Chapter 190: Unpredictable Direction

"Stronger than last round," Korr said in a steady yet wary tone, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Enzo’s eyes darted to Korr for a second before returning to Moon. He focused on the screen.

"How can you tell?" Enzo asked.

"During the last fights, by this point, he usually starts to pant or sweat," Korr pointed out. "Today, his stamina seems to have improved."

"What else?" Enzo inquired further.

"His speed also increased," Korr exhaled. "As well as his physical condition."

"His weight increase is obvious; what else?" Enzo wanted to know more.

"Nothing else," Korr concluded.

Enzo sat down, focusing on the screen, trying to compare Moon’s performance now and then in his head.

He nodded slowly. "There indeed is a very small increase in his stats." His gaze turned back to Korr. "This isn’t something that could be noticed casually; how could you tell?"

Korr took a deep breath. "We’ve worked together for a very long time," he explained.

"Long time? Wasn’t it just a year or two?" Enzo assumed, based on their age and what he had heard of the first floor, as he had never heard of anyone working as a mercenary younger than fifteen, or fourteen at the youngest.

Korr couldn’t help a chuckle escaping his lips. "He was the youngest of his... band; he’s been working for over five years, maybe six even."

Surprise was evident on Enzo’s face for the first time, but he didn’t say anything about that.

"That doesn’t explain how you could spot such a minor improvement," Enzo asked again in a vaguer tone.

Korr shook his head. "I’ve watched him bring me one victory after another for so many years, grow and become stronger. My apologies, Sir Enzo, but do you really think I can’t spot his improvement?"

Hahahahaha~

Enzo started laughing out loud amidst the cheers of the crowd surrounding him.

"And you sent that very guy to die," Enzo locked his gaze with Korr’s. "Only for you to meet him again here, on the second floor, and become his primary target."

Enzo patted Korr on the shoulder and leaned forward, whispering in his ear. "Korr, my friend, you really are something." The shoulder pat wasn’t the friendly kind.

Turning back to the screen, "At first I wanted to know why you did that; now, Korr, I don’t want to know." Enzo shook his head in disappointment. "You’re just stupid; don’t distract me again."

Korr, till the end of the duel, didn’t say another word. His eyes shone with a mess of emotions. A slight hint of pain lingered; fear did not.

In the Southern branch, the cheers slowly died out.

Moon was at an overwhelming disadvantage even though he was fighting where he was best. No Echo, just a normal fistfight spar.

It was the core, but even then, he was overwhelmed by the nature of their upbringing and resources.

All of a sudden, Talia hopped away, getting her foot to slam into the back of Moon’s head.

A light hit at most, but thanks to it, Moon found himself unable to hold onto her leg as properly as he had been.

He locked the leg over his shoulder and neck; now the shin was thinner and his grip on it inevitably loosened.

She followed up by leaning her body to the side, successfully yanking her leg out of Moon’s hold before using her stance for another swift round kick without letting her leg touch the floor once.

Watching his advantage go away, Moon gritted his teeth and closed in on Talia.

Talia flexed her leg and dropped her knee instead before he managed to get close. Even with her overwhelming stat advantage, she was still wary of what kind of tricks he could play on her, and where it could lead the fight.

Yet, against all odds, Moon just dived down, getting her knee to miss.

Only then did Talia realize it: Moon wasn’t trying to close in or confuse her.

Talia couldn’t tell if that had been his aim since the beginning, or if it was the sudden turn of events that forced him into this new pattern.

Maybe a pattern didn’t exist in the first place.

Talia couldn’t tell, but all she knew was that, at this moment, Moon had successfully forced her to turn her back on him.

Talia, on a blind reflex, brought her forearms to block the back of her head, still—

Thud~

Moon’s punch came faster, right at the base of her skull.

The cheers that had died down erupted again. Even though most of those who placed their money on Talia did so willingly or were tricked into it, they still couldn’t help screaming whenever things turned in an unpredictable direction.

Some only cheered for Moon thanks to the hype Lucen had built.

In the audience where Lexie and Boa were seated, the two of them screamed for apparently completely different reasons.

One was out of fear of Talia being hurt, while the other was for the love of the game.

Ed watched the bunch; he couldn’t help smiling smugly. "Told you, it’s not even that bad of a situation."

Lucen nodded. "You were right again; still, it’s too early to expect a conclusion to this fight."

Ed laughed. "Believe me when I tell you this, the conclusion will only come when it’s least expected." He scratched his head before adding, "Probably."

Below, near the lowest row, Basil locked his fingers together. "Please, Boss, make us rich." His eyes were glued to the fight.

Barrett wasn’t in a less tense condition, but he was less talkative, standing on the tips of his toes.

In the ring, Moon’s punch landed squarely on the back of Talia’s head; her forearms failed to defend in time, but they came for Moon at the right time.

While Talia staggered thanks to the sudden impact, she tried to rotate her body to face Moon while guarding her head.

Moon didn’t let her enjoy her decision; his hand shot for one of her forearms while his leg jumped in a knee kick aimed at her back.

Smack~

With that, Moon aimed to break her shoulder the way he did Dara’s.

He proceeded to kick the back of her knees repeatedly in a clear attempt to bring her down.

She was taller than him, and while she was still strong enough to resist a few hits to the back of her knees, after the fourth hit, she finally fell.

Huff~

Huff~

Moon panted heavily, drenched in sweat. Deep inside, he wasn’t sure about what he was doing. He wasn’t sure her shoulder would snap, considering the monstrous physique she had.

He also thought of crushing her throat, but he shook off the thought.

This is just a spar, he reminded himself before yanking her arm. Desperately and repeatedly, he tried to break her shoulder.

She groaned with every attempt, but her shoulder still didn’t snap for him.

The arenas across the second floor went entirely silent; everyone was holding their breath, waiting for it to happen.

Talia, in their minds, was at checkmate.

The formal combat, training, or stats that gave her an evident advantage didn’t help her turn the tables.

Yet, little did they know, the flame in her eyes was still burning; she was far from being done.