Chapter 56: Unarmed Combat
Chapter 56: Unarmed Combat
"Now!" Ramon shouted.
Ron's eyebrow jumped, and in that moment, Hannibal jumped from his blind spot with a large knife in hand. Ramon instantly rushed to tackle Ron, planning to wrap his arms around him so he couldn't dodge.
"Tricks." Ron spat out as he easily sidestepped Ramon's tackle and delivered a swift punch to his stomach.
Ramon fell down on his knees, clutching his abdomen in pain.
Hannibal swung his knife down, but then Ron grabbed him by the wrist with his shield- wielding hand and twisted it, causing the knife to drop to the ground. Then he brought Hannibal's arm down, forcing him down to the ground.
"Go to sleep." Ron said and smashed the sword's hilt into Hannibal's head.
Hannibal reeled back, leaving a small bleeding dent in his head, and then slowly fell to the ground. He was still alive but had lost his consciousness.
"A nice attempt." Ron said with a smile. "My abilities are still above that."
At that moment, a steel blade appeared behind his back, about to go straight through him, but then Ron tilted his body to the side. The blade went right past him, nearly scratching him.
"Oh..." Ron turned to Adam, who was holding the sword, with a smile on his face. "I shouldn't forget you."
Adam didn't look frustrated that his attack was near success. He moved alongside his sword, ran past Ron, and then turned around to face him once more.
Donald, watching the fight, steeled his nerves and clutched his sword tightly, ready to join the fray.
"Guys, we can only do this if we work together!" Donald shouted to all the players near him. "Let's put pressure on Ron; we can't defeat him alone!"
The players gritted their teeth, then, with a loud scream, they rushed forward towards Ron. He was the only obstacle left in this long tutorial. He was the final obstacle.
Ron looked over his shoulder and then moved his sword in front of him, blocking another attack from Adam. He launched the attack as soon as Ron's eyes moved elsewhere.
However, Ron was prepared for it.
"Now it is getting interesting." Ron said and turned back to Adam with a smile. "Take a break, Adam. I'll test the others real quick."
Adam's eyebrows furrowed, but at that moment, Ron's high kick landed on his head. It came so quickly and so unexpectedly that he didn't have any chance of dodging it.
His eyes rolled back to his skull, and he slowly fell to the ground-Adam fell unconscious.
Ron turned back to the players, smiled, and walked calmly towards them.
The players-over twenty of them-attacked Ron from all angles. From low, from high, from middle, and even from behind. He was surrounded.
Ron placed his shield in front of him and then swung it in front of him. The shield made a loud noise as it blocked the first few hits, but the players were relentless.
The other attacks approached him from all directions.
"Interesting."
Ron said casually, and then he raised his sword and ordinarily swung it around him. It was a 360 degree slash. It didn't hit anyone, but then a powerful shockwave struck all the players and blew them away.
The players groaned loudly and desperately stopped themselves from moving any further back, as there was danger of falling off the platform. Then it would be a very long fall to the bottom.
Ron smiled in amusement, but then heard rapid panting from behind him and quickly moved his shield behind him. A sword landed on his shield and made a loud noise.
"Rgghh!" Donald gritted his teeth as his attack failed.
"You followed up quickly; were you out of the range of my shockwave attack?" Ron looked impressed. "Not bad, not bad at all."
'I planned to have others act as decoys, and then I'll finish off Ron with a sneak attack. He still managed to block my attack!'
"I still don't approve of your fighting style." Ron said coldly. "You're way too ready to sacrifice others."
Ron slowly sheathed his sword and strapped his shield to his back. He wasn't holding any weapons now.
"I'll make it even easier for you guys; I'll just use my hands." Ron said, the confidence evident in his voice.
A small distance away, Adam regained his consciousness and touched his aching head with an uncomfortable look.
'He kicked at my temple.' Adam shook his head and stood back up.
He then regained his focus and saw what was happening in the fight. Ron was standing without weapons, and other players looked disheveled.
It didn't look like the fight was going well.
"That bastard is strong." Ramon walked to him, still clutching his abdomen. "We need to
come up with a plan quickly before it's too late."
"We?" Adam looked at him and chuckled. "I didn't take you as a team player."
"Huh, I followed the lead on the third floor, didn't I?" Ramon scoffed.
"I suppose..." Adam rolled his tongue inside his mouth and said, "There aren't any plans that would work against Ron. He is far too strong."
"We just need to land a single scratch on him; how hard can that be?" Ramon asked in
frustration.
"It is hard, incredibly so," Adam said. "I don't think you still realize the difference in our and Ron's abilities. He could've already defeated us if he wanted to."
"So fucking what? This cannot be an impossible test!" Ramon shouted angrily.
"It isn't impossible." Adam picked up his shield and sword from the ground, then said, "However, defeating him is very much impossible."
"Eh?" Ramon watched as Adam started walking towards Ron. "What're you doing now?"
"Fight; that's pretty much all we can do." Adam said.
Back at the fight, Donald swung his broadsword; each swing was very wide and sloppy. Ron dodged them all while barely moving.
"Your swordsmanship is poor, very much so." Ron raised his leg and said, "That's one thing you must train."
Then he kicked Donald very hard in the thigh, sending him sprawling to the ground. The kick sounded like a gunshot.
"Oh, you woke up." Ron turned around and saw Adam walking towards him. "Not bad."
His eyes then went to Hannibal, who was still lying on the ground. He was knocked out cold, and it didn't look like he was going to wake up any time soon.
"I needed the rest." Adam said and moved into a fighting stance. "Thank you for that."
"No problem." Ron moved his hands in front of him, looking like he was about to grapple. "I've been itching for a good sparring partner."
"Unarmed combat..." Adam shrugged his shoulders and dropped his shield and sword to the ground. "It's been some time since I've fought someone with fists."
"It doesn't hurt to know unarmed combat." Ron said with a smile. "In the New World, there are some people who fight with their fists. Their fists can crack mountains, split the earth, and
destroy forests."
Adam moved his right hand beside his shoulder and his left hand near his waist, and his feet
were positioned shoulder-width apart.
"Boxing?" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow. "Any prior experience?"
"A little," Adam said, and then lunged forward. During the lunge, he lowered his stance and
threw over-shoulder punch with perfect form and precision.
Ron moved his hand to grab the fist, but at that moment, the fist disappeared. It never
connected with Ron's hand.
Adam disappeared from his field of vision. Ron's eyes panicked slightly, and then he lowered
his gaze just enough to see that Adam was going for a tackle!
'That punch was a feint. He punched, then did a feint into a tackle!'
Ron thought with amazement and then quickly grabbed Adam by his shoulders before he
could finish his tackle. At that moment, Adam wrapped his arms behind Ron's legs, then lifted
him up and slammed him to the ground with all his strength.
CRACK!