Chapter 40: Fight! In the middle of the rocky canyons, Grey could be seen crossing blows with the bandits. He had moved from his previous spot over the course of the battle. At first, Grey was able to trade blows with the bandits. Since he trained his physique and enjoyed close combat, he decided to only use his fists during the first stages of the fight. Since the bandits were in the Fusion Plane, they could only attack in close range. The bandits had exceptional teamwork, so he quickly fell into a passive state. Grey tried to look for an opening to create space for himself, but due to the experience of the bandits, they didn’t give him the chance to do that. With each attack enforced with their elements. ‘F**k, this is harder than I thought’ Grey screamed in his head. He didn’t expect to be put in such a difficult situation moments after the battle started. Since he didn’t have a good mastery of his movement technique, he would need some time to use it. A time which the bandits clearly have no plans of giving him. “How can he be so strong?” One of the bandits said while attacking. They were surprised by Grey’s abilities. Although he had been on the defensive since the battle started, he had still been able to evade most of the fatal strikes. “With these abilities, he should at least be at the same stage as the boss. If not even higher” Another one exclaimed. The leader had been calmly watching the battle since it started and he was astonished by how high Grey’s realm was. Although he didn’t know if Grey had broken through to the Arcane Plane, he knew Grey wouldn’t be far from it. “Shit!, if you’re all so tough, why don’t you come at me one on one” Grey yelled after he was hit by a baton on his left hand. “This is not a tournament brat” the guy who hit him with a baton snickered. They all knew they were no match for Grey one on one. This was also the reason they didn’t give him any chance to free himself from their barrage of attacks when they noticed how strong he was. “Damn!” Grey cursed out loud while blocking a fist that was heading towards his face. “Who hits the face of an opponent?” Grey angrily yelled at the man who almost punched him in the face. If that blow had connected, Grey’s face would have surely changed in looks. In the middle of yelling and curses, the brawl continued. As the fight went longer, the bandits realized something wasn’t right. Grey was able to evade more of their attacks, compared to when the battle just started. The leader of the gang was the first to notice this. His face immediately sank at the thought of how quickly Grey was getting better at fighting. “At this rate, he’ll be able to overpower them. If he does that, I won’t be a match for him” He muttered to himself. He knew his strength clearly, there was no way he could free himself from the clutches of his men if they ganged up on him. “End the battle quicker” He yelled towards his men. They had also realized the shocking changes that were happening as the fight progressed. Although Grey was getting better at fighting, it still didn’t change the fact that he was still getting hit by the bandits. *BAM* Grey was hit once more with the baton, he clenched his teeth in pain. ‘I need to get out of this encirclement’ thought Grey. If his body wasn’t stronger, he would have already lost the ability to fight back. He came up with a plan that he decided to try out. Although the plan was going to be painful, it was better than staying closed up in this tight encirclement. His plan was simple, that was to trade a blow for a chance to escape. He would allow one of the bandits to hit him while he would pounce on another one, if he could get a clean hit, he would have his freedom. There were some flaws with the plan, but it was all he got for now. Hopefully, it works. If he could free himself, he would immediately use his movement technique. There would be no way they would be able to see him if he uses it. A chance finally showed itself, since the group couldn’t all attack together, they had to take turns. And because of their understanding with each other, it was hard for Grey to predict who would attack next. One of the bandits struck out a blow which was headed for Grey’s back. Grey stilled his mind and randomly picked one of them. The moment the blow was about to connect, Grey threw a blow towards the unsuspecting bandit. The bandit never expected Grey would launch an attack instead of defending, he quickly tried to retreat. But Grey moved closer to him. The moment the blow connected with Grey, he launched himself towards the bandit. The bandit was brought to the ground quickly. Grey immediately used the chance to escape the encirclement. He first distanced himself from the group so he could catch his breath. The bandits were dazed by the sudden turn of events. They never expected Grey to come up with such a plan to escape their entanglement. *HISS* Grey hissed in pain as he held the place where he was struck. “I’m done playing,” Grey said with a cold voice. He felt pain all over his body and the only thing on his mind now was getting revenge. “Lightning Steps,” Grey said. The bandits were immediately stunned when they saw Grey’s foot being coated with Lightning. Since they were still in the Fusion Plane, there was no way for them to manifest their elements outside of their bodies. What Grey just did was something only those in the Arcane Plane could do. “Arcane Plane,” the leader said in terror. Elementalist of the Arcane Plane rarely gets into close combat. This was the reason they all mistook Grey for someone in the Fusion Plane. With the advantage of using long ranges attacks, Elementalist of the Arcane Plane could wipe out those in the Fusion Plane easily. “No wonder he could keep up with them,” the leader said with enlightenment. He now knew why Grey was that fast and why he could take so many hits. Elementalist of the Arcane Plane naturally have stronger bodies than those in the Fusion Plane, and they are also quicker. “Run” the leader yelled as he dashed away. When he turned to make his getaway, he heard sounds of people dropping to the floor. He was scared shitless and didn’t even dare to look back. It suddenly became quieter and he stopped hearing noises. He suddenly heard a voice coming from his side. “Where are you heading to?” Grey said with a smile. Although he was bruised from the fight, it wasn’t without its gain. And he had a strong body due to his daily physical training. The leader stopped and looked at Grey’s smiling face. To him, the smiling face of Grey was that of an evil monster. ‘Why would someone in the Arcane Plane engage in hand-to-hand combat’ He screamed in his mind. It just didn’t make sense. He started sweating buckets when he remembered how he wanted to rob Grey of his money. He thought of the phrase ‘A wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing’. “I…I… I suddenly remembered my wife told me to get her something to eat, so I just wanted to hurry and get her the meal before returning” the bandit leader stammered. Grey clicked his tongue when he heard what he said. “Don’t worry, I don’t have any plans of killing you” When the bandit leader heard this, he felt happy inside. This was what worried him the most. He turned to look at his men and noticed they were just unconscious and not dead. “Thank you, oh handsome one,” He said with a fawning smile. When Grey heard how he was addressed, he felt elated deep down. “I planned on dealing a blow or two to you, but I’m suddenly in a good mood,” Grey said while laughing happily. “Come, let’s head back” Grey added. He placed his hand around the shoulders of the leader like they were close friends. “Don’t try anything funny” Grey reminded him. The leader obediently followed Grey back. He was scared if he refused, Grey would beat him up. When they got back to where the rest of the bandits were, Grey told him to wake them up. The bandits were surprised when they regained consciousness, they were unable to react before Grey wiped them all out. They all stared at Grey with trepidation. “Okay, now line up everyone” Grey instructed. After he caught up with the leader, he was suddenly struck with a wonderful idea.