Chapter 60 - A trip to town - Part 5

He hummed to a song as he flipped his newly acquired coin, throwing it to the air before catching it back. He refused the prize he got as a winner of the competition as it was a mere horse—and only accepted his new title as the arm-wrestling champion. The man looked like he enjoyed collecting titles. 

As Luke was not interested in taking part in another match, the competition soon ended, leaving the crowd to disperse and returned to their respective activities. It was quite funny to see the faces of the people who lost a great fortune after belittling Luke when he first came out. 

Though the crowd was starting to leave, there was one man who stayed in place. It was the former champion, The Rock. The look on his face told me that he was fuming with anger, not believing what had just happened. He couldn't accept his defeat. 

"YOU!!" he stomped towards Luke, his strides wide and heavy, "YOU MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING TO ME!! THERE IS NO WAY ANYONE COULD DEFEAT ME IN A MATCH!! I AM THE CHAMPION!!" The Rock pulled on Luke's collar, lifting his body off the ground. 

The scrambling crowd soon came back, curious and intrigued at what was happening. They must have held a certain grudge against Luke after losing their wager—even if it was their own fault for placing the wrong bet. They were happy to see the cause of their misfortune in trouble, though I'm not sure who was much more in trouble in this case. 

"TELL ME!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?! I WANT A REMATCH!!" he fumed, his hands clenching tightly on Luke's collar. 

Looking at the furious man in front of him, he sighed. He turned his head in my direction, giving me a reassuring smile while waving his hand for me to step away. As he turned to the man, the smile soon disappeared, replaced by a sinister glare. 

"Who allowed you to touch me?" his voice calm, but it was clear that he was unhappy with the man. With his feet still hanging in the air, Luke kneed the man in the face. Surprised by the sudden force, The Rock soon released his grip and fell to the ground.

"YOU LITTLE SH—" another kick came flying to his face, causing a few of his teeth to fall off. When he realized the blood dripping from his face, his eyes bulged out, glaring at Luke like he was his biggest nemesis. "HOW DARE YOU!!" he shouted, standing back up to lunge at Luke but missed due to Luke's quick reflex. 

He lunged at Luke again and again but missed each time. The Rock turned bloodshot, angered and embarrassed by his continuous failures. He then taunted, "WHAT A COWARD, AVOIDING MY ATTACKS!!"

"Coward, you say?" Luke laughed menacingly, starting to get irked by the word. Oh no, coward must be a prohibited word. There was no way an Alpha wolf would be happy to be called as such. 

Luke started to walk closer to the man, glaring at him with so much intensity that it was starting to scare the former champion. I could see the hesitation in The Rock's eyes when he decided to attack Luke, attempting for a punch as the distance between the two started to diminish.

Unfortunately, for the umpteenth time, he failed. The Rock couldn't land a blow on Luke and instead received one from his adversary. It was a blow that sent his big body flying a few metres away.

The people gasped at the bloody scene before them, though they couldn't help but to be curious as to what will happen next. Their feet moved a few steps away, but their eyes didn't leave the scene.

After receiving the big blow from Luke, The Rock started to become threatened. He had only realized that he messed with the wrong man. Though threatened, he didn't run—no, his pride didn't let him to. He had too big of a pride for him to run like a coward. 

"Y-YOU CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD," he tried to mask his fear with his prideful remark, "THIS TIME, I WON'T BE—URGH!!" 

"Shut your mouth," Luke sent another kick to his stomach, cutting him off, "Let me show you how much of a 'coward' I am." 

"AAAARGHHH!!" he bellowed, "LET ME GO!!" 

"A coward, break your hand," following his words, a snap could be heard. "Do you still wish for a rematch?" he asked nonchalantly, "I am more than willing to follow your wish but... I can't ensure the safety of your other hand. After all, I am a coward. I'm afraid I might break it too."

The man's lament grew even more furious as he had just got his hand broken, shouting vehemently for help. 

"H-HELP!!" he shouted while lying on his back, still crying in pain, "CALL FOR THE GUARDS!!"

Some of the people watching ran to call for the guards, but Luke stayed there unfazed. His eyes then wandered around and softened when he found me, grinning while sending a thumbs up to my way. I was standing somewhere a bit far from where he was standing so I couldn't hear what he was saying but by the look of the movement in his lips, he was most probably saying, "I got this."

Eventually, the guards arrived. It seemed that The Rock was quite famous in the area, so when the guards came and saw the state he was in, they were taken aback. Who in the world could do such a thing to the strong man?

"HE!!!" The Rock used his good hand to point at Luke, "HE DID THIS TO ME!! HE BROKE MY HAND!!"

"I am simply doing a self-defense," said Luke, shrugging his shoulders as if he was tired, "He was the first to attack, so it was only natural for me to defend myself. Am I wrong?" 

The guards shared a look with one another, thinking about what they should do with this case. The surrounding crowd was then questioned by the guards to ensure the truth of his words, about whether or not it was a self-defense.

No one dared to tell lies after seeing what had just occurred. They were scared that they would get into trouble if they dared to mess with Luke. Sure, it was an entertaining scene for them to see, but they wouldn't want to take any part in it. They were smart enough to avoid trouble. 

Among the people who were questioned, I was one of them. "Lady, did you see what happened here?" 

"I did. It was true that the bald man attacked him first," I said, pointing at The Rock and Luke, "The bald man couldn't accept his defeat after losing in an arm-wrestling match with that man, so he was furious and started attacking him."

To be honest, if only The Rock didn't say the word 'coward', things wouldn't be this bad. I have to take a mental note that coward was now prohibited to say in front of Luke. 

And so, after confirming the truth from the few people around, things were now settled. Luke was let off the hook as he was not at fault, and The Rock was brought to the closest doctor. The surrounding people scurried away in a flash, scared to run into Luke. 

Luke ran over to where I was and quickly took my hand in his, "I think our date is ruined." 

"Well, I can't say it's ruined because I was the one who asked you to surprise me," I chuckled, "You succeed in surprising me—though perhaps I should state my wish clearly instead of asking you to do as such for our next date."

"Next date?" he repeated, showing me his grin, "Yes, of course. We should surely go on another date." 

I didn't realize I was initiating another date with him and felt my cheeks burning when I realized it. It was not that I didn't want to, but I was still shy at this whole thing. 

"Let's go," he pulled my hand, "It's going to be dark soon. We should hurry back to the manor before the night come. It's dangerous."

Leaving our current position, we walked back to where our carriage was park. It was a shame that we couldn't stay any longer. I wanted to see how the town would look like when it was night time. But perhaps, night would be when all the dark creatures came out to hunt for their preys. It would still be dangerous even if I have Luke by my side. 

"If it's not ruined, what do you think of today's date? Is it good?" asked Luke, "I want to know your preference for our next date." 

"I don't know whether it's good or not because I don't have any to compare to," I answered him as we walked side by side, "But surely, I don't want to go to another arm-wrestling competition for our next. I don't want you to break anyone's hand again." 

"Noted," he laughed heartily. 

After walking for a few minutes, our carriage soon came to sight. We walked with a light and happy heart after having an eventful day, but halted our steps when someone bumped into me from behind.