Martial Arts Worlds

Chapter 26 The Journey of the Strong

Everyone in the stadium realized this. Kang didn't have a clear advantage over his opponent.

It might've been because of his injuries sustained in his fight with Ryan or because Kiernan was simply strong!

A new fire was lit in the hearts of those who supported Karuza High. There was still hope!

Klaus and Timothy have not even once ceased cheering him on. There was only one obstacle left before nationals—it happened to be the biggest obstacle in their high school career, Kang Moon.

Kang screamed and started throwing punches. Each punch caused the air to explode. All of those punches were stronger than any punch thrown by Martial Soldier.

His strength was inching closer and closer to Martial Fighter territory!

'What a monster.' Jin thought with a sour expression. 'I can feel it; Kang is becoming stronger with each passing second!'

"Come on, Kang!" Leon and Jonathan screamed.

Madigan's nails dug into his palms. The defeat wasn't an option. They had been defeating Karuza High for the last two years, and this year was supposed to be their easiest victory yet.

They had the strongest team in the past decade. However, somehow this year, Karuza High managed to challenge them for the victory!

"Iron Style, Rendering Edge!" Kiernan stood his ground and redirected all of those powerful punches away.

No matter how strong Kang's punches were, they couldn't break Kiernan's defense!

It was like he was a fortress.

"Annoying!" Kang's forehead throbbed with a headache. It was the most frustrating fight he had ever been in.

Another one of Kang's punches flew in. This time, Kiernan grabbed it by the wrist, then moved his other hand to Kang's shoulder and twisted it hard.

With a swift movement, Kang was put into an standing armlock.

"Aaargh!" Kang screamed in pain as his whole body screamed in agony.

The arm that was put into standing armlock was Kang' broken arm. While the arm wasn't broken, the shoulder and collarbone were. It was the most excruciating pain in Kang's life.

"Iron Style, Trap of the Tiger." Kiernan whispered as he applied pressure to the armlock.

Then, he moved Kang's arm behind his back, locking it in place.

"Aaargh!" Kang screamed as his shoulder was rotated all the way to the back.

Fueled with rage and pain, he clumsily threw a punch with his right fist over his shoulder. He couldn't see where he was aiming and felt the empty feeling of missing his target.

"Your son is freaking strong; what the hell!" Liam shouted in shock.

Another friend of Karma's added. "Kang can't do anything against him. What the hell did you teach your son?"

Kang was right in front of him and was completely caught off-guard. He didn't plan to be this close.

'This fucker led me right into his trap!' Kang's eyes shrank with his instincts screaming from every pore.

At that moment, Kiernan moved to his punching stance and unleashed a single straight punch—it didn't look special, but soon, the air flow in front of the fist drastically changed and the strength of the punch multiplied.

"Iron Style..."

Kiernan gritted his teeth tight and slammed his fist into Kang's gut.

"IRON SMASH!"

SMACK!

Kang's stomach caved in as if he were hit by a wrecking ball. He flew backwards like a shooting star and crashed on the ground on the other end of the ring. He was only inches away from falling off the ring.

If he wasn't as heavy as he was, he would've lost the fight then and there.

"So close!" Karuza High's supporters echoed in unison with frustrated looks.

"H-he can still do it, right?" Klaus said with a nervous whisper. "That punch was so strong, he should just throw another like that."

"He can't." Timothy nudged his glasses with a serious look. "Look at his hand, it's completely broken."

"W-what?" Klaus turned to look at Kiernan and saw the state of his fist—it was bruised and swollen—most likely every bone in his hand broke.

In the medical wing, Nath screamed at the television, even though Kiernan couldn't hear a word.

"Are we going to lose..." Shura whispered with a sinking feeling. "Kiernan... who is he?"

"Who knows..." Ryan said with a smile. "The fight is over."

In the ring, Kang tried to climb back to his feet with a startled expression. It was clear that he didn't know what hit him. It was almost like a car ran him over.

"T-This cannot be..." Kang tried to push himself past his limits, but he noticed that his legs had lost their strength. "N-noo..."

At that moment, he felt a hand on his shoulder. This time, it was the right shoulder, so the pain wasn't as bad.

Kang, with a frozen expression, turned around just to see Kiernan stand over him with a stoic expression.

"No... how could I lose a piece of shit like you..."

"Who knows?" Kiernan said and pushed Kang off the ring. "Many people have asked me that during my journey. I am still unable to give them a satisfying answer."

Thud. Kang's body hit the ground outside the ring.

Whistle—a sound of whistle echoed throughout the quiet stadium.

"The winner is Kiernan Hunter!" Rio shouted loudly. "As representative of WMAF, I declare Karuza High as victors!"