The Journey of the Strong

Everyone in the stadium realized this. Kang didn't have a clear advantage over his opponent. 

It might've been because of his injuries sustained in his fight with Ryan or because Kiernan was simply strong!

A new fire was lit in the hearts of those who supported Karuza High. There was still hope!

Klaus and Timothy have not even once ceased cheering him on. There was only one obstacle left before nationals—it happened to be the biggest obstacle in their high school career, Kang Moon.

Kang screamed and started throwing punches. Each punch caused the air to explode. All of those punches were stronger than any punch thrown by Martial Soldier.

His strength was inching closer and closer to Martial Fighter territory!

'What a monster.' Jin thought with a sour expression. 'I can feel it; Kang is becoming stronger with each passing second!'

"Come on, Kang!" Leon and Jonathan screamed.

Madigan's nails dug into his palms. The defeat wasn't an option. They had been defeating Karuza High for the last two years, and this year was supposed to be their easiest victory yet.

They had the strongest team in the past decade. However, somehow this year, Karuza High managed to challenge them for the victory!

"Iron Style, Rendering Edge!" Kiernan stood his ground and redirected all of those powerful punches away.

No matter how strong Kang's punches were, they couldn't break Kiernan's defense!

It was like he was a fortress.

"Annoying!" Kang's forehead throbbed with a headache. It was the most frustrating fight he had ever been in.

Another one of Kang's punches flew in. This time, Kiernan grabbed it by the wrist, then moved his other hand to Kang's shoulder and twisted it hard. 

With a swift movement, Kang was put into an standing armlock.

"Aaargh!" Kang screamed in pain as his whole body screamed in agony.

The arm that was put into standing armlock was Kang' broken arm. While the arm wasn't broken, the shoulder and collarbone were. It was the most excruciating pain in Kang's life.

"Iron Style, Trap of the Tiger." Kiernan whispered as he applied pressure to the armlock.

Then, he moved Kang's arm behind his back, locking it in place.

"Aaargh!" Kang screamed as his shoulder was rotated all the way to the back. 

Fueled with rage and pain, he clumsily threw a punch with his right fist over his shoulder. He couldn't see where he was aiming and felt the empty feeling of missing his target.

"Your son is freaking strong; what the hell!" Liam shouted in shock.

Another friend of Karma's added. "Kang can't do anything against him. What the hell did you teach your son?"

"I…" Karma didn't know what to say, but he was feeling overwhelming pride.

Simultaneously, the whole stadium was lit up in excitement. The fight was nearing its end. Irio High's supporters screamed at Kang to do something, while others cheered on Kiernan to finish him.

Jin stood up. He couldn't stand still. Neither could Klaus nor Timothy, who impatiently fidgeted around.

'Don't rush it.' Jin anxiously repeated it in his mind. 'A wounded animal is most dangerous when cornered.'

Kiernan knew that all too well. It looked like he had many choices to finish the fight, but he didn't rush in to do anything. He was incredibly calm.

'What a young man!' Rio looked excited. 'Anyone else in his shoes would've just gone for the victory, but he's playing it smart and thinking ahead.'

Kang let out a furious roar. It sounded like an angry lion. He then started straightening his back, ignoring the armlock. It was an amazing feat of physical strength.

"Interesting." Kiernan twisted his arm, and an audible crack sounded. He broke Kang's arm.

"Aaaargh!" Kang shouted with foam pouring out of his mouth, and he immediately kicked backwards. The kick landed on Kiernan's block and forced him all the way to the edge of the ring.

"Go, crush him!" Bernard shouted with a mad fury.

"It was so close…" Azer grimaced. 'Should Kiernan have gone for the victory? No, it would've been too dangerous. That kick proved that Kang had plenty of strength left in him.'

Kang prowled towards Kiernan with a crazed look. It looked like he was at the limit of his physical and mental strength, but still, he just wouldn't go down.

"Come on, use your defense!" Kang screamed and rushed in while he unleashed his air-exploding punches.

Kiernan's expression turned serious, and he unleashed his Rendering Edge. His hands swiftly redirected the punches away, but Kang didn't stop advancing. He continued moving towards Kiernan, inch by inch.

'This is bad!' 

Jin's eyes shook in a fear.

'Kiernan's defense has only one weakness. If he is at the edge of the ring, he can't use his movement to escape to safety. If Kang keeps advancing and advancing, he would eventually force Kiernan off the ring or risk getting hit by those punches!'

'Checkmate!' Madigan's grin looked maniacal. 'There's no escape!'

Kiernan's Rendering Edge continued to throw away those punches, but he noticed that Kang's legs were still moving towards him.

Kang realized that there was only one clear way to win this fight—force Kiernan off the ring.

It wasn't the most glorious way to win, but Kang had never cared about pride or honor.

Winning was all that mattered!

"I applaud your strategy, but my victory is certain."

Kiernan stopped his Rendering Edge suddenly. One of the punches broke past his defense. It took everyone by surprise, especially Kang, who didn't expect that.

He allowed the punch to come as near as his face, and then he activated his Rendering Edge with his left hand at the last second and pushed the punch to the side.

Kang was right in front of him and was completely caught off-guard. He didn't plan to be this close.

'This fucker led me right into his trap!' Kang's eyes shrank with his instincts screaming from every pore.

At that moment, Kiernan moved to his punching stance and unleashed a single straight punch—it didn't look special, but soon, the air flow in front of the fist drastically changed and the strength of the punch multiplied.

"Iron Style…" 

Kiernan gritted his teeth tight and slammed his fist into Kang's gut. 

"IRON SMASH!"

SMACK!

Kang's stomach caved in as if he were hit by a wrecking ball. He flew backwards like a shooting star and crashed on the ground on the other end of the ring. He was only inches away from falling off the ring.

If he wasn't as heavy as he was, he would've lost the fight then and there.

"So close!" Karuza High's supporters echoed in unison with frustrated looks.

"H-he can still do it, right?" Klaus said with a nervous whisper. "That punch was so strong, he should just throw another like that."

"He can't." Timothy nudged his glasses with a serious look. "Look at his hand, it's completely broken."

"W-what?" Klaus turned to look at Kiernan and saw the state of his fist—it was bruised and swollen—most likely every bone in his hand broke.

In the medical wing, Nath screamed at the television, even though Kiernan couldn't hear a word.

"Are we going to lose…" Shura whispered with a sinking feeling. "Kiernan… who is he?"

"Who knows…" Ryan said with a smile. "The fight is over."

In the ring, Kang tried to climb back to his feet with a startled expression. It was clear that he didn't know what hit him. It was almost like a car ran him over.

"T-This cannot be…" Kang tried to push himself past his limits, but he noticed that his legs had lost their strength. "N-noo…"

At that moment, he felt a hand on his shoulder. This time, it was the right shoulder, so the pain wasn't as bad.

Kang, with a frozen expression, turned around just to see Kiernan stand over him with a stoic expression.

"No… how could I lose a piece of shit like you…"

"Who knows?" Kiernan said and pushed Kang off the ring. "Many people have asked me that during my journey. I am still unable to give them a satisfying answer."

Thud. Kang's body hit the ground outside the ring.

Whistle—a sound of whistle echoed throughout the quiet stadium.

"The winner is Kiernan Hunter!" Rio shouted loudly. "As representative of WMAF, I declare Karuza High as victors!"