"Come on, stop crying!" Dash shouted as he walked back and forth, visibly angered by losing a point in this manner. In normal situations, it's a luxury to lose to people better than oneself, but in this situation, things shouldn't be like that as it could cost him the victory.
Now that he had lost a point, it meant that if he made the same mistake again, he would be out of the quarterfinals, and he couldn't allow that. Not when people who cared about him were watching and not being a previous winner in a Karate tournament.
Dong didn't take much longer to get up, but obviously, that blow he had received from Dash had caused him a lot of damage. If he didn't have bandages under his uniform, it was certain that he wouldn't be able to continue with the fight.
"Come on, I'm going to crush you mercilessly!" Dash looked at Dong, who had been watching him with a smile, and frowned with anger. There was nothing else in life that made him angrier than seeing others cheat to unfairly win against a person who had been training as hard as he had to win this tournament.
Right now, numerous eyes were watching his next fight since that would determine who would be the winner, and they would have the first quarterfinal ready.
Since there was no need to hold back, Dash knew that to win, he mustn't have mercy on the enemy and crush him so much that he couldn't get up again. Originally, he wasn't as cruel as Devon was; he could be aggressive, but that was only in fights since, in real life, he was a very calm guy who argued with his friend about movies and TV series.
But when things go wrong, what he must do is not have mercy and be cruel to those who want to snatch away the glory he has been seeking since he started in this world.
After watching Dash's movements, Dong's gaze showed a little fear, and he raised his guard while the referee prepared to start the fight again.
"Ready? Fight!"
As soon as the referee initiated the fight, Dash quickly advanced, sliding on the floor to avoid Dong's first kick. By the time Dong turned around, Dash had already knocked him down with a low kick that made him lose his balance.
But Dash didn't stop; to win, he needed to make a point clear, and he jumped, wanting to drop on Dong, who had fallen to the ground.
Seeing the impending blow, Dong rolled on the ground quickly and left the combat platform.
"First warning, if you leave the mat and combat form once more, one point will be deducted, and you'll be out!" The referee shouted to Dong, who had stood up.
Looking at Dash, who was ready, Dong extended his hands and shouted, "Fight!"
Despite having the advantage, Dash didn't stop and ran towards Dong, who didn't have time to kick. Inevitably, he initiated close-quarters combat, which sentenced his fate.
Dash, an expert in close combat, deflected Dong's attacks and, after hitting his opponent's nerves three times, finished the fight with a strong blow to Dong's stomach, leaving him breathless.
Pum! Pum! Pum!
Twisting but still with his guard up, Dash looked at his opponent who had fallen to the ground and breathed a few times before lowering his guard.
"Point, winner!"
Under the platform, Mr. Kim frowned as he saw Dash's rigid right shoulder and didn't celebrate this victory. Shortly after, he shifted his gaze to the right foot, and seeing that it was also stiff, it was obvious that it had been injured.
"I'll need ice..." Mr. Kim murmured after seeing this and disappeared into the crowd.
After hearing that he had won, Dash bowed and stepped off the platform amid the applause of the audience. Although everyone was a bit surprised, there was no doubt that the best had won, and with a quarterfinalist secured, everyone celebrated.
Dash didn't pay attention to anyone else when he descended; his mind was still chaotic after losing a point in that way, and he needed to calm down at least.
By the time he descended, Mr. Kim approached with a bag of ice and said, "Put it on your shoulder."
Dash lowered his uniform and placed the ice bag on his shoulder. When Mr. Kim saw the injuries in that area, he knew he had two slight contusions, so it wasn't as serious as he thought.
While watching the next two fights, Dash sighed deeply after catching his breath.