Empire of Shadows

Ethan looked at the brothers below the stage and tapped his head with his glove.

He had been training constantly during this period.

At first, he didn't understand.

Why did Lance send him to box instead of letting him work with everyone else? He wondered if Lance had some issue with him.

But as he continued to train, and the coach kept telling him about past events, like boxers from the bottom rungs of society who ultimately achieved great success in their careers.

He gradually began to understand something.

The Lance family didn't need another thug.

He was tall and strong, but in a gunfight, he would only be a more obvious target, and his marksmanship wasn't very good either.

Many people thought he was strong and that shooting should be easy, but in reality, it wasn't very convenient for him to shoot because his hands were large and his fingers were thick, making it difficult for him to pull the trigger.

He also wasn't very good at aiming, which might have been due to a lack of practice. In short, he preferred using his fists to using weapons.

In the Lance family, adding him wouldn't significantly improve the family's strength, not even by a tiny bit.

Losing him wouldn't immediately weaken the family either; he was just an ordinary person.

But from the moment he started learning boxing, he felt something special, as if he was born for boxing!

He had more strength and was tougher than others!

He had great stamina, could train constantly, and loved the thrill of hand-to-hand combat.

Simple, direct, and satisfying, regardless of winning or losing!

He could raise a flag in this area; he could become an amazing person, allowing people to be proud of him in another way!

This is my path!

He devoted himself to training and successfully gained weight through high-intensity training, reaching the cruiserweight level.

The coach said he would have three matches and then consider whether to continue moving up to heavyweight or first achieve results in this weight class.

The cheers and applause from the brothers and sisters below the stage filled Ethan's heart with a strong desire for victory at that moment!

The coach pressed his forehead against Ethan's, staring intently into his eyes, as if trying to instill everything he was about to say into Ethan's mind.

"This idiot's only victory was a points victory. Besides a knockout victory in a lower weight class, he hasn't had a knockout in training or matches since reaching heavyweight."

"I don't have any more tactics to teach you. This is just the first step on your legendary journey, and you will complete it!"

"Watch out for his uppercut, protect your chin, and then let him taste your fist!"

The coach patted Ethan's head, then gave him encouragement, "Go! Take him down!"

After saying this, the coach left the ring, and the opponent's coach also left. With the sound of the bell, the two fighters came to the center of the ring.

There were no scantily clad girls, and no… well, there were still shouts of encouragement.

Perhaps afraid that someone from Ethan's side would cheer, causing his fighter to lose momentum, the opponent's fighter's coach and coaching staff also began to shout encouragement.

This made their fighter feel a little ashamed; he even wished these people would shut up!

"Begin!"

Ethan's coach observed intently from the side of the ring. He felt that Ethan had the potential to win the heavyweight belt; some things, you can see at a glance.

Ethan stared intently at the opponent's face. Both sides were still testing each other. Boxing is not a simple and childish sport.

It involves many complex disciplines that cannot be mastered without systematic study.

By the end of the first and second rounds, you need to figure out the attack range of the opponent's lead hand and rear hand, try to decipher their punching habits, and understand their defensive habits.

Then the battle will begin to intensify, and you can start to attack more proactively.

But Ethan didn't like that. He liked heavy punches; he liked to hammer his opponent's face solidly!

From the start, he adopted a more oppressive style of play. He kept invading the opponent's fighter's space, and of course, he was also ready to clinch.

This is a very aggressive style of play, and also a style that shows strong self-confidence.

The opponent's fighter was a little annoyed. Although he was also a rookie in the heavyweight division, he had some training and experience, and he also had experience in fighting.

But what about the opponent?

A rookie who popped up out of nowhere, with no record of any matches, a complete newbie, who actually disrespected him so much?

He decided to let this big guy feel the power of his heavy punch!

He bumped Ethan's arm with his fist, followed by a liver shot to Ethan's abdomen.

Almost instinctively, Ethan's abdominal muscles suddenly tightened, and a heavy force was transmitted through the fat and tense muscles to a deeper level!

It hurt a little!

But, only a little!

A fierce glint, unnoticed even by himself, flashed in his eyes, and he gave the opponent an uppercut in return.

After the two sides exchanged their first attack, they briefly distanced themselves.

The opponent's coach's expression became a little serious because he noticed that his fighter's expression was not as relaxed as before.

He noticed that the area on the fighter's waist that had been hit was abnormally red, and in the area where the force was concentrated, there were even some slight red spots!

Although the coach knew very well that a heavyweight fighter's punch would very likely cause capillaries to burst, he didn't expect it to happen so quickly!

This was still the probing stage; was he already using his full strength?

A heavyweight fighter's stamina is limited; did this rookie not know how to manage his stamina?

In the following process, the two sides also made some contact, but rarely with such direct and violent output as the first contact.

At the end of the round, Ethan's coach jumped into the ring, helping him relax while asking, "First time in the ring, how does it feel?"

Ethan nodded, "It's no different from usual, but that guy doesn't seem very strong."

Seeing how relaxed he was, the coach checked the red area on his abdomen. There was no particularly obvious sign of burst blood vessels. His defense was as high as ever.

Of course, he wouldn't blindly let Ethan become arrogant, "It's still the probing stage. Next, this guy will definitely try to find a way to exhaust your stamina."

"Punch less, but don't hesitate when you seize the opportunity. Remember to conserve your stamina."

The opponent's fighter looked at Ethan, who was sitting in the opposite corner, with a complex expression in his eyes.

His liver still felt a little uncomfortable. He thought it was just an ordinary punch, but he didn't expect it to be so heavy!

"That young man is competing for the first time. He doesn't have enough experience. This is where we have the advantage."

"Find a way to make him punch more and ruin his stamina management."

"Look for an opportunity to finish him. If that's not so easy, then score more points and win on points."

The fighter's expression was a little strange. A heavyweight fighter who relies on points to win… it sounded like an insult!

If it were a featherweight or lightweight, then the fighter's fist might just be a fist. It wouldn't be so easy to destroy a person's body and defense.

But heavyweight fighters are all heavy hitters, which is why heavyweight boxing matches are so attractive!

People don't like to see two skinny monkeys exchanging blows on the ring for a dozen seconds, only to have both sides pull back without any problems. What they want to see are heavy cannons that send adrenaline soaring with every punch!

So if a heavyweight fighter wins on points… without a doubt, it's disrespect to heavyweight fighters!

He finally nodded. Now, raising the winning rate was the key. Whether or not he could get a knockout was not important!

Lance and the others sitting below couldn't really understand boxing matches either. Most of them just subconsciously treated it as a fight, but it wasn't a real fight; it had rules.

In the second round, the opponent's fighter clearly had a tactical change. He began to frequently lure Ethan to attack.

Defending consumes far less stamina than attacking. Ethan was somewhat lacking in match experience, and he couldn't help himself.

Although the opponent defended against Ethan's attacks in the second round, he also took a few hits. He was even more wary of Ethan's heavy punches.

But their tactics were successful. Ethan was already panting; his stamina consumption was relatively high.

Don't underestimate just seven or eight, ten or so attacks; they still consume a lot of stamina!

The coach fanned him while saying, "He's luring you to attack. He wants to exhaust your stamina. Remember the points game we learned?"

"He wants to play a points game with you. Don't use all your strength in the next attack; focus on big points!"

Since they want to be shameless, then let's all be shameless together. Anyway, they were the first to be shameless!

The coach had already thought about how to express his dissatisfaction after the match. He would tell the boxing association, he would tell 'Boxing', that this was a fucking boxing match, not a math competition!

Ethan didn't agree because he could still hear the cheers and encouragement of his brothers, and the words that told him to "take down" the opponent.

The coach didn't know if Ethan had listened, he could only continue to analyze the situation and the opponent's tactics.

Soon, the third round began. Ethan once again tried to make contact with the opponent, but the opponent's fighter still chose to lure him into punching and quickly dodge.

As they fought, Ethan suddenly lowered his guard. He looked at his opponent, who was constantly moving in small steps, and took out his mouthpiece. "Can you face me like a warrior?"

The opposing boxer also stopped moving his feet and turned to look at the referee, his expression as if asking, "What the hell is this about?"

Ethan's coach told Ethan to put his mouthpiece back in while running over to explain to the referee.

Ethan looked at his opponent and, as he put his mouthpiece back in, said finally, "Either fight me like a warrior, or be chased around like a girl!"

The match restarted, and Ethan completely abandoned boxing tactics, walking straight towards his opponent.

The boxer on the other side was very uncomfortable with this style of fighting. He could clearly punch Ethan in the chin, but he didn't dare to throw a punch. He wasn't sure if this was a trap.

Even the referee was a little impatient at this point. He also felt that this heavyweight boxer, who lacked courage, should be fighting in a lower weight class.

But now he was the referee, and he could only keep his opinions to himself.

The third round ended quickly, and both sides returned to their corners. The coach said a lot, but Ethan didn't hear a word. He just stared at the opposing boxer.

The opposing boxer was very uncomfortable being stared at. His coach, however, had a look of intense joy on his face. "Well done, you've successfully recorded this guy. We've already won half the battle!"

"Find a way to continue to provoke him…"

He didn't hear the rest of what was said clearly.

In the fourth round, Ethan was still the same, not even holding up his guard, just standing on the ring like an ordinary person, looking at him with disdain.

This made him very annoyed. He tried to get closer to Ethan, throwing a tentative punch.

Ethan didn't dodge, or even defend, letting the light punch land on his face.

Through his slightly squeezed and distorted eyes, his mocking and disdainful gaze fell on his opponent. The opposing boxer couldn't help but give Ethan another punch.

Still a tentative punch, and he pulled back after hitting. Ethan still didn't move.

In fact… he even punched himself.

He punched himself even harder than he had been punched!

His face finally changed. People started booing him, and some even insulted him and his family.

Boxers always have tempers, otherwise they wouldn't be boxers. His face began to flush rapidly, and his coach suddenly realized that his boxer had been provoked!

He ran in front of Ethan and gave him a few more punches. The mockery in Ethan's eyes grew stronger, and a burst of anger instantly rose from his body, stuck in his throat!

If he didn't give the other guy a good punch, he wouldn't be able to get this anger out!

He knew this might be a trick, he knew he shouldn't do this!

But as a boxer, once his temper flared up, it was difficult for him to be restrained by reason!

He also didn't believe that Ethan could withstand his heavy punch!

His body began to stretch, and the muscles in his back caused his arms to swing back. This would be a super heavy blow!

Ethan captured this small movement, and he also pulled back his fist, a punch to the limit!

Two clumps of sweat flew out, Ethan staggered back two steps, and finally stood firm.

But the other guy fell straight down.

Everyone was stunned for a moment. Ethan's coach waved his towel in surprise, and the referee rushed up to count seconds for the other boxer.

But obviously, he couldn't stand up.

After counting to only five, the referee gave up counting and announced Ethan's victory…

After the match, Ethan's face was already swollen, but his face was full of simple, happy smiles.

"What were you thinking?" Lance patted his noticeably more muscular body. "What if you couldn't withstand that punch?"

Ethan scratched his head. "I didn't think about it, but I know that a boxer who keeps avoiding a head-on confrontation with me can't knock me down."

As he said this, the opposing boxer and his team were just preparing to leave, passing by here.

The opposing coach snorted angrily. In his opinion, Ethan used disgusting psychological tactics, and he would complain about this practice to 《Boxing》 magazine.

The ring should be pure, and these people shouldn't be allowed to bring these evil practices to the ring!

The opposing boxer's face was also swollen high, and his eyes were bloodshot. Ethan's punch was indeed terrifyingly heavy.

He walked over, ignoring the gazes of so many people around Ethan, and walked up to Ethan.

"Next time, I will defeat you with my fist!"

A hint of a smile appeared on Ethan's face, but the swollen half of his face made this smile look a little twitchy. "Wait until you catch up with me!"

The two bumped fists, and the other guy quickly left, but it could be seen that this match had also changed his mentality somewhat.

"Now, can we go have a big meal?"

The coach wanted to stop him, but thinking that this was his first official match victory, he didn't stop him after all.

One win and one knockout in one battle. Although he was still a rookie, he had already begun to show his potential.

After dinner, the coach said that he would arrange Ethan's next match soon.

Every year, many rookies debut, or move up from lower-level matches to heavyweight matches. They are all eager to "pad their stats" to increase their popularity.

If you want to become a boxing champion and win the gold belt, it's not enough to just be able to fight. You also need to have a ranking, you also need to have good enough stats, and you even need a powerful interest group to promote you behind the scenes.

Lance didn't know much about this, so he let the coach take care of the arrangements, but if there was anything he needed, he could contact him at any time.

Ethan's performance allowed Lance to see his talent and future in this area. As long as he continued to move forward firmly, even if he couldn't become a representative of an era, he would leave his own unique mark on this starry sky.

In some ways, this is actually what many people are desperately pursuing—the eternity of a moment.

It can also be called immortality!

Lance was very happy to see these people shine in their respective fields.

There are not many who can end well on this road. No one knows whether the accident will come before the grand finale.

The first day of October, there were only a few days left until Bandi gave the five major families the final time to consider.

The sudden quietness of the city actually made people a little unaccustomed.

Perhaps because they were used to the sudden bursts of gunfire, the people of Goldenport were no longer so sensitive to gunfire.

However, without the harassment of gunfire, there were gradually more people on the streets, but there seemed to be very few tourists. All walks of life also realized the importance of "stability" to the economic development of modern society.

Alberto was ready to take action against Francisco's uncle and grandfather, and Lance had also almost figured out the current situation of the Ditta family. At the same time, the gunmen from Yalan had also arrived in Goldenport City.

Rick could spend money to recruit gunmen from Yalan, and so could Lance. For these people in Yalan who were so poor that they were about to starve to death, they didn't care who they worked for.

The only thing they cared about was whether they could make money from this.

Lance's sincerity was very sufficient, three thousand dollars per person, this price was much higher than the price offered by Rick.

Now, what he lacked was the opportunity to catch a member of the Ditta family alone.