Chapter 297: The Heavyweight Blow!
[STRIKE AT THE APEX]—
Driven by the [ENGINE], this was a state of total biological sovereignty. It was
a coordinated assault executed by over 36 trillion cells, focusing 100% of the
combat experience Ren Shiroki had accumulated into a single point. He funneled
his internal Drive Energy into the technique, unleashing a terrifying surge of
kinetic power that poured directly into his opponent's frame.
"He... He fired it!!"
The young Kure announcer stared with her black-and-white eyes wide, the roar of
the impact still vibrating in her eardrums. To the majority of the crowd, it
looked like Jun Sekibayashi had physically "deformed"—his massive chest caving
inward as if he were about to explode into pieces.
But as the dust settled, the anticipated gore didn't manifest. Sekibayashi
remained on his feet, his body merely tilted backward at a precarious angle.
Magnificent!
Both Ren and Sekibayashi were proving to be absolute monsters.
"A staggering heavyweight assault to the chest! The iron-clad physique of the
[HELL'S ANGEL] has been shaken!!"
Zip-zip-zip!
Sekibayashi's 196cm frame pitched backward. He looked like he was a heartbeat
away from hitting the sand.
But in that exact micro-second, a cold shiver ran down Ren Shiroki's spine. The
Satsui no Hado in his mind flared with an alarm so loud it drowned out the
cheers. A sudden surge of lethal crisis erupted, and he was too deep in his
follow-through to retreat.
"GRAAAAAAAH!!"
Sekibayashi roared. His right hand snapped out in a reverse hand-chop, catching
Ren flush on the face!
SLAP!
It was a small-surface-area strike using the outer edge of the palm, but backed
by Sekibayashi's monstrous torque, it produced an explosive crack that sounded
like a thunderclap.
This was a hand-sword designed to knock out seasoned heavyweights. And he hadn't
targeted the chest or the arms. He had aimed for a lethal vital—the absolute
center of Ren's face.
Ren had sensed the danger a millisecond prior, jerking his head back to shed the
force. But even then, he was launched off his feet. He was sent hurtling
backward through the air before slamming into the sand on the opposite side of
the octagon.
THUD!
"GUUGH—!"
Ren bared his teeth in a grimace of agony, clutching his face as he rolled
across the sand. Blood began to leak through the gaps in his fingers. It took
several long seconds before he could finally force air back into his lungs.
"Hah... cough... pfft..."
Ren lay there, breathing heavily. His vision was a hazy, crimson smear. Drops of
blood dripped from his chin. It was a gruesome sight.
Jose Kanzaki watched with white-knuckled tension. "Seki-aniki hit him too
hard... Ren's eyes are nearly ruined!"
But beside him, Fusui Kure had her [REMOVAL] active. The veins around her eyes
were bulging as she studied the two combatants.
"No," she whispered, her brow furrowing. "Something's wrong..."
As if in response to her intuition, the prone Ren Shiroki let his lips curl into
a bloody smirk.
His voice was thick with the iron-tang of gore. "My apologies... Seki-aniki."
Sekibayashi stood rooted to the spot, his teeth gritted in a demonic grin.
"Thanks for the lesson!"
Splurt!
The moment the words left his mouth, a geyser of blood erupted from
Sekibayashi's nose and mouth. His eyes turned a terrifying shade of solid red as
the capillaries burst, two trails of "blood tears" running down his cheeks.
The announcer gasped. "Wait! This... this is...!"
"Ren's strike was devastatingly effective! Sekibayashi is leaking everywhere!
The internal damage must be catastrophic!"
"Fantastic..." Kugo Kurachi whispered in awe. "To break a Sekibayashi who was
braced for the hit... what a terrifying amount of power in that youth's hands!"
Fusui swallowed hard. "He took a direct [STRIKE AT THE APEX] and still managed a
counter-chop. Pro-wrestlers are made of iron!"
Ren performed a seated pivot and pushed himself up with his knees. He flicked
the blood from his eyes and looked across the ring. His vision was still a blur
of shifting shapes, but the massive, crimson-stained silhouette of the Angel was
easy to track.
Ren arched an eyebrow. "Seki-aniki... can you still go?"
"Hah? Don't say such stupid things!"
Sekibayashi slammed a massive palm against his own bicep, the sound echoing like
a gunshot. "Stop wasting time and hit me! CONTINUE!!"
"Haha!"
Ren let out a dry laugh, muttering to himself: "Only in this world does a man
say 'I'm going to beat you' as a gesture of respect..."
Ren drove his foot into the sand and lunged.
But as he charged, Sekibayashi moved first. He dropped his center of gravity
even lower, relying on his massive mass to launch a barrage of short-range
strikes.
Zip-zip-zip!
The rapid-fire offensive began, featuring several "Knuckle Arrows"—compact,
reinforced punches designed to break through a guard and disrupt the opponent's
rhythm.
Ren's vision was still a wreck. He decided to abandon his formal arm-guard,
relying instead on his [PARKOUR] instincts to "slap" and parry the strikes
mid-air.
Slap! Pow! Zip!
Backs of hands, palms, elbows, and forearms—Ren utilized every defensive surface
of his upper body to respond to Sekibayashi's heavy hands. The high-speed
displacement allowed the "Fighter" to survive within the storm of the
"Wrestler."
"So fast!" the announcer shrieked. "Sekibayashi's blitz is incredible, but he
can't find a clean opening! The level of exchange is off the charts!"
The rhythmic sound of impacts filled the air. Ren was forced back five paces;
Sekibayashi pressed forward six. They surged across the octagon, blood and sweat
spraying from their limbs with every trade.
"HYAH!"
Slowly, Sekibayashi began to dial up the torque. His punches grew heavier, the
intervals between them widening to allow for more weight behind each blow.
The next second—WHOOSH!
Sekibayashi pulled his body back and launched a full-power right straight—the
signature "Knuckle Arrow."
Ren timed the rotation perfectly. He spun on his heel and raised his hands to
catch the incoming forearm, intending to use Sekibayashi's own mass as a fulcrum
for a shoulder throw.
But suddenly—SHINK!
Sekibayashi's arm simply "slipped" through Ren's grip.
"—?!"
Ren's eyes widened. He looked at his palms, only to see they were coated in
thick, warm crimson. Sekibayashi's right arm was entirely saturated with his own
blood.
Whether he had coughed it onto his arm or intentionally smeared it there didn't
matter. The result was the same: the blood acted as a biological lubricant,
allowing Sekibayashi to retract his arm before Ren could secure a lock.
Because Ren's vision was still impaired by the earlier chop, he hadn't noticed
the setup.
"Memorize this, Ren-kun," Sekibayashi rumbled. "In Pro-Wrestling... as long as
the referee doesn't see it, anything is legal!"
ZIP!
Sekibayashi spread his arms and cut behind Ren, locking him in a massive
bear-hug from the rear.
"A Pro-Wrestler doesn't run," Sekibayashi whispered in his ear. "We figure out
how to take the hit and keep moving. Poking eyes, using blood as grease... there
are a thousand little tricks to survive the 'Finish'!"
Sekibayashi hooked his left arm, pinning Ren's right arm while his bodyweight
drove downward. Simultaneously, he snapped his right leg up, clamping his thigh
against Ren's face while driving his right arm into Ren's lower back.
The Submission was Locked!
"IT'S OVER!" the announcer screamed. "A modified Cobra Twist! Ren Shiroki is
trapped in a lethal submission!!"
But before she could finish—ZIP!
Ren simply twisted his neck and shifted his hips. Through a display of
near-inhuman flexibility, he "poured" himself out of the lock and performed a
back-hop to reset the distance.
Sekibayashi had expected the escape, but he still let out a frustrated grunt.
"Tch. Way too fast!"
The crowd looked confused. They didn't understand how Ren had escaped a
master-level lock so easily.
Ringside, Kurachi explained to the curious Kure members: "A Pro-Wrestler's
body—especially Jun's—is built for impact. It's actually quite rigid. We aren't
amateurs, but we can't match a specialist in 'Flow'."
"Ren-kun's daily routine must involve an incredible amount of mobility and
flexibility training to master so many styles. His joints are like rubber."
"Plus," Kurachi added with a smirk, "Jun just took a heavy blow to the chest.
His vision is likely as blurred as Ren's, and his grip isn't at 100%. He
couldn't finalize the lock in time."
The "Saint of War" chuckled. "Besides... if you push a boy like Ren-kun into a
corner, he's got a hell of a high pain threshold!"
"Hiss... that actually hurt, Seki-aniki!"
Ren rotated his right arm, resetting his stance as he faced the giant.
He tilted his head, a playful glint in his eye. "Throws and submissions are too
much work for my brain right now. Let's switch it up. How about we stick to a
Standing Trade?"
"Haha! That's my favorite song!"
Sekibayashi bared his teeth. The pressure he radiated was now heavy enough to
physically distort the air. "Let's see just how far... I can take this!!"
(End of Chapter)
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you