CONQUERING HIS COLD HEART - Chapter 417 - 417 Old Man
417 Old Man
“Yes!” Everard pumped his fist while trying to be discreet after witnessing Jerome take down the third challenger for the position of the Beta. And he clapped while also looking at Jerome with a proud smile on his face.
Not just him, almost all of the people present there were in support of Jerome since he was the last Beta who always cared for the people and never misused his power and position.
The announcer who was standing in the middle of the fighting pit asked Jerome to take his seat in the audience row for the time being.
And he continued, “And now, we are going to witness the fight between the two young wolves who are famous for being the strongest in their own parties.”
Two young men jumped inside the fighting pit while displaying their inhumane abilities. The crowd cheered for them too since everyone enjoyed the fights, no matter who they supported.
The fight was over in no time when one of them broke the ankle of the other with a solid kick.
The fighting continued until it was time for the last two winners to fight against each other for the position. One of them was Jerome, while the other was a young man called Owen.
“Now, this fight will decide the fate of the Beta of our clan.” The announcer was hyping everyone up with his loud voice. “Let’s welcome them inside the pit!”
Owen entered the arena with a flashy move. He grabbed both of his knees and jumped the tall wired fence as if it was nothing. Jerome, on the other hand, simply rolled his eyes at that flashiness and entered the fighting arena through the door.
…..
Owen smirked at the old man and tried to get on his nerves by passing a rude comment, “Are you too tired, old man?” He flexed his muscles and then continued to speak derogatorily, “Why don’t you just go and rest and let this young man bear the burden of the clan?”
Jerome simply smiled and thought to himself, ‘Does he think that it’s easy to bear such a huge burden?’
“What? Cat got your tongue?” Owen laughed while pointing at the old man and looking around at the audience so that they would laugh along with him. “He can’t even say anything! Look! Hahahaha…”
However, instead of laughing along, the whole crowd went silent, making Owen feel greatly humiliated.
Jerome smugly smirked at that brat and asked, “If you are done laughing then shall we get this over with? We have a tight schedule. And I hate it when people try to ruin what I have meticulously planned for a whole month.”
“You!” Owen gritted his teeth and instantly bared his fangs.
“Begin!” the announcer shouted and ran outside the pit just in time to avoid getting hit by Owen who was already enraged by the partiality that all the members of the clan were showing.
Owen bore his claws as well and leaped forward to jump at Jerome.
Jerome was calmly standing right where he was. And just when Owen was about to grab his neck with his clawed fingers, he tightly gripped both of Owen’s wrists and slammed him down like a ragdoll.
The crowd erupted with joy when they saw that mouth-runner getting slammed on the floor face-down.
Owen had let all the easy victories from earlier get to his head. Now that he got to know first-hand how strong Jerome was, he was finally on his guard. He quickly slipped out of Jerome’s grip and maintained a gap between the two of them.
The one who was known for overwhelming the opponents with a barrage of offensive moves was now playing defense.
Jerome was an experienced man. So, he also didn’t let that one lucky move get to his head. He could tell that this young man wasn’t full of ego for nothing. He was the strongest among all the others he had fought until now.
The two of them circled around each other while taking a defensive stance.
And when Owen didn’t show any initiative to attack again, Jerome bore his fangs and claws and finally leaped to get closer so that he could beat the life out of that young man.
He was aiming to dig his set of left claws into that young man’s arm and then beat him up with his right fist. However, right at the last second, Owen managed to dodge the attack. He came out with a light scratch on his arm.
Jerome didn’t let that man rest or catch his breath. He immediately jumped in again. He pretended that he was going to use the same move as before. However, at the last second, he changed the move and smashed his strong leg right at that man’s abdomen.
Owen was sent flying. If it wasn’t for the wired fences, he would have crashed somewhere much further.
While the two of them were fighting and the crowd was cheering for Jerome nonstop, Everard was sitting at the edge of his seat and holding his breath. He wasn’t even blinking. His heart would pound every time Jerome would throw a blow at his opponent. And his heart would skip a beat every time Jerome would take a minor hit.
‘Just win it already, old man!’ Everard screamed in his head. He knew that he could easily control his Beta but he didn’t want that rude man to be his Beta. He wanted Jerome and no one else. ‘Just finish him off already!!!’
The fight was still going on even when half an hour had already passed. It was the longest fight ever. And for the restless King, it felt like several hours instead of just half.
‘Oh, come on!’ Everard was clenching his jaw and fidgeting his legs. He was glaring at Jerome’s back from the stage and was scolding Jerome in his head, ‘Just knock him down already, Jerome! Why are you afraid to throw punches at your opponent? Don’t make me come down there and beat him down for you!’
Although both Jerome and Owen had sustained countless injuries by now, and both of them were completely drained of their stamina, both were unwilling to give up.
However, it was already clear to everyone who the winner was going to be.
Jerome’s sheer will to fulfill the late King’s last wish was keeping him going while Owen was barely moving at this point. It was just Owen’s pride that didn’t let him give up the fight.
Jerome drily gulped and then tightened his fist as much as he could. He spat blood on the floor and mumbled in a breathless whisper, “Just go down already! You can’t even take one more hit from me!”
Owen kept on standing with his staggering feet, denying to give up.
Jerome heaved a sigh and then shrugged. “If you wish to die, then so be it.” He let out a loud cry and charged at Owen with all his leftover energy.
Owen got punched right in his nose.
Finally, his eyes rolled to the back and he got knocked to the ground.
“And the winner is Lord Jerome!!!” the announcer shouted from outside the fighting arena.
The whole crowd got up from their seat and cheered and clapped for their Beta.
Everard finally let out the breath that he was holding and closed his eyes in relief. A soft smile appeared on his face when he mumbled to himself, “Good job, old man. Thanks for not leaving my side.”