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Underworld Of Roses VIII
🕑 Added 2022-04-05 16:22:11 +0000 UTC.................
Chapter 58: Underworld Of Roses VIII
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Gotham remained relatively calm for an entire month after the war. The fall of two crime families in that manner was certainly alarming for many, so things went quiet except for the usual crimes and degeneracy.
The east end was the anomaly in Gotham, where people had to look behind their back in other areas, people in the east don't have to do that.
The area was thriving, and businesses were dying to buy in. However, very few businesses found themselves lucky to be part of it, most of the legal businesses were under the Roses' control.
Speaking of the Roses, they became extremely famous across America due to their recent actions. Not just from the monthly donations they give to different charities but also by creating a charity of their own which has already started showing an impact.
Ian can 100% be sure after this that every homeless in Gotham has taken the east end as their home, and that most are working under him. The prosperity also brought plenty of work opportunities with it.
It also brought danger and greedy eyes which is why Ian continued to increase the area's security whenever possible, and he made sure everyone knows the consequences of breaching the Roses' bottom line.
The most secure place however was the Cat's rest. Hell, its security level can even be compared to Area 51.
No, one can even say it's protected by supernatural entities because of Ian's existence. He made sure not to leave the place as he's its greatest protector, a bomb may not explode simply because he's there, all due to his death immunity.
"Very flexible and extremely fit. You're not having a problem picking up what I am putting down though I still don't understand your fighting style, but everyone has their own secrets, so it doesn't matter." Richard Dragon, Ian's new mentor spoke.
He eyed Ian as he spoke. The latter was standing on one foot in a strange position that shouldn't be possible, a significant portion of his weight was leaning towards his left leg which was in the air, so in theory, he should be falling to that side.
However, he remained stable in a strange balance. His arms were extended before him in a claw-like pose. It was as if he was like that for hours as he was sweating like crazy. He looked drenched as if he had just jumped into a pool.
"You're a natural... Change art Leopard." Richard swiftly spoke, and Ian quickly reacted changing his pose to an even stranger one, and it's even harder.
"Are you sure you want to learn everything from me? That'll take years, it would've taken longer if not for your talent." Richard didn't seem to be interested in hearing the answer, he was just trying to distract Ian as even a single flinch can ruin the whole combat style
"Your focus is truly remarkable. I didn't expect it from you with how distracted you seemed when we first met... Combat 3... 2... 1."
He spoke as he stood behind Ian, but the moment the latter heard his words, he changed his posture and faced Richard, seemingly ready for a fight.
Despite his rough breathing and slight shaking, he did his best to focus on the man before him as he knows what will happen otherwise, not that it won't happen now.
Richard just stood straight, his posture was immaculate while Ian's was low, yet from that simple of a posture, Ian still found it hard to evade Richard's kick, mainly because of how shaken up he was.
The low posture of Ian allowed him to naturally fall even lower while performing a 360-degree turn with one of his legs extended, trying to kick Richard's leg.
Yet with just one leg on the ground, Richard still found it easy to jump quite high from the ground and flip mid-air, coming down on Ian with a downswing kick.
Something Richard noticed about Ian is his extraordinary flexibility which has only become more apparent as time went on. His current flexibility was even more of a feat when Richard found out he only started doing yoga a little over two weeks before meeting him.
He used his flexibility to turn around like a snake while still being low on the ground, ending up evading the attack. Ian then reset his posture and eyed the chill Richard carefully.
"I will get a bit more serious, so be ready," Richard spoke as his posture changed, almost mimicking that of a snake.
At that moment, all Ian wanted to do was to let a sigh of resignation, preparing himself for another round of daily suffering.
So it was as Richard leaped to him like a frog, and Ian responded with a swift punch. His mentor's legs however were like a snake's tail as he maneuvered around Ian, seeming like an untouchable shadow.
A month's worth of practice wasn't for nothing as all Ian did was dodging. He saw no opportunity to counterattack, so his only option was to avoid every attack, but all it took is one to land for everything to go downhill.
The claw-like attack that landed hurt to such a degree that it paralyzed Ian for a second, and that was all it took. He tried to regain his calm and posture, but Richard was simply too persistent.
Ian found himself falling down to the ground, unable to move even a single muscle of his.
"Well done, there is progress. Your endurance is good. Your reaction time is excellent. Your pain tolerance is... Passable, you don't seem to be able to handle pain very well." Richard judged.
"..." Ian couldn't respond. He was still having difficulty breathing while some of his muscles were spasming.
"That's still a surprise to me considering all the scars all over your body, and your adventurous life. You told me that you've broken quite a few bones before which have quite the adverse effects that surface with time... Yet when I inspected you, you seemed extremely healthy."
Richard thought while stroking his chin before he just shook his head, "Perhaps you can learn all I have in no more than a year if we continue with this intensity. I don't know exactly how you regain your energy so quickly, but I have seen some weird things, so it's not that strange. Anyway, just tell me when you're ready to continue.
Also, remember that we're sparing when you're at your weakest. When you face someone at your optimal state, you'll feel like a bird spreading his wings for the first time... Value that moment." He seemed to speak from personal experience.
He then walked out of the practice chamber, a large chamber within the Rose headquarters. The ground of the chamber was all soft mats and for a good reason.
It wasn't long before Ian stood up. He was only wearing grey sports pants, so the bruises all over his chest, abdomen, and even neck stood out quite a bit.
He let out a sigh before stretching for a bit, just slightly, "He's fucking ruthless, but I feel like I should go harder, like something ominous is happening or will happen... I will go and recharge my energy."
And that he did, he went back to his room where he found Selina lying on the bed exhausted. She had been training with him just a while ago but got drained before he did.
"I don't know how you do it," Selina murmured under her breath, "The training is getting more intense by the day yet you're keeping up and even forcing him to increase the intensity further."
Ian let himself fall next to her, and she was quick to jump on top of him, making as much contact with him as possible, her head was resting on his sweaty chest, and she didn't mind because she was just as sweaty.
"Ah? Because of your nourishment?" Ian lazily said causing her to let out a chuckle.
"Yeah, it makes no sense. You're feeding me your life force yet I am getting weaker while you're getting more energetic. I don't understand it at all."
Selina murmured as she traced her fingers along his chest. She witnessed him getting more ripped by the day, and damn if she didn't find his persistence hot, especially since she was his mentor before yet he had already surpassed her.
"To be fair, you only stay weak for a while before the overdosing effect disappears, so it's not that bad." Ian shrugged his shoulders before opening his eyes and standing up with her in his arms, a common occurrence that always makes her giggle with delight.
They took a shower before doing their usual training session which requires a lot of skin contact, and plenty of +18 stuff.
They then spent the evening together, running the Roses and overseeing their businesses. They went back to practice in the training chamber by the time Richard came back.
The second session of exercise was mostly about weapon mastery. For Ian, he was interested in dagger and sword mastery. Richard happened to be a master of both, so things worked out just fine.
Selina on the other hand was interested in whips which he didn't have much knowledge about but still instructed her on possible training routines.
She's quite an experienced fighter and she's especially a master of acrobatics, but Richard is hailed to be one of the top fighters in the entire world, so she didn't mind learning more with Ian.
That only went on for a bit more before Ian heard his phone ringing. He left it on a wall table in the chamber, so he only had to walk several steps to get it and answer after seeing the caller, "Sir Carmine Falcone, it's been a long time huh?"
Selina turned her attention to Ian, walked up closer to him, and hugged him from behind, listening to the voice coming from the phone.
"I know of what you have done. Not telling would be pointless considering you'll find out soon anyway, but you really shouldn't have done that.
Did you think we won't find out? No, we did and you just made an enemy of the entirety of the criminals of Gotham. Your friend won't save you, he won't be able to stop us all... The war has begun."
Ian could hear the anger in his voice, not just that but also hate. Ian didn't understand where all of that came from, and the certainty of his words... It was all a bit too strange.
"There is definitely a third force that has interfered, the league of shadows perhaps? Well, it doesn't matter, it's just war after all." Ian scratched his hair without much worry, 'I should just leave all the work to Batman and his associates.'
Comments
He's basically what a peak human is, he reached the absolute limits of humanity if we exclude the supernatural powers though I think Batman can still come up on top albeit at a cost.
Gilgamos
Well I am going to go search who this Richard dragon is
Gilgamos
Thanks for the chapter
