Chapter 23 - First Match (2/2)

”Ladies and gentlemen, we shall not waste our time and start the tournament immediately.” Sima Yantong glanced at the excited crowd and announced loudly.

”Start the tournament brother Yantong! We are very excited to see the best fighters of Asia fight in a martial arts tournament.”

”Yes, opportunities such as this only comes rarely.”

Sima Yantong smiled and answered in a loud voice through a microphone. ”Since you guys are already this excited, then I shall not ruin your moods and start the tournament. For the first match! Asahi Riku from Kaito Airlines versus Beom-soo from G Max Software Corporation.

Asahi Riku was a Japanese man in his thirties. He stood five foot and eight inches tall with well proportioned muscles. His eyes were tiny and he almost looked like he was sleeping.

Asahi Riku was a former Mixed Martial Arts fighter but then resigned abruptly because of the sudden employment from Kaito Airlines.

He waited for his opponent to come onto the stage while glaring at him sharply.

His opponent, Beom-soo was a man in his late twenties, but he looked rather old because of the thick beard that covered his jaws. He looked rather lazy, but his strength was definitely the real deal. He may not be a famous professional fighter like Asahi Riku, but he was a master practitioner of Taekkyon, a traditional Korean martial art.

Taekkyon focused on foot movements and tbe coordination between the hands and feet to create a balance. Most Taekkyon practitioners had strong striking ability and a decent level of ground grappling techniques.

When both fighters were already on the stage, Sima Yantong then said loudly through the broadcast microphone in his hands.

”You guys ready?”

Both fighters nodded their heads in response.

Sima Yantong smiled and said ”First match begin!”

Asahi Riku raised both his hands while his palms faced his opponent and his left leg was slightly raised. This was the stance for Muay Thai and he already mastered this martial art to a high degree..

Beom-soo placed his left foot forward and raised his right hand front-handedly. His left hand was on his waist level facing the opponent back-handedly.

This was the defensive stance of Taekkyon.

He knew that Asahi Riku had a very strong striking ability, thus he was cautious in facing him in a frontal combat.

Asahi Riku slowly inched towards Beom-soo while maintining his stance. He then swayed his hips to throw a powerful overhand right.

'Shit! I wasn't prepared for this' Beom-soo thought fearfully. He knew that each punch and kicks from a Muay Thai practitioner was lethal.

He raised his left hand hastily to deflect the punch.

Riku's punch connected and hit opponent's left arm, but the power from the strike made Beom-soo take several steps backwards.

'Tch, you will not last long if you continue to defend like this.' Riku thought mockingly.