Chapter 409: The Reckless Prince
Patroclus was in a white shirt, and he remained still while his opponent charged at him.
"Patroclus is confident as ever, even though he is facing off Lie Jian." Zhang Zhongren announced, his voice lacking the confidence he had during the last match.
"Haha! That's for sure. It takes time to charge up his GN force. I think the length of this match solely depends on the performance of Lie Jian." Rockefeller said as he beamed from side to side.
"Why does the Martian like to show off his body so much? Is he a gay?" Karl asked.
"Didn't you know that House Lie owned all the clothing factory on Mars? It's just an advertisement."
"Shut up you too! What did Lie Jian do to you?" Zhou Sisi snapped at the two.
"I just don't like him. He stares at girls with that perverted look. As the guardian of all young ladies in the world, it is my prerogative to despise him."
"Buzz off!" Everyone shouted out in unison, and some even gave Karl a middle finger for his shameless claim.
Karl was not affected by his friends' attitude, so he continued, "I like Patroclus much more than the martian pervert. But nevertheless, it will be most ideal if both of them get badly injured in this fight."
"I think you should give more support to Lie Jian then, as I am afraid that he will not last long."
"Are you afraid of Patroclus? Don't be, because Boss will kick his ass. He is the cure for arrogance, remember?"
Seeing Karl's blind confidence, everyone simply smiled back at him. Wang Tong's disadvantage was obvious. Even if Wang Tong were as strong as Patroclus, his serious injury would set him back during the final. Wang Tong's only hope of winning the final lied in the degree of injury either of the two fighters would receive during this match.
In other words, the results of this match would play a critical role in the outcome of the final.
"Lie Jian should pray for an aggressive opportunity. Otherwise, he will not be able to penetrate Patroclus's defense."
"Really? You think so too?" Karl was amazed by how similar his friends' opinions were, and how different they were from his own. He still refused to believe that Patroclus was as powerful as everyone thought. "Fine, fine! I will support Lie Jian, the pervert! "
On the stage, Lie Jian had gained the control of the flow of the battle thanks to his aggressiveness. However, so conceited was Patroclus that he didn't even seem to put in any effort in defending.
Lie Jian would have been livid if he were facing any other opponent. However, Patroclus's conceit only spurred him to be more methodical.
"Kom!"
Lie Jian hurled his large fist directly at Patroclus. Patroclus sidestepped as the fist wheezed pass him just slightly, before it suddenly changed course and aimed directly at Patroclus's face.
"Inch Punch!"
"Kom!"
"The blow landed!"
Did Patroclus finally receive a blow? The sudden development startled all Ivantians, as they wondered what had just happened. Did the Ivantian prince slip up? No, he would never make such a simple mistake.
Even Lie Jian was caught off guard by his luck. Seizing the opportunity, he followed the first attack with more fiery punches.
The brutal attacks rained on Patroclus one after another. The terrifying scene had scared a few young ladies in the audience, who even started to sob.
After a few seconds of belligerent attacks, Lie Jian suddenly noticed an eerie smile on Patroclus's face. The creepy smile startled him as he backed away and delivered a roundhouse kick on Patroclus, sending the Ivantian prince flying a dozen meters away.
Everyone was stunned by what had happened on the stage. A near-invincible warrior gotten beaten up without lifting a finger to fight back. What happened? Was Patroclus high on anything?
Zhang Jin shook her head in resignation as she lamented on Patroclus's recklessness. It had been so long that Patroclus had almost forgotten what it was like to be injured.
As Patroclus slowly picked himself up, the audiences were amazed to find out that not only he was unharmed, but his white shirt was also unmarred during that brawl.
Patroclus flattened the kinks on his collar and smiled broadly, "Is that the Fist of Blaze? It felt like a scratch."
The audiences boiled over after Patroclus made such a taunting comment. Meanwhile, the ineffectiveness of Lie Jian's attacks had taken the wind out of the Martian audience.
Lie Jian conceded that landing blows on Patroclus was much like punching a water surface while his target was hidden deep beneath the water. His mind raced as he wondered what technique Patroclus had used. Was it the Tactics of Deva King?
Realizing that he couldn't back down, Lie Jian took a deep breath and disappeared from everyone's view. Half a heartbeat later, he flashed out right in front of Patroclus and punched his face with a fiery fist that looked like a large torch.
However, halfway during his attack, he felt a blow on his chest, and his body flew a dozen feet back.
Patroclus didn't even move, or at least, it seemed so.
The development stunned Zhang Zhongren. Patroclus was supposed to be on the same level as Lie Jian, but the fight seemed to suggest otherwise.
Lie Jian gathered himself as he swallowed down the pain. A hand sign was seared into his swarthy chest.
With his GN force in check, Lie Jian started an attack anew. This time, he combined the Fist of Blaze with the Tornado Kick. However, Patroclus blocked the attack with only a nonchalant wave of his hands.
Zhang Jin grinned as she marveled at the vast gap between the two fighters' powers. No doubt that Wang Tong's victory had spurred Patroclus fighting spirit. Without the stimulation, Lie Jian might have been able to hold his ground for a bit longer. But, Zhang Jin doubted that the Martian would last long once Patroclus was ready to unleash his full power, which should happen any minute now.
In a blink of an eye, Lie Jian had lashed out over fifty punches and over thirty rounds of kicks, but he was yet to land a solid blow. While Lie Jian was still engrossed in pouring fruitless attacks on his opponent, Patroclus seized an opening in Lie Jian's movement and hacked his GN-infused palm at the Martian. Lie Jian reacted quickly as he ducked and lurched away.
It was a close call nonetheless; Lie Jian could feel his hair stand on their ends.
Although Patroclus didn't press on, the Ivantians cheered for their prince breaking his opponent's attacks.
Lie Jian conceded that if he didn't switch gears, he would lose the control of the battle very quickly. He gathered strength as a wave of red energy rippled out of him. He stomped the ground under his feet, causing a sizable explosion, punching at Patroclus very slowly.
As Lie Jian's fist glided through the air, it turned into an air pump that sucked the air around it, turning the air into liquid in front of the audiences' eyes.
"The Octave Fire Fist!"
Suddenly, the ripples of energy congregated and multiplied their amplitude before it whooshed out at Patroclus. Such a technique was called "Fist Aura," and although it was very similar to the Blade aura, it was much deadlier than the latter.
Patroclus took a half step back and shouted, "Break!" The deadly red energy disappeared in an instant. Patroclus gathered himself and asked his opponent with a smug look on his face, "Is that all?"
Patroclus's conceit was not unfounded, as he had countered the martian's deadly attack using just sound wave techniques.
It was clear then that Lie Jian had almost exhausted his tricks while Patroclus had just been getting warmed up.