Start with a Hammer, End with Five Beast Husbands

We Won the Match

“Sera!” I shouted.

But she was completely tied down by the wiry man—no way to break free.

I kept flicking stones to interfere, but they were already on guard now. The effect was getting weaker and weaker.

The next second, a heavy punch slammed straight into Jax.

I watched, helpless, as the psychic defense over his chest shattered instantly. His whole body flew backward like a severed wire, then crashed hard onto the ground.

Our front line—gone.

“Ha-ha, that’s one down!” the bald brute roared. “Now cripple the other two girls!”

The moment his words fell, he and the wiry man moved almost at the same time—targeting me and Sera.

The crowd erupted, everyone waiting for a bloody finish.

I could feel Sera’s breath hitch. Her face went pale, but her hand was already raised, gripping the paralytic needle tightly—ready to go all in.

Inside my sleeve, the hammer I hadn’t used yet had already slid into my palm. I leaned forward, letting my body tilt as if I were about to fall.

“Looking to die!” Seeing me lose balance, the bald man strode forward and stomped down toward me.

The instant his foot hit the ground, my wrist flipped. The tip of the hammer scraped hard along the floor.

Skreeech—

The metal floor was torn open, a jagged crack splitting straight through it.

His step faltered sharply.

“What the hell is that?!”

I steadied myself, dropping to one knee, both hands gripping the handle. The black crystal at the hammer’s head flared to life, a blinding white glow bursting out.

Energy compressed. Locked. Released.

“Zzz—BOOM!”

A beam of condensed energy blasted out from the hammer’s tip—

Striking his neck precisely, right at the weakest point of his defense.

“Gah—!!!”

His scream cut off abruptly.

The next second, his entire body fell backward, slamming onto the ground. He twitched twice—then went still.

The entire arena—fell silent.

Even the sound of breathing seemed to vanish.

I was gasping hard myself. That single strike had drained nearly everything I had left.

I looked up.

The wiry man was still frozen in place, like his brain hadn’t caught up yet.

“Sera!” I barked.

She snapped back instantly—her wrist flicked.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two paralytic needles shot out almost simultaneously.

They struck true—neck and wrist.

The shock on his face hadn’t even faded before his whole body locked up. Like a power cut, he dropped stiffly to the ground.

The situation—reversed in an instant.

I slowly pushed myself to my feet, the “hammer” in my hand still faintly warm.

Across from us, two were left—the tall one, and the psychic woman in the back.

I raised the hammer and pointed it at them, my voice cold.

“Still want to fight?”

The tall man stared at the weapon in my hand. His throat bobbed, hesitation clear in his eyes.

The woman looked even worse. She glanced at her two teammates lying on the ground, barely alive or worse, fell silent for two seconds, then finally spoke through clenched teeth:

“… We forfeit.”

The referee reacted immediately. He rushed over, grabbed Sera’s and my hands, and raised them high, his voice ringing out:

“I now declare—‘Null Reclaim’ victorious!!!”

The arena exploded.

Curses, gasps, jeers—they all blended together, wave after wave of noise crashing over us. Some were shouting that the “Butchers” were useless, others were trying to figure out what kind of weapon I’d just used, and even more—simply couldn’t believe what they’d seen.

I didn’t care about any of it.

I turned and hurried straight toward Jax.

He was lying on the ground, breathing heavily, but his eyes were still clear.

I crouched down and gave him a quick check—probably a broken rib, and his internal organs had taken a serious hit.

“Sera,” I called.

She was already running over, clutching her shoulder. Her face was still pale, but she looked steady enough.

“Can you stand?” I asked Jax.

He gritted his teeth and nodded.

Sera and I each took one side, lifting him up.

The three of us leaned on each other like that, walking off the field step by step under countless complicated stares.

Back in the restroom, we did some quick first aid.

Sera’s injuries weren’t too bad—some abrasions and minor burns. She downed a low-grade healing agent, winced through it for a moment, and shrugged it off.

I’d gotten lucky—completely unscathed.

As for Jax, he’d taken the worst of it. One broken rib, and countless external injuries.

He drank a recovery agent without even changing expression. Before long, he was able to sit up straight again.

Beastmen really do have insane recovery.

“We won,” Sera suddenly said, breaking into a grin.

Soon, the staff brought over the prize money. The team match paid 20,000 Pulse—split evenly, that came to a little over 6,000 each.

“We’re rich!” Sera practically exploded with excitement. “Come on, come on, my treat!”

She grabbed my arm.

“We’re eating something good tonight—no excuses!”

Before I could react, I was already being dragged away.

Jax followed behind us, and even his eyes seemed a little brighter.

We didn’t dare go anywhere high-end, so in the end we picked what looked like the cheapest little diner. I picked up the menu—

Took one look, lifted my head, then looked down again.

“This is way too expensive…” I muttered under my breath.

Back when I was living on my own, I barely spent anything. I had to work my ass off hunting a long-tailed rabbit just to earn 10 Pulse, and a bigger five-horn sheep would only get me 20.

Now, looking at this menu—any random dish costs over a hundred Pulse.

It honestly hurts a lot to spend.