Martial Arts Worlds-Chapter 424: Cracking Back

"Huff…"

Gunwoo hunched over, touching the golden sand with his fingertips, and placed his feet into a sprinting stance.

It was the same stance he had done before, but this time around, there was something different about him.

"A last-ditch effort?"

Arturo scoffed and stood in his stance like an unbreakable stone wall.

Behind him, an aura image of a stone wall rose up from the ground and towered over him like a monument to his unwavering resolve.

Vroom~

The sound of the roaring engine reverberated throughout the air as Gunwoo's aura image of a wheel-legged engine man appeared next to him.

Its wheels were smoking while the engine on his chest emitted sparks of power that crackled with intensity.

This was going to be the last attack.

"Yokai Style, Godspeed!"

Gunwoo lunged forward, but when he did, he vanished into thin air and shortly after appeared in front of Arturo with dozens of afterimages circling him like a pack of vultures.

'What? Which one is real!'

Arturo's pupils dilated in shock.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

Thousands of fists assaulted Arturo's body, each one feeling like a sledgehammer, and his body felt like it was being torn apart.

"Ahhhhh!"

When the assault ended and Gunwoo appeared behind him with bloody feet, Arturo slowly fell to the ground and landed in a crumpled heap.

Bruised and battered, Arturo looked like a purple, mangled mess.

It was an ugly sight.

"Whoo…"

Gunwoo breathed in relief and raised his arm in victory, which earned cheers from his friends and whistles from the crowd.

"Two-two."

Gunwoo whispered.

However, at that moment, he heard the crowd gasp in surprise, and wondering why they made such a sound, he turned around and saw a shocking sight.

Arturo was back standing, bleeding from his face, and then turned back to Gunwoo, going straight back into his fighting stance.

It was unreal that he still wanted to fight!

"What in the world?"

Gunwoo frowned.

"Hah…"

Arturo breathed painfully, stepped forward, and then launched himself at Gunwoo with a powerful punch.

Gunwoo sidestepped the punch, but then Arturo stopped his lunge and threw an elbow in Gunwoo's direction.

With inches to spare, Gunwoo pulled his head back to avoid the elbow, and then Arturo followed with a straight punch.

The hard fist, with its steel knuckles, connected with Gunwoo's chest and sent him sliding backwards.

The pain of bruised ribs crippled Gunwoo's ability to make any kind of proper defense.

"Does Arturo also have some kind of special physique? How can he keep fighting while he is so beaten up?"

Dante asked with a frown.

"No. Arturo does not have a special physique. He is normal. Very normal. However, while Ren is fearful of pain, Arturo excels in fighting through it."

Master Arakawa said with a serious tone.

He knew that the fight wouldn't end so easily, but still, the fight was in its ending phases.

"Why did you choose Gunwoo to fight him? Gunwoo is not good at matches that last long."

Dante asked.

"None of you were a good match for Arturo. I have all of your opponents already planned, but I still have hope that Gunwoo pushes through."

Master Arakawa said.

With Arturo sending his punches in rapid succession, Gunwoo couldn't dodge anymore and responded with parries instead.

His hands made contact with Arturo's bloody fists, pushing them off course and creating an opening for Gunwoo to counterattack.

A small opening.

Gunwoo speared his hand through the opening, aiming for Arturo's spot below his throat, and wanted to plunge his fingers into his chest, but at that moment, Arturo swiped his arm down to block Gunwoo's attack.

It made Gunwoo's eyes widen in surprise as he realized that he fell into his trap—that opening was a trap created by Arturo to force him to attack!

Arturo wrapped his arms around Gunwoo's head, pulled him close to his chest, and then started kneeing his body.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

"URGH!"

Gunwoo guarded his chest, but the knees still kept landing at his ribs, and the pain almost made him cry.

At that moment, Arturo hooked his feet under Gunwoo's legs, lifted him up from the ground, and then slammed him back down to the sand ground.

Landing on his back, Gunwoo cried out in pain, and then Arturo mounted over him and started punching him in the ribs, intentionally using his knuckles to cause maximum damage and pain.

Gunwoo's screams reverberated throughout the temple's grounds, and his tears came falling down his face.

"Why don't you surrender, huh?"

Arturo asked while gritting his teeth, his eyes burning with exhaustion.

It wasn't easy for him to keep fighting either, as his body wanted him to stop and take some rest.

Gunwoo placed his hands at Arturo's face, trying to push him off, but Arturo suddenly started biting on his fingers.

"Argh!"

Gunwoo yanked his hands back and pushed his fist into Arturo's face with all his remaining strength, but that did absolutely nothing.

"…"

Arturo frowned, then forced Gunwoo to lie on his stomach and pressed his feet against his back while pulling his head back.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Gunwoo's back started cracking as if it was about to snap in half.

"I'll crush your spine then!"

Arturo screamed.

"Urgh!"

Gunwoo's eyes went red, and sounds of pain escaped his mouth, but the word "I surrender" never left.

Arturo gritted his teeth, readied himself to break his spine, but at that moment, a white towel landed on the sand.

"Match's over."

The temple priest pushed Arturo off him, and that push forced Arturo down on the ground, but because of the extent of his damage, he couldn't stand up either.

"Arturo Zaccari is victorious!"

Within Ghoul Dojo's side, sounds of celebration filled the air, and a solemn mood surrounded Yokai Dojo as they saw the scoreboard update.

It was three to one!

They were one loss away from losing the tournament!

"…This is not looking good."

Kiernan crossed his arms and rubbed his chin thoughtfully as they needed to win three matches in a row for victory.