Martial Arts Worlds - Chapter 307

Chapter 307: Control of the Match

The celebrations on Kurogami High’s side were brief and short-lived. It was because of one young man who was still yet to be defeated.

“It is your turn…”

Coach Jin’s corner of lips twitched as he wanted to grin like a fool, but since he was a coach, he had to keep a calm facade.

“Alright.”

Kiernan stood up and dropped his towel down to the bench.

When he stood up, an aura of oppression attacked Kurogami High like a dark storm cloud had descended upon them, quickly silencing the chatter and laughter.

‘Well, they’re fucked.’

Julian wryly smiled and leaned back on the bench to get comfortable for the impending fight.

“It is finally his turn! A young man who had yet to fight in a single match is finally taking the stage! I know for a fact that the entire nation has been waiting for this moment!”

“I have to admit, even I was getting impatient in these past few matches because I only wanted to see him take the stage, but it is finally time!”

The crowd’s decibel levels rose with every step Kiernan was taking towards the fighting ring.

‘This is ridiculous. I didn’t feel much from their other fighters, but now, this aura of oppression is truly ridiculous.’

Adalric thought to himself, and even his calm facade was starting to crack, the pressure of the situation finally getting to him.

‘I have never felt anything like this before. Not even when I fought my big brother, who is already participating in college-level nationals!’

…

Nightingale, Abracadabra Castle.

“It is his turn!”

Bella’s cheeks flushed with excitement, and she didn’t move her gaze away from the screen for even a second.

“This’ll be interesting~ If he loses, Karuza High is out of the tournament, so there will be a lot of pressure on him.”

Nevaeh said with a smile.

She thought that it sure was strange.

Whenever other members of Karuza High battled, there was always uncertainty of how the match would go, but now that Kiernan was on the stage, there wasn’t such a feeling any longer.

‘The truly powerful aces are capable of giving confidence to his teammates and fans alike. It’s something that even professional fighters of the World Fighting League struggle to achieve.’

…

World Sea, Mugenryu.

“…”

Johan watched silently as Kiernan took the stage and saw immediately that he had changed drastically.

‘It is like he has transformed entirely…’

He thought, but then he looked at himself and realized that he had also transformed quite significantly.

In just half a year in Martial Academia, he wasn’t the same person that left New Rakuya. He had also grown into a monstrously strong individual, but in here, it still didn’t mean anything.

Beep! Beep!

At that moment, an alarm rang throughout the room.

“Is it already time? Shit…”

Johan sighed, pocketed the phone, and left his room.

…

“Gulp…”

The referee hesitated before arriving at the center of the ring. He felt the same aura that Kiernan was giving off, and it made him feel oppressed.

“Third match—Adalric Pieper versus Kiernan Hunter!”

‘Doesn’t matter. I have my Darkland Style, and I believe that I can challenge him. I’ve only shown Disappear and Punch, but this style is much more than just mere trickery!’

Adalric moved into his fighting stance.

“Are the two of you ready?”

“Yes!”

Adalric shouted.

“I am.”

Kiernan said and moved into the defensive stance of Iron Style—it was instantly clear that there weren’t any weaknesses in his stance!

‘I-I don’t see any weak points. How is he able to cover all angles so perfectly while standing in a stance? Ludicrous!’

Dietmar’s eyes shook.

“Whoo…”

The referee took a deep breath. He also wanted to see this fight with his entire being, and thus, without further ado, he swung his arm down and shouted.

“FIGHT!”

The audience erupted into a deafening roar.

‘He doesn’t move?’

Adalric’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Kiernan, who was still standing without moving a muscle.

“Kiernan rarely makes the first move. Be patient and take control of the match!”

The coach of Kurogami High screamed loudly.

He had studied the videos of Kiernan’s matches, and he had to admit that he was transcendent talent, but he also understood quite a lot about him.

He rarely made the first move as he was a very defensive-oriented fighter, which in some cases could mean that he could easily lose control of the match, but no.

The control of the match was extremely important to have, and every martial artist knew that maintaining control was crucial to victory.

Thus, some people wanted to go straight on the offensive to push their opponents to the back foot, but some liked for their opponents to make the first move and wait for chances to counterattack.

However, Kiernan was different compared to everyone else.

He took control of the match with his unbreakable defenses!

‘I know that he wants me to jump straight at him, but I won’t fall into his trap. If I attack blindly, he’ll crush me with his defenses. I need to come up with a strategy to counter his impenetrable wall.’

Adalric slowly neared him, taking his time, observing his opponent’s movements and looking for a weakness to exploit, but there wasn’t any!

It was ridiculous!

He had a good eye for weaknesses, but he couldn’t really see anything!

However, at that moment, a small opening appeared in Kiernan’s defense, and it happened to be behind him, right at his lower back.

‘If I use Disappear, I can easily attack that opening. Should I?’

Adalric wondered, but at that moment, he took a step back and distanced himself from Kiernan. His back started sweating like a waterfall.

‘Holy shit. I almost lost the match! Kiernan made that opening in order for me to attack his back. If I had done that…’

In his mind, his imagination ran wild, and he imagined Kiernan turning around and smashing his elbow into his face.

That would’ve already ended the match!

“Not bad.”

Kiernan said calmly and then took a step forward, moving out of his defensive stance to the shock of many.

“Your instincts are good, but how good are your defenses?”