Chapter 65 Zack Vs Banjo

The ogre-like applicant let out a deafening battle cry as he swung his butcher's knife at Zack, his opponent. Effortlessly, Zack dodged the strike then gave his ugly opponent a straight kick to the gut. The attack hurt like hell, so much so that Zack's opponent couldn't help as saliva poured from his lips. "Damn dirty bag, you stink!" commented Zack the ogre applicant charged at his opponent again, swinging his butcher's knife, screaming as he did. "Well, if it smells so bad, let me cut the noise off for you," Zack leaned back before the attack was even close to hitting him. "Shit, if this goes on any longer, I might take you up on that offer," Zack thought as he dodged the attack.

Seeing that Zack had dodged his attack well before it was close to landing, frustrated, the ogre-looking applicant's face went red with rage as veins popped in his forehead. His rotteh teeth were gritted, then he shot a fist towards Zack, which again, with zero effort, he dodged. But the ogre was expecting that. The moment Zack dodged the attack with his other hand holding the butcher knife, the ogre slashed at Zack. The spiky-haired young man saw it coming and processed what was happening. If he was a less experienced combatant, this would have caught him off guard, but it didn't.

Zack reached out one of his hands to grab the ogre's swing arm, stopping his attack in its tracks. The moment Zack touched the man's skin, his face scrunched up in disgust. "Eww, his skin is so oily," he thought. He had a look on his face as if he was about to vomit, and yeah, he was, but he swallowed it and shot his other arm forward, delivering a strong punch to the ogre's face. The force of the punch sent the troll's head flying back, but Zack wasn't done just yet.

He jumped, then kicked the ogre numerous times in the face, each strike getting stronger than the last. The brutal attacks made the ogre think he was drowning underwater. He tried to retaliate, but all he could manage was a pathetic swipe at Zack, but this too, Zack dodged. He spun in the air, then landed behind the ogre. Then he pulled back both of his hands, then thrusted them both forward, hitting the ogre in the back. The force of the attack sent the man flying forward, tumbling on the ground towards the edge of the ring.

"That's right, tubby," Zack said, wiping his greasy hand on his clothes. "You just roll all the way out of the ring." But the outcome Zack so desperately wanted didn't happen because the ogre flung his knife into the ground to stop his momentum. The force of doing so cracked the poor rental weapon, but he stopped just as his legs were dangling over the side of the ring. The ogre was sweating profusely as he tried to catch his breath, struggling to remain in the ring. Zack was now getting irritated; this boring ass fight was taking too long. "Damn it, would you just fall off already!" Zack screamed at his troll-faced opponent as he darted towards him.

The ogre managed to get his legs back in the ring, but he didn't have a moment of rest as within an instant, Zack was on him. He threw a punch, and the ogre blocked with his shoulder, then swung at Zack with his chipped blade, but he dodged. He kicked at the man's legs; the impact hurt, and the ogre started to stumble, which allowed Zack to get a few punches. He landed a powerful gut punch, then consecutive quick body blows. Finally, he finished his combo with a kick to the head. The ogre felt as if his brain was being rattled. The attack brought him to his knees because for the onslaught of attacks unknowingly, he had passed out.

While this was happening back in the viewing room, the announcer, Moon D, was yawning. "It looks like we got another boring one on our hands," he said, sitting back in his chair as he rubbed his unexcited eyes. "It's clear as day that the kid with the rocking hairstyle is going to win; Uggo doesn't stand a chance." "I would have to agree," said Angus, still watching the match but not nearly as engaged as he thought he'd be. "It seems this Zack is on a whole different level than his opponent."

"That's because this isn't his first go-around, sir," A unfamiliar voice in the room chimed into the conversation. Both Angus and Moon D turned their heads in the direction of the voice and saw a male assistant staring back at them. Angus narrowed his eyes as Moon D piped up, "Quiet down, Den, and get back to work." But Angus waved Moon D off and spoke to the assistant. "No, wait, what do you mean by that?" The assistant got a bit flustered then managed to respond, "Applicant 0707, Zack, this isn't his first time taking the exam."

Moon D shrugged his shoulders, "So what? Many applicants that fail return and take the exam the next year; that's no big deal." "Well, that's the thing, Mr. Moon D, sir" the assistant said, "Applicant 0707, Zack, he never failed the exam. He's currently enrolled in the military academy." This shocked Moon D, Angus, and most of the other assistants that were working in the room. "Wait, what?" Moon D said, snapping his head back to look at the assistant. "Are you sure about this?" "Yes, sir," he replied, "he took and passed the exam three years ago when he was only twelve years old. But since then, when a new exam is starting, he comes back and retakes it because technically, there's no rule that says it's not allowed."

After hearing this, Moon D cracked up laughing, "Hahaha, man, this kid's my type of guy." But Angus was amused, simply lost in thought. Then he looked at the assistant and asked, "His skills, how were his skills back then?" The assistant got a bit flustered, then managed to respond, "They were about the same, sir. It's clear he had prior training, but that's a given because he's Captain Truesdale's son." This shocked Angus so much that he took a step towards the assistant. Seeing the large bull beastman walking towards him sent a chill of fear down his back. "Are you sure?" he yelled, "Are you sure that kid is Captain Truesdale's son, nervous, the frazzled assistant responded with a quick "Yes." Angus was completely caught off guard. "The dear captain's son? I didn't know he had another son," Angus thought. Moon D snickered, leaning back in his chair. "So, the spiky-haired kid is old man Truesdale's baby boy then. Mr. Ugly is definitely not winning this fight". Back to the ring.

Zack threw a punch at the unconscious ogre. The attack connected with his jaw, the force of it waking the man up and knocking out a handful of his yellow teeth. "You ready to give up?" asked Zack, gearing up for another punch. The ogre spat blood at Zack, then screamed, "Fuck you!" "I thought so," responded Zack. He angled his head to avoid the blood, then shot out another jab, this one connecting right with the ogre's nose, breaking it.

The man screamed in a mix of anger and pain, swinging his butcher's knife, but Zack avoided the attack. He slid around the ogre, out of his line of sight, behind him, then landed a devastating punch on his back. The attack made the troll wince in pain. Zack was about to land another hit till he paused, then covered his nose. 'Eww, disgusting! Did you just fart?'" Zack screamed. The ogre's teeth went wide in a large smile, his yellow teeth shining brighter than moonlight. He cackled, "Haha, now I've got you!"

The ogre spun around while swinging his weapon. This was his chance, he thought. He could cut down the distracted Zack. This was his chance… or he thought it would be. Because as he was spinning with a singular hand, Zack grabbed the ogre's arm and stopped him in place. When he did so, he held his head down for a moment, then lifted it up. When the two locked eyes, all the ogre could see was pure hate.

The longer Zack looked at the ogre, the harder he squeezed his trapped arm. He eventually gritted his teeth as he clenched his fist, words of pure malice escaping his lips: "You foul, unclean piece of shit. My mouth was open!" Zack then delivered the hardest punch to the ogre's side, then he jumped and punched him again in the face. Fueled by pure rage, Zack proceeded to give the ogre the smackdown, one he couldn't fight against.

Out of all the viewers watching the fight, the one barely paying any attention was Jake. He could hardly focus because the ogre was still in his mind. He recognized him from somewhere, and his recognition was different from Zack's. He had seen this ogre guy long before the second phase, but where? Jake's mind was working double time, trying his hardest to place him.

Then, Jake remembered the name the lady assistant said when she announced the third-round applicant: "3892 Banjo, Banjo, Banjo." Jake had heard that name before. He had seen yellow teeth like his before, but where? Jake's mind kept on turning till a last name popped in his head: "Jimboaree, Banjo Jimboaree." That was his name.

This ugly troll named Banjo was from the northern slums like Jake, but how did Jake know that? How could he be so sure? Because Banjo was the older brother to a Cockroach Jimboaree, better known as Roach, a skinny young idiot with rotten teeth that matched his older brother's. And this Roach was one of the four other slum kids that Jake went to rob the Sullivan family with.

Jake's eyes went wide. Anyone without context would think he was captivated by the battle, but he wasn't. This could be it; this could be a lead to finding out where the others went, finding out who hired them, and finding the Sullivans' missing blades. Jake hadn't heard a word from the others since they left him behind, but if anyone knew where Roach could be, it would be his brother.