Martial Arts Worlds-Chapter 365: Something Else

"How are you feeling?"

Kiernan asked.

Neal couldn't answer as he was drinking water but nodded in response and let out a sound that suggested that he was feeling really good.

'His confidence is rising, I can tell. One more remaining, and with the current point total, as long as Travis doesn't completely dominate the third round, Neal can win.

'However, it feels anticlimactic, and there might be some doubt left in Neal's head if he only wins with a decision.

'I want him to knock that bastard out.'

While they were feeling pretty relaxed, the mood in the red corner was completely different as Travis crushed the water bottle in his hand and shouted.

"He will try to go for grappling? He will avoid the edge? Both things you said were absolutely fucking wrong!"

"Calm down, Travis. The match is not over. Just refocus and give it your all."

Adrian said.

"Is that all the advice you can give me? Worthless! I am losing because you're giving me wrong advice, for fuck's sake!"

Travis tossed the water bottle away and stormed off the corner, heading back to the center of the ring as the final round was about to begin.

Adrian wiped the sweat off his forehead and realized that this was the extent of his martial arts knowledge.

He looked towards Kiernan and felt like an infinite encyclopedia of martial arts knowledge stared back at him.

'I-It doesn't matter what I say… It feels like he will know exactly what I am going to say, so it is better if I don't say anything.'

Ding! Ding!

The bell sounded, and Neal walked to the center, staring back at Travis, whose killer instinct locked onto him like a targeting missile.

'Don't look away. I've no reason to fear him anymore.'

Neal took his stance and stared back at Travis with an unyielding gaze.

Whistle~

"FIGHT!"

Travis sprang forward like a lion on the hunt, and with wild, wide swings, he launched a barrage of unpredictable punches in Neal's direction.

This was very different from his previous fighting style.

Those punches weren't accurate and well-planned, but punches whose only purpose was to destroy and kill!

'He abandoned Adrian's Kickboxing. I suppose today is the day that Travis' journey as a martial artist ends.'

Kiernan shook his head.

With his recently acquired knowledge, he knew one important thing about martial soul—it wouldn't give power to those who would abandon their martial arts.

Neal guarded against the punches, but his body rocked after each blow like a tree that was being attacked by a tornado's wind.

'So strong… he didn't have this kind of power before!'

Neal's eyes shook as Travis showed another layer of strength that he hadn't used before.

"ARGH!"

Travis smashed his arm at Neal's chest, and Neal was thrown back several meters, but he safely landed back at the ring.

Cheers~

With the match heating up again, the crowd applauded, but this time, half of the cheering was going to Travis and another half to Neal.

As the underdog, Neal was slowly winning the hearts of everyone watching, but Travis' friends tried to scream loud enough to drown them out.

"Come on, Travis!"

"You couldn't possibly lose to this weak-ass loser!"

"Kill him!"

A few rows away, Katherina frowned and turned to look at Travis' friends, who shouted obscenities that made her frown deeply.

It wasn't nice to listen to, and she wondered what Neal could've possibly done to them to make them so angry.

"Sigh, what rude fellows. I hope you don't associate yourself with people like that."

Her mother said, not knowing that they were actually Travis' friends, and if she had known, she would've immediately made her cut all ties with him.

"Go, Neal!"

Her father yelled from his seat.

"Yeah…"

Katherina replied, rubbing her thighs together and biting her lip in conflict with her emotions, but slowly, she started to feel like she didn't know Travis wholly.

Travis' scream reverberated throughout the arena as he smashed through Neal's guard and punched him right in the jaw.

Crack…

A soft crack sounded as a small fracture appeared on Neal's jaw, and the pain washed over him like a tidal wave.

"A-ah…"

Neal hunched behind his guard, sweat falling from his forehead, and as he saw Travis throw another punch, his body started trembling.

'Why is this happening? What should I do? Should I throw a punch? No, he is faster than me. Should I parry the punch? No, his punches are too strong.

'Should I dodge? He is faster, again. I can't think straight as I can't even close and open my mouth properly because my jaw hurts!'

Neal blocked the punch with his guard, but cracks sounded as his frail bones cracked on impact.

He wanted to scream, but he swallowed it all as he knew that if he screamed, his jaw would hurt so much more.

'I need help…'

Neal looked towards Kiernan, but he only saw him shake his head, signaling that he was alone in this fight.

'Yeah… I am alone… Shit, if I only had more time, but I don't know why Kiernan wanted me to fight so soon!

'I think he underestimated my potential… Think! Think! Think!'

…

A few days ago.

"Huff… huff…"

Neal wiped the sweat off his forehead after another long and hard training session.

Kiernan picked up all the tennis balls and placed them back at the machine for another training session tomorrow.

"I have a question."

"Sure, what is it?" free𝑤ebnovel.com

Kiernan asked.

"If you're about to lose in a match, and you know it, what will you do? Forfeit or try to change your strategy?"

Neal asked out of curiosity and sipped on the water.

"Hmm… What would I do…"

Kiernan scratched his chin and then said with a smile.

"Kick my opponent in the nuts. It works fairly well."

"Sigh… something else? If I happened to kick Travis in the nuts, sure it would feel satisfying, but I would get disqualified."

"Something else? Well…"