have more products than you can imagine. Bring your money, hunters!"

Julien gave a charismatic wave to the audience and signaled Toby to cut the feed.

The second the red recording light blinked off, Julien dropped the persona and sprinted across the ruined arena toward Chris.

He quickly pulled a fresh green healing potion from his inventory, uncorking it as he slid to his knees beside his friend.

Alice and Kiara were right behind him, their faces pale with worry.

Chris was bruised and battered, and his armor was ruined beyond repair.

But as Julien tilted his head up to administer the potion, Chris started laughing.

It was a weak, breathless sound, but it was filled with pure adrenaline.

"That... was amazing," Chris wheezed, a massive grin on his bloody face.

Julien didn’t smile back.

He had a hardened, heavy look in his eyes as he watched his best friend bleed on the floor.

It was a stark reminder of his own physical weakness.

He swore to himself that he would level up his class soon so he wouldn’t have to put his team through this again.

Within minutes, the livestream clip of a B-Rank suplexing an A-Rank became the hottest topic not only in District 5 but across the globe.

The footage was shared across every hunter forum.

Even high-tier guilds from other countries started contacting the local Association branch to track down the mysterious J.A.C.K Market.

Miles away, far from the polished floors of District 5, the atmosphere was entirely different.

In the ruined streets of District 9, among the collapsed buildings and crushed vehicles, a lone figure stood watching a cracked, stolen datapad.

Kane watched the broadcast replay of Julien advertising his potions.

"Is it time now?" a voice asked from the shadows.

A dark-haired woman stepped into the dim light.

Her aura crackled and sparked like raw electricity, illuminating the objects around her.

Kane turned off the datapad and slipped it into his pocket.

He looked towards the red gate, which had been swirling calmly.

"Yes," Kane said, his voice quiet but carrying a terrible promise.

"Let’s start the second wave."