Martial Arts Worlds-Chapter 422: Karate vs. Speed

With a twitch of leg muscle, Gunwoo ran across the sand, feeling the warm grains shifting beneath his feet, and ran so fast that dust kicked up in his wake, obscuring him from view.

With his fist in front of him, he drove it towards Arturo with all the force he could muster and thought that it would hit, but it was deftly dodged at the last second.

Arturo turned around, wanting to counterattack, but Gunwoo ran to a safe distance away so that his attacks wouldn't reach him.

Swoosh!

Immediately after, Gunwoo ran straight back at him, and this time around, brought his whole body down low in a fast and powerful tackle.

Arturo sidestepped the tackle, and he gritted his teeth as there was no chance for him to make a move.

'Even with sand below his feet, he is so fucking fast. I wonder how crazy fast he would be on solid ground!'

Arturo steeled himself in a karate stance and rooted his feet into the sand.

'A karateka? A nice stance. I don't see any visible weaknesses in his form.'

Kiernan thought to himself.

'However, how does he fare against speedster?'

Gunwoo narrowed his eyes at the sight of the stance, and then his feet twitched—he suddenly disappeared, and the sand beneath his feet scattered in the aftermath of his quick movement.

Arturo punched in front of him, placing his fist right in front of him, but then Gunwoo's lightning-quick fist landed on Arturo's face before he could even react.

SMACK!

"Urgh!"

Arturo bled from his nose, the metallic taste filling his mouth, and he then turned around but saw nothing except a sand cloud as Gunwoo had again disappeared.

'One would think that because of Gunwoo's speed, he is only able to go in a straight line, but that's where you made a mistake, Arturo.'

Kiernan thought and looked down at the sand. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

'I, of course, don't cheer for you, but I'd hate you to bring down the art of karate with your poor performance. Use your brains, and look at the sand…'

Arturo's eyes shook, but then he remembered something and looked down at the sand, where he could see footsteps!

'Right! I can see his footsteps and see where he is heading!'

Arturo saw that the footsteps went behind him, turned around immediately, and swiped his arm around, connecting with Gunwoo's fist.

"Ah?"

Gunwoo's eyes widened in surprise as he didn't expect him to know where he was coming from!

"Ghoul Style, Karate Fractura Five!"

Arturo punched him five times in the chest—one punch for every syllable he had just shouted.

"Urgh!"

Gunwoo staggered backward, clutching his chest in pain, as those punches felt like a truck had hit him.

Arturo leaned forward and smashed his elbow at Gunwoo's abdomen. Gunwoo doubled over. He then followed with a backhand to the jaw that sent Gunwoo sprawling to the ground, gasping for air.

"Karate is the strongest!"

Arturo laughed loudly.

"…Tch."

Gunwoo clicked his tongue and stood back to his feet, but his body was weak and aching.

The backhand to the jaw really did a number on him.

"Karate, huh? Nothing is stronger than speed itself!"

Gunwoo lowered into a sprinting stance, his leg muscles ballooned with power, and with a fierce cry, he launched himself forward towards his opponent.

With his launch, he turned invisible, and since he barely touched the ground, he didn't leave a trace behind him.

Arturo's eyes widened as he couldn't tell where he was coming from, but still he let his instincts take over, and reacted with lightning speed.

He placed his fist in front of him and made contact with Gunwoo's face, sending him flying through the air like a ragdoll.

Thump!

Gunwoo fell on the ground with a loud crash, gurgling as he struggled to breathe, and blood gushed from his nose.

"Haha, I am stronge—"

As Arturo gleefully was about to say something, something suddenly hit him in the back and sent him sprawling down to the ground.

"Urgh, the hell?"

Arturo lifted his gaze, and for a moment, thought that a third party suddenly attacked him, but when he turned back to bleeding Gunwoo, he disappeared like a ghost.

"W-what?"

Dante suddenly started laughing and shook his head in amusement.

"It's always funny when Gunwoo does this. He likes to make his opponents think they've conquered his speed before showing true despair. You guys are in for something supernatural."

THWACK!

Another attack landed at Arturo's right shoulder, making him stumble forward, and he cried out in pain.

"Where the hell is that bastard?!"

He tried to look at the sand for any sign of Gunwoo, but it was almost like he had vanished into thin air.

SMACK!

A fist came in contact with Arturo's cheek, and he tried to grab it before he escaped, but his hand swiped at the empty air.

He stumbled a step back with a swollen cheek and gritted his teeth angrily, trying to think about how Gunwoo could do this.

'Gunwoo realized that the sand was also his enemy, so he had one choice left. He had to avoid sand and instead is using the rock walls to propel himself forward.'

Kiernan thought.

Only a couple of people in the temple were able to see Gunwoo, and they saw how he was hopping from wall to wall, moving at such insane speed that Arturo was completely at his mercy.

"Fuck!"

Arturo had enough and started kicking the sand into the air, making it so that the thick blanket of sand was blocking Gunwoo's view and slowing him down.

It turned so thick that Arturo turned invisible inside the sand and disappeared into the sandy landscape.

At last, Gunwoo stopped at the rock wall, his legs shaking uncontrollably as if they were about to give out.

He couldn't keep up his superspeed for too long, as it took a lot of energy and stamina. It also put great pressure onto his legs.

'If you want to fight like this, I am down.'

Gunwoo stepped forward into the sand cloud and disappeared from view. No one in the crowd could see anything that was going on.