Chapter 326: The Method of the Motorcycle Clan to Solve Problems. (Patreon)

"How many times do I have to say it before you get it? I have never said anything like that."

Lighter's expression soured further. What he'd done, he'd done, and what he hadn't, he hadn't. He wasn't the type to lie about something like this.

Sure, he'd raced bikes, brawled, and thrown fixed matches in his time, but he was still an upright, hot-blooded young man who knew the difference between real wrongdoing and the rest.

And now these people, whom he'd met exactly once, were smearing his good name out of thin air. That was more than anyone could be expected to put up with!

Just as both sides dug in and the mood was about to boil over, Caesar, the boss, finally spoke up.

"Quit arguing, all of you! Bikers settle things by biker rules. You say you're bikers too, so the same rule applies to you."

The Caesar standing there had none of his earlier recklessness or naivety. An aura of command had risen around him, the kind that made people believe whatever he said without thinking.

"O-of course! We did all that because we wanted to become bikers!"

The kid who led the bandits forced his courage up and shouted his answer at Caesar.

Geno's eyes lit up at the sight. He hadn't expected this kid to have a side like that.

Caesar nodded, then waved the rest of the crowd back to clear some space. It was time for the ritual bikers used to settle their disputes: an open challenge duel with no restrictions!

Put bluntly, it was a fight. Unlike an ordinary one, though, as long as nobody died, there were no limits on numbers or weapons.

In other words, Lighter would be taking on the entire bandit crew by himself.

"Bring it on! I'm ready."

Lighter knew this kind of resolution well, since it was exactly what he'd done in the Sons of Calydon. As for brawling against a crowd, all he could say was that he was used to it.

But to Belle, who had never seen the simple, rough-hewn customs of the Outer Ring, it was a bit much.

"Are you sure this is okay? The numbers are way too lopsided!"

Billy answered her like this.

"It's fine. He's the undefeated champion, which means he's not going to lose."

Belle noticed that Billy's tone was a little different from usual, but before she could ask, the duel had already started.

Geno, by contrast, wasn't the least bit worried about who would win.

The outcome had been decided long before the fight began.

"Lighter absolutely won't lose."

Just as he thought that, the fight broke out.

The young robbers swarmed toward Lighter in a noisy mass, clearly hoping to overwhelm him with sheer numbers.

They knew a bit about bikers, and they'd heard more or less about the fearsome name of Lighter, the Red Scarf. Still, with this many of them, they figured it wasn't hopeless.

That thought flew out of their heads two seconds into the fight, and got flushed down the toilet and into the sewer for good measure.

"Eat this!"

One of them snatched up a steel pipe and lunged at Lighter, ready to give him a smack on the head to knock some sense into him.

He hadn't even landed from his leap when he felt his feet leave the ground all over again.

Lighter had simply thrown a punch to the jaw, sending the guy flying out of mid-air.

The man hit the ground soon after, his head lolling to one side as he blacked out.

Seeing their friend's miserable state, the others were cowed by Lighter's move, and their forward momentum drained out of them with a whoosh.

The young man leading them, though, gritted his teeth and propped up his nerve, charging at Lighter anyway.

"Aaaaaah!"

To beat down the fear inside him, he roared to pump himself up.

But no matter how fired up he was, he couldn't beat absolute strength. Lighter flattened him on the ground with a single punch.

"If this is the level you're all at, there's no point in continuing this duel."

Lighter said it lightly, one hand resting on his sunglasses. These opponents clearly hadn't put the slightest pressure on him.

Everything was going just the way Geno had predicted, except…

"Hm?"

Lighter had already cowed everyone and was about to have Caesar call the duel, but just before he could speak, he felt something grip his ankle.

"It's… not over yet…"

"Oh? Interesting."

The corner of Lighter's mouth curled into a barely noticeable smile. He'd seen plenty of people with backbone, but not many who knew full well how far apart their strength was and still worked up the courage anyway.

But a duel was a duel. Since the other guy hadn't given up, Lighter had only one response to give.

"In that case, I'll get a little serious."

As he spoke, Lighter hauled his leg up and lifted the man off the ground. Gripping him by the collar, Lighter asked, "Kid, what's your name?"

"B-Barry."

"Barry, huh? I'll remember that."

Having quietly filed the name away, Lighter went right on swinging his fist at Barry's face.

Every punch hit hard enough to be frightening, and behind Barry, his friends were moved by his toughness.

"Put Barry down!"

No one knew who started it, but watching Barry take that beating, they couldn't stand it any longer and charged Lighter.

Lighter had no choice but to set Barry down and focus on dealing with the small fry.

In moments, a field of fallen bodies lay across the Sons of Calydon's turf.

When Lighter returned to Barry's side, he found that Barry had gotten back on his feet at some point.

"It's not over yet!"

His face was swollen and bruised, and a streak of bright red blood had run from his battered nose, but Barry staggered toward Lighter anyway.

He held his right hand high, trembling but never lowering it, and threw his fists at Lighter one at a time, bit by bit.

Lighter didn't block any of them. He let the kid pound on his body.

In the end, Barry's strength gave out completely and he collapsed beside Lighter, and the fight finally came to a close.

"That was so moving! It's the kind of fired-up scene you only see in movies!"

Belle's eyes shone with excitement, a little glimmer of tears at the corners. A film like this would easily make the top three on her video tape recommendation list.

By comparison, what Geno and Billy cared about seemed much more boring.

"Lighter won, as expected."

"Yeah. He still falls a little short of me, but for my junior, he's doing pretty well."

Belle's gaze instantly went flat at that. These two had no sense of romance. Was this all guys ever had in their heads?

But just when everyone thought the result was settled, Caesar's verdict surprised them all.

"The result of the duel is…"