85 The Truth 1 (2/2)
There was a muffled thud, and Carlos was held down by him in the ring.
Garen didn't hesitate as he followed through with a downward elbow smash.
There was a loud crash; a small dent appeared on the ring.
Carlos rolled over and dodged the attack. He rolled a few meters away from Garen and stood up again. He looked fearfully at the dent on the ground. These rings were made from high strength, special grade cement. Apart from a high base cost, this brought with it an extremely tough rigidity, almost ten times that of average cement. Now it had been easily damaged under Garen's strength.
”If I didn’t dodge that second move…” He let out a low cough. Phlegm surged up his throat, and he felt bursts of piercing pain in his back.
He turned sideways to spit out the phlegm: it was blood sputum. The blood red goop stuck onto the floor of the ring with a flop.
”Good fight!” When he got excited, Carlos' accent immediately turned into a rhotic tone; Garen couldn't make out the origin of the accent.
”You're not too bad either.” Garen gave a soft laugh, and temporarily put aside all his worries. ”Again!”
He stomped his foot, angled his elbow forward and dashed towards his opponent like a drill.
His left elbow complemented the Dash Form. Coupled with the impact of the Step Form, the integrated use of the Four Major Forms was his true transformation after receiving the Secret Martial Art.
This was the same maneuver he used to defeat the stout youth earlier.
When he rushed to the front of Carlos, the latter gave a cunning smile then suddenly crouched down and kicked Garen's lower body.
Whack!
Carlos caught Garen squarely in the calf, but his expression immediately changed as he attempted to roll over and dodge, but it was too late.
His opponent's calf was anchored like an iron wall. This was the result of a marked difference in strength. Moreover, his straight kick did not actually do his opponent any harm, not even a scratch.
Was this a bad joke? Usually the power of this kick was enough to rupture two sandbags arranged successively!
He saw Garen draw his hands to his chest and do an elbow drop, collapsing on him like a mountain.
It was too late.
Carlos did not hesitate; he made a ruthless decision.
”Abrupt Kick!”
Both his legs suddenly kicked upwards. The tips of his feet were like sharp spikes and stabbed Garen's chest and abdomen one after the other.
Wham!
The two collided hard into each other; the whole ring quaked from the impact.
The entire tournament ground suddenly fell into complete silence.
Garen slowly got up and looked at Carlos who was coughing up blood.
”No matter how fast you are, how fast your rhythm, I just need to hit you once.”
It was only then that the referee rushed into the ring to strike the bell.
”The winner is Garen of White Cloud Gate!”
Hurrah!
The audience burst into a loud cheer; the whole tournament venue instantly became rowdy. Most of the disciples from Southern Twelve Gates were over the moon.
Garen shook his head as he watched the medical team carry the injured Carlos away. He looked down at his own chest: two red spots were clearly visible, and his skin was slightly swollen.
”He was indeed an expert who has mastered Vibration, much more lethal than an average person. Any stronger and he would have broken my defense.”
”The next venue is the finals tournament ground, that is the open tournament ground outside. It starts tomorrow morning,” the referee on the side cautiously announced. ”Today's preliminaries have ended. Tomorrow will be the finals to determine the top ten.”
”That is to say, I can go back and rest now?” Garen asked.
”Yes.”
Garen leaped out of the ring. His white clothing was torn and ragged: Carlos' kicks earlier had shredded his clothes at his chest. He simply pulled off his top and walked out of the room baring his upper body.
”Eldest Senior Brother, you're finally in the finals!” Collin, Carrie and the rest were elated.
”At such a critical moment, where could Rimridor have gone?” Simon moaned softly.
”That guy isn't here yet?” Garen frowned, ”It's fine, forget him. You guys head straight back to rest. I'll take a shower first.”
”Yes, Senior Brother!” the three of them replied respectfully at once. Their impression of Garen now was higher and more authoritative than ever.
Garen nodded, and walked towards the left side of the corridor alone. Every now and then there would be some disciples from Southern Twelve Gates looking at him in admiration, and give way to him.
He had defeated Carlos from the Order of the Iron Fist. His reputation immediately reached a prominent height. The Order of the Iron Fist ranked ninth, but Carlos was indeed a top ten contender the last time. Now that he had been defeated, this meant that Garen could benefit from his detriment to advance further.