Inconvenient Charging

To Zhang Shuai's slight surprise, Haru Hideaki could also speak the Dragon Kingdom language. However, this was not entirely unexpected; the Island Nation had admired the Dragon Kingdom's civilization since ancient times, and even today, many Dragon Kingdom characters remained in the Island Nation's language. Many of its people had studied the tongue.

"Dragon Kingdom brat, they all say you know kung fu. Today, I'm going to show you that my Island Nation's karate is the most powerful martial art in the world!"

Zhang Shuai looked at Haru Hideaki with disdain and said indifferently, "What a moron."

Haru Hideaki clearly understood that Zhang Shuai was insulting him and flew into a rage. "Very well, you have successfully angered me. I had intended to spare your life, but since you dare to insult me, don't think about leaving this arena alive today."

Zhang Shuai mocked, "Tch! You..."

Before he could finish, the whistle signaling the start of the match cut him off.

The moment the whistle blew, Haru Hideaki, who had been coiled and ready, lunged forward immediately. He stomped his right foot, launched his entire body into the air, and while mid-flight, delivered a fierce, heavy-hitting kick toward Zhang Shuai.

This was a jumping kick from karate. Judging by the immense power behind it, it was clear that Haru Hideaki had achieved a high level of mastery in the discipline.

To be fair, karate was quite visually impressive; at the very least, Haru Hideaki's strikes looked fierce and intimidating.

The audience below immediately grew excited. The fight had broken out the moment the match began, and there was no doubt this would be a spectacular bout.

Spectators who knew of the history between the Island Nation and the Dragon Kingdom began explaining the grudge to their neighbors, which only made the crowd look forward to the match even more.

Haru Hideaki's movements looked ferocious and powerful, but to the current Zhang Shuai, it felt like a tickle. If not for the sake of making the match more entertaining, Zhang Shuai could have killed this Island Nation brat with a single punch.

Thus, Zhang Shuai casually raised his arm to block the jumping kick.

"Bang!"

A dull thud echoed through the arena. Zhang Shuai deliberately feigned an inability to withstand the force, staggering back several steps before barely managing to steady himself.

Seeing this, Haru Hideaki grew even more contemptuous of Zhang Shuai and immediately launched a storm of attacks.

Straight punches, knife-hand strikes, hooks, elbow strikes, knee strikes, flying knees, low kicks...

It wasn't just karate techniques; he even mixed in Muay Thai moves. Haru Hideaki's fighting style looked incredibly fierce, leaving the audience below cheering and screaming in delight.

Zhang Shuai parried every blow, in no rush to retaliate.

As a result, to the spectators, it appeared that Zhang Shuai was being completely suppressed by Haru Hideaki, and many who had originally favored Zhang Shuai began to grow anxious.

"Dragon Kingdom's Zhang Shuai... come on! Hit him..."

Faintly, Zhang Shuai even heard a woman in the crowd shouting encouragement in the Dragon Kingdom language.

Because there were so many people, Zhang Shuai couldn't pinpoint which woman was cheering for him.

Seeing that the time was about right, Zhang Shuai prepared to end the fight.

Considering how hard the Island Nation brat had performed, Zhang Shuai decided not to kill him. However, this man was far too arrogant and annoying, even spouting nonsense about killing him in the ring. So, while his life would be spared, he wouldn't escape punishment; Zhang Shuai decided he had to cripple at least one leg and one arm, ensuring the man would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair or a hospital bed.

Haru Hideaki, seeing that he hadn't managed to truly injure Zhang Shuai after fighting for so long, grew visibly agitated. This Dragon Kingdom man's evasive maneuvers were far too slippery; every time he attacked, Zhang Shuai would easily dissipate the force or dodge his full-power strikes.

However, Haru Hideaki suddenly spotted a perfect opportunity. As Zhang Shuai ducked to dodge a left hook, his head fell right into the range of Haru Hideaki's right roundhouse kick. A fighter as experienced as Haru Hideaki would never miss such a chance; without hesitation, he channeled all his strength into his leg and kicked heavily toward Zhang Shuai's head.

If this landed, it would surely cause severe injury and incapacitate his opponent.

Just as the kick was about to connect, Zhang Shuai suddenly tilted his head, dodging the blow. Almost simultaneously, he threw a punch that landed heavily on Haru Hideaki's knee.

"Crack!" The sound of shattering bone echoed out.

"Ah..."

Haru Hideaki was knocked back several steps by the immense force. His right leg went limp, unable to support his weight, and he collapsed to the ground. Only then did he realize that the bone in his knee had been shattered by Zhang Shuai's punch.

In an instant, Haru Hideaki broke out in a cold sweat, sweat pouring down his forehead from the agony.

What kind of terrifying strength was this?

Haru Hideaki was terrified. He felt as if Zhang Shuai's fist wasn't a fist at all, but a giant sledgehammer. With that single blow, his leg felt as though it had been struck by a hammer, shattering the bone.

A thought flashed through Haru Hideaki's mind: Had this Dragon Kingdom brat been holding back his full strength the entire time?

Before Haru Hideaki could react, Zhang Shuai's attacks rained down again.

Zhang Shuai suddenly lowered his body, grabbed Haru Hideaki's arm, and with a light pull, tug, and twist, Haru Hideaki's right arm was snapped clean off. Like a mechanical limb, it twisted a full 1,080 degrees in a gruesome fashion.

There was no doubt about it; aside from a bit of skin still hanging from his shoulder, the entire right arm had been effectively torn off by Zhang Shuai.

The excruciating pain left Haru Hideaki's mind blank. Zhang Shuai followed up with a punch to his face. Blood sprayed from his nose as Haru Hideaki collapsed face-first onto the ground, his body twitching uncontrollably.

The turn of events happened so quickly that the audience only regained their senses after Haru Hideaki had fallen flat. A massive roar of cheers and screams erupted.

The host, hearing the excited screams of the crowd, waited a moment. Seeing that Haru Hideaki remained completely motionless, he loudly announced Zhang Shuai from the Eastern Dragon Kingdom as the winner of the match.

Soon, the iron gate of the octagon was opened, and staff members carrying a stretcher hauled away the injured, unconscious Haru Hideaki. Zhang Shuai was once again harassed by excited female fans, but he was experienced now and nimbly slipped out of the crowd.

It was ten o'clock at night by the time he returned to the hotel, yet Zhang Shuai felt a long-absent sense of hunger. It seemed his body's standby time had run out, and it was time to recharge and replenish his energy.

Come to think of it, Zhang Shuai had been in the Beautiful Country for several days and had fought several matches before feeling this hunger; his standby time was already much longer than before.

However, since Huang Tianli was staying with him, it was a bit inconvenient for Zhang Shuai to recharge.