The air in the grand ballroom was thick with tension. Two formidable opponents had already fallen, yet the six remaining warriors still watched Ochieng with sharp, calculating eyes. The battle wasn't just about raw strength—it was a psychological war. Each defeat chipped away at the aura of invincibility surrounding the Major Province leaders.
Lucien Zhao, seated on his throne, swirled his drink lazily. His smirk widened. "Ochieng, you're making this more entertaining than I expected."
Ochieng cracked his knuckles. His body moved like a predator—unshaken, unreadable, unbreakable.
Then came the next opponent. Victor Chen, the Phantom of the Underworld. Unlike the others, Victor specialized in mind games and deception. His weapons of choice? Hypnosis, illusions, and pressure points.
Victor clapped his hands together, and in an instant, the chandeliers flickered. The entire room shifted. The walls twisted, warping like a dream. Ochieng narrowed his eyes.
A hallucination.
Victor's voice slithered through the air. "Tell me, Ochieng... Do you fear your past?"
Then it happened—visions struck Ochieng like a tidal wave.
—His parents' funeral. The rain. The emptiness. The unanswered questions.
—Campus days filled with mockery. The whispers behind his back.
—The suffocating loneliness of being a silent trillionaire, hidden behind a mask of normalcy.
Victor's voice whispered again. "I know your pain, Ochieng. Let it consume you."
But Ochieng only smirked.
"You think illusions can break me?"
His aura shifted. In a flash, he shattered the hallucination like a mirror cracking apart. The warped room faded, revealing Victor standing in the same spot, stunned.
Ochieng moved like lightning. A single palm strike to Victor's chest—directly to his pressure point.
Victor gasped. His body locked up instantly.
"Illusions work on the weak-minded," Ochieng said coldly. "Not me."
Victor crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
Lucien chuckled. "Impressive. Three down."
The crowd murmured. The mighty Victor, defeated in seconds? Who exactly was Ochieng?
Then stepped forward the next challenger—Dominic Wu, the Iron Wall. A man built like a tank, known for his unyielding defense and brute force.
Ochieng exhaled, rolling his shoulders.
"This is going to be fun."
The battle continued.