From Bullets To Billions Chapter 748: Keep Focus

One of the most important things in a fight was maintaining focus.

Aaron knew that better than most. However, no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts continued to wander because of the information coming through to him. He had originally planned to attack Monk mentally, hoping that his words and actions would distract the man and create an opening.

Instead, Aaron was the one becoming distracted.

The man standing in front of him had helped take down Hercules, a force Aaron knew he could never have defeated on his own. Yet Monk was only one part of the problem. At that very moment, another dangerous opponent was preparing to go up against Max.

Aaron had always done his best to follow Max’s wishes and protect him. In the beginning, he had often tried to force his own opinion because he believed he knew what was best. Somewhere along the way, however, Aaron had realised that the person with the better judgement was usually Max himself.

Because of that, Aaron had chosen to follow Max’s lead.

Now, he couldn’t stop questioning whether that had been a mistake.

What if he should have stuck to his decision? What if, after already failing to protect Max once, he should have refused to leave his side regardless of the circumstances?

Unfortunately, it was too late to change anything. Aaron had his own fight to deal with, and as long as Monk stood in front of him, he couldn’t go anywhere.

A clenched fist with large, bare knuckles shot towards Aaron.

His thoughts had left him distracted for a moment too long. Before he could raise his batons, Monk’s fist pounded into his stomach. Aaron received the full force of the strike, and his body folded around Monk’s fist.

Pain coursed through him.

Aaron stumbled backwards but managed to keep his footing. The air had been driven from his lungs, leaving him struggling to breathe. When he lifted his head, he could tell that Monk was finished playing games.

The man was now launching a full-frontal attack.

Monk clenched his fist again and threw another punch, this time aiming directly for Aaron’s head.

Aaron swung one of his batons and struck the lower part of Monk’s leg. The attack wasn’t intended to cause damage. Instead, Aaron used the impact to push himself away, forcing his body to spin faster so he could avoid the fist heading towards his face.

Monk’s punch narrowly missed him.

After completing the spin, Aaron backed away and swung one of his batons across the ground. Dirt flew into the air, forming a cloud between the two of them. Aaron hoped the obstruction would give him a few seconds to recover, as he was still finding it difficult to breathe after the blow to his stomach.

"Do you really think that type of trick is going to work on me every time?" Monk shouted.

He punched into the air while moving his other arm in a circular motion. The movement gathered the dust into one place, clearing it from his view until the cloud had almost completely disappeared.

By the time Aaron could see clearly again, Monk was already upon him.

As Monk closed the distance, Aaron swung both batons towards either side of his body. Monk shot out his arms and grabbed hold of both weapons before they could strike him.

Aaron immediately activated them.

Electrical power surged through the batons and entered Monk’s body. However, just as it had every other time, the electricity appeared to do next to nothing.

Monk lifted his leg and snapped it upwards, kicking Aaron directly in the jaw.

Aaron’s head jerked back. Before he could recover, Monk released the batons, grabbed Aaron by the face and planted a fist directly into it.

The force of the punch sent Aaron flying through the air.

His body slammed into the ground and continued to skid across it until he finally collided with a tree. The impact brought him to a sudden stop.

The other Rangers had won their fights, but none of them were in any condition to help. Some had suffered serious injuries, while others had used so much energy that they could barely move.

All they could do was watch the fight between Aaron and Monk with growing concern.

Aaron, Joe thought. Is he really going to lose? That can’t be right. He’s the strongest out of all of us. He’s the one we all look up to.

Joe still remembered how much Aaron had taught them. He had helped all of them understand and overcome the difficulties that came with their Vows. Whenever one of them struggled, Aaron had been there to guide them.

Now Aaron was the one in trouble, yet when he needed their help, there was almost nothing they could do for him.

"This is Rank One?" Monk asked as he placed a hand over his face in disbelief. "This is what I trained so hard to beat?"

He shook his head.

"I’m really disappointed. Extremely disappointed. Well, I suppose I’ll just have to see whether your boss somehow managed to survive. Maybe he’ll be someone worth taking out."

Monk’s smile disappeared as he lowered his hand.

Aaron had already forced himself back to his feet.

His face was bloody, and his teeth were stained red, but his breathing had returned to normal. Despite the punishment he had received, he stood firmly and continued staring at Monk.

Aaron tightened his grip on his batons and ran forward again.

As he reached Monk, he thrust one of the weapons straight towards him. Monk responded by punching the baton head-on, stopping the attack with his fist. He then slipped past Aaron’s guard and drove his other fist into Aaron’s face, sending him stumbling backwards once more.

"If there’s one thing you have, at least it’s resilience," Monk said.

Aaron struggled to remain standing. His balance gave way, and it looked as if he were about to fall backwards.

Before he hit the ground, someone caught him from behind.

A pair of arms held him upright, and Aaron heard heavy breathing beside his ear.

"The responsibility of protecting everyone isn’t on your shoulders alone, Aaron," Stephen said as he moved to stand beside him.

Stephen was struggling just to remain on his feet. His body had already reached its limit, yet he had still forced himself across the battlefield to reach Aaron.

"You know, all this stupid Ranger stuff Max makes us do—I thought it was silly at first," Stephen continued. "But wearing this red colour, the colour of the leader or captain, or whatever you want to call it, has really made me feel a sense of responsibility on my shoulders."

Aaron glanced towards him.

"Unfortunately, I used the last of my energy sprinting over here to reach you," Stephen said. "I don’t think I can even stand for much longer. So, I think it would be better if you had these."

Moments before Stephen fell, he placed both arms around Aaron.

Something gripped the outside of Aaron’s clothing and began attaching itself to him. Looking down, Aaron could see exactly what Stephen had transferred.

It was the special exoskeleton.

Stephen had used what little strength he had left to place the equipment on Aaron. His legs finally gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, close to passing out from exhaustion.

"As the Red Ranger, I order you, the Silver Ranger, to take him out," Stephen said.