Yorim’s opponent used his weapon to strike Yorim’s lower body.
Seol-Hwi’s subordinate quickly jumped back, and, using his spear as a counterweight, attempted to kick Ack Ho.
However, Ack Ho dodged the attack.
“…!”
It was an unexpected failure. It exposed a gap in Yorim to the opponent. But this was actually Yorim’s intention – a situation in which Ack Ho wouldn’t distance himself, but rather, would get closer instead.
As a result, Yorim was able to pinpoint from where his opponent would next attack from, and then avoided it.
From the short distance between them, Yorim’s fists flew towards Ack Ho.
“Urgh!”
Ack Ho now had two ways to deal with Yorim. The first was to counterattack, and the second was to use a spear technique to increase their distance again.
The latter wasn’t bad, since Yorim was currently separated from his weapon. But Ack Ho chose the former one.
He also had a goal in mind.
Ack Ho released the spear he was holding, and dodged his opponent’s fists. Then, he exchanged a few of his own punches with Yorim.
Puak! Puak! Puak!
“Ugh!”
This time, it was Yorim who couldn’t block the offensive of his opponent. Yorim grabbed his wrist, and groaned in pain.
“Hey you. Did you really think that I wouldn’t have any close combat training?”
Yorim wasn’t simply pushed back by Ack Ho’s punches. There were hidden needles inside his fists.
Ack Ho’s hands were covered with white cloth, where thin needles were inserted between the knuckles. Because of the white bandages, no one noticed these small needles.
“It was hidden needles…”
“Those shameful bastards!”
“Not shameful. Rather, Yorim is the one being reckless. He ran into the opponent first.”
Jeok Song, Yong Jin, and Seo Ryeong, while watching the fight, shared their thoughts. Imugi spoke next,
“As expected, I should have gone…”
No one bothered listening to him.
“This was intended.”
At those words, the subordinates turned towards Seol-Hwi. They were curious about what he meant.
“Even Yorim wouldn’t have thought that this guy would be using needles in his fists. However, in the end, Yorim will win. Things like hidden needles will only be temporary advantages for the opponent.”
His subordinates still looked at him with eyes that said they didn’t understand. Seol-Hwi continued his explanation.
“Yorim isn’t at a level where he can use Void Movement with his spear right now. So he is aiming for a very close combat fight. The opponent’s movements are swift, and it will be a burden for Yorim to handle, but…”
“…”
“It’s helpful because the opponent is too focused on physical defense. Flame Aggregating Demonic Martial Arts doesn’t just disappear when it collides with something, it penetrates beyond that.”
“Ah!”
Seol-Hwi’s subordinates finally understood his meaning.
They moved their gazes back to the stage, where Yorim’s spear was embedded into the ground.
Yorim had grabbed onto it, but did not pull it out. Instead, he tried to kick his opponent like he did before, using the spear for balance.
“You idiot!”
Ack Ho laughed at Yorim’s attempt, and evaded the attack.
“What…?!”
But this time, he was surprised. Yorim did not stop trying to kick Ack Ho. As soon as his opponent dodged, Yorim would change the direction of his kicks.
Ack Ho didn’t back down. He managed to grab Yorim’s foot, and threw Yorim away from him.
Yorim, whose form was broken, wasn’t in a state to fight back. As Ack Ho rushed towards him, he hurriedly backed away, and when there was nowhere to retreat, he got ready to stand his ground.
Ack Ho, who saw Yorim balling his hands into fists, felt it – that Yorim was about to attack him again.
So Ack Ho prepared his hands to block.
Puak!
But something felt strange. He thought Yorim’s fist would collide with his hand, and then he would be pushed back, but when the punch came, something burned.
And when he tried to shake it off…
Ack Ho’s face stiffened at the sight of fire.
“What is… argh!”
He let out a groan as the flames enveloped the rest of his arm. Ack Ho quickly dropped on the ground and rolled, trying to put out the fire.
But why wasn’t it working?
The more he tried to put the fire out, the more it spread to the rest of his body.
“This is my chance!”
At that moment, Yorim was holding his spear in his hands. It was time to end this fight for real. He wanted to do it, before his opponent came to his senses.
“Enough.”
But someone stepped in to stop him – Yulsa.
“You win!”
After those words from the announcer, the fire was put out, and Ack Ho was left standing dazedly.
“Ohhhh!”
“Two of them won! From the command unit!”
Unlike the Four Imperial Troops’ side of the arena, the command units were all cheering for Yorim’s victory.
As the on-site reactions were appearing to Seol-Hwi, Yorim arrived at where he and his subordinates were sitting.
“I must have looked bad.”
Yorim said this, but the others thought differently.
“No, you could have ended that guy with one hit.”
“You must have thought that you shouldn’t show off your Divine Weapon’s ability. If you had fought properly, you would have overwhelmed him even more.”
“How is your wound?”
Jeok Song, Yong Jin, and Seo Ryeong spoke words of encouragement and concern. Of course, there was one of Seol-Hwi’s subordinates who was different.
“Yorim, you did fine. Well, maybe not as much as Jeok Song…”
“Who will come forward this time?”
After Yorim’s fight was over, a person sitting next to the stage got up. His health and internal energy were lower than Ack Ho’s, but he still wasn’t an easy opponent.