Chapter 136: Mutual Appreciation

"You're ten minutes later than I calculated."

Hearing Leo's words, Kyle let out a derisive laugh. "Buddy, I don't think you've figured out the situation yet. You beat up a few worthless American trust-fund babies, and now you actually think you're the invincible Reaper?"

"Elton and those two so-called Knights of the Round Table? They were trash in my eyes. Today, I'm going to show you what a real killing machine looks like—one that crawled out of mountains of corpses and rivers of blood!"

Before the words even finished leaving his mouth.

Kyle charged like an out-of-control armored truck, pure murderous intent radiating from every inch of him as he bore down on Leo!

No fancy techniques. Just raw, unfiltered violence.

A straight punch tore through the air, the sharp crack of a sonic boom announcing its path straight toward Leo's face!

Leo's eyes sharpened. He didn't dodge. His right arm swung up, meeting the attack head-on with a devastating punch of his own.

The two fists—each like forged steel—collided mid-air with brutal force!

A visible shockwave exploded outward from the impact point, radiating through the church. The ancient wooden pews groaned and splintered under the pressure, collapsing into fragments.

Leo's body swayed slightly. His foot slid back half a step.

Kyle's massive bear-like frame, however, was driven backward three full steps by the terrifying recoil. Each step left a deep imprint in the stone floor beneath him!

Kyle steadied himself, a flash of surprise crossing his gray eyes. The contempt and arrogance that had marked his expression moments before vanished completely.

"That power..."

Kyle stared at Leo, who stood there as calm as ever, and something shifted in his gaze—shock mixed with fierce excitement. "No wonder Elton and those two worthless knights got slaughtered like dogs. They had it coming!"

"Wayne and those idiots sitting in their offices have no idea what kind of monster they've provoked. The Gray Cloaks just kicked a steel plate this time!"

Hearing Kyle's words, Leo slowly lowered his fist. A rare glimmer of approval flickered in his deep-set eyes.

"Twenty years locked away from the world, and you haven't gotten rusty."

Leo flexed his wrist casually. "Your strength and reflexes are leagues beyond those pretenders outside. First-generation Adjudicator—the title fits."

In this dark world of schemes and self-interest, true warriors were often solitary creatures.

That brief exchange sparked something unspoken between these two men who stood at the pinnacle of the underworld's combat hierarchy—a strange sense of mutual respect.

Kyle licked the blood from the back of his hand, his eyes blazing with battle-lust like wildfire.

"Leo, you're an opponent worth giving everything I've got!"

"Again! Let's have a real fight!"

Kyle roared and launched himself forward once more!

This time, his speed and power were even more terrifying than before.

As a killing machine who once dominated the Middle East, Kyle's fighting style fused the most vicious aspects of military combat systems from multiple nations. Every strike aimed for vital points, a relentless storm of attacks engulfing Leo.

The dull thuds of flesh meeting flesh echoed rapidly through the empty church!

Under Kyle's reckless, all-or-nothing assault, Leo's form began to retreat steadily.

On the surface, Kyle's offense surged like a tidal wave, gradually gaining the upper hand and forcing Leo into pure defense.

Yet the longer the fight went on, the more unsettled Kyle became.

He realized that despite controlling the offensive momentum, every one of his lethal strikes was being perfectly blocked by Leo in ways that revealed absolutely no openings!

This man's defense was like an impenetrable steel fortress—impossible to break through!

Just as frustration began to creep into Kyle's mind.

Leo, who had maintained his defensive stance throughout, suddenly showed the tiniest hesitation on his left side during a backward dodge—a barely perceptible opening!

"Die!"

Kyle's sharp instincts seized that fleeting opportunity. His right hand shot toward Leo's left side, targeting the heart!

But just as his fingers were about to touch Leo's clothing—in that split second—

Kyle's battle-hardened, beast-like intuition screamed a frantic warning of mortal danger!

Something's wrong!

Given the flawless defense Leo had displayed, there was no way he'd make such an amateur mistake!

This was a deliberate opening! A death trap!

In that lightning-fast moment, Kyle saw through Leo's intent. He forced himself to abort the killing strike mid-motion, desperately trying to redirect his momentum.

But Leo's reaction was simply too fast!

Fast enough to exceed the limits of human neural reflexes!

Even though Kyle had recognized the trap and attempted to evade, Leo's counter-strike was already in motion the instant the opening appeared.

Leo's right leg whipped out with devastating force, slamming into Kyle's chest before he could bring his guard back up!

Kyle's entire body flew backward, crashing through more than a dozen rows of heavy oak pews before slamming into the far wall of the church.

"Kgh!"

Kyle struggled up from the wreckage, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal tissue. But instead of anger, his face broke into a wild, manic grin.

"Ha ha ha! Baiting with a fake opening? I saw through it, but I still couldn't dodge that insane reaction speed of yours!"

Kyle wiped the blood from his lips, his eyes locked on Leo. "Reaper, you're a goddamn genius killing machine!"

Leo slowly lowered his leg, a cold glint of approval in his eyes. "You saw through my setup mid-strike and forced your body to avoid the fatal blow. Your instincts saved your life."

Meanwhile.

Outside the church, on a small hill a mile away.

Wayne, who had been monitoring the situation inside through infrared night-vision binoculars and high-frequency listening equipment, looked absolutely livid.

"That goddamn rabid dog!"

Wayne trembled with rage, pointing toward the church as he cursed. "What the hell is he doing? He's not treating this like an execution at all—he's in there enjoying some mutual respect duel with that American!"

Standing beside him, Sawyer was even more furious.

He'd come tonight to watch his enemy get torn to pieces, yet the trump card he'd pinned all his hopes on was inside, exchanging compliments with his son's killer!

"This is your Gray Cloaks' strongest card?!"

Sawyer whirled around, eyes bloodshot as he roared at Wayne. "This is the so-called Blood-Pit Executioner?! He's chatting with my son's murderer! I'm not paying you people to make friends!"

Wayne's expression was ugly, his teeth grinding. "Sawyer, calm down. Kyle's a battle junkie. Once he's had his fun, he'll snap that Leo's neck like a—"

Just as the two men argued furiously.

Everything changed in an instant!

In the endless darkness, a barely visible infrared laser dot locked onto Sawyer's forehead!

One of Sawyer's bodyguards—a veteran Gray Cloaks security chief—caught the lethal red gleam!

"Watch out!! Sniper!"

The security chief threw himself at Sawyer without hesitation.

Bang!

A muffled gunshot—suppressed—split the cold night air.

The instant the bodyguard tackled Sawyer into the snow!

A custom large-caliber sniper round struck the bodyguard square in the back of the head!

"Protect the boss!"

"Sniper!"

The surrounding bodyguards immediately raised their weapons, scanning in all directions!

Sawyer scrambled up from the ground, staring at the bodyguard who'd taken the bullet for him, terror flooding his eyes.

"Damn it! Who?!"

Wayne's face went pale. "It's Leo's people! He knew we were here all along!"

"This is a trap!"