The Romance of Men Is a Drill That Pierces the Heavens!

"Beep—!!"

The referee's whistle snapped all the spectators back to their senses, including Loa and the man in black.

"Krookodile is unable to battle! Garchomp wins!"

The moment his words fell, the entire stadium erupted!

"What just happened?"

"Outrage clearly hit!"

"Was that a counter with double the damage?"

"Possible!"

"But Garchomp doesn't seem affected at all!"

The commentator was dumbfounded as well. Though this match had left him baffled more than once or twice, this time, he truly had not expected it.

Hadn't Outrage connected?

Where was the damage?

Where had the damage gone?

Why did Garchomp look completely unharmed?

Countless questions churned through his mind, ultimately becoming the same question shared by the audience.

—What exactly happened?!

"What exactly happened?!"

The man in black sitting among the friends-and-family section abruptly stood up and questioned Loa through his earpiece!

Loa stared blankly at the fallen Krookodile and instinctively replied, "I don't know either... Outrage clearly hit. Why did this happen...?"

Why had things turned out like this?

Among the nearly fifty thousand spectators in the stadium, perhaps only two people knew the answer.

One was Heiduo, Garchomp's Trainer.

The other was Longxing, a Dragon type specialist!

So what had happened inside the cloud of smoke that exploded after Krookodile attacked Garchomp, blocking everyone's view?

Very simple.

Garchomp had used its right fin blade to block Krookodile's biting Outrage head-on, then casually struck back with a [Brick Break] from its left fin blade.

In a single-player Souls-like game, that would be a parry and riposte—a defensive counterattack.

One slash had knocked Krookodile flat. And, of course, there was Garchomp's Ability, [Rough Skin].

There had been no question of boosts or defenses.

[Bulk Up] raised Defense by one stage?

Sorry, still knocked flat.

It had been easy. Almost casual.

Of course,