Chapter 147 A Showdown

Feng Bujue and Snow’s judgment was very simple, because they had already gleaned a message from the Viking’s recent punches—"The probing is over."

To outsiders, the Viking’s slowing down of the offensive rhythm seemed to indicate that he had temporarily failed to find a way to break through his opponent’s defense.

But in reality…this was a display of "assured victory." He was using his actions to tell Mirror Shield, "I'm ready to win. I can end this match at any time, but…I can give you one more chance to counterattack, so you can lose convincingly."

Mirror Shield, who was also quite strong, naturally understood this. He knew…just now, that single "counter punch"…had exposed his "distance" to his opponent. Next, his counterattacks and offenses would be completely ineffective, and his defense being broken…was only a matter of time.

In this match without a coach or round intervals, it was unlikely that Mirror Shield could reverse this disadvantage on a technical level through his own thinking. Therefore, he could only use this final "opportunity" given by the Viking to make a last-ditch effort with all his strength.

This was a risk. In a sense, it could also be seen as a "trap" set by the Viking.

But…Mirror Shield had no choice. Precisely because his skill was not low, he knew that he had to brave this "trap."

If he got through it, there was still hope of winning. If he didn’t…the result would be no different.

If he maintained his current defensive stance, he might be able to hold on for a little longer, but…that would just be a slow death.

*Poof—*

Two seconds later, Mirror Shield threw the first jab in this match that showed a clear offensive intent.

His footwork and posture also changed in an instant, shifting from defense to offense.

"Feint," Feng Bujue and Snow thought the same two words in their hearts at the same time.

*Poof—*

The second punch, a straight right, followed closely.

Combined with the first punch, this was a very common "combination," using the first punch to attract the opponent's attention and the second punch to create a strike.

However…

"Still a feint." Jue Ge and Snow had both seen through it. Mirror Shield was not using such a simple tactic.

*Whoosh—*

Sure enough, in that split second, Mirror Shield threw a third punch.

"This is the killing move…" This time, Feng Bujue directly spoke these words aloud.

This third punch from Mirror Shield was a straight left, but its power was vastly different from the second punch, which was also a straight punch. The moment he threw the punch, Mirror Shield coordinated with a knee-leaning motion, increasing the power of the punch to a level sufficient to "knock down" or even "KO" his opponent.

Objectively speaking, this set of "one jab, two straights" was not that complicated. The technical difficulty was mainly concentrated in the third punch.

However, in terms of the "surprise attack" effect, it was still good. Because Mirror Shield was right-handed, choosing this "left-right-left" punching pattern was clearly well-considered.

Unfortunately…his intentions still failed to escape the Viking’s eyes.

Just as he blocked the first punch and prepared to deal with the second punch with a parry, the Viking instantly discerned the truth that the second punch was also a "feint."

So, he directly ignored the second punch, kept his elbows close to his body, lowered his head, and while enduring the second punch, stared at Mirror Shield's left hand with all his attention.

And Mirror Shield did indeed throw that third punch.

Everything…was under the Viking’s control. As Mirror Shield’s third punch gathered power, he leaned forward, forcing his way into Mirror Shield's right side.

*Bang—*

Immediately afterward, a heavy swing punch landed firmly on the right side of Mirror Shield’s chin.

Mirror Shield’s missed third punch had not yet fully extended, and he lost his balance due to the impact on his chin. The knee-bending forward motion he made to increase the power of his punch became an assist for the Viking's swing punch.

Knockout—an undisputed ending.

The gravelly-voiced announcer even saved the trouble of counting down this time, because Mirror Shield lost consciousness immediately after falling to the ground.

This kind of situation where "the player briefly loses consciousness" often occurs in various combat sports…especially when the chin is punched. Because both the cerebrum and cerebellum are affected, the person being hit can easily fall to the ground and not get up.

"Winner! The Vi-king!" As several sailors carried the stunned Mirror Shield out of the ring, the gravelly-voiced announcer raised the Viking's right hand and loudly announced the result of the match.

The crowd then let out some cheers, but…this time, the cheers were lukewarm.

Because…most people had bet on the Viking, which led to his odds bringing a limited return. Winning didn't bring much money.

After a dozen seconds, when the surroundings gradually quieted down, the gravelly-voiced announcer took the opportunity to continue, "Alright…today's deck boxing match is almost…"

"Wait a minute!" Suddenly, a long whistle came from above, interrupting the gravelly-voiced announcer's words.

The pirates, who were already losing interest and preparing to disperse, were all attracted by this roar and looked up.

The person shouting…was none other than Feng Bujue.

"Hmm?" Although the gravelly-voiced announcer was a little unhappy with the other party's interruption, he had to be polite to Jue Ge since it was him. "Mr. Feng…may I ask…what is your instruction?"

At this time, Feng Bujue gave a look to the two teammates beside him, who were also confused about what he was going to do, and then jumped down from the high ropes.

Honghu and Snow looked at each other, each revealing a helpless expression, and then followed down.

"I wouldn't dare instruct." After landing and standing still, Jue Ge stood on a wooden box at the edge of the "ring." He looked at the gravelly-voiced announcer a few meters away and said, "I just want to say…I'm very honored to see such a wonderful game today. But…unfortunately, the defending champion’s appearance time was a little short. So, I hope…this Viking brother can fight another match to open our eyes."

"This…" the gravelly-voiced announcer said, turning his head to look at the Garlic Head trio, and muttered, "It's not very appropriate, is it…"

After a brief pause, he glanced at the Viking, "You see…the Viking just finished a match…"

"It doesn't matter." Unexpectedly, the Viking himself had put on an eager expression and said, "It just so happens that I haven't had enough fun yet…" He glanced at Mirror Shield, who was lying on the field and slowly waking up, and said, "Although Mirror Shield fought well, judging from the result…he didn't cause me too much trouble. After that match, I suffered almost no damage and my stamina is still very full…It doesn’t seem inappropriate to treat it as a 'warm-up'."

"Heh…that's what I think too." Feng Bujue smiled, paused for a second, and looked at the Garlic Head brothers, "I think…everyone wants to see…what the result will be if the Viking competes with us 'passengers' from outside the pirate group."

These words were seemingly spoken to everyone, but in reality, he was implying to Garlic Head, who "really had the decision-making power," that they could earn money from this bet.

"Ya he! Seems pretty interesting."

"Viking, we support you!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's have a match."

"Have a match…have a match…have a match…"

The pirates didn’t mind having more things to do. Besides…Jue Ge's words were indeed quite煽動 (shāndòng - inflammatory).

In less than half a minute, the surrounding crowd began to shout "Have a match" in unison. It seemed that…this battle had to be fought.

"Hmph…okay." Finally, Garlic Head, who had been sitting there silently keeping accounts, stood up and said to Feng Bujue, "But…are you sure you can come down and fight?"

After asking this question, Garlic Head briefly explained the settings of the "gloves" to Jue Ge, and then said, "I think…Mr. Feng, your strength has probably exceeded the upper limit of the glove's suppression, right?"

"Oh~ So you're worried about this." Jue Ge heard this, but was still calm as usual, "I didn't say that I would personally come down and fight."

Just as he said the words "personally", Honghu, who was standing behind him, had already very cleverly taken a step back…

And Snow, a younger brother with little experience in the martial world…was still standing there foolishly, waiting for Feng Bujue's next words.

"This match…" the next second, Feng Bujue turned around and pointed at Snow, "Will be fought by this Snow brother, known as 'the man with the most talented and gorgeous moves in Ultra God Fist in two thousand years', to meet the Viking."

"Huh?" Until his name appeared in the sentence, Snow had not yet realized what was happening.

A full five seconds later, after everyone turned their attention to him, he belatedly realized that he seemed to have been tricked.

"Uh…" As a gentleman, Snow would not lose his composure in public. He just silently said to Feng Bujue in his heart, "Fuck…"

…………

Things progressed quite smoothly, and the pirates' efficiency was amazing.

In just ten minutes, a series of chores such as customizing the odds, placing bets, and clearing the field had been arranged properly.

And in order to cooperate with the completion of this side quest, the system gave the players a prompt: [Players participating in the boxing match can take off their upper body clothing], and relaxed the dress code for Snow.

So, Snow, who was "plotted" by Jue Ge…put on his gloves, took off his shirt, and prepared to go on stage.

"Are you trying to kill me…" With a little time before the match, Snow squinted at Jue Ge while checking the tightness of the glove straps. "And I have to die with the name 'Ultra God Fist Successor', which sounds a bit painful…"

"Snow brother, you are wrong." Unexpectedly, before Jue Ge could refute, Honghu said to Snow first, "I think…Brother Feng doesn't mean that—even if you are not a member of the Blackbeard Pirates, the 'no killing' rule will not be affected. Besides…the opponent is also wearing restricted gloves, even if he really wants to kill you…it's difficult."

What he said made sense, but…Jue Ge didn't seem to appreciate it.

"In fact, whether you live or die is not within my consideration…" Feng Bujue said to Snow after Honghu finished speaking, as if to dismantle his stage, "The reason why I pushed you out to participate in the competition is…you are the only one among the three of us who meets the 'competition standard'." He paused for half a second and added, "My and Honghu's combat specialization and physical skills are too strong, and they definitely exceed the limit of the gloves…so, the two of us can't participate in this boxing match. In other words…from the beginning, you were the only feasible executor of this side quest."

"Hmph…then I can only blame the system, right?" Snow responded with a wry smile.

"What's there to blame?" Feng Bujue said, "You're just going up to fight an informal boxing match, the worst situation is that you'll be beaten into a pig's head. Why don't you say…I got the last side quest back with a 'knife'."

"Why does the tone of your voice when you say this sound like you accidentally said 'knife' instead of 'life'…" Snow squinted and muttered, "And…how tangled are you about exploding equipment…are you planning to talk about it for the rest of your life?"

"None of your business." Feng Bujue said, "My preliminary plan is to keep talking about this until the end of this scenario, do you have any objections?"

"Okay, okay…that kind of thing is fine." Honghu opened his mouth again before their bickering escalated, trying to bring the topic back on track, "Let's talk about the boxing match…" He looked at Snow, "Are you confident?"

"No." Snow replied crisply and neatly, without any sign of lying in his expression or tone.

"Hmm…" The corners of Honghu's mouth twitched twice, "I thought…you were an expert…"

"I am indeed an expert…and I even hired…" When Snow said this, he almost blurted out the name of a well-known boxing coach, but fortunately, he realized in time that it was not appropriate to say that, and immediately changed his words, "...hired a special coach to guide me. I trained for about two years…Even if I wanted to take the exam to become a professional boxer, I would have more than enough." He paused, "But precisely because I am an expert, I understand that my chances of winning are very slim…"

"Not to mention that my opponent's weight is at least three levels above mine, and his height and wingspan are also longer than mine…In terms of technique alone, the Viking is also stronger than me in all aspects. Not to mention…his experience advantage in this kind of competition and that desperate 'boxing talent'."

"I see…" Honghu nodded, adjusting his glasses, "Doesn't that mean…the system gave an impossible mission?"

"How could it be?" Feng Bujue answered, "You've been playing this game for so long, when has the system ever given an impossible_mission?" He spread his hands, "In the end…your idea of 'using formal boxing techniques to defeat your opponent' is wrong."

"Oh?" Hearing Jue Ge's words, a hint of evil appeared on the faces of Snow and Honghu at the same time, "What you mean is…"

"Hmph…" Feng Bujue crossed his arms over his chest, posing with a confident look, "It's time to let these naive pirates know what real 'underground boxing' is…"