Bloodlust—a rare ability that allows the user to project their killing intent toward someone or a group. To achieve this ability, one needs extensive experience in killing.
At that moment, Eli Jang was projecting his bloodlust toward Seokdu Wang, even though he had never murdered anyone. This surprised Seokdu Wang, but his grin never faded. "I hope you can be part of my warm-up, Eli Jang."
Eli sprang from his position. One moment he was feet away from Seokdu Wang; the next, he slammed his knee into Seokdu's face, spraying blood.
Eli quickly moved behind him and struck Seokdu's thick neck with his elbow. Then he moved in front again and threw a devastating uppercut.
Seokdu Wang retaliated with a punch, but Eli didn't back off. He absorbed the blow and threw one of his own.
At this moment, only one thought screamed in his mind: "I will kill you! I will kill you even if you're dead! I will kill you again after you're dead!"
Just then, Eli's momentum broke as Seokdu Wang grabbed his collar.
"How rough. You're like a beast. It'll be fun to crush you," Seokdu Wang said as he bent backward before his head sprang forward toward Eli like a coiled spring.
"This is it for you!"
Unfortunately, he couldn't get a perfect hit as Eli had hugged Seokdu's torso to reduce the impact. Several memories flashed through Eli's mind: his time with the Hostel and how it came to an end, how they rebuilt it together. Even though most of their lives were filled with difficulties and suffering, they all came together happily in the end. Now, he couldn't let his family get hurt—not once again.
Eli twisted his body alongside Seokdu's neck, causing Seokdu Wang to flip to the other side upside down. Unfortunately for Eli, there's one force that even motivation and desperation could never overcome: pure raw strength. And who was Seokdu Wang? One of the kings from the 1st generation.
"Amazing. What an amazing technique. You're someone who's better at using techniques than strikes, huh? It's a technique that reminds me of that person. I've heard of it before—that person raised a young kid. You're Tom Lee's disciple, aren't you?" Seokdu Wang said as he cracked his neck.
Eli was surprised that Seokdu's neck was intact after such a brutal attack. Seokdu Wang continued, "If my opponent's Tom Lee's disciple, then I'd better get serious."
Seokdu Wang bent forward as if he were about to tackle Eli Jang. Eli quickly formed a perfect counter in his mind. "He's a monster that's hard to win against using strikes. I can only try to win with a chokehold. Even if his neck is thick, he'll faint if I squeeze his carotid artery. The only way I can win is to use techniques."
Sadly for Eli, his guess was wrong. As he braced himself to withstand Seokdu's tackle, Seokdu actually thrust his head into Eli's stomach. Eli coughed out blood from the impact. His stomach was churning.
Seokdu grabbed Eli's collar and bent backward, ready for his signature move. But Seokdu didn't know one thing: though Eli wasn't a master at grappling, he lived with a legend of grappling—Six King, Seongji Yuk.
---
Just a short time after the Hostel incident.
Eli lay on the ground, taking deep breaths. Seongji handed him a water bottle. Eli grabbed the bottle and chugged down the water. Then he asked Seongji, "Hyung, can I learn grappling? I want to get stronger."
Seongji shook his head regretfully. "It's not possible. You can't become a master at grappling."
Eli's eyes widened in surprise. Seongji Yuk continued, "You've already learned another fighting style. I think that style is also perfect for you. If you learn too much, you will regress instead of progressing."
Eli's eyes dropped in disappointment. Seongji chuckled and tousled Eli's hair. "But don't worry. I can teach you the weaknesses of grappling. I will teach you how to counter it."
Eli's eyes widened with surprise.
---
From that day, Eli trained with Seongji on how to counter grappling. He also learned some basic moves. One of the greatest weaknesses of grappling is the act of grabbing someone itself. As long as you make yourself impossible to grab, grappling immediately becomes less effective.
So Eli did the most sensible thing. Before Seokdu could slam Eli with his head, Eli tore out of his shirt. Seokdu looked at the cloth remaining in his hand with surprise. "Interesting. This is interesting."
Meanwhile, Eli was vomiting his food on the ground. Eli looked like he was on his last legs. He rushed at Seokdu with all his might. A faint green glow was about to appear in his eyes. Perhaps sensing the threat, Seokdu Wang also rushed in.
Just as Eli was about to slash Seokdu with his claws, Seokdu grabbed Eli's wrists. Seokdu's body bent backward, his head touching the ground for greater range of motion.
Normally, Eli could've tried to free his wrists, but at this moment he had zero strength in his body. Seokdu's head slammed against Eli's head. Eli's skull crushed under the impact, blood sprayed out. His body flew back like a broken kite and slammed against a lamp post. He fell to the ground, kneeling beside Warren and Olly's bodies.
Seokdu looked at the fallen invaders. "You guys came to Suwon and will meet your end here."
At that moment, several guys came to the scene. They bowed to Seokdu Wang. "SENIOR!"
Seokdu was pleasantly surprised. "Oh, isn't that my Stone Head Service?"
The Stone Head Service shouted once again, "YOU DID GREAT, SENIOR!"
"O-Our apologies!"
"We should have finished them on our end!"
Seokdu Wang chuckled. "No, no. You guys did plenty already. More importantly, I had fun. It's been a while since I fought."
Then he started to walk away. "The three of them have fainted. Play with them if you want, but don't kill them. They seem to know some friends."
The Stone Head Service guys shouted, "Understood! But Senior, one of them looks strange."
"What?"
"Uh... He looks like he fainted, but his eyes are open. Is he dreaming or something?"
Seokdu's eyes widened in surprise. He perfectly understood the phenomenon. After all, he'd passed through that stage too. But he quickly denied it. "There's no way a second generation could achieve that."
He looked at the Stone Head Service guys. "No need to be bothered by that. He simply blacked out."
Eli realized that he had lost. He had lost against an overwhelming opponent. If he were a fighter, it would've been acceptable to have lost against someone with overwhelming strength.
But who was Eli? He was the Big Daddy, the protector of the Hostel. Tears began to form in Eli's eyes. He stood against a massive wall that felt impossible to overcome. But how could he accept defeat? He never pursued strength because he wanted to get stronger, but because he wanted to protect. So as long as he was alive, he would never let his family suffer. At that moment, he felt his body lift a restriction.
Meanwhile, Warren and Olly regained consciousness. They sat against the railing. Olly chuckled. "Damn, working for the Workers is quite hefty."
Warren groaned in pain. "You and Eli pitched this idea. I never agreed to something like this."
Olly chuckled. "Hehe~ I guess we made a blunder not to include the 1st generation."
Stone Head Service guys surrounded them, and one of them swung a bat at Olly. Olly sighed. "Phew... Do these bastards think they can defeat us just because we're down? What do you say, Gangseo's Mighty Warren? Want to complete the 1200 fights tonight?"
Warren smiled. "It's 1300, you fool."
Just as Warren and Olly were about to move, someone beat them to it. The Stone Head Service guys were flung aside upside down. Eli stood amongst the fallen bodies as his eyes glowed faintly. "This wall—I have surpassed it tonight."
The Stone Head Service guys were surprised. But there was someone even more surprised than them: Seokdu Wang himself. "Impossible. How did a second generation...?!"
At that moment, Samuel Seo walked in. He asked Eli, "CEO of 5th Affiliate, so how does it feel? To be able to see the next level? Shall we take care of the remnant from the 1st generation?"
Eli and Samuel Seo stood shoulder to shoulder.