Chapter 22: The Duel
Although the death of the Dragon Monarch brought a layer of sadness to the kingdom, after all, the once-in-a-century day of the Dragon Face was coming, which made most people's bad mood improve. The famous "wine ring" of the dragon's tooth is full of guests inside and out, pushing the cup and changing the lamp, and making the fist order, so it is not lively. Since the change of owner, business here has changed for the better. Although most people don't care or even know that the owner here is no longer surnamed Niu, because the Niu brothers are still serving everyone at the front desk, the quality of the show here is higher than in the past, and the taste of the wine seems to be better.
It's a little bit better, indeed. Golini recalls that a few years ago, he had come to the dragon once, when the dragon's teeth were still owned by the Niu family, and he remembered that the boss was called Niu Tianci. But how many years ago was that? eight years, or seven years? He wasn't sure.
He looked back at the "wine ring". It was a large marble table in the shape of a ring, which was very noticeable when looking down from upstairs. Directly opposite the entrance of the tavern, there is an entrance and exit where drinkers can sit around the inner and outer rings, which are a platform for performances, most of the time performing songs and dances, as well as acrobatics and magic shows. Further inside, there is a performance arena, covered with fine sand and surrounded by iron bars, where there is only one kind of performance: bare-handed duels.
The samurai participating in the duel are generally from the martial arts of the dragon and other cities, and it is usually a duel between two martial arts, and the drinker can bet on the outcome of the duel, and the tavern sits in the bank, and the minimum bet is ten silver baht, and the maximum is unlimited. Anyone is allowed to challenge the duel, but it must be submitted to the tavern first, and the permission of the tavern and the relevant martial arts field is obtained, and under normal circumstances, strong challengers will not be rejected, and no martial arts hall is willing to show weakness. In the past, both sides of the duel had to sign a life and death certificate, and the casualties were borne by themselves, but the last dragon monarch had issued a ban on life and death duels, so the duel became less attractive for a while.
"It reminds me of Baudry's 'formation'. One of his companions, sitting in the audience at the dueling arena, commented. Marco had a pair of light gray eyes, curly hair of the same color that hung down to his shoulders, and a fierce-looking scar dragged from his cheekbones to the corners of his mouth.
"Marko, the duel here is gentler than the formation technique. Bodri's stuff is so cruel. He said, "If you are not shrewd, you can't make money, and the rules of the Dragon Monarch will not make it difficult for them." The owners of these taverns and martial arts halls joined forces to add a lot of color to the duel, that is, hanging lottery, in which both sides injured the other but did not die, and the better the samurai, the higher the pay. So both sides worked hard, and the smell of blood was enough, so many people could sit here again. ”
"I heard Ah Chang say that the biggest martial arts field here is the overlord martial arts field, but there is a new competitor called the Qinglong Martial Arts Field, and the two are competing for a lot of fun. A handsome young man with fair skin beside him said, this is his youngest companion on the trip, Fano, who has lovely slightly curly brown hair. They all spoke in the Eta language, and everyone could tell they were from a foreign country anyway.
Others will notice that they are dressed in brocade clothes, fashionable attire of high society, and look like businessmen who have come to do business in the capital of the boxers. Except for Reese. Reese, dressed in a brown linen robe with a hood wrapped around his head, did not show his face, except for two locks of jet-black hair hanging down from the hood, and he sat silently like a rock, not participating in the discussion.
Tonight in the wine ring, the dancers of the Yan Dance Building staged a seasonal show to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, and the good show in the duel arena was a victorious warrior Xin Gang from the black clan from the land of the hot sun who challenged the overlord martial arts, and the latter obviously attracted more people's attention, resulting in a relatively small number of guests on the wine ring. Because of the great fame of this Xin Gang, everyone in the streets and alleys, the northern and southern provinces knew about it, and even the kingdom of Kamon, far away on the other side of the Inkiramo Mountains, had heard of the giant's exploits: Xin Gang participated in a total of fifty-six duels, won fifty-three, a rare draw, and lost only two - that was when he first debuted, and later the winners were trampled under his feet.
"Take a good look at this challenger, he could be our target. Gollini reminded his companion.
The challenger's name is Naku, and he is a black man who is not famous. As usual, the Victorious Samurai is not something that anyone can challenge if they want to, but Naku was born unusually strong, tall, and with amazing muscles, and after investigating him by the owners of the tavern and martial arts, they found that the black clan had been away from home for a long time, had lived in the Province of Nishizawa for a while, and had become another disciple of the Awakening Temple. Naku's identity was not in question, and considering that it was supposed to be a blockbuster contest, his challenge was accepted, and the duel was hyped up four days in advance. Xin Gang's name made the news spread quickly, and many people who begged for a living at sea came to hear about it, and even boxers from other provinces came to watch, and the drinkers invested in the stakes of course.
The duel was about to begin, and the crowd was already in anticity, and when Xin Gang and Naku came out of the backstage, they immediately detonated the audience, causing a deafening scream.
Xin Gang, the victorious general, was indeed born majestic and invincible, with a bald head as bright as a mirror, a beardless face, a foot tall, naked (harmonious) upper body, revealing his enviable and strong body, bulging muscles with green tendons bulging, like a wriggling snake, his upper arms were the thickness of ordinary people's thighs, and a pair of fists the size of a sea bowl were wrapped with black cloth. He stood as straight as a javelin, his eyes closed, and he didn't look at Naku beside him. Nanaku was slightly shorter than Xin Gang, with short braids on his head, a slightly smaller figure, and he didn't wear a shirt according to the requirements of the duel, and his muscles as black as coal made him look very eye-catching, and the two seemed to be very close on the whole, both were tall and strong men, and they could knock down a bunch of ordinary people with a wave of their hands.
The director of the duel arena stood up from the spectator seat, but despite this, he was not much taller than the person seated. He struck a bronze bell beside him with a wooden mallet, and a huge roar resounded throughout the audience, and soon the audience fell silent. His voice was loud and majestic, sounding like a giant. "Quiet, quiet! Everyone! This is Niu Jiu, the ninth man of the Niu family, your favorite giant!"
A round of applause and laughter floated in. This little man is indeed a very interesting person.
"Guys who have eaten and have nothing to do!Idlers who love bloody hand-to-hand combat!Wise men who sleep in wine and don't want to wake up!**Women with erection and hot bodies!Your long-awaited moment has come! This is really an exciting night, and the believer of the Awakening Temple from Nishizawa, the Black Clan, who was born in the land of the hot sun, is about to launch a powerful challenge to the king of the dragon's dueling!"
Niu Jiu was obviously very satisfied with the applause and shouts one after another, and he pointed to the entrance of the dueling arena: "Look! That's the Black Warrior Naku! He's in! He has the ** that even the proudest man can covet! He's going to use this very attractive ** to have a *naked collision with your dueling king!Who can win your cheers in the flesh-to-flesh, fist-to-fist contest? Is it the Black Warrior Naku?"
A shrill woman's voice in the spectator table shouted frantically, "Naku, Naku!" followed by a group of women who also shouted rhythmically, their tacit understanding as if they had been trained. Gollini had heard that there would be some cheering in the audience, after all, the challenger's dueling opponent was too strong, and some encouragement might help increase the challenger's confidence and fighting spirit.
"Quiet! You women! Before you drool at the black **, I still have important things to announce! The victorious giant, the invincible fist, the trump card of the overlord martial arts, Xin-Gang-enter--Field! Women, greet him with the warmest attitude!"
With his eyes closed, Xin Gang entered the dueling arena with shouts, cheers, and slaps that were enough to tear off the roof. He was as calm as the legend suggests, and he didn't seem to be affected by the situation in the audience.
"Do you still need an introduction? Do you really want to hear my 13,569-word introduction? No, you don't want to! You just want to see the duel king's fist into the black clan's*! Or see the black clan's big bird knock over your idol! That's what you think! Then, the duel between the black clan Naku of the Awakening Temple and the boxer Xin Gang of the overlord martial arts field officially began after I counted one, two, three! Poor devils on the sidelines, touch the hot gold and silver baht in your pockets, because that may be your last chance to touch them!
The sidelines fell silent automatically, and the two duelists stood facing each other, clenched their right fists, brought them to their chests, and performed a standard samurai salute to each other. Naku's right fist shrunk into his chest, stretched out his left fist, and put on an offensive stance, facing a strong enemy, there was no stage fright at all, he was a seasoned samurai, and he was well prepared for this battle. Xin Gang opened his eyes slightly, glanced at his opponent, then lowered his gaze, stood still, as if waiting for the opponent to attack first. His style is said to be preemptive, and this kind of unhurriedness, even arrogance, when faced with challenges, can invisibly put a lot of pressure on his opponents, or motivation, and also make his supporters crazy. Before he can make a move, he can set the spectator seat on fire.
Naku's movements were strange, like some kind of dance in the sun, but they were so swift that he seemed to be dancing in place, and in an instant he moved in front of Xin Gang's eyes. The punch was like the wind, and his movements were very fast, and most of the audience heard a muffled sound before they could see his movements clearly.
The black clan's left fist hit Xin Gang's right arm.
The punch was clearly aimed at the neck of the King of the Duel, but Xin Gang seemed to have expected it, and with a raise of his arm, he blocked the swift blow. Naku's right fist followed, but it was hit by Xin Gang's left palm, and the black fist was only grabbed by the yellow palm. At the same time, Xingang's knee pressed against Naku's abdomen. Everyone saw that the black was kicked, and the pain made him bow over. Xin Gang shook his left hand, grabbed Naku's right wrist, and threw him to the sand.
It was all done in an instant. The beautiful and reckless attack of the Black Clan only proves the toughness of the Duel King. The audience booed loudly. The attack was too sloppy and too clumsy, and Naku's move was a left hand followed by a right hand, followed by a knee kick.
"Damn, this sucks! Any boxer who has ever practiced boxing can tell that this is an introductory trick to the Dragon Breaker, even a kid can!" Golini shrieked as one of the boxers next to him complained sharply, who was probably betting on Naku to win and make a windfall.
Golini had never learned the art of dragon fisting, but he knew that one of the core skills of boxing was to perceive and capture the qi source around him, condense the qi emitted by the qi source to form an aura, and transform it into his own use. This is a clever borrowing, and the boxer cannot absorb the qi directly. If you want to have a strong aura, you need to work hard for a long time to cultivate. With the exception of a few gifted people, this kind of cultivation requires the guidance of monks in the monastery in order to be successful.
For a skilled boxer, every life around him is a source of qi, exuding a large or small amount of qi from the outside, which can be borrowed to gather into an aura and transform into movements. Pulsing flames, strong winds, flying arrows, the presence of these activities also radiates air to the surroundings.
Naku's punches are fast, and he himself has become an obvious source of qi, his speed and strength, all his movements, have generated qi around him, and this qi may be gathered by Xin Gang and transformed into attacks, coupled with the aura generated by Xin Gang's long-term cultivation, each attack has considerable power.
Therefore, it is not enough to shoot quickly, a powerful boxer must not only gather the qi around him, but also learn to control the qi emitted by himself to avoid being used by the opponent, which is a more advanced skill that is difficult for ordinary people to master. And this black man is obviously just a superficial layman.
The two don't look like they're at the same level at all, and the gap is just too big. The flashy pre-match publicity looked like another hoax, but neither he nor his companions were involved in the gambling and it was just a good show.
The King of the Duel's bare feet stepped on the challenger's chest, stepped his body into the sand, and then began to twist his opponent's right arm with a huge palm, which he dislocated with just a little force.
Xin Gang did just that. Then kick the vanquished away.
Naku's massive body curled up together, he was suffering from the pain of a dislocated arm and a trauma to his abdomen. He was knocked out perfectly in just one round, and the duel was over right from the beginning. A flood of hurried insults came at him, and a basple shoe was thrown from the spectator seat and smashed on him, soon falling more and more.
To the confusion of the angry audience, and even more angry, Niu Jiu actually behaved very calmly, looking at his expression as if the two sides were fighting inextricably. His fat body was sunk deep in the chair, and he didn't seem to have any intention of getting up.
"Rip off his arm!"
"Break his leg bones!" the audience screamed with excitement.
Xin Gang walked slowly towards Naku, slowly, slowly. He's confident, and the next thing he's about is acting. He wanted to make everyone who had spent gold and silver baht feel that it was worth the money to come and see the show.
His reputation has always been very good.
Just as he approached Naku, the weak and weak Black Clan suddenly rolled up, the strange movement was very rare, he supported the ground with his hands, and kicked out of Xin Gang's face with his legs, a series of movements that were surprisingly fast. With a "Kala", his dislocated arm had been connected, and it instantly became strong again.
But Xin was confident, and before the exclamations of the spectator seat were over, his huge hands grabbed the kicking legs, and with a twist of his body, he threw Naku out again. This time Naku was thrown farther away, hitting the iron railing, and then falling hard.
The black clan's bodies curled up again, and Xin Gang walked towards him again. The pace was still slow, but the Duel King's eyes were wide open, as if the man he was facing was not a soft-footed shrimp, but a fierce rival.
Naku cowered on the ground and remained motionless until Xin Gang stepped on his chest, but he still didn't react. Xin Gang bowed down, grabbed his right arm, and twisted it up again, and the arm made a crisp sound and dislocated again. The Duel King kicked Naku in the abdomen, and a mouthful of blood gushed out of the Black Clan's mouth and splashed on the Duel King's leg.
"It was wonderful. Fano commented cheerfully. The bloody scenes were not surprising to them, they had seen too much.
And many of the people who participated in the gambling were angry and shouted and cursed.
"Fuck this damn black man in pieces!"
"Show the the power of the boxers!"
"Fuck the shitty nigga!
The challenger's dislocated arm was clenched tightly and his chest was hit hard, and it was clear that he was no longer able to fight. Despite his incredible swift counterattack just now, he was still too vulnerable and vulnerable in front of the overlord of the Dragon Dueling Arena.
Xin Gang twisted the black arm to an impossible angle, and it looked like it was broken. But the pain was so great that it didn't make Naku let out a wail. The Duel King frowned, this was not a scene that the audience liked to see, nor was it what the duelists liked to see. He flipped Naku over, stepped on it face down, grabbed the pigtail from Naku's head, lifted his head, and pulled the black arm onto Naku's back. The black finally cried out in pain, a whimpering sound that had changed its tune and bordered on crying.
This cruel tactic detonated the cheers of the audience, which was mixed with clearly audible expletives. The women who were cheering for the black race just now were already silent.
The Duel King's brow furrowed in satisfaction, and that was the effect that the duelist wanted. Every winner will enjoy the scene.
"King of the Duel!Invincible!King of the Duel!Warrior of the Sands!" a loud male voice led the audience to cheer for the victor.
Golini had previously remained silent, he had been calmly observing, and suddenly commented: "Xin Gang lost. His voice was barely audible in the frantic shouts, but it was enough for his companions to hear.
"It seems that this Naku is our goal. Golini, you judged correctly. Marco had a peculiar smile on his face, and the scar made him look a little hideous.
At this moment, the black clan, who had been firmly controlled in the dueling arena, cried in defeat, and could never turn over, suddenly moved-only a few people noticed his movements--his body writhed incredibly, he had been trampled under the feet of the Duel King, and face down, but suddenly he was face up, and in a movement that was so fast that ordinary people could not see, his foot kicked the unprepared Duel King*, and everyone who saw this scene could imagine the amazing power of that kick.
Then everyone was shocked to see the scene of an invincible fist with an unbelievable look on his face and crashing to the ground. Except for Gollini and his companions.
After this kick, the invincible duel king was probably no different from the eunuch in the palace, and Xin Gang's huge body shrank into one. Golini can almost imagine the sharp pain that went from the impact to the whole body, it was very, very painful indeed.
This jaw-dropping battle began surprisingly and ended surprisingly. The whole process is equally surprisingly short. The victorious black was not keen on bleeding the vanquished, and as if he had just gotten out of bed to wash his face, he lazily walked out of the arena with strange steps, ignoring the dazed spectators.
It wasn't until he disappeared into the exit of the sand that the sidelines erupted in thunderous applause and frantic shouts.
"Passionate erupting strong men!Horny women!And those poor ghosts who are about to jingle in their pockets!Remember this exciting night, remember this unforgettable duel! This is Niu Jiu! Come! Raise your unfilled cups, clink glasses with the ninth giant of the Niu family, and enjoy this night!"
For Golini's companions, who were visiting the Dragon's Tooth Tavern for the first time, the Dueling Arena Master's loud voice was truly unforgettable.