Chapter 11 The Underground Boxing

Feng Bujue and Snow’s judgment was simple because they had already discerned a piece of information from the Viking’s recent punches—"The probing is over."

To outsiders, the Viking’s slowed-down attack rhythm seemed to indicate that he hadn’t yet found a way to break through his opponent’s defense.

But in reality… this was his "victory is assured" performance. He was using action to tell Mirror Shield—"I’m ready to win. I can end this match at any time, but… I’ll give you one more chance to counterattack so you’ll be convinced of your loss."

Mirror Shield, who was also quite strong, naturally understood this. He knew… just now, that one and only "counter-punch"… had exposed his "distance" to his opponent. Next, his counterattacks and attacks would completely fail, and his defense being broken… was only a matter of time.

In this kind of match without coaching or round breaks, it would probably be impossible for Mirror Shield to reverse this disadvantage technically relying on his own thinking. So, he now had to use this last "opportunity" given by the Viking to put up a last-ditch effort.

This was a gamble, and in a sense, it could be seen as a "trap" set by the Viking.

But… Mirror Shield had no choice. Precisely because his level wasn’t low, he knew that he had to venture into this "trap."

If he got through, he would still have hope of winning. If he didn’t… the result would be the same.

If he insisted on the current defensive stance, he might be able to hold on a little longer, but… that would just be a slow death.

*Pfft—*

Two seconds later, Mirror Shield threw the first jab in this match with a clear offensive intent.

His steps and stance also changed the instant he switched from defense to offense.

“Feint.” At the same moment, Feng Bujue and Snow were saying the same word in their hearts.

*Pfft—*

The second punch, a straight right, followed closely behind.

Combined with the first punch, this was a very common "combination," using the first punch to attract the opponent’s attention, and the second to deliver the blow.

However…

“Still a feint.” Jue-ge and Snow had both seen through it. Mirror Shield wasn’t using such a simple tactic.

*Whoosh—*

Sure enough, in that split second, Mirror Shield threw a third punch.

“This is the killing move…” This time, Feng Bujue said it out loud.

This third punch from Mirror Shield was a left straight, but its power was vastly different from the second punch, which was also a straight. The moment he threw the punch, Mirror Shield coordinated with a forward knee movement, increasing the punching power to a level sufficient to "knock down" or even "KO" his opponent.

Objectively speaking, this "one jab, two straights" combination wasn’t complicated. The main technical difficulty was concentrated in the third punch.

However, in terms of the "element of surprise," it was still effective. Because Mirror Shield was right-handed, choosing this "left-right-left" punching pattern was obviously the result of careful consideration.

Unfortunately… his intentions still failed to escape the Viking’s eyes.

Just as he blocked the first punch and was preparing to use a parry to deal with the second punch, the Viking instantly saw through the truth that the second punch was also a "feint."

So, he ignored the second punch directly, kept his elbows close to his body, lowered his head, and while taking the second punch head-on, focused all his attention… on Mirror Shield’s left hand.

And Mirror Shield, indeed, threw that third punch.

Everything… was under the Viking’s control. As Mirror Shield’s third punch was exerted, he leaned forward, forcing his way into Mirror Shield’s right side.

*Bang—*

Immediately afterward, a heavy swing landed squarely on the right side of Mirror Shield’s chin.

Mirror Shield’s missed third punch hadn’t fully extended, and he lost his balance due to the impact on his chin. The knee-bending, forward-leaning motion he had made to increase the power of the punch actually became an assist to the Viking’s swing.

K.O.—an undisputed ending.

The raspy-voiced announcer saved even the time for counting down this time because Mirror Shield lost consciousness directly after falling to the ground.

This kind of "brief unconsciousness of the contestant" was common in various combat sports… especially when the chin was punched. Because the cerebrum and cerebellum were both affected, the person being hit easily fell to the ground and couldn’t get up.

"Winner! Vi—king—man—" As several sailors carried the dazed Mirror Shield out of the ring, the raspy-voiced announcer raised the Viking’s right hand and announced the result of the match loudly.

The crowd immediately gave a certain amount of cheers, but… this time, the cheers were lukewarm.

Because… the vast majority of people had bet on the Viking, which led to the fact that the return his odds could bring was really limited. There wasn’t much money to be made even if he won.

After a dozen seconds, when the surroundings gradually quieted down, the raspy-voiced announcer took the opportunity to continue, "Alright… today’s deck boxing match is almost…"

"Wait a minute!" Suddenly, a long whistle came from above, interrupting the raspy-voiced announcer’s words.

The pirates, who were already bored and ready to disperse, were all attracted by this roar and looked in the direction of the sound.

The person who shouted… was none other than Feng Bujue.

“Hmm?” Although the raspy-voiced announcer was a little unhappy with the interruption, he had to be polite to Feng Bujue when he saw that it was him. “Mr. Feng… may I ask… what’s your instruction?”

At this time, Feng Bujue gave a look to his two teammates, who were also unsure of what he was going to do, and then jumped down from the ropes above.

Honghu and Snow looked at each other, each revealing a helpless expression, and then followed down as well.

"Instruction? I wouldn’t dare." After Jue-ge landed and stood still, he happened to stand on a wooden box at the edge of the "ring." He looked at the raspy-voiced announcer a few meters away and said, "I just want to say… I’m very honored to see such a wonderful game today, but… unfortunately, the defending champion’s time on the stage was a little short. So, I hope… this Viking brother can fight another match to open our eyes."

"This…" The raspy-voiced announcer said, turning his head to look at the Garlic trio to the side and murmuring, "It’s not appropriate, right…"

After pausing for half a second, he glanced at the Viking again: "You see… the Viking just finished a match…"

"It doesn’t matter." Unexpectedly, the Viking himself had already put on an eager expression and said, "It just so happens that I didn’t have enough fun…" He looked at Mirror Shield, who was lying outside the field and slowly waking up, and said, "Although Mirror Shield fought well, judging from the results… he didn’t create too much trouble for me. After the match just now, I hardly suffered any damage, and my physical strength is still very abundant… It doesn’t seem inappropriate to treat it as a ‘warm-up’."

"Heh… I think so too." Feng Bujue smiled, paused for a second, and looked at the Garlic brothers, "I think… everyone wants to see… what the result will be when the Viking competes with the ‘passengers’ outside our pirate crew."

His words were ostensibly said to everyone, but in reality, he was implying to the Garlic brothers, who "really had the decision-making power," that this bet was profitable for them.

"Ya-ho! Seems pretty interesting."

"Viking, we support you!"

"Yeah, yeah, let’s have one."

"Let’s have one… let’s have one… let’s have one…"

The pirates didn’t mind having more things to do. Besides… Jue-ge’s words were indeed quite煽动 (shāndòng; stirring, inciting).

In less than half a minute, the surrounding crowd began to shout "Let’s have one" in unison. It seemed… that this battle was inevitable.

“Humph… alright.” Finally, the Garlic brother, who had been sitting there silently keeping accounts, stood up and said to Feng Bujue, “But… are you sure you can go down and fight?”

After asking this question, the Garlic brother briefly explained the setting of the "boxing gloves" to Jue-ge, and then said again: "I think… Mr. Feng, your strength has probably already exceeded the suppression limit of these boxing gloves, right?"

“Oh~ so you’re worried about this.” Jue-ge heard this, but remained calm, “I didn’t say that I would personally go down and fight.”

Just as he mentioned the word "personally," Honghu, who was standing behind him, had already retreated a step very cleverly…

And Snow, who was still inexperienced, was still standing there stupidly, waiting for Feng Bujue’s next words.

“This match…” In the next second, Feng Bujue turned around smoothly, pointed at Snow with his finger, and said, “Will be a match between this Snow brother, who is known as ‘the man with the most talent and the most gorgeous moves in the history of Ultra God Fist for two thousand years,’ and the Viking.”

“Huh?” Snow didn’t realize what was going on until his name appeared in the sentence.

A full five seconds later, when everyone turned their attention to him, he belatedly realized that he seemed to have been tricked.

"Uh…" As a gentleman, Snow wouldn’t lose his composure in front of everyone. He just silently said "Fuck…" to Feng Bujue in his heart.

…………

Things progressed quite smoothly. The pirates’ efficiency was surprisingly high.

In just ten minutes, a series of trivial matters such as customizing odds, placing bets, and clearing the venue had been arranged.

The system also gave the players a prompt [Players participating in the boxing match can take off their upper body clothing] in order to cooperate with the completion of this side quest and relaxed the dress code for Snow.

So, Snow, who had been "schemed against" by Jue-ge… put on his boxing gloves and bared his upper body, ready to go into battle.

“You’re trying to kill me…” With a little time left before going on stage, Snow confirmed the tightness of the boxing glove straps and said to Jue-ge with narrowed eyes, "And I have to die bearing the name of ‘Successor of Ultra God Fist,’ which sounds a bit painful…"

"Brother Snow, you’re wrong." Unexpectedly, before Jue-ge could retort, Honghu said to Snow first, "I think… Brother Feng didn’t mean that—even if you’re not a member of the Blackbeard Pirates, the rule of ‘no killing’ won’t be affected. Besides… the other party is also wearing restricted boxing gloves, so even if he really wants to beat you to death… it’s very difficult.”

What he said made sense, but… Jue-ge didn’t seem to appreciate it.

“In fact, whether you live or die is really not within my scope of consideration…” After Honghu finished speaking, Feng Bujue, as if tearing down the stage, said to Snow, “The reason why I pushed you out to participate in the competition is… only you among the three of us meet the ‘competition standards.’” He paused for half a second and added, "My and Honghu’s combat specialization and physical skills are too strong. They definitely exceed the limited limit of boxing gloves… So, the two of us can’t participate in this boxing match. In other words… from the beginning, you were the only feasible executor of this side quest."

“Hmph… then I can only blame the system, right?” Snow responded with a wry smile.

“What’s there to blame?” Feng Bujue said, “You’re just going up to fight in an informal boxing match. The worst-case scenario is that you’ll be beaten into a pig’s head. Why don’t you say… I was the one who risked my ‘knife’ for the last side quest.”

“Why does the tone of your voice when you say this sound like you accidentally said ‘knife’ instead of ‘life’…” Snow said with narrowed eyes, “Also… how much are you obsessed with the matter of equipment exploding… are you planning to talk about it for the rest of your life?”

“It’s none of your business.” Feng Bujue said, “My preliminary plan is to keep talking about this until the end of this script. Do you have any objections?”

“Okay, okay… those things are fine.” Honghu spoke again before their bickering escalated, trying to bring the topic back on track. “Let’s talk about the boxing match…” He looked at Snow, “Are you confident?”

“No.” Snow answered decisively. Whether it was his expression or tone, there was no sign of lying.

“Hmm…” The corners of Honghu’s mouth twitched twice, “I thought… you were an expert…”

“I am indeed an expert… and I even hired…” When Snow said this, he almost blurted out the name of a well-known boxing coach. Fortunately, he realized in time that it wasn’t appropriate to say that, and immediately changed his words to, “…hired a professional coach to guide me. Before and after… I probably practiced for two years… It would be more than enough even if I wanted to take the exam for a professional boxer’s license.” He paused, “But precisely because I am an expert, I understand that my chances of winning are very slim…

“Not to mention that the opponent’s weight is at least three levels above mine, and his height and wingspan are also longer than mine… In terms of technology alone, the Viking is also stronger than me in all aspects. Not to mention… his experience advantage in this kind of competition and that desperate ‘boxing talent.’”

“Is that so…” Honghu heard this and adjusted his glasses, “Doesn’t that mean… the system has given an impossible mission?”

“How is that possible?” Feng Bujue answered, “You’ve been playing this game for so long, when has the system ever given an impossible_mission?” He spread his hands, “In the end… it’s just that your idea of ‘using regular boxing techniques to defeat your opponent’ is wrong.”

“Oh?” Hearing Jue-ge’s words, a hint of evil appeared on the faces of Snow and Honghu at the same time, “What you mean is…”

“Humph…” Feng Bujue crossed his arms over his chest, showing a confident look, “It’s time to let these naive pirates know what real ‘underground boxing’ is…”