Chapter 26 Combat exam (Part 6) “Semi finals (Part 2)

The crowd within the arena were excited after watching a close match and were looking forward to the next match. "Well I didn't expect that end. That kid got some guts and his strategy was also quite daring to completely forgo defence and exchange wound for wound. Though it might have seemed reckless, that was the best option available for Sirius, as if he had continued to defend the match would have been dominated by Melinda" said the Matured woman beside Carmella who nodded. The announcer soon announced the start of Semi final 2 as he called out to both Sean and Roman to step on the stage.

Roman and Sean stood 15 yards apart from each other waiting for the judge to start the match. As soon as the match started Roman activated his bloodline ability 'Phalanx' to fortify his defence. His entire upper body and arm were covered in black Qi as he guarded his face against Sean who was already near him. Sean who had been defensive during the start of every match, rushed to attack as soon as the judge started the match and within a blink of the eye was in front of Roman sending a punch straight to his face. Sean threw a straight punch and followed by a punch in solar plexus, liver blow, upper cut and a hook but did not do any damage. He retreated back immediately while cursing under his breath 'Fuck, that felt like punching a concrete wall'. Phalanx was a defensive bloodline ability which covers the user's body in a black Qi resembling that of a black tortoise. It's range improves at every level. At level 5 Roman could cover his upper body and arm which reduces the range of attacks his opponent could give. However it had its own weakness, once the bloodline is activated it reduces the users speed and ability to use Martial skill to attack but its defence is top notch as not even a person of same level could break the Phalanx.

'If upper body and face are guarded then I will target his legs' thought Sean as he moved towards Roman in an instant and gave a low kick to the side of his left knee, however Roman did not move nor did he flinch in pain. Sean continued with a high kick to make sure Roman continued to guard his face and proceeded to kick his leg once again and moved back to his previous position. Despite recieving two kicks in his lower leg Roman did not have any intent in guarding his leg but sent two punches towards Sean aiming his upperbody. Though Roman could not use his Martial skill to attack while activating his bloodline, he could still throw normal punches. Sean blocked the punches using his arm but was still pushed back and thought 'Damn this guy is strong. I cannot keep blocking his punches. I have only had upto level 3 strength gene, though it has enhanced my strength to a great level it is still not enough against a guy having a strong defensive bloodline. Though it seems like he cannot use Martial skills to attack, his strength in itself is enhanced which makes his attacks strong. Looks like I will have to use a combination of speed and power. ' Sean dashed towards Roman and gave him two sharp jabs in his face which was guarded by Roman using his arms and sent another punch using his right hand towards Sean who utilised his nimble footwork to evade the punch by going right and gave a low kick in the same spot which was slowly starting to redden.

Sean started to mix both out boxing and infighting style and continued to aim towards the lower leg while mixing it with jabs and punches to the face to make sure Roman remains guarding his face and upperbody. This combination continued for 10 exchanges when blood started to come out from the side of his knee and his balance which was stable till now started to shift towards his right leg. 'Damn he has been targeting my leg for some time, he is fast enough that I cannot dodge unless I use my movement technique nor can I drop my guard to block it because that's what he wants. The second I try to block it his punch will land on my face. Even with my defensive technique I can still feel my arms stinging. His punches are compact and sharp, if it hits in my face, I will be knocked out without a doubt' thought Roman as he continued to block his face while feeling a stinging pain from his left knee as he received another kick and slowly started to retreat while cursing under his breath. Sean continued his attacks aggressively giving out flurry of punches, jabs, hooks and low kicks every once in a while by chasing after a retreating Roman.

Sean knew that if Roman continued to stay in defence the match won't go anywhere afterall despite kicking Roman's leg so many times he was only injured to a certain extent while Sean who has been kicking at full force was feeling pain from his ankle. Sean suddenly stopped his attacks to take a deep breath while thinking 'Looks like I don't have a choice' as Sean started puring his Qi in his finger tips to make it sharp and strong in order to make his fingers have the same effect as that of a blade. Though Sean did not learn any Martial skill, he trained in Qi control since a young age and developed his own methods of using qi for various attacks and one such method was making his fingers sharp enough using Qi in order to stab his opponent. Sean instantly arrived before Roman and gave two more jabs using his left hand and got close to him. Then Sean brought down his left hand and held the right arm of Roman which was in guarded position and forcefully pulled it to the side. Roman was shocked and looked down to find his right side completely unguarded. He could not react in time due to the shock, but came back when he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Sean who had pulled Roman's arm away used his right hand and stabbed at the unguarded abdomen. The sharpness of the Qi and the combination of Qi and gene enhancement gave him the strength to penetrate the Phalanx. Though the stab wasn't deep Sean utilised his entire strength to drag his fingers which were stabbed into Roman's abdomen towards the right performing an act similar to slash of a knife which resulted in blood being spilt in the stage.

The entire arena was shocked with the sudden change of events as just a moment ago the fight was in a stalemate but now the result was evident as Roman who remained still as a mountain till now cried in pain. However Sean did not stop at that as because of the pain Roman dropped his guard to hold his bleeding abdomen and received a rush of jabs on his face which resulted in a bloody nose and a swollen right eye. Roman who knew of the mistake he made instantly guarded his face his face while moving his Qi to fortify his defence. However he could not see well through his right eye because of the swelling which Sean utilised to the fullest extent. He moved using his footwork towards his left and snuck in the blind spot of Roman and gave a jab on the right eye. This worsened his already swollen right eye as blood started flowing from his eye lids making him go completely blind. Roman barely guarded his right eye as kept receiving jabs from his blind spot or a solar plexus blow on his wound that he started to stager while barely holding his consciousness due to pain. This time he felt a sharp pain from his left leg as Sean had given him another low kick. Roman dropped the guard to hold his knee due to pain received a sharp punch on his face and followed by a hook to the temple which was the last he remembered as he fell down the stage going unconscious.

The entire arena was quiet in trance. The spectators were of mixed emotions. The match turned way too fast as from the time Sean stabbed Roman in his abdomen to the time he knocked him cold not even thirty seconds had passed. The reason for mixed emotions were that though they were thrilled by the match the way Sean fought by striking on the wound continuously left the self righteous bunch unhappy as they started shouting at Sean, asking him to fight fairly. Sean did not even bother to hear after all he knew that finding a weakness and thoroughly attacking it is the fundamentals of professionalism. Sean moved out of the stage and went to medic to get himself healed and return to perfect condition before fighting in Finals. The judges soon announced a break of another half hour to give the contestants of the Final some rest as they readied the main stage where the fight would take place.