Chapter 57: Fight (1)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The woman's eyes were a deep purple, as if a purple liquid was about to seep out of them.
Bang!
The ground slightly shook as she stepped forward and charged towards Garen, like an arrow shot from a bow. If seen from above, a straight line was gouged into the floor of the lobby.
Both of their arms connected with each other as their fists and palms collided, sprinkling tiny drops of sweat onto the ground.
Bang!
Garen maintained his blocking pose and was forcefully pushed a few meters back, almost touching the wall.
Without a word, the woman swung both of her fists forward once more. A series of fierce impacts sounded out. Both of them did not shift positions and exchanged blows while standing in the same spot. The huge force caused the surrounding windows in the lobby to slowly begin to shake and even the sound of the rain was gradually overwhelmed.
Every time their fists collided, both of their bodies slightly trembled and the faint sound of bones cracking could be heard.
"Break!!"
As the woman shouted, a burst of warm air gushed out of her nostrils and her right fist instantly disappeared.
Garen could not react in time and her fist reappeared directly in front of his chest. With a loud boom, his chest visibly caved in as he flew backwards and crashed into the wall.
The walls of the lobby abruptly shook and huge amounts of fine dust fell onto both of them.
The woman sneered.
"You're not bad considering the fact that you were able to face me head on for this long while I used my Polaris Fierce Arts."
With a loud click, the chandelier from the ceiling suddenly fell straight down onto her head. This black chandelier was over a hundred pounds, was entirely made of metal, and the ceiling was over ten meters tall. It would easily kill a grown man if it landed on him.
The woman looked up toward the chandelier and swung her right fist at it. With a loud bang, it broke in two and smashed into opposite walls.
She shook out her right hand, though her skin was not damaged in the slightest.
Garen took the opportunity to stand up and stabilize his body. He sullenly looked at the woman, desperately thinking of a solution.
[I only discovered the Antique of Tragedy when the cellar with the corpses was opened. I didn't think that they would be looking for that thing as well. This lady is quite strong...]
[However, when it comes to the Antique of Tragedy, the more the merrier. Now that I finally came across one, I can't let it go. Even though she is strong, my Explosive Fist Arts isn't weak either!]
He felt his chest was still slightly painful. He took a deep breath and stabilized his body.
[White Cloud Secret Art!] he shouted in his mind.
All of the muscles in his body slowly expanded, as if a human shaped balloon was slowly inflated, and he grew from 1.7 meters tall to 1.9 meters. His head seemed a lot smaller compared to his current body.
"It looks like I've underestimated you." He calmly walked back to his original position, facing the woman. The distance between them was only a few meters. "However, I think you're mistaken. I wasn't the one who killed your men."
"You're not the one who killed them?" the woman sneered. "In a rural place like this, are you telling me that there's another Martial Adept hanging around?" Her eyes were constantly scanning Garen's body. As a martial artist who had reached the human limit, her insight had naturally reached the corresponding level. She could easily tell that the man in front of her had already reached the human limit as well.
"I don't care where you're from. Since you've messed with the Golden Hoop, you shall experience our endless vengeance!"
Before she even finished speaking, the woman roared and suddenly charged forward. She moved silently like a gigantic white python, drawing out a fine arc.
Her fists were like the top and bottom fangs of a python—opening and closing—constantly changing their position as they bit down toward Garen.
"Python Stab!!"
As her fists overlapped, a faintly audible sound due to the air resistance could be heard.
This was her true killer move: her fists appeared to be the attack, but the true attack was from the metal blades hidden in the soles of her shoes. Even though it was obvious that her opponent was an expert at the Body Hardening Technique, her legs had slaughtered a countless amount of such experts. As long as this attack connected, even the hardest muscles and bones would be pierced through.
She had previously used this move to puncture through a wooden board that was thicker than her fingers.
’
[I will kill you with one move!] She focused most of her energy into the tips of her toes. Silently, a silvery-white object slowly emerged from the bottom of her shoes.
Garen sullenly looked at the female figure charging towards him. It was not that fast, but the immense heat blowing towards him was as if a gigantic white python was really pouncing at him. He could even hear its hissing as its jaws opened and closed.
He slowly rotated his body, facing his opponent with the right side of his body.
Bang!
The two of them viciously collided and tightly stuck to one another; neither of them took a step back. As their arms intersected, they were only inches apart and could even hear each other's breathing.
Chi chi!!
The clear sound of cloth tearing sounded out twice and a triumphant look appeared in the woman's eyes.
Her legs were viciously wrapped around Garen's waist and her entire body was coiled around him as well, forming an abnormally amorous position. If she still had her previous beautiful appearance, someone might have the wrong idea. However, as she was tall and brawny at the moment, it looked like two muscular men were wrestling.
The woman was topless and had fair skin. Garen was wearing a large black shirt and even though his muscles had expanded at the moment, it was still mostly black. That was why the differences between their bodies were exceptionally clear.
The woman clung onto Garen's body as the blades of her shoes stabbed into the lower back of Garen's torso, at the position of his kidneys.
"Goodbye..." she whispered and laughed.
Garen suddenly grinned.
"That's my line!"
His right elbow instantly moved forward—like a black baton—and viciously smashed into the woman's face.
Bang!
The two of them instantly separated, while droplets of blood sprinkled all over the place.
The woman stumbled backwards. She could not keep her balance and knelt down on one knee.
"You… You're actually alright?!" She lifted her head and stared at Garen in astonishment. Blood was coming out of her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. After receiving the elbow strike, her entire body was still violently shaking. Her ears were ringing as if she was standing inside a large bell that was being sounded.
"This is Vibration! Damn it! He's actually an expert that has grasped Vibration!" She could not believe it as she stared at Garen.
Garen touched the back of his waist and found two light wounds that were faintly bleeding.
"Too bad… If it was someone else, this move might be able to cut them into them. It's too bad that your opponent is me."
He slowly walked toward the woman.
"Hahaha..." the woman suddenly laughed. "What a terrifying Body Hardening Technique!" As she stood up, her right hand swiftly reached to her back and a silver pistol appeared in her hand.
"It's too bad that your opponent is me."
Her body seemed to have shrunk a little after the close combat just now. Even her muscles were softer than before.
Noticing this, the woman made a circle with her hands once more.
"Polaris Fierce Arts!!"
After fiercely inhaling, her body returned to the previous state.
"Combat Gun Arts!"
She charged towards Garen once more, like a white line.
Garen raised his right elbow again to use his most familiar stance: Shooting Form. Suddenly, he felt a numb sensation at the back of his waist.
"Damn! There's poison!"
With his waist suddenly losing strength, he could not even maintain the basic stance.
It was too late for him to do anything about it, so he could only use all of his strength to block with his arms raised.
Bang bang bang!
A series of gunshots rang out and Garen violently smashed into the wall behind him. Three brass bullets were lodged in both of his arms, the right side of his face, and his abdomen. He could feel a metallic taste in his mouth.
"Damn it! The handgun was too close, I am shocked!"
An ordinary bullet would need to stay within a human's body to maximize the lethality. When fired from such a close range, the penetrating strength was too high. If it was someone else, they would not be too injured and would only suffer a penetrating trauma at most. However, as Garen's Body Hardening Technique was too strong, the penetrating strength of the bullet only served to pierce his skin and the bullet successfully entered his body.
The bullet in the right side of his face was originally aimed towards his forehead, but was timely avoided. However, the other two positions were on target. Both of his arms were struck by a punch as well, but it was weak. However, it was just enough to break his stance and allow the bullet to hit his face.
Leaning on the wall, Garen did not even have time to catch his breath. He saw a white figure viciously pouncing at him as, the silvery blades on her feet drew an arc in the air as they aimed for his abdomen.
With the poison on the blade, he would definitely die if he was struck a few more times.
"Damn it!!"
Garen roared. Though his opponent was slower than No.101, she was still extremely quick and faster than him. At that moment, he could already feel the cold blade touching his abdomen.
"Since I can't avoid it, then we'll see who's tougher!!"
"Ah!!!"
With a roar, his abdominal muscles tightened to trap the blade, his left hand grabbed onto her leg to prevent her from escaping, and he viciously swung his right fist at the purple-eyed woman's head.
Bang!!
"Umph!" The woman was struck in the head by the punch and she reeled back from the blow, splattering blood everywhere."
The two of them separated, breathing heavily.
Even though the fight between them did not last long, the situation was abnormally severe. Both of them were heavily injured.
The woman's right eye was completely destroyed, her entire body was shaking, and she was bleeding even more from her facial orifices.
Garen was poisoned, his lower back was getting number, and his abdomen was starting to get numb as well. If the woman was not too weak and the blade was longer, the attack might have directly penetrated his gut.
Garen was leaning on the wall. It was the first time that he met his match. Even though his opponent's defense was lower and she had not grasped the Vibration Technique, her power was comparable and her blade could easily pierce his skin and muscles with enough strength behind it. The high defense of the Explosive Fist Arts was nothing for his opponent. With the addition of the gun and poison combination, Garen knew that he would not be able to get that mysterious Antique of Tragedy on this day.
"I've taken a huge loss this time!!" he muttered to himself. Lifting up his head, he saw the woman struggling to stand up. She was holding the silver handgun and was slowly aiming at him.
Bang bang bang!
Out of the three shots, only one managed to hit Garen's right shoulder. The bullet did not even managed to pierce through the skin and only left a red mark before it ricocheted. It made a clear sound as it fell to the floor.
"Your eyes are finished, hehe… You should have just handed that thing over. You were asking for it." Garen gloatingly laughed.
"You… Very well!!" The purple-eyed woman took two steps backward, then sagged onto the ground. "Unfortunately, you're poisoned. So you'll only... die earlier than me. To be able to die… by the hands of the No.10 Golden Hoop, your death isn't wasted."
It seemed that the two punches—using the Vibration technique—to her head had made her slightly sluggish.