The contest continued.

Snow's close-quarters fighting style gradually revealed its effectiveness...

Even though the Viking's torso was strong and his resistance to blows was excellent, he couldn't withstand the constant "liver shots" without taking damage.

If the Viking had chosen to fight up close like Snow, he probably would have won a long time ago.

But he didn't...

As Feng Bujue had said, the Viking wanted to deliver "beautiful boxing." He didn't just want victory; he wanted to prove that he was technically superior to his opponent.

This... was a kind of arrogance, but not excessive.

The Viking knew very well that he was a boxing genius. Even aside from his meticulously honed skills... his "instinct to see through the opponent's 'distance' in an instant" was something ordinary people couldn't touch.

Therefore, he had always believed... that it was only natural for him to make appropriate concessions in the match.

Before, he had deliberately given "Mirror Shield" a chance to make one last attack; that was the meaning of it.

Now, having already fought one match, he was back in the ring to fight Snow again; and even after the opponent had used such unsightly methods, he still hadn't abandoned his principles... that was also the meaning of it.

This was his resolve as a strongman, the most fundamental concept for him, and even if he lost here today, this concept wouldn't waver.

*Thump—thump—*

"Pretty stubborn, huh..." Snow stuck close to his opponent, his fist still constantly hammering at the Viking's liver, "Judging from your footsteps, you're clearly affected..."

"Heh..." the Viking smiled, "So what?"

"Tch... such an infuriating reaction..." Snow spat unhappily, "I've put down my dignity, used these extreme methods, and worked hard until now... and you're responding to me with this attitude?"

"Hmph... you're right, actually..." the Viking sneered, muttering, "My obsession with winning isn't that strong to begin with. If I can't defeat my opponent with my 'overwhelming technical boxing,' then victory means nothing to me... Like today, if you're the one who wins in the end, I won't mind, because I didn't lose to 'boxing,' but only to your 'tactics' that embarrass even yourselves."

Hearing these words, Snow was silent for a moment, then he actually stopped hitting and took a few steps back.

"Hmm?" The Viking saw this, but didn't rush to attack, just wondering, "What? Are you finally preparing to have a fair showdown with me?"

"Fair?" Snow repeated the word, his eyes and tone turning cold, "So your kind of boxing is called 'fair,' and what I've done so far is 'cheating and trickery'?"

"Ha!" The Viking opened his arms and asked with a smile, "Isn't it?"

"That's right! You little brat is cheating and tricking!"

"Good thing you have some self-awareness!"

"More than just cheating and trickery, it's simply despicable and shameless!"

The surrounding pirates had also heard the conversation between Snow and the Viking, and for a time, curses rose from all around.

"Don't joke around, you bastard!" Unexpectedly, Snow, who had always been very graceful, shouted out loud at this moment, "Close-quarters attrition warfare is a common tactic even in regular boxing matches, how can that be called cheating and trickery? Is it only fair to fight me in your best mode?"

The Viking was stunned by the question, and after a few seconds, he replied, "Hmm... indeed, close-quarters is also a technique... it's not a foul..."

"And... what do you mean by 'my obsession with winning isn't that strong to begin with'..." Snow pressed on, continuing, "People like you, who have the idea of 'regardless of winning or losing, as long as I can fight beautifully'... don't deserve to win at all!"

"What?" The Viking was also surprised, "You say I don't deserve to win?" He chuckled, "Heh... then does your kind of dirty boxing have the qualifications to win?"

"Of course!" Snow said, his stance also changing, as if he was about to launch an attack, "No matter how you belittle this kind of boxing... whether you call it 'ugly' or 'dirty'... it's still boxing! The 'gorgeous boxing' of geniuses and the 'practical boxing' of the weak are the same... The weak cannot crush their opponents in the geniuses' domain, so they abandon the gorgeousness they also love, even abandon their dignity... just to prove their strength and effort with victory."

"What do you know about the feelings of the weak... the goals that they can't achieve in their whole lives are easily achieved by those with talent; and you, a talented person, are still saying cool words like 'victory means nothing to you'... it's simply outrageous!"

"Tch... all just sophistry..." The Viking spat, "It's my freedom to have whatever feelings I want when boxing... If you can't stand me, then come and win against me..." He paused, "The regret is... you weaklings can't win against me, can you? In that case, why not show some self-awareness as weaklings? Instead of making boring attempts with that so-called 'practical boxing,' why not show off your 'gorgeous boxing' and be beautifully defeated by me... it'll be more enjoyable."

"The... self-awareness of the weak, huh..." Snow murmured, then sneered, "Heh... alright, I'll let you see the self-awareness of the weak."

With that, a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

The Viking also felt something and reorganized his stance, waiting in full battle readiness.

At that moment, Snow's figure moved quickly...

"A combo... and a combo with more than four punches, with room for follow-up changes..." The Viking had already tested the opponent's "distance" and keenly judged the opponent's moves at the first moment, "Hmm... not much of a threat to me..." He thought in his heart, "But it's better than close combat, at least defusing this kind of attack is more interesting."

As he thought of this, Snow's first punch arrived.

*Pa—pa—boom—*

"Two jabs... always..." The Viking's heart was extremely calm, and he captured the opponent's next punch in that instant, "Next is... an uppercut coming from the chin!"

*Whoosh—*

His judgment was correct, Snow did throw that punch.

The Viking took half a step back, easily dodging it, and thought to himself, "There's a problem with the speed of this punch... that means... it's not over yet... there's a straight punch hidden at the end."

Snow's actions were completely expected by his opponent. After that uppercut, he vigorously raised his right hand backward...

"Heh... after all, he's just a weakling..." Facing this final blow, the Viking seemed very relaxed, his thoughts were very clear, and he thought unhurriedly, "This is also a bad habit that most second-rate boxers can never get rid of—whenever they use combos with a relatively large number of punches, when they get to the last one or two punches, they will throw a 'telephone punch' (that is, a punch that does not contain any concealment or feints; most of the punches thrown by ordinary people are like this, before the fist is thrown out, the movements of the arm and body have clearly foreshadowed their next punch... for professional boxers, it's like 'calling on the phone,' with plenty of time to 'answer'); this almost instinctive action may not be corrected even with a huge amount of training, because muscle memory can be trained... but some people's brains just can't keep up..."

When the Viking saw that "telephone punch," he decided to end the match here.

His method was also very simple—take a step forward and swing a preemptive interception.

Having already seen through the opponent's next punch, this was the most effective and visually pleasing way to break the move.

This kind of easy and unhurried "one-hit KO" was exactly the winning method that the Viking had been pursuing and implementing...

*Whoosh—*

The Viking punched.

He seemed to have already seen Snow falling to the ground, and seemed to have already heard the lines declaring his victory.

However, at this instant, an amazing change occurred...

"What!" The Viking shouted these two words for the first time in his forty-seven deck boxing matches.

Because... his confident KO punch missed.

Snow's "telephone punch" was real, not a feint; perhaps Feng Bujue, who had zero-time difference calculation, could follow up with this complex "trap action" after a multiple combo, but Snow's ability was obviously not enough to support him in completing such a move.

But... Snow was still not hit. Only because... at the moment when the interception punch was swung, at the same time when his own "telephone punch" had already exerted force, he did something that normal people couldn't do—he took a step back.

It sounds like an insignificant thing, but in reality... it's an action that is infinitely close to "impossible"; the difficulty is probably equivalent to rotating the right hand clockwise while rotating the right foot counterclockwise.

Precisely because of this, he threw an "impossible" punch—a counter-punch while retreating.

What was originally just a telephone punch that was preempted by someone else, turned into an admirable and incredible good punch in this "one step."

If you want to break down this action, then it is a counter-attack against a counter-attack, and from this, it can also be judged that all of his previous combos, including the preparation action for this punch, may have been part of the trap.

But... did he really think that much?

No...

That step back, that stroke of genius that was almost impossible to achieve with normal brain operation, was actually... due to his "title ability."

[Follower] Title Ability:

[Name: Sure-Dodge (Do-My-Best Type)]

[Special Ability Type: Active]

[Consumption: Stamina 100]

[Effect: During activation, the body will automatically dodge all attacks that are theoretically dodgeable (duration of five seconds, cooldown of one hour)]

[Note: I don't recommend using it when facing very dense attacks, as it may cause you to suffer more serious damage than enduring the attack itself.]

Snow's title was undoubtedly obtained by following the studio's carrying-big-brother to level up for a long time, so the ability of this title was a bit of a pitfall.

Although the consumption of this skill is not large, and the effect is also "looks very beautiful," it is actually a bit terrible to use...

For example, if Snow activates [Sure-Dodge (Do-My-Best Type)] when being strafed by a machine gun, whether he can dodge all the bullets is another matter, but his body will most likely twist itself into serious injuries.

However, in the current duel, this skill has become the key to turning the tables.

Apart from the three players, no one knew that Feng Bujue, who could see through his teammates' data, had already laid out the tactics based on this title skill before the fight...

Snow's not-so-good title skill was precisely the foundation of all tactics.

Jue Ge and Snow both knew very well that "close entanglement" alone would not solve the problem. If the Viking became angry and fought Snow in the liver, Snow would lose quickly; even if the opponent kept enduring, he might not be able to seize a normal KO opportunity.

Therefore, "close combat" was just a means of creating an illusion.

Snow had been busy for a long time, not trying to win by "exhausting stamina," but trying to use this behavior to trap the opponent...

Ordinary traps are useless against the Viking. In front of a true expert like him, ordinary tricks are useless, and provocations are mostly in vain.

These... were also confirmed one by one in actual combat.

To deceive the Viking, one had to put more effort into things other than boxing, such as... acting.

Snow's last performance was within the plan; his passionate speech was not a heartfelt expression (this guy himself has never been a weakling)... but a prelude to "changing his fighting style."

In this situation, if Snow suddenly adopted an offensive stance, the Viking would think that his behavior was "emotionally driven" and would not feel anything unnatural.

And at this time, the Viking... would definitely not consider the matter of "this person can knock me down with beautiful boxing," because he had already roughly understood Snow's level in the previous entanglement; that endless "close combat" wore down not only the Viking's stamina, but more importantly, his guard against Snow as a person.

All conditions were ready, and Snow rushed up.

After activating [Sure-Dodge (Do-My-Best Type)], Snow's body was equivalent to being controlled by two forces. Snow's own thinking was controlling the body to attack, while the power of the skill was responsible for controlling the body to make dodging movements.

No matter how clever and hidden normal technical movements are... the Viking may not be able to see through them; but Snow's technique, which is similar to "ambidextrous fighting (drawing a circle with one hand and a square with the other)," was something that the Viking had never experienced and could not predict.

As a result, the man who had not been defeated in forty-six battles fell helplessly under this miraculous "retreating counter-punch."

At this moment, the deck was silent.

And the three players were also watching with bated breath, praying... hoping that this group of NPCs had not seen Snow's "use of skills" which violated the rules.