Martial Arts Worlds

After the two beaten-up fighters were taken away for treatment, the temple priest showed the gold coin from his pocket.

"Heads!"

Master Sifu said.

The temple priest tossed the coin in the air, waited for it to come back, and then caught it with his palm.

It was tails.

"It's tails. Master Sifu of Ghoul Dojo will choose his fighter first."

The temple priest said.

"…"

Master Arakawa let out a deep sigh and looked at his three remaining fighters.

Heavy pressure landed on his students' shoulders as none of them definitely wanted to be the reason why they lost the match.

At that moment, the crowd started whispering between themselves as Ghoul Dojo's fighters made their way to the battle sand.

The crowd had mixed expressions.

"It's him… The ugly goblin."

"He sure is a sight for sore eyes. I don't understand how he can ever go outside looking like this."

"Yeah… if I were him, I would never go out."

The short-legged, big-headed, and large-bellied "young" man walked to the center of the battle sand.

While he looked like he was in his early forties, he was actually only eighteen years old, but he was suffering from rare genetic conditions that made him look the way he did.

"…"

Hugo Moreau looked silently in front of him, his expression unreadable as he prepared for the fight ahead.

It was hard to think that he could fight anyone since he was the easily shortest fighter in the entire tournament, and the reach of his arms was noticeably shorter than his opponents.

"Hugo Moreau. A tricky opponent, and he is someone like Arturo, who doesn't have a good match-up, but I have already decided his opponent…"

Master Arakawa said, and he turned to Dante.

"Dant—"

At that moment, Kiernan stood up and slid the yukata off his body, showing his well-toned body with skintight shorts that highlighted his muscular legs and defined chest.

"I'll take this one."

Kiernan said.

"Are you sure? I originally planned for you to fight against Callum Fraser. I think you would fit him better."

Master Arakawa said.

Dante looked at them with interest and didn't mind Kiernan taking his spot, as he really didn't want to fight Hugo.

He knew Hugo and how he was the most annoying fighter in the entire tournament.

"I've received your investigation reports about Ghoul Dojo's fighters, and I know… what type of fighter Hugo is. I believe I would be the best match-up for him."

Kiernan said with confidence.

"Very well, then."

Master Arakawa sat back down on his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Stepping down on the sand, Kiernan walked to the center and towered over Hugo easily with his height advantage.

If three Hugo's were stacked on top of each other, they would only barely reach Kiernan's height.

"Hugo Moreau vs. Arakawa Kiernan!"

Kiernan smiled and received loving cheers from the crowd of the rival dojos.

"Arakawa Kiernan… He is the one that married into the Arakawa family? I didn't expect him to look… so nice!"

"So handsome… I am so jealous of Arakawa Aoi!"

"However, how strong is he? We have zero information about his fighting style or strength!"

The crowd conversed with each other.

"Go, Kiernan!"

Aoi screamed like a fangirl in the crowd.

The sound of the gong reached the night sky, and then, with the temple priest's arm waving down, the two fighters charged at each other.

"Iron Smash!"

Kiernan slammed his fist into Hugo's guard and sent him sliding back, but he barely moved, as if he was a boulder.

'He is surprisingly heavy. I thought he would be light and would get flung off with ease!'

Kiernan thought to himself.

"Hoo…"

Hugo breathed heavily and felt a sting on his arms, which surprised him greatly.

He'd been training alongside Leon and had gotten used to his inhumanly strong punches, so most punches felt like nothing in comparison.

However, Kiernan's punch felt like a flaming sword cutting through his skin.

'Let's see how much he can actually 'tank' with his small body.'

Kiernan thought to himself and released a kick, which moved like a flash and immediately made contact with Hugo's leg.

"Iron Style, Patella Breaker!"

With his brows furrowing, Hugo tanked the kick and kept keeping his guard up, but while he had his arms up, his shoulders also lifted up close to his cheek.

It was a strange defensive stance, but he truly started to look like a strong boulder of a man, and if one thought his legs would be open for attack, they would be mistaken.

Despite his small stature and short legs, the muscles in his thighs were incredibly strong, which made it seem like he could withstand anything.

Hugo wasn't a flashy fighter.

He was a boring fighter.

A fighter that none of the professional martial arts teams would want because no one would want to watch him fight.

Hugo's plan was simple.

Keep defending, like a tank, and wait for his opponent to get tired of punching his defenses. It doesn't matter how long that takes. Hugo knew he could outlast everyone.

"Heh~"

Kiernan smirked and punched—the trajectory of his fist kept changing randomly—Hugo's eyes tried to follow, but it was so hard.

"Iron Style, Reigning Fallow!"

The punches kept landing, and Hugo hid himself behind his guard, but his body rocked like a ship on stormy seas.

"Ah! Argh! Urgh!"

Hugo gritted his teeth as his feet kept sliding backward, but his posture was so solid that he wasn't losing his balance.

The sight surprised the students of Ghoul Dojo.

They've had experience fighting Hugo and hated every moment of it because it seemed like none of their attacks affected him.

Hugo always kept a deadpan expression, not the slightest change, but this time around, Hugo was gritting his teeth and looking like he was in pain!

It was something that only one person managed to do—Leon Garcia.

'This is why I also wanted Dante to fight Hugo. He has the strongest punching power that I know, and I believe that he would be able to punch through Hugo's defenses.

'I didn't expect Kiernan to have this kind of strength. I suppose he knows his own strength very well.'

Master Arakawa thought with a smile.