Roy stood over a pile of unconscious men and wiped a smear of blood from his cheek. He looked at the street littered with tattooed bodies and let out a long breath.
"They were weak, but their numbers were overwhelming."
Sung did not relax his posture. He kept his eyes on the far end of the alleyway where shadows were moving again.
"It is not over."
A new group of enemies marched out from behind the fortress. They looked bigger and more disciplined than the first wave. Leading them was a man with black, long hair who stared at them with cold eyes. It was Ryu.
The members of Speed were completely surrounded now. They were bruised and panting from the first fight. Roy looked at the hundreds of fresh fighters and gripped his sore knuckles.
"Damn it. We all stayed back and acted cool. But there is just too many of them."
The mob did not wait for a signal. They charged forward in a wall of muscle and ink, swinging lead pipes and heavy chains. The exhausted Speed members barely had time to raise their arms.
"Stomp 'em into da dirt, boys! Break dere legs so dey can't run no more!"
A man with a spider tattoo on his neck swung a wooden bat into Roy's ribs. The air left Roy's lungs as he stumbled back into a brick wall.
CRACK!
"Look at 'em shiver! Where's all dat Speed now, eh? Not so fast when yer bleedin', are ya!"
Sung tried to throw a kick, but two men grabbed his leg and slammed him face-first into the concrete. A third goon began raining down heavy boots on his back.
THUD!
Yeowool Ha dodged a chain, but a tattooed fighter caught her mid-air and threw her into a pile of trash cans. She tried to scramble up, but a swarm of enemies surrounded her.
"Don't let da girl get up! Kick 'er back down! Show 'em wot happens ta runts who mess wiv da Society!"
The members of Speed were being trampled under the heavy boots of the mob. They looked beat and battered.
"They are too strong. What do we do? Is this... is this the end for us..."
Just then, a blurry figure moved through the crowd like blue lightning. One moment the enemies were moving, the other moment they were all lying on the ground, groaning.
Lineman landed in a crouch, his eyes glued on the hundreds of enemies before him.
"... Jake Hyung-nim. Aren't you being way too mean to the youngest guy? There's over a hundred of these guys."
He slowly stood up and pulled the chain of his tracksuit down.
"... Well. Alright. There's nothing left to do but fight. So it's an honour to be the opening act."
He dropped the tracksuit, revealing his chiseled body. In front was a huge tattoo of a carp, but on his back was a large dragon. A hidden dragon. It seemed the dragon had awakened.
"I, Lineman, the lackey, would like to start with a little dance."
The three 100-Squad Leaders of the Dark Crocodile Society stepped forward. Unlike the screaming mob, they looked calm. Cheon Bang spat on the ground and looked Lineman over.
"You have a lot of nerve for a shrimp. Do you really think a tattoo makes you a dragon?"
Tao Ju let out a small laugh and cracked his knuckles.
"He calls himself a lackey. That's fitting. Your friends are already in the gutter, and you are about to join them."
Yeonryong Sa stepped up beside them and flipped a serrated knife in his hand.
"A dance? I'll be sure to keep the rhythm while I peel that ink off your back. Kill this brat!"
The enemies rushed at Lineman in a swarm.
Lineman's face turned serious.
"Seriously. I'm gonna have to show you what this brat is capable of."
Lineman vanished from his spot. He reappeared in the center of the first wave and dropped into a spinning leg sweep. Five men hit the pavement at the same time.
WHAM!
He didn't stay on the ground. He used the momentum to spring into a backflip, catching a goon's jaw with his heel. He landed on the shoulders of another man and drove his knees into the guy's collarbones.
CRACK!
The crowd tried to grab him, but Lineman was too fast. He sprinted up a nearby brick wall, ran three steps horizontally, and launched himself into a spinning aerial kick.
THUD!
He landed and immediately dove into a shoulder roll to dodge a lead pipe. As he came up, he delivered a rapid-fire sequence of jabs. Each punch landed squarely on a solar plexus or a temple.
WHACK!
The members of Speed watched with wide eyes. Roy gripped his side and leaned against a crate, staring at the carnage.
"Is that... is that really the same guy from the training room?"
Yeowool Ha wiped blood from her lip and shook her head in disbelief.
"He's moving at a completely different level. When we fought... he was playing with me. He never even went all out."
The 100-Squad Leaders rushed at him together. Cheon Bang threw a heavy punch aimed at Lineman's face.
"Don't think you can play around forever, kid! Die!"
Lineman slid under the punch and delivered a double-palm strike to Cheon Bang's chest. The impact sent the leader flying back into his own men.
Tao Ju grabbed for Lineman's throat from the side.
"Got you now, you little rat!"
Lineman spun and caught Tao Ju's wrist. He used the Tao Ju's own weight to swing him around.
"Watch out, Yeonryong!"
Tao Ju screamed as his body was slammed into Yeonryong Sa. Both leaders tumbled into the dirt in a heap of tangled limbs.
BOOM!
Just then, Ryu joined the fight. He moved with a speed that finally matched Lineman's. He caught Lineman mid-turn and delivered a heavy roundhouse kick to his ribs.
Lineman was sent flying off the ground and through the air. He flipped mid-air and landed on his feet, skidding across the asphalt until he stopped.
Sung looked at Ryu with a grim face.
"That's Ryu... the 10,000-Squad Leader. He's the number three of the entire Dark Crocodile Society."
Boknam spat out a bubblegum and looked at the new threat.
"The number three? Lineman is going to get killed. Nobody can take on a monster like that alone!"
Lineman pulled out headphones and put them on his ears while holding a music box connected to it. He began bouncing to the rhythm of the beats, ignoring the pain in his side.
"10,000 Squad Leader? I have become so much stronger, huh? Then... Let's dance."