"Alright, let's begin." Jack was dressed in a karate uniform with green details and his dojo's logo—an avatar that I couldn't quite make out.
This fight had been postponed for a long time, but not anymore.
Boom!
Jack glared menacingly at Dash as he advanced. His foot repeatedly whipped forward, aiming for his opponent's head, whose defenses were quite strong.
The fact that they were now in the quarterfinals meant they were both strong, with no clear power difference; at least that's what many thought when watching this fight.
But what many didn't know was that Dash had much more combat experience than Jack. Furthermore, if he fought without mercy, his methods could be too cruel.
In response to these sudden attacks, Dash sharpened his gaze. He finally understood that there was no way to win unless this battle was one where he had to clash directly with Jack and defeat him.
This fight was going to be very different from all the rest.
Boom!
Just as this thought crossed Dash's mind, at that very moment, Jack chose to attack him differently. His figure wasn't fast, but his strikes compensated with strength; in the blink of an eye, he tried to attack Dash's lower guard. His right fist was clenched, and he aimed at his stomach.
Jack's punch seemed simple and ordinary. However, because his fist was wrapped and prepared to cause real harm, this blow contained more destructive force than a saber or a knife!
Boom!
The air around his fist was forcefully pushed aside as a deep buzz resonated.
While feeling Jack's formidable attack, Dash's heart fluttered a bit but quickly returned to normal given his experience.
In terms of strength, the difference was unknown, but Dash wasn't the one going all out, as doing so could lead to an injury that would ruin his subsequent fights, something he didn't want.
Jack, who took the offensive, was about to unleash another wave of attacks when suddenly a spinning back kick landed on his stomach, knocking him down in a single blow.
"Point!"
The flags were raised, and Jack, who was on the ground, waited a few seconds before getting up. He didn't know how a kick had been directed at him without him noticing.
The referee didn't want to give Jack much time to recover; that would be an advantage that shouldn't be granted to anyone, so he said, "Both to the center, ready? Fight!"
This time, Jack didn't attack directly; he still needed to recover from the blow that knocked the wind out of him. Therefore, he wasn't foolish enough to face Dash directly again. Immediately, his feet started retreating as Dash advanced.
Boom!
Dash's first punch landed on Jack's arm, who showed a pained expression followed by numbness spreading throughout his arm.
Crack!
As he countered Dash's formidable attack, that numbness grew to the point where he didn't know what was happening.
A strike to his weak points?
Dash knew there was no need to risk so much when he knew where to hit to cause more damage than he received.
Facing Jack's extremely aggressive assault as he felt threatened, Dash quickly retreated. Meanwhile, his eyes watched Jack's foot movements to anticipate what kind of attacks he would make.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As they stared at this chase-like scene in the arena, some disappointed hisses sounded from the stands. Many of the of the people in the crowd were evidently disappointed. They had originally believed that Dash would choose to confront Jack directly instead of retreating again and again.
"Idiots, if only they knew what was really happening in the fight," Devon thought with slight annoyance as Dash was underestimated in these moments.
As for the spectators' glances, Dash paid them no attention. His eyes remained glued to the desperate Jack, who was losing mobility in his left arm more and more quickly.
Boom!
While retreating quickly, Dash's body suddenly stopped. His eyes quickly turned to look at the empty space behind him. In that space, he could sense a familiar sensation.
"I've got you!"
As the wave of punches approached, Dash could see that he was being targeted all over his body by this furious attack. Amidst that wave of fists, he felt an alert sensation that was an instinctive signal not to let himself be harmed.
Dash took a deep breath as he stared at the approaching wave. His combat stance changed to a defensive one before going on the offensive. He knew these attacks were desperate and that if he could get through them, he would score another point.
Just as Dash's body was about to be hit by a punch, his eyes suddenly widened. Ignoring the wave of punches, he extended his open palm like a sharp sword through the wave of fists before impacting Jack's shoulder forcefully.
Boom!
The instant Dash's palm collided with Jack's shoulder, and he received a punch that immediately hit him in the forehead.
Crack!
"Aaaaahhhh!"
Dash took a few steps back, a little dizzy; his vision blurred for a moment but then stabilized. "Damn..."
Dash's forehead was red at that moment; the fist mark clearly reflected on his forehead, but he was okay.
The damage wouldn't have been so bad if, at that moment, Dash didn't feel a warm trickle down his brow. "Blood?"
Mr. Han, who was overseeing Dash's fight, immediately approached with a white handkerchief and ice packs. Devon helped Dash put ice on his back while he took care of the open wound.
"How is it?" Dash glanced sideways at Jack, who was still on the ground.
He knew many techniques that could do as much damage as he wanted, but sometimes there were repercussions like this.
"You're an idiot; you could have ended the fight differently," Devon worriedly said, seeing the open wound on Dash's brow still bleeding.
Mr. Han, who was taking care of it, said, "It's not that bad; you'll be able to keep fighting."
"That won't happen," Devon said, totally convinced that Dash wouldn't fight.
Dash looked at Devon and said, "It's okay."
"How is it?" At that moment, a referee approached wanting to see Dash's injury, which had now stopped bleeding.
"It's not a big deal; I'm fine."
"The other competitor won't be able to continue fighting; this is your victory."
Dash pulled away from Mr. Han's hand and looked at Jack, who was being helped out of the combat arena. To defeat him, he first used his left hand and attacked his right shoulder forcefully when Jack attacked his forehead with a left punch.
"Winner, Dash Hale."