Yorim’s opponent used his weapon to strike Yorim’s lower body.
Seol-Hwi’s subordinate quickly jumped back, and, using his spear as a counterweight, attempted to kick Ack Ho.
However, Ack Ho dodged the attack.
“…!”
It was an unexpected failure. It exposed a gap in Yorim to the opponent. But this was actually Yorim’s intention - a situation in which Ack Ho wouldn’t distance himself, but rather, would get closer instead.
As a result, Yorim was able to pinpoint from where his opponent would next attack from, and then avoided it.
From the short distance between them, Yorim’s fists flew towards Ack Ho.
“Urgh!”
Ack Ho now had two ways to deal with Yorim. The first was to counterattack, and the second was to use a spear technique to increase their distance again.
The latter wasn’t bad, since Yorim was currently separated from his weapon. But Ack Ho chose the former one.
He also had a goal in mind.
Ack Ho released the spear he was holding, and dodged his opponent’s fists. Then, he exchanged a few of his own punches with Yorim.
Puak! Puak! Puak!
“Ugh!”
This time, it was Yorim who couldn’t block the offensive of his opponent. Yorim grabbed his wrist, and groaned in pain.
“Hey you. Did you really think that I wouldn’t have any close combat training?”
Yorim wasn’t simply pushed back by Ack Ho’s punches. There were hidden needles inside his fists.
Ack Ho’s hands were covered with white cloth, where thin needles were inserted between the knuckles. Because of the white bandages, no one noticed these small needles.
“It was hidden needles…”
“Those shameful bastards!”
“Not shameful. Rather, Yorim is the one being reckless. He ran into the opponent first.”
Jeok Song, Yong Jin, and Seo Ryeong, while watching the fight, shared their thoughts. Imugi spoke next,
“As expected, I should have gone…”
No one bothered listening to him.
“This was intended.”
At those words, the subordinates turned towards Seol-Hwi. They were curious about what he meant.
“Even Yorim wouldn’t have thought that this guy would be using needles in his fists. However, in the end, Yorim will win. Things like hidden needles will only be temporary advantages for the opponent.”
His subordinates still looked at him with eyes that said they didn’t understand. Seol-Hwi continued his explanation.
“Yorim isn’t at a level where he can use Void Movement with his spear right now. So he is aiming for a very close combat fight. The opponent’s movements are swift, and it will be a burden for Yorim to handle, but…”
“…”
“It’s helpful because the opponent is too focused on physical defense. Flame Aggregating Demonic Martial Arts doesn’t just disappear when it collides with something, it penetrates beyond that.”
“Ah!”
Seol-Hwi’s subordinates finally understood his meaning.
They moved their gazes back to the stage, where Yorim’s spear was embedded into the ground.
Yorim had grabbed onto it, but did not pull it out. Instead, he tried to kick his opponent like he did before, using the spear for balance.
“You idiot!”
Ack Ho laughed at Yorim’s attempt, and evaded the attack.
“What…?!”
But this time, he was surprised. Yorim did not stop trying to kick Ack Ho. As soon as his opponent dodged, Yorim would change the direction of his kicks.
Ack Ho didn’t back down. He managed to grab Yorim’s foot, and threw Yorim away from him.
Yorim, whose form was broken, wasn’t in a state to fight back. As Ack Ho rushed towards him, he hurriedly backed away, and when there was nowhere to retreat, he got ready to stand his ground.
Ack Ho, who saw Yorim balling his hands into fists, felt it - that Yorim was about to attack him again.
So Ack Ho prepared his hands to block.
Puak!
But something felt strange. He thought Yorim’s fist would collide with his hand, and then he would be pushed back, but when the punch came, something burned.
And when he tried to shake it off…
Ack Ho’s face stiffened at the sight of fire.
“What is… argh!”
He let out a groan as the flames enveloped the rest of his arm. Ack Ho quickly dropped on the ground and rolled, trying to put out the fire.
But why wasn’t it working?
The more he tried to put the fire out, the more it spread to the rest of his body.
“This is my chance!”
At that moment, Yorim was holding his spear in his hands. It was time to end this fight for real. He wanted to do it, before his opponent came to his senses.
“Enough.”
But someone stepped in to stop him - Yulsa.
“You win!”
After those words from the announcer, the fire was put out, and Ack Ho was left standing dazedly.
“Ohhhh!”
“Two of them won! From the command unit!”
Unlike the Four Imperial Troops’ side of the arena, the command units were all cheering for Yorim’s victory.
[Earth Demon] "Who was it that passed on that technique?" [Seven Messengers] “It looked rather strong. Even if you use internal energy, the fire probably wouldn't go out.” [Elders] “It looks like blood arts… you would have to see more to find out. Well, he can not be a simple subordinate with that skill.” [Fourth Army Squad] “There are many such martial arts, but it has to be blood martial arts. It must be from the sect.” [Private Guards Captain] “What the hell did that guy teach his subordinates...?”
As the on-site reactions were appearing to Seol-Hwi, Yorim arrived at where he and his subordinates were sitting.
“I must have looked bad.”
Yorim said this, but the others thought differently.
“No, you could have ended that guy with one hit.”
“You must have thought that you shouldn’t show off your Divine Weapon’s ability. If you had fought properly, you would have overwhelmed him even more.”
“How is your wound?”
Jeok Song, Yong Jin, and Seo Ryeong spoke words of encouragement and concern. Of course, there was one of Seol-Hwi’s subordinates who was different.
“Yorim, you did fine. Well, maybe not as much as Jeok Song…”
“Who will come forward this time?”
After Yorim’s fight was over, a person sitting next to the stage got up. His health and internal energy were lower than Ack Ho’s, but he still wasn’t an easy opponent.
Because he had a combat power of 4.88 million.
“Is no one willing?”
At Yulsa’s words, the crowd was silent.
Was it because they had suffered two consecutive losses? No one came from the Four Imperial Troops.
The system asked Seol-Hwi a question for the third time.
<Who will you send out?> ▶ Yong Jin [5.21 million combat power] ▷ Seo Ryeong [4.91 million combat power] ▷ Imugi [4.55 million combat power]
Seol-Hwi didn’t worry about choosing Yong Jin. When it came to fighting battles, Yong Jin was dependable.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment!”
Yong Jin walked to the stage with confidence.
<Would you like to watch the battle?> ▶ See ▷ Don't see
Seol-Hwi chose not to watch the fight this time.
Time passed in an instant, and the movements of the two on the stage went by extremely quickly.
<Yong Jin has won.>
The result of the battle appeared with this notification.
“It was a great fight!”
Yong Jin came back with a satisfied expression. Seol-Hwi had nothing to say, since he didn’t know how the fight went.
As for the others,
“You did good.”
“Nice work.”
Seol-Hwi’s subordinates praised Yorim with simple words, so he also couldn’t know what happened in the fight from them.
The on-site reactions…
Seol-Hwi was curious about the reactions from the audience members.
[Earth Demon] “All of them have improved their skills."
Nothing other than the Earth Demon’s reaction appeared.
Does no one else have anything to say…?
“Next!”
While Seol-Hwi was thinking, the old man on stage shouted out for the next battle’s participants.
But this time, there was no question as to who would come forward - the Private Guards Unit and Four Imperial Troops.
“Four Imperial Troops wins!”
And then the result came out after a while. For the next fight, even though no one was going up this time, Seol-Hwi was asked,
<Who will you send out?> ▶ Seo Ryeong [4.91 million combat power] ▷ Imugi [4.55 million combat power]
It should be Seo Ryeong…
Seol-Hwi chose to watch the fight.
“…”
The battle didn’t last long.
Seo Ryeong didn’t make any hasty moves toward her opponent, but the old man ended things quickly.
“They win again!”
<Seo Ryeong has won.>
“There was a huge difference in skills. You did well.”
“It seemed like he could barely avoid it.”
When Seo Ryeong came, everyone complimented her. Seol-Hwi agreed. Seo Ryeong’s opponent was too weak.
<Who will you send out?> ▶ Imugi [4.55 million combat power]
And finally, it was time to put Imugi in. Seol-Hwi chose not to see the fight, but then, an unbelievably shocking thing happened.
<Imugi has been defeated.> [Elders] “Doing such a horrid thing in battle! What a bad subordinate! Who taught him?! What did you say, Elder Gal? His master was...?"
Among the Elders, the face of Elder Baekhon was red enough to be recognized from a distance.
“Why did he have to do that here…?”
“Hey… that ability…”
“Shhh! You idiot, just leave him alone…”
When Imugi arrived, Seol-Hwi’s subordinates were talking with one another. After seeing his drooping shoulders, they stopped.
How did you lose…?
Seol-Hwi was genuinely shocked. The combat power of Imugi’s opponent was only 2 million, so there should have been no way for him to have lost.
<Would you like to see the reason for the defeat? > ▶ See ▷ Don't see
The notification from the system appeared, as if it knew what was on Seol-Hwi’s mind.
Seol-Hwi chose to see the fight that he had skipped.
<The view will be shown.>
Time passed by in reverse. And when it stopped at a certain point, Seol-Hwi grasped the situation.
The fallen opponent on the ground.
And… Imugi, who was doing his ‘frog’ movements.
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
Ah, this…
Seol-Hwi dropped his face into his hands.
Now he understood.
This was the reason why. The frog movements that seemed to poke fun at the opponent.
He tried to use the power of the Divine Weapon.
That was the issue. A guy who everyone thought was already down, and this guy who was activating the special ability of his Divine Weapon.
“Haahhh!”
And when Imugi was ready to use it,
“Enough!”
The old man Yulsa decided to stop him.
“What I was doing was necessary! Really!”
Imugi protested, but his words fell on deaf ears. Yulsa didn’t want to hear the truth. The old man was frowning heavily.
“Now for the last fight, who will come forward?”
Seol-Hwi was back in the present, and the first thing he heard was this announcement from Yulsa.
<Private Guards Unit Captain will not come forward, as he lost to Seol-Hwi previously.> <Would you like to fight? > ▶ Participate ▷ Provoke the opponent ▷ Wait for a moment
What…?
Seol-Hwi, who was about to choose ‘participate’, stopped himself. There were unexpected options below it.
I think I understand.
In the past, he would have been too shocked and confused at this, but now, he was able to know its intention.
Especially the ‘provoke’ option.
There must be some kind of meaning behind it.
And according to the current situation…
It suggested that Seol-Hwi would have to drive the current situation to an extreme.
So he chose it because he didn’t want to avoid it.
<You have selected ‘Provoke the opponent’.>
