64 – 29. What are the two of them doing now? (2)
“My opponent is Dias.”
Ian’s expression hardened as he glanced at the match schedule.
Although he had experienced winning once in a previous battle…. Dias was by no means an opponent to be underestimated.
“He’s not someone to be ignored since Dias is Hekusar Madukellan’s disciple.”
Hekusar Madukellan.
He was the legendary figure who turned his father’s small guild into one of the most prominent in the Empire.
Not only that, but he also played with all the guilds existing in the Empire as if they were in the palm of his hand.
While most people called him the Mercenary King, Ian knew him by a different name.
“The Ruler of the Wasteland.”
Dae Surim’s heretic. He was the one who participated in the warrior party with Illian Siegurd, sweeping through enemies from the front lines.
He was Dias’ master.
That was the reason.
“He won’t be a negligible opponent.”
He had anticipated that the battle would become quite intense.
Of course, he wasn’t scared. Unless it was Hexar himself facing him, the possibility of defeat was slim,
even if he were to confront Ian directly, he had enough confidence to secure victory.
Ian thought that for another reason.
“Hexar only pursues victory in battle. He is someone who doesn’t care about the process being beautiful.”
If he was a disciple with a master who pursued victory alone, it was obvious how he would come out.
As expected, Dias would spare no tricks to achieve victory against Ian.
“If I say this, Dias might appear like a trash… But what can I do? That’s how he showed himself in the first place.”
Even if he was a disciple, he could walk a different path from his master. It wasn’t denying that.
However, considering how he had charged at Rhea during the war game, the possibility was slim.
“If they were normal guys, they would either induce surrender or make a decision to send her away without much pain.”
But what did he do? Didn’t he rush forward with an axe as if he had been waiting for this moment?
He was someone who couldn’t hide his aggressive nature. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say “Like father, like son.”
“Although there is a considerable gap when comparing him to Hexar.”
Anyway, there was only one important thing to consider.
Dias wouldn’t hesitate to use any means and methods for victory, so Ian had to finish the battle without getting injured as much as possible.
It was all thanks to having only that thought in his mind.
Swoosh!
“Ugh!”
“I knew it would be like this.”
Being able to deal with Dias’ charge right from the beginning was because Ian quickly grabbed the outstretched axe and coldly stared at him.
Thunk!
At the same time, drops of blood fell to the ground, a wound appeared on his cheek from the previous attack.
“Hmm…”
At first glance, it might seem like an attack aimed at his face.
If there was any aggression in a battle, Ian could easily tell what Dias was thinking.
‘He definitely fixed his eyes on someone.’
He did not have a hawk eye, but he used a weapon with a sword on the end of an axe, and he looked at it with his eyes.
A terrifying attack that no human with even the slightest common sense would do.
But Dias didn’t feel any guilt about attempting that attack.
Why? That’s obvious.
From Noble mtl dot com
‘I learned that from the start. Because I’ve lived.’
A commoner, and a hunter’s child.
While his peers were learning farming, he was learning how to kill beasts.
The brutal instinct that he honed while hunting would have been brought to light by Hexar.
‘But…. It doesn’t seem like he learned it perfectly. At least the nobleman had some sense of proportion.’
He didn’t hesitate to use any method and means for victory, but at least Hexar never used that method in matches.
He only used it for the enemies who threatened his comrades.
‘Seems like he didn’t learn it properly.’
He had lived a life traveling to various regions, so he couldn’t keep teaching Dias.
He felt annoyed for a moment. But Ian decided to endure it.
It didn’t matter if the antics of a comrade’s disciple made him want to explode with anger.
‘If he doesn’t know etiquette…’
I can teach him the hard way.
‘There are also good ways.’
As he watched Dias struggling to take out his axe, Ian raised the corners of his mouth.
***
There was a debate about this a while back.
‘What if North Korean Special Forces fought to the death with a professional mixed martial artist?’
You might say what kind of debate that would spark.
The result was surprisingly frozen.
‘The North Korean Special Forces have learned many skills for killing, so they said it would be different if they fought. They said real combat and fights between professionals are different.’
It might seem plausible when you hear these words.
The idea of killing skills greatly influenced the expected outcome.
But Ian was different.
From the moment I first heard that, I was convinced of the result.
“Professional athletes always win, no matter how well trained special forces might be,”
There was no reason.
“Even if it’s a killing technique, it’s nothing special.”
What is a killing technique? A technique that leads to the death of a person, isn’t it.
The mixed martial arts fighters were the experts in that field.
“How can I hit harder? How can I easily crush bones?” Those are the concerns of martial artists. Would they not know techniques that could kill a person?”
They wouldn’t be fools not to know. Would they? Even ordinary people would know.
Just by applying the basic technique of jiu-jitsu, the choke, one could make the opponent stop breathing until they passed away, and
Boxing as well, a heavy blow to the head could lead to instant death.
“They know everything. But since it’s dangerous, they engage in matches where they show respect to each other, that’s all.”
The meaning of that statement was simple.
Ian, who had learned boxing and jiu-jitsu, could easily use the deadly techniques of modern martial arts.
He just needed to show that clearly.
“Doing this kind of thing means you’re prepared to take a hit, right?”
“No! An axe!”
When Ian tightened his grip, the axe was pulled out as it is.
Dias tried to resist by concentrating his strength.
“What…strength.”
When he came back to his senses, the axe that slipped from his hand was flying behind him, rolling on the ground.
At that moment Dias froze.
‘What?’
Not even knowing anything else, he was confident in his brute strength.
Since he graduated from the first year and even won fights as a second year, he thought it was a fight worth trying.
The result was the worst outcome.
In the unexpected situation, Dias’ thoughts stopped for a moment, and as a result, his movements stiffened.
Ian wouldn’t miss a moment like this.
“Ugh!”
Sshh!
In the midst of lowering his upper body and plunging to the left, Ian
Dias thought Ian would attack his body or head, so he raised his arms to guard while concentrating mana in his abdomen.
“If I do this…”
Even if he took a punch, he would be able to withstand it. If he aimed for the next move, the situation would improve.
With such thoughts, Dias smirked discreetly.
“What’s the matter?”
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
He screamed in response to the unexpected trajectory of the incoming punch.
“What’s happening now?”
He thought it aimed at his face and abdomen, but he was completely mistaken.
Ian aimed just below his ear, towards his jaw.
Rabbit Punch. It was a forbidden boxing technique that could cause severe paralysis or instant death.
eeek!
“Ughhh….”
A sharp ringing sound echoed in his ears. His dizzy vision made it hard to understand what was what.
Eventually, Ian’s fists began to appear as multiple punches.
Thud!
“Ung….”
The punches started hitting Dias’ body without giving him a chance to guard.
The moment when he was completely pushed back by a single mistake. But he would never give up. He didn’t intend to be defeated so helplessly.
He slowly took a deep breath and focused on recovering.
He lost his weapon, the axe, and the prepared attack failed. But it didn’t matter.
Preparation was not the end of it.
“I wasn’t just fooling around during vacation.”
He realized his shortcomings during the Bruckus event and dedicated himself to training.
To honor the name of the master who was called the Dominator of the Wilderness, he remembered the teachings he had learned at that time and shed blood and sweat.
Knowing how precious that time was, Dias couldn’t give up.
“Let’s end it with the technique I learned from my master.”
Dias adjusted his posture. What he had learned from his master was not just how to use an axe.
“When I can’t use the axe and I’m unarmed, there is no better technique than
Reversal of Heaven and Earth,
A technique reminiscent of the close-quarters combat skills that Hexar Madukellan had taught.
It was a move where one would rush into the opponent’s arms and send them flying.
“You won’t be able to see me as a joke. The moment you crash onto the ground, you’ll lose consciousness.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to be caught in such a situation. Even Ian wouldn’t know what to do against a technique he encountered for the first time.
“Even my master said there is hardly anyone in this continent who can stop it, except for one person.”
He probably meant the Demon King.
In other words, Ian couldn’t prepare for the incoming attack.
Thunk!
Having made his decision, Dias struck the ground.
Mana concentrated in his lower body spread out at a speed sufficient to control it.
The moment it swiftly pierced into the opponent’s arms, Dias smiled.
“As expected, unable to cope.”
He was worried because he heard from his friend that Hailie had successfully blocked her charge during their practical combat training.
Since it turned out like this, it was all over. There was nothing Ian could do in this situation.
Now he just needs to grab his arm and turn around. That’s what he thought as he extended his arm.
“Huh?”
Nothing was held in his outstretched hand.
What’s this? Why is there nothing where it should be?
At that moment, when Dias turned his head due to the strange phenomenon.
Crack!
“Grragh!”
Suddenly, an arm that seemed like it would tear his throat apart started to grab hold of him.
It was the Guillotine Choke, the technique that showed its greatest power against charging opponents, rendering Dias completely immobile.
“Oh no… I can’t see.”
Although his breath was being stifled and it felt like his neck was being crushed.
The most dangerous thing was losing sight.
Without being able to see ahead, the odds of winning were nonexistent.
Determined to somehow escape, Dias released his rigid posture and began to struggle.
“You made a mistake.”
“What?”
What Ian had prepared was not just a guillotine.
The reason he chose to use a chokehold, even though there were other methods available, was because of one thing.
Swoosh!
“Ugh!”
Ian, with his mouth slightly raised, simultaneously moved his upper body backwards, shifting the arm that was strangling Dia’s neck towards his abdomen.
Dia, who had tightened his lower body in order to resist, could only kick at empty air.
‘Ah… It’s over.’
The position of the ceiling and the floor is reversed. No, it hasn’t changed.
It’s reversing.
A technique that decorated the combination of a rabbit punch and a guillotine chokehold.
‘Suplex.’
It was the moment when a technique that could be considered the most powerful in grappling, or rather in martial arts, was effective.
AND HIS NAME IS JOHN(IAN) CENA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!