Martial Arts Worlds

Kiernan waved his arm against the forearm of Zachary's punching arm and pushed it just barely enough for it to miss his face.

Cowardly Tactics!

Zachary instantly switched tactics and lifted his leg towards Kiernan's groin in an attempt to destroy his manhood.

These were ugly and unsportsmanlike moves, but they were allowed by the rules, as pretty much anything goes.

Kiernan touched knees, his legs making an upside-down V shape, and blocked Zachary's calf kick with his knees.

"Iron Style, Iron Bastion!"

Strike Tactics!

With the instant switch, Zachary punched forward, and Kiernan immediately crossed his arms in front of his body in a guard.

The punch landed against his arms and sent him flying backwards with a grunt of pain.

His feet slid through the concrete ground. His back leaned towards the ground, but he then masterfully balanced himself and swiftly regained his stance.

"Iron Style, World Equilibrium!"

Karuza High bench let out a collective gasp as they thought that Kiernan would fall down, which would leave him vulnerable to Zachary's attacks.

Zachary closed in and punched, but Kiernan quickly slapped it away, having to use a significant amount of strength to accomplish that.

The axe-like shoulder of Zachary then came towards his chin, but Kiernan quickly pulled his head back, and Zachary then followed with a few quick jabs and kicks.

Kiernan stepped back while weaving through them, a few sweatdrops forming on his forehead.

It was mentally draining to dodge those humongous fists, knowing that if any of them landed, the match could be over.

"I've never seen Kiernan on such a backfoot before! Not even against Johan…"

Jonathan said out loud.

"The control of the match is completely in Zachary's hands right now, and there is not much Kiernan can do. It takes all of his effort to just not get hit."

Coach Jin said with a dark look.

He was still very proud of how Kiernan was doing. Everyone else who had participated in this year's nationals would've already gotten hit.

Even Julian.

Zachary's wild, broad swings swung at Kiernan, but he awkwardly dodged every single one.

It was only a hair's breadth away that those punches would've smashed into his face like a wrecking ball.

The wide punches whizzed past him, but then Kiernan hooked his leg behind Zachary's knee and pulled with all his might, forcing him on his knee.

"Iron Style, Knee Strike!"

THWACK!

The knee smashed into Zachary's nose, causing blood to gush out instantly.

"…"

Zachary slashed his hand towards Kiernan, but he jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the attack.

He landed close to the center of the stage and finally managed to catch his breath after the constant attacks.

Cheers~

Amazed—the crowd erupted into thunderous applause.

It looked like it was only a matter of time before Zachary delivered the final blow, but then out of nowhere, Kiernan did something amazing.

"Good! Very good!"

Coach Jin clapped his hands and showed a gigantic smile.

…

"Whoa, that was close!"

Nathaniel shouted at the television.

"Kiernan has evolved to a whole new level, it seems, but his opponent is also a monster. The level of this year's nationals is vastly higher than last year's."

Timothy said with a serious look behind his glasses.

"Well, the control of the match will change now."

Ryan said, and crossed his legs.

"What do you mean, Ryan?"

Klaus asked.

"Kiernan's been trying to understand Zachary's strength, the range of his attack, and his current mental state. But now he's got it all figured out."

"How are you so sure?"

"Kiernan has been getting more and more comfortable staying close to Zachary. Those few attacks almost hit him. It was just a hair's breadth away.

"If Kiernan wanted to, he could've made sure those attacks never got that close, but he didn't need to, as he was perfectly aware of Zachary's current range.

"That hook leg and knee to the face was perfectly executed. It is clear that Kiernan figured out Zachary entirely and knew exactly how to counter his moves."

Ryan said.

Nathaniel's round eyes turned back to the television, and he saw Zachary stand back to his feet.

The fight was changing paces once more.

…

Cowardly Tactics!

Zachary moved ahead, then picked up Kiernan's old, ripped-apart jersey and tossed it towards Kiernan to blind his vision.

He couldn't see anything through the jersey!

"Sweeping Catch."

Kiernan caught the jersey and then sidestepped Zachary's blind punch.

"?!"

Zachary's eyes widened in surprise as he believed that his punch would land, but despite not seeing the punch come, Kiernan was still able to dodge it!

At that moment, Kiernan wrapped the jersey around Zachary's eyes, tied it into a knot, and kneed him in the back.

Zachary stumbled forward, completely blinded, but then he ripped the jersey apart and swung his arm at Kiernan.

SMACK!

Before he could fully extend his arm, Kiernan pushed his left hand against his elbow, stopped the wild swing, and then kicked him in the knee.

"Urgh!"

Zachary's left knee buckled under the force of the kick, and it looked like the kick really took a toll on his knee.

"Iron Style, Rock n' Roll!"

The twisting hand scratched Zachary's shoulder, and it left a deep gash that immediately started bleeding profusely.

"Kiernan! Kiernan! Kiernan! Kiernan!"

The crowd screamed in unison.

Gritting through his teeth, Zachary punched forward with strike tactics, but Kiernan stabbed his hand forward and pierced his fingers through his chest.

"Iron Style, Iron Lance!"

The large fist stopped right before hitting Kiernan's face. It was the extent of his range.

It didn't matter that Zachary was taller with more muscle mass. The one who had a greater arm range was Kiernan!

"…"

Zachary's eyes darkened, then his fingers tensed up, and he swung his arm at Kiernan.

Kiernan was too close to dodge or make proper defensive play, but he also doubted that an attack from such close range would cause any major damage.

Therefore, Kiernan thought that there was only one play and placed his forearm in guard against the swinging hand.

At that moment, Zachary's fingers sliced through Kiernan's forehead and left behind five bleeding gashes.

"Ah?"

Kiernan's eyes shook as he saw his blood spurting out of his forearm.

At that moment, Zachary showed something that he hadn't shown to anyone else before except to his master, Alabaster.

It was his trump card—Scratch Tactics!

With his fingers, Zachary was able to slice through anything like a hot knife through butter, and it was something that completely took Kiernan by surprise.

"Destroy him!"

Alabaster screamed.