Harem app-Chapter 105: Duel and questions

Third Person POV

Liam advanced, trying to attack the woman in front of him, but she easily dodged his first strike. Moving surprisingly fast, Zoe countered with a kick, forcing him to step back.

It was clear from the boy’s face that he was already completely exhausted. His breathing was heavy, and his movements had slowed due to the pain. That said, his expression wasn’t one of someone ready to give up. He still had plenty of energy to burn, and his soul was burning with the desire to overcome this challenge.

But this wouldn’t be the time for his victory, because Zoe, relentless as ever, took advantage of the opening Liam left. With a fluid motion, she pivoted on her axis and delivered a precise strike to the boy’s stomach, forcing him to stagger back.

Liam tried to recover, lunging forward with a desperate punch, but Zoe dodged effortlessly and grabbed his arm. Using his own momentum against him, she twisted her body and threw him violently backward. The impact sent him sliding across the arena floor, his fingers clawing at the surface in a futile attempt to steady himself.

Before he could react, Zoe was already on him. With one final kick to his chest, the boy was sent flying out of the arena, his body hitting the ground with a dull thud.

According to the rules of their competition, leaving the arena meant losing, so Liam was defeated once again. And it didn’t seem like he was anywhere close to victory.

"Don’t you think we should stop now?" Zoe said with a concerned tone, worried she might hurt the boy too much. "Fighting when you’re this exhausted can be really dangerous."

They had been fighting for almost an hour without a break, which might not seem like much time, but given how intense the duels were, both were getting tired. And clearly, Liam was the more exhausted of the two, as he had taken the brunt of the hits.

That said, he got up once again, albeit with difficulty. A little pain wasn’t going to stop him, and he smiled confidently.

"Relax, I can handle it," he said, stepping back into the arena. "And I suggest you don’t go easy on me, because I’m going to take you down this round."

"How many times have you said that already?" Zoe shot back, then closed the distance with a powerful kick aimed at her opponent.

Liam managed to block it perfectly, but even so, the strike hurt. He smiled, impressed. It seemed like with each round, she only got stronger instead of tiring.

"I don’t want to sound arrogant, but you must have realized by now that you’re not going to win," Zoe said as she pressed the boy once more. "Why keep pushing? It’s not worth it."

Liam’s response was a smile and a perverted look as he glanced her up and down. "I’d say it’s definitely worth it."

"Don’t be an idiot," Zoe chuckled lightly, but then landed a strong mid-height kick to Liam’s thigh, which nearly made him collapse.

He was already tired from all the duels, and the continuous kicks to his leg were slowly wearing him down.

But he clenched his teeth and ignored the pain, even managing to land a kick of his own on Zoe’s thigh. He then almost managed to grab her and throw her to the ground, but his lack of experience in ground fighting meant she easily reversed the situation.

"I give up," Liam shouted, admitting defeat after being caught in an arm lock by the girl.

"And now, are you satisfied?" she asked, offering a hand to help him up. "Don’t you think you’ve overdone it?"

Liam accepted the help and jumped to his feet, then surprised the girl by giving her a quick peck on the lips. Before she could push him away, he took a step back and said:

"Every effort in the world is worth it as long as I get to know you better," he said.

After all, the bet they had made was that she would answer one honest question for every duel he won. So if he wanted to learn about her past, the only way was by winning.

The problem was, he hadn’t won a single time.

Still, at least in the battle for the girl’s heart, Liam was doing quite well. After all, Zoe blushed at his comment, and though she wouldn’t admit it even to herself, she even considered letting him win.

To begin with, her stubbornness in not wanting to talk about herself was foolishness. A foolishness she had learned from her master long ago: a warrior doesn’t speak with their mouth, but with their fists.

And as stupid as it was, the only way she would agree to talk was in the ring. That’s why Liam was doing everything he could to speak her language, even though he still had a long way to go.

"So, will you grant me the honor of fighting you one more time?" Liam approached the girl, lost in thought, and extended his fist to her.

Agreeing to the invitation for the next duel, Zoe also extended her fists, sighing and telling him to just give up already. But deep down, she couldn’t hide the small smile that crept onto the corner of her lips.

As soon as the next round began, Liam advanced without hesitation, trying to use his speed to surprise his opponent this time.

He threw a right straight, but she sidestepped and, with a precise motion, grabbed his arm, pulling him close. Before he could react, he felt his legs swept out from under him, and in an instant, he was on his back against the mat.

The boy tried to break free, using all the strength he had, but Zoe was already in position. With a fluid transition, she mounted him and pinned his wrists to the ground.

"Again?" Liam grunted, trying to free one of his arms, but she was incredibly firm. If only he weren’t so bad at ground fighting, maybe he’d have a chance against her.

Still, the boy didn’t give up. He managed to create a little space and tried to turn to escape, but she quickly slid to the side, trapping one of his legs and locking in a perfect Ezekiel choke.

The pressure began to build, and Liam realized there was no way out, so he thought about tapping the mat to surrender. But at that moment, he noticed the girl’s delicious breasts pressed against his head.

Twisting his arm in a slightly awkward way, he managed to lightly grab her sexy tits.

"What are you doing?" Zoe released him and asked, a mix of confusion and anger in her voice. She didn’t know if he had done that to provoke her or if there was some other reason behind it.

But instead of answering, Liam quickly got up and landed a kick on the girl, who naturally took a few steps back.

"You idiot, the fight’s already over!" she shouted.

"Actually, you stepped out of the arena," Liam pointed to the ground. He reminded Zoe that the signal for surrender was three taps on the mat.

"But that..." Zoe started to complain.

"Come on, the rules we set were simple: no strikes that could cause permanent damage, and the conditions for defeat are saying you give up, tapping three times, or stepping out of the arena. Are you going against your own rules now?" Liam said confidently.

Of course, just because he was technically right didn’t mean she wasn’t irritated by the dirty way he had won. At the same time, she almost felt relieved. At least this way, she wouldn’t have to lose on purpose, something she wouldn’t do even under threat of death—but she also wouldn’t have to keep hurting the boy she liked.

Sometimes, there’s nothing better than having someone or something force you to do what you know you should do but can’t for some reason. In Zoe’s case, it was opening up about her trauma and talking about how she got those burn scars.

"Okay," she sighed, "ask your question."

"Then tell me, what are your three measurements?" However, what Liam asked completely caught her off guard.

"What kind of question is that, you idiot?" she almost instinctively kicked the boy.

But Liam, who had expected this reaction, dodged and made her lose her balance. Without letting her fall to the ground, he caught her and stared at her closely.

"Well, it’s an important question. Besides, I want to know a lot of things about you. Obviously, I’m not going to stop at just one question," he said. "Not to mention, I still need to get a fair win against you."

Zoe was surprised to see that Liam was even more stubborn than she was, and she was already a pretty hardheaded woman. It didn’t make sense to chase a fair victory, especially since it was impossible for him at this point.

"Don’t be so stubborn!" she complained.

"I’m not being stubborn," he assumed a fighting stance, and instinctively, the woman raised her guard as well. "I just want to speak the same language as you," he said, throwing a kick in her direction. "And I feel like I understand you much better in this ring than through conversation."

Zoe thought about disagreeing but ended up responding by advancing toward the boy and landing a few strikes. It was a silent way of admitting he was right, she did in fact speak better with her fists.

"But don’t you think you need to know when to stop? You’re going to end up hurting yourself."

"I know, but it’s worth it. After all, I want to know everything about you," he said, and the girl couldn’t help but blush, her face turning as red as a tomato.

"How can so much effort be worth it for a stubborn, boring girl like me?" She tried to push him away with a kick, but he closed the distance, catching her off guard.

Liam not only dodged the girl’s careless kick but also managed to close the distance. He then landed a clean punch to Zoe’s stomach, making her groan in pain.

Before she could recover, he jumped on her in a somewhat pathetic technique for a fighter. But the important thing was that he achieved his goal: pushing the woman back and making her fall out of the arena.

Lying on the ground and stunned by everything that had happened, Zoe looked up and saw a confident smile accompanied by passionate eyes.

"You’re not just a stubborn girl. You’re my extremely stubborn and sexy future girlfriend," he emphasized the word "my," which made Zoe tear up and feel her body heat up a little.

Then Liam extended his hand to her, helping her up and pulling her close so he could quickly kiss her.

"Now, to start, it’s good to answer the first question, since you’ve already lost another round."

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦