Martial Arts Worlds-Chapter 362: White vs. Red
"Travis, be careful out there, alright?"
Adrian said in a worry as they walked over to their corner of the boxing ring, and Travis started to put on his gloves and headgear.
"Careful? What are you talking about, master? You see my opponent, right? He is weak as hell!"
Travis said smugly.
"I am not worried about your opponent. I am worried about the one coaching him!"
"His coach?"
Travis frowned and looked over, but when he saw Neal's coach, his eyes also widened in surprise as he recognized him.
"That's him… Why the hell is he teaching that bastard?"
"You know him?"
Adrian asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I met him… briefly. It doesn't matter, though. What could he possibly teach Neal in only a week?"
"Yeah, you're right…"
Adrian nodded and patted his student on the back while he climbed up to the ring.
However, he couldn't remove the unsettling feeling brewing inside his stomach. Something felt odd.
At the white corner, Neal tapped his boxing gloves together, made sure the headgear was properly buckled, and then slowly made his way to the ring.
When he finished climbing, he turned towards Travis and felt his heart trying to break through his chest.
He had never been so nervous before, and when he looked around the crowd, he felt dizziness wash over him.
'Come on, Neal. Focus!'
The referee appeared in the middle of the ring, tapped on the microphone in his hand, and then said.
"This is today's last match—Travis Lukansmith, rank 3, versus Neal Yoxall, rank 303!"
When some crowd attendees heard that, they let out an audible chuckle, as they weren't aware that Neal's rank was so low.
This was going to be a massacre!
"To those who are unaware—middle school's ranked match system is three rounds, three minutes each, and if neither has been defeated by the end of the third round, the points accumulated during those three rounds will decide the winner!"
The referee said.
'Oh? I wasn't aware of that, but I guess that works for us. After each round, the two fighters can have a minute or two of resting time before the next round starts.'
Kiernan thought and rubbed his chin.
It worked well, as they weren't allowed to give instructions when the match was going on, but it was possible during the resting time.
"You may have a thirty-second conversation with your corner team!"
The referee said.
Without any need for it, Travis stayed in his place, throwing some punches in front of him, and kept himself warm.
Neal, on the other hand, moved to the corner and looked at Kiernan for any advice.
"Be careful in the first round. Travis will go for a finishing blow immediately, and the last thing he wants is for this match to go to the second round.
"It would be humiliating for him, so he will go all out from the start. I bet he will start with some punching, attract your attention to his fists, and then launch his kick
"That kick will be his attempt to end the fight."
Kiernan said.
Neal nodded shakily.
"Uhm, so how do I counter that?"
"You won't. All you have to do is survive through the first round. Don't even bother to attack."
"B-but I won't receive any points then."
"It doesn't matter. Just don't go down, is that clear?"
Kiernan said.
Neal nodded, and then a whistle sounded, which made him move back to his original position in the ring.
"Now… are the two of you ready?!"
The referee asked.
"Always, I am."
Travis said smugly and started hopping in place like a boxer, light on his feet.
"Yeah…"
Neal moved into his Southpaw Stance, and also started hopping, but slowly, a little more cautiously.
"Very well. Without further ado… FIGHT!"
The referee swung his arm down and moved to the edge of the ring with a quick backstep.
"You don't belong in the same ring as I. Enjoy these few seconds because this will be the last time you dare to defy me!"
Travis hopped forward with his quick footwork, and with a twitch of his right arm, he rained a flurry of punches down at Neal.
With rounded eyes, Neal watched as the punches came at him and imagined them as tennis balls, but this time around, it was rather slow…
Swoosh! Smack!
Neal smacked Travis' fist away and then slapped another punch out of the air. It was like time had slowed down.
'Those punches are… slow?'
"Grr!"
Travis' face reddened, and he switched to a new stance, throwing a sudden elbow strike that came out of nowhere.
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Neal moved his head out of the way and stumbled back a step rather awkwardly, but he quickly switched back to his stance.
'W-wait, I am actually doing good?'
Travis screamed and rained punches while the crowd suddenly quieted down as they couldn't believe their eyes.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Effortlessly, Neal smacked the punches out of the air, and a small smile grew on his face.
"Fucker…"
Travis launched another punch, saw Neal's hand approaching, quickly halted his punch, and saw Neal's hand brush past his fist.
He then continued the punch and landed it straight at Neal's cheek. The force of the blow sent him sliding backwards with a cheek that was slowly swelling.
"?!"
Neal's eyes shook, and in panic, he backed off all the way to the edge of the ring, but that was a huge mistake, as Travis lunged straight at him, trying to punch him off the ring.
'I am in trouble!'
Travis punched towards his face, and he quickly raised his arms as a guard, but he again stopped his punch and kneed him in the stomach instead.
THWACK!
"Urgh!"
Neal doubled over, and then Travis wrapped his arms behind Neal's head, pulled him close, and started kneeing him on the body.
"Ugh! Ugh!"
Neal cried out in pain, and tears started welling in the corners of his eyes.
After the shock started, the crowd let out a simultaneous sigh and started clapping for the person who they expected to win shortly.
They thought that there might be a surprise brewing as the start of the match was unexpected, but in the end, it was obvious who was going to win.
"Shit…"
Kiernan looked over to the clock, and his gaze hardened after seeing that there were still two minutes left in the round.
