Martial Arts Worlds-Chapter 265: Muscle Monster
Smack! Smack! Smack.
Sounds of fighting reverberated throughout the stadium, almost drowning out all the cheering that was happening.
Hundreds of fights were happening at the same time.
At the same moment, the third fight between Karuza High and Kaleidos High was about to begin.
"Kyler Connors versus Julian Noah!"
The referee pointed at the two fighters. Then she pointed towards the sky, backed off, and swung her arm down as if it were a whip.
"Fight!"
Kyler ground his teeth together and lunged at Julian. He started punching like there was no tomorrow, as if he just couldn't wait to beat the crap out of him.
'It isn't about strength. Think of stillness, and let your movements flow like water.'
Julian thought to himself and then pressed the sides of his hands against Kyler's fist, parrying them away as if he were using Rendering Edge.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
The punches missed him.
'Isn't that rock-solid defense?'
Coach Jin thought in surprise and glanced in Kiernan's direction but saw him sitting on the bench with his arms crossed and not a single change in his expression.
'Why is he… not reacting?'
"Aah~"
Kyler stepped back and looked at his fists. They were red. His punches hurt him more than his opponent!
'Is the level between our strength this vast? It feels like I am facing a mountain…'
Within his vision, Julian disappeared and was replaced with a jagged mountain. The mountaintop was so far away, it seemed unreachable.
'It's impossible…'
Kyler thought and then happened to look into Karuza High's bench. There was a much greater mountain in the distance, looming over the ring like an insurmountable obstacle.
He could barely breathe anymore. The weight of the challenge ahead seemed unbearable.
"Where the hell is your focus?"
Julian grabbed his arm, and then with his other, punched him straight in the chest.
'Iron Smash!'
THWACK!
"Urgh!"
Kyler stumbled backward, gasping for air. He felt as if his lungs were about to collapse. It felt like there was a dent in his chest where Julian's fist had landed.
'I have never been punched this hard in my life before!'
"Keep moving! Don't sit still like a duck!"
Kaleidos High's coach kept screaming till his voice turned hoarse, and raspy.
"Ugh!"
Kyler circled around Julian, trying to find an opening for his next move. He then saw that his back was turned towards him, giving him the perfect opportunity to strike.
'A perfect chance!'
With a lunge, he brought his fist forward.
'A trap.'
Kiernan shook his head.
"Heh!"
With a smirk on his face, Julian threw a roundhouse kick and snapped Kyler's head back with a powerful blow.
The blood spewed from his mouth.
'I-It was a trap?'
Kyler's eyes widened in shock as he realized he had fallen right into Julian's plan, but he never even thought that it could've been a trap.
Everyone could tell that Julian was stronger than him.
Why would he need to rely on mere tricks to defeat him?
It didn't make any sense!
"Wooo!"
Julian rained punches on Kyler. Dozens of them landed on his face and chest before Kyler could even think to respond.
Those punches landed at the speed of raindrops, but instead of being wet and harmless, they were endlessly painful and bloody.
"Urgh…"
Kyler slumped to the ground, but while others saw him on the ground, he thought he was still standing, and the countdown fell on deaf ears.
"And… 10!"
She finished the countdown.
Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.
"And the winner is Julian Noah! The victory goes to Karuza High, and they'll advance to the round of 128!"
A round of applause came from Karuza High's students and faculty in the audience. It was a very much expected victory, but it was still relieving for everyone involved.
"Ah…"
Kaleidos High's coach looked defeated. He then turned around and smashed his hands against the bench.
A few tears fell from his eyes as well.
Another year, another failure. It also hurt him knowing that everyone part of the team was a third-year, so it was their last chance.
Next year's team would be full of new faces.
"Mmh~"
Julian rubbed his aching muscles as he left the ring. He shared high-fives with everyone present and took off the white tape to change them as they were covered in blood.
"Good job. The first match of the nationals can always be scary, and unexpected losses have happened in the first round because of all the nerves, but you all did excellent."
Coach Jin said with a smile on his face.
As they were about to leave, they heard sudden gasps among the audience. Horrified looks appeared on their faces as they saw what was happening in one of the rings.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
Cracks filled the ring, and a young man, bleeding from his head, was lying on the ground. It almost looked like his skull was cracked open.
The doctors were hurrying over, threw one look of disgust in Zachary's direction before heading out with the bloodied young man.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
Zachary, bulging with muscles as if he had done a few too many steroids, stepped out of the ring, and even the members of Montclair High were avoiding him like a plague.
Instead of letting the weaker members fight first, he started from the first match and fought every single one of them.
Three opponents. Three hospitalized. Three cracked skulls.
"Good job."
Alabaster said with a cold look on his face.
The other members of Montclair High looked weirdly in his direction. He couldn't understand how their coach could call that a good job.
It was needless violence.
The fights were over, but Zachary still decided to do one final attack, and those attacks caused the cracked skulls.
The safety of his opponents couldn't be guaranteed. They might die!
"Weaklings."
Zachary said with a raspy tone, pushed others off the bench, and sat alone on it. The bench creaked under his weight, but he didn't care.
"What in the world…"
Jonathan said out loud as he looked at Zachary.
He saw him a few months ago in Gaul's boarding school, and he didn't look like this. He had become a muscle monster in just a few months.
'That isn't natural growth…'
Sabbath thought with a sharp look.
