Under the watchful eyes of the audience, Dash clasped his hands and bowed in a gesture of respect toward his opponent. Similarly, Dong inclined towards him while sporting a somewhat strange smile.
"Fight!"
Upon hearing the start of the much-anticipated match, the audience erupted in cheers filled with excitement. On the mats, two matchups were about to unfold, and two quarterfinalists would be named from this confrontation.
"I've been practicing a lot for this; your size won't make a difference now and never will..."
With the signal to begin, Dash's body moved to the side, lightly hopping on the ground. Suddenly, as Dong approached, Dash swung his right foot like a whip towards Dong's side.
Crack!
Dash's powerful kick was stopped by Dong's right foot, causing both to collide with force.
Under this painful kick, Dash's expression became even more hardened as he took a few steps back, feeling the burning pain in his right foot. That kick was painful; he didn't expect Dong to receive it in that manner, and that's why it resulted in damage.
"I won't be able to engage in a kicking match since I'll lose. My only way is to be aggressive in close-quarters combat."
By the time Dash reached this conclusion, even though he had been warned before, Dong had already advanced and began launching powerful kicks aimed at Dash's head, who started to dodge them.
The initial kicks, as Dash retreated, were easy to dodge as they didn't hit his body. However, as the distance of the combat zone was running out, the first kick hit his left shoulder. Although his guard was up, the impact was painful.
"Now or never..."
Still sore from the powerful blows he received a moment ago, the most painful he had felt since he started training, Dash had to be alert if he didn't want to get even more injured.
The moment Dong stepped back, Dash took the lead, stretching his arm and hitting with all his might.
Hsss!
Having struck Dash's shoulder heavily, he recoiled because it was a strong enough hit for the referee to score a point. However, when he saw that Dong showed no changes, he knew something was wrong.
"What the hell?"
Dong smiled slightly and with a spin, kicked Dash's chest, sending him straight to the ground. While still wondering why his blow hadn't caused any damage, the referee took a step forward and awarded a point to Dong, who wanted to keep on hitting.
"Dash, get up!" Mr. Kim shouted, having clearly seen how Dash's blow had connected but had no results, unlike other times, so he warned, "Don't hold back; hit him with everything you have."
Mr. Han, who had been observing the fight, frowned and approached a referee to complain, "It was a point for Dash Hale; Dong was clearly hit."
"Impact, but it wasn't a clear point; there's nothing to review!"
"Check his clothing under his uniform; he must have some bandages to not feel the pain!"
Dash, lying on the mat, furrowed his brows, filled with fury, and with a leap, he stood up again. Gently rubbing his chest, he looked at Dong, who was ready to fight again, and smiled slightly.
"I'm going to break your teeth, you bastard!" Dash knew that the big guy had something under his uniform, whatever it was that made the blows hurt less, so he had to land his best hits on the nerves.
Seeing Dash stand up, the referee pointed at Dong and asked, "Ready? Fight!"
By the time Dash heard that announcement again, he quickly ran towards Dong, who had quickly launched a kick towards his shoulder. Blocking the kick forcefully, he exerted all his strength in his right arm and struck Dong's ribs.
"AAHH!"
Dong's scream was deafening as he fell to the ground.
"What a damn pain..." Dash murmured as he shook his right shoulder that had been hit twice in the same spot despite blocking.
After seeing that he couldn't harm Dong, what Dash did was hit his shoulder with force and hope that the point where his attack was directed was well-protected since it would be a strong impact.
"Point!"