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"Why don’t you just surrender? Let’s not waste each other’s time." Woody’s sneer was thick in his tone.

He played around with that giant axe on his shoulders as if it weighed nothing. Looks can be deceiving here. Although Woody had a full-faced beard, in reality, this guy’s about the same age as Ren. His avatar just looked older.

Ren sighed, but instead of replying, he went into a stance.

On the side, he discovered that Young Lord and Ghost Lady were now spectating the match. They chatted for him to surrender so that they could move on to the next match. Saying that they’ve been unlucky to meet some pros. But Ren shut them out.

They leave this match if they’re really in a hurry. Ren wants to fight.

Swoosh!

An arrow whizzed past his ears. Ren remained unperturbed. He knew that was a warning shot; he had seen it coming and already knew that it was not going to hit, so he didn’t bother dodging.

Cowgirl looked mildly offended that she couldn’t make him lose composure. She also thought that Ren was being unreasonable. It’s three against one; what gave him the confidence that he could fight back? Or was it a man’s stupid pride?

"Alright, fine. Have it your way." Woody grunted.

Then, without any further drama, he dashed forward. His attack was highly telegraphed. He raised his axe, hacking it down with a strength enough to fell a fully grown tree in a single chop.

Ren didn’t move until the last second to avoid the blow. Because as reckless as Woody seemed, Ren saw how his grip was loose and deceptively flexible. Had he reacted earlier, Woody could’ve easily changed the direction of his swing and really chop him into two.

Besides, Woody was quite quick despite his size and apparent recklessness.

But just because Ren avoided Woody’s attack doesn’t mean that he was safe. He didn’t even have time to throw an attack of his own because from behind Woody came Star-Lord with his cane sword drawn out and its edge aimed at Ren’s head.

Ren tilted his head once to avoid that stab, and another time to avoid another arrow coming from Cowgirl at the back.

Then, he boldly took a step forward and moved, carrying an unstoppable momentum with him.

The change in his momentum caused Woody’s and Star-Lord’s pupils to constrict. Then, they realized that they were a little too close to him, so they scrambled to retreat, evidently intimidated by Ren’s sharp increase in momentum.

They barely got out before Ren threw out a punch that caused the air to tremble, sounding out like a loud thunderclap. The aftershocks reached them, and it was enough to shake the flow of their chakras.

The three were stunned by Ren’s sudden explosion of strength. They clearly weren’t expecting that. Their faces turned grim as they realized that they might’ve kicked an iron plate this time.

Young Lord and Ghost Lady in the chat were also stunned. They didn’t expect that their lousy-looking teammate would turn out to be an expert in disguise. Still, Ren ignored them.

Ren’s chakra was now running, his engines were revved up, and his heat was rising. With it, the tension of the fight escalated too.

Woody, Star Lord, and Cowgirl looked at each other and nodded. Ren saw that as a good sign; at least they’re not backing down from him.

Ren didn’t give them much time to think, though. He charged straight at them.

He didn’t use Flash Steps just yet, no. That would make it too easy. Having recognized that he’s up against a decent team, Ren wanted to have a hearty battle.

And seriously, facing three people at once sounded like a good time for him.

In fact, Ren often finds himself in situations like these. Which makes the team fights more enjoyable for him.

Woody and Star Lord charged together while Cowgirl remained on the back with her bow loaded with an arrow, ready to be released at any given moment.

Ren watched this all with a serious expression. In his eyes, their movements slowed down. He noticed the little signs of exchange between them.

Although he knew that these three could talk through the group chat and inform each other of their plans. There’s bound to be some subtle signs they look out for to make their team workflow smoother. That’s what Ren was looking for.

For Ren it wasn’t hard to pay attention to all three of them at the same time. This isn’t his first time handling more than one enemy at once, after all.

In his observation, he learned that, although Woody was the one to charge first, it didn’t mean that he dictated the rhythm of the fight. He wasn’t the leader of this team; Star-Lord was.

Woody and Cowgirl turn to him for decisions. Woody charges first because he’s their designated ’tank.’ He’s large, cocky, and eye-catching, so he fits the bill. His ego was as large as his avatar that it was a great distraction.

And because of Star Lord’s weird opaque helmet, it hides the way he observes their enemies to better instruct his teammates about what to do.

Cowgirl is the one that covers for them. She makes sure that if Star Lord’s plan of action didn’t work out, they could retreat and try again. She does it by interrupting attacks before they land on her teammates.

Their composition was good, and for some reason, Ren thinks that these three were actually friends in real life.

Unfortunately for them, they met him. And he’s used to being at a disadvantage.

Woody charged ahead like a mindless brute. His movements were deliberate and telegraphed; it’s as if he’s doing his best to be everything that Ren has to notice. He’s making himself bigger than he actually was.

Star Lord paced behind Woody. He fell behind just enough to hide most of his body and intentions behind the lumbering woodcutter while also observing what Ren would do.

Ren fought off a smirk from forming on his lips.

He sidestepped another one of Woody’s attacks; he then raised his leg with a deliberate intention of kicking Woody’s shins to cripple him. Star Lord saw this and made a move to prevent it.

But he bit the bait that Ren laid out, and he suffered from it. He got a solid punch to the stomach because of his carelessness.

A sharp arrow whizzed past Ren, but instead of letting that go, he caught it mid-flight. Then, he rode the momentum and spun his body before plunging that same arrow into Woody’s hand, the same one he used to hold his giant axe.

His loud groan of pain startled both Star Lord and Cowgirl.

Cowgirl in particular blanched. She saw how Ren used her own arrows to hurt her teammates, and she was shaken by that.

This was something she never experienced before. And to be fair, she never met a madman who could react fast enough to catch his arrows in the air using his bare hands. Be it this or that, both are equally terrifying for her.

Star Lord adjusted; he wheezed after receiving Ren’s attack, and when he saw how Woody got injured, he panicked, and that got the better of him.

He attacked, hoping to leave a cut on Ren’s body to even things out, an act of revenge if you will, but Ren was anticipating that...or at least he must have eyes at the back of his head, because without even looking back, he tilted his head to the side to avoid the stab.

In Star Lord’s recklessness, he failed to consider the spacing. He committed to his attack, and as his blade missed Ren’s head, it continued its forward momentum and struck Woody’s shoulder joint precisely, causing him another great pain.

Yes, friendly fire was a thing. It’s always on to make team battles more realistic.

Seeing this, Star Lord panicked, and Cowgirl gasped. The former cursed and hurriedly dislodged his blade, failing to realize that doing that pains Woody again.

But before he could relax or even panic at his own mistakes, Ren didn’t give him a chance to.

Star-Lord discovered that Ren was suddenly up close and personal, and he was a second late to realize that Ren’s fist was cocked back and his chakra was undulating in waves, gathered at his fists.

He was alarmed when he noticed this, so he hurriedly evaded, screaming inwardly for his body to move so that he wouldn’t die.

And well, he did manage to evade. The attack exploded behind him. He managed to avoid his death.

Not Cowgirl, though...

Ren released a compressed air projectile instead. Star Lord’s escape was well within his calculations. His real aim was the pesky archer at the back.

He blew her off with that attack. That compressed-air projectile will echo five times, which was more than enough to handle her.

And it did.

Star Lord looked over in despair after hearing Cowgirl’s miserable scream of pain. By the time he saw her, she was already reduced to mere specks of light, definitely eliminated.

The next thing he knew, Woody was dead. His head exploded like a watermelon from a punch from Ren.

Then, under his horrified gaze. Ren disappeared.

The last thing he knew was a bone-crunching grip from behind clutching his nape and crushing his windpipe.

He lost consciousness after that.