The Rise of The Barbaric

06: Barbaric, A Joke

Sahid, who was acting as if he was unwilling to cooperate, was making Bobby grow more concerned.

Bobby halts in his tracks and turns towards Sahid with a look of confusion and uncertainty.

“Wait, Sahid! You must stick to the code!” Bobby said while taking a step forward and positioning himself in front of Sahid.

Barrett had his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes fixed on Sahid’s every move. He was determined to ensure that they stayed on track and didn’t deviate from the agreed-upon plan.

Also, they all knew that Sahid was known to be sly as a fox. He would say something that might have another hidden meaning to it.

“Don’t get involved, Bobby. You’re already up to your neck in shit!” Sahid yelled, glaring at Bobby.

“I want to get involved!” Bobby stepped forward, furious. “I didn’t go anywhere! I gave everything to your father, and I continue to give him champions. So I am involved!!”

Sahid raised a brow at Bobby. He had a thoughtful expression on his face and didn’t appear to be replying soon.

Bobby and Barrett stood firm. They glanced at each other as if they had already agreed on what to do next.

“Then what do you propose?” Sahid questioned and then gave the brothers a curious glance.

 “He needs a day before he goes back in to fix his stuff. Give him that day, and I will personally take him to Danyio,” Bobby replied seriously, then he glanced at Barrett, who gave the nod.

“And why should I trust your trash, brother? I don’t even know if he’s reliable...if he still has victory in him!” Sahid said, his tone laced with suspicion and doubt as he struggled to reconcile the idea of relying on someone he knew nothing about, especially in a high-stakes situation that required absolute trust and cooperation.

Bobby’s face hardened at Sahid’s words, and he took a deep breath before responding, “I understand your concerns, Sahid, but trust me when I say that this man is the best in the business. He’s been in the game for years, and he knows how to get the job done. We need him on our side if we’re going to succeed.”

Sahid’s expression slightly softened as he listened to Bobby’s words, but he remained skeptical.

“I guess we don’t have much of a choice then,” he grumbled, begrudgingly acknowledging the wisdom of Bobby’s words. “But if anything goes wrong, it’s on you.”

“You have someone here to prove it. Try him. If he wins, you give him a day. If not, you take him away!” Bobby replied, full of confidence.

Sahid looked to the side towards the man with a scar on his eye.

“Let me do it, Mr. Sahid. I’ve wanted to get even for many years,” the man said as he looked at Barrett for a bit.

Sahid looked at him and said in a low voice so they wouldn’t hear him.

“It’s Barrett. Are you sure you can do this?”

“Yes, of course, I can. I have four years without stopping training. Look at him. He is in the worst shape of his life. Give me the opportunity!” The man replied, firmly and determined.

Sahid nodded. He looked at Bobby with a smile and said, “It is done, then my friend Mustafa will fight your brother. If he wins, I’ll give him twenty-four hours to get in the hole. I won’t bother his shit.”

“But… if he loses, he’ll go to the hole again. I own him!” Sahid continued, grinning evilly. “Also, Bobby, your pretty wife will go back to the hole until you’ve got enough to get her out. Again.”

Mustafa took a step forward with a smile, and Bobby looked at Yumeko. She was currently kneeling on the ground, her hands above her head.  

Yumeko looked at Bobby, then nodded.

Bobby gritted his teeth as he glared at Mustafa and Sahid.

“Don’t worry, and I’m not going to lose to Mustafa,” Barrett said.

Bobby looked at him. Barrett was walking toward Mustafa with a smile.

They both turned around, seeing each other.

“I’ve waited so long to wipe that damn smile off your swaggering mouth,” Mustafa said, smirking.

“What a way to waste time!” Barrett mocked.

Sahid gave the signal for the fight to start.

Mustafa advanced, attacking Barrett with a sidekick.

Barrett watched the scene in front of him, feeling like time was moving slowly. He purposely moved to the side, spread his fingers, and quickly tried to hit Mustafa’s face with a powerful punch, just like he did when they met years ago.

But just as Barrett was about to strike, Mustafa swiftly countered with a strong punch to Barrett’s stomach, leaving him in intense pain and feeling disoriented.

In a dazed state, Barrett fought to stay alert as he saw Mustafa’s kick coming toward his face.

He managed to raise his guard at the last moment, avoiding a direct hit, but the force of the attack was still so powerful that it sent him tumbling face-first into the rough and dusty ground of the yard.

Barrett noticed Bobby nearby, accompanied by his wife, who would also be impacted by the ongoing altercation.

Shaking his head to clear the dizziness, Barrett realized the gravity of the situation. He understood that he couldn’t afford to be overconfident or dismissive anymore.

As if time had returned to the past, Barrett heard the shouts and cheers of the people in the arena. He could hear the people calling him invincible.

A hundred wins in a row, without losing the undefeated man, but now all that was an illusion.

His head was on the dirt-stained dirt of the patio of his brother, looking down on him.

Mustafa couldn’t stop laughing at the ease with which that had happened years ago.

Their fight was completely different, and Barrett had swept the floor with him, but now Barrett just looked at the ground as he slowly and trembling with pain. He forced himself to get up.

“That was an unfortunate friend!” Mustafa said, seeing how Barrett tried to breathe to calm the pain.

Barrett’s head felt huge, and his world wobbled from side to side, a blow like that he hadn’t received in years, and now he understood how the absence took its toll on him.

He was still breathing hard. However, Barrett was grateful that Mustafa’s arrogance allowed him to recover.

At that moment, Barrett made the decision not to let him hit him.

Clearly, his resistance had been lost, and if Mustafa landed another one of those blows, the fight would be over.

“Come!” Barrett screamed, grinning as he looked at him with determined eyes.

Mustafa, without wasting a second, pounced on him with a sneer, his fists clenched tightly and on his face a smile from side to side.

Barrett’s gaze locked with Mustafa’s, his eyes reflecting a mixture of fear and pain. He struggled to crawl away, desperately trying to put some space between them.

Yet, the impact of Mustafa’s punch had taken a greater toll than he had expected, leaving him disoriented and feeble.

Despite his determined attempts, his legs felt heavy as if made of lead, refusing to obey his commands.

Helplessly sprawled on the ground, Barrett remained vulnerable and at the mercy of further attacks.

Dammit! He cursed, to himself, when he saw Mustafa just a few steps away.

Barrett could barely command his legs to lean forward and clearly saw Mustafa launch a flurry of punches toward his torso.

Barrett stretched out his hands and, leaning his body forward, stopped the attack struggling with Mustafa.

Barrett’s face was pressed tightly against Mustafa’s shoulder as he struggled to restrain his opponent’s arms from striking him.

Despite his desire to devise a strategy to overcome his adversary, his mind was blank, devoid of any coherent thoughts.

As he scanned Mustafa’s movements, searching for a weakness, suddenly, a sharp blow from Mustafa’s knee landed directly on Barrett’s stomach, leaving him gasping for air.

Barrett felt the urge to vomit build up in his mouth and looked in front of him. He only saw another blow from Mustafa lifting his jaw and making his whole world move.

Barrett felt no pain.

Instead, he felt the muscles in his body go numb as he tried with all his might to stay on his feet.

Barrett’s gaze locked onto Mustafa’s clenched fist, and he could do nothing but brace himself for the impending impact of the powerful punch hurtling toward his face.

The ground seemed to inch closer and closer, heightening his sense of horror.

In what felt like a fleeting moment, Barrett found himself sprawled on the ground, dazed and disoriented, questioning how the punch had landed with such devastating force.

“Is this what you are now, Barrett? The Barbaric? Please, and with this, you want them to accept you again?” Mustafa mockingly said as he looked at Barrett from above.

Mustafa turned around and walked toward his boss with a victorious grin.

“It seems that your brother is as finished as you… maybe he can work to pay off his debt, but fighting is impossible for him!” Sahid said, looking at Bobby smugly.