Everything Ends Before It Begins [2]

Bam!

Joey leaped forward and launched a quick punch straight at Max's face.

Max reacted even faster. As he dodged with a head turn, he delivered a kick aimed at Joey's head.

"Whoa, it's that move again!"

"Finish him!"

The crowd shouted in amazement because, having seen it many times, they all knew the signature move Max used to knock out his opponents — kicks that were nearly impossible to execute with ease.

Joey was also familiar with Max's trademark move. To prepare for it and uncover his weaknesses, he and his new sensei had trained for a long time and finally found a way to counter it.

The moment the kick was launched, Joey would quickly duck or tilt his head to the side, focusing on maintaining a close-range fight to avoid being knocked out.

So, before Max's spinning hook could land, Joey had already prepared his defense, strategically leaning back.

Max's spectacular kick brushed Joey's forehead but failed to make significant contact.

Clearly, Joey had talent.

"Wow!"

The crowd let out a disappointed groan.

Max wasn't discouraged by Joey avoiding his signature move and kept up a defensive stance.

Joey noticed that Max's strength and speed had diminished compared to his initial fights.

He guessed that Max had overexerted himself in the last match and was using this tactic to buy time and rest.

However, Joey wasn't going to let him get away with it and followed up with a second punch that landed on Max's crossed arms, attempting to break his guard. But Max's technique was impeccable and hard to penetrate, leaving Joey no choice but to keep throwing continuous punches.

Facing Joey's aggressive assault, Max adopted a highly defensive strategy. He didn't want to admit it, but he was tired; after all, he had fought more than three times that night.

Moreover, Joey wasn't just any fighter; Max could even say that he was slightly on Ryan's level, so he had to be cautious not to take a surprise hit.

In just the first few minutes of the fight, Joey had thrown a total of seventy punches, fifteen of which had landed on Max's exposed areas.

To everyone's eyes, the fight was evenly matched, but Max was only trying to study his opponent.

"That defense is useless…"

Suddenly, Max stepped forward, leaned in, and delivered three quick punches to Joey's ribs, forcing him to retreat.

Had it been within the first three minutes, with Joey's semi-heavy build and high resistance to punches, Max might not have been able to break through his defenses. Even if he had, it would have taken a lot of effort, as he didn't have energy to waste.

But now that Joey was considerably worn down, Max found the opportunity to return each blow he received.

At that moment, when Joey's defense was at its weakest, Max didn't hesitate. He moved forward and kept hitting Joey's guard with strong punches, finally landing a direct hit to his face once more.

Bam!

When that punch landed on Joey's face, he felt his body lose strength, forcing him to fall to the ground.

But he still wanted to fight. He knew these rules weren't meant to show who was the better fighter.

"I won't give up."

Max smiled slightly and asked, "Haven't you looked behind you?"

Joey, still wanting to keep fighting, turned around, and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw all his teammates lying on the ground, unable to get up. As for the Cobra Kai group, most of them were still standing.

"Go home. If by the time we meet again you don't have an explanation for why you did this, we won't have anything else to talk about," Max said as he walked away. Beneath his gloves, blood dripped from his bandages, showing that he had been injured before tonight's fights.

The truth was that the previous night, he had had a nightmare, just another bad dream, but this time he hurt his knuckles more while trying to release all the anger that consumed him.

"Are you okay?" Zara noticed the blood on Max's bandages and asked with concern.

Max nodded slightly, indicating that it was nothing, and after this, the party continued, but it didn't last long for her.