Chapter 1019: Chapter 106: The Thigh as a Rod, Will Determines Victory, Blasting Your Head Open Chapter 1019: Chapter 106: The Thigh as a Rod, Will Determines Victory, Blasting Your Head Open “So, you still wish to battle me?” Hearing Victor’s words, Arno’s expression turned frosty, for he saw this man as the epitome of ingratitude.

“Of course, I haven’t completely lost my combat strength yet.”

“You think you still have a chance of victory against me?”

“One never knows until the battle is fought to the very end,” Victor responded with a nonchalant and mocking smile, aware of the vast disparity between his Star Armor and that of his opponent.

“I gave you a chance for a dignified exit, but you didn’t take it. So, I will just have to knock you down, just like that member of your family, Jelos.”

Arno spoke with an icy tone, reaching out to grab the faceguard floating beside him and placing it on his face, readying himself for battle once more.

“Damn, our compatibility only differs by 10%, so why is there such a huge gap between us? I’m not even in the same league.”

Though he appeared resolute externally, Victor was inwardly muttering to himself. In the recent battle, he had been thoroughly outclassed, completely suppressed from the start to finish.

There was no helping it; Arno’s battle experience was no less than his own, and his rank as a Star Armor Master was also far above Victor’s. Moreover, because of a compatibility far higher than his, Arno could control a greater number of Star Armor armaments.

All these were crucial factors that determined combat strength, and Victor was inferior in all of these aspects to his opponent, which explained his current predicament.

“There’s not a chance I could win through conventional Star Armor Master combat methods. It looks like I’ll have to take a more unorthodox approach,” Victor mused internally before devising a plan.

“Hm? What is he planning to do? A death wish?” Having failed to persuade surrender, and intent on crushing his opponent with overwhelming force, Arno was surprised to see the guy charging at him with two Mini Floating Cannons by his side.

Though puzzled by Victor’s actions, Arno didn’t hold back at all. He controlled his own Floating Weapons to open fire on Victor, powerful blasts engulfing Victor’s form in a sea of artillery.

This sudden turn of events also shocked the audience in the stands, as that level of firepower made it seem like Victor, who had charged into it, was about to be blown to bits.

“Hiss, the force of this attack…” In reality, Victor, enveloped in the barrage, gritted his teeth under the protection of his remaining two Mini Floating Cannons.

“What, are you tickling me? This doesn’t even compare to my regular training, heh, this is all a genius with a 93% compatibility rating can muster?”

Although Victor wore a casually smiling facade, crimson blood dripped from the corners of his split mouth. His two Mini Floating Cannons, damaged in the recent exchange, could temporarily shield him from attacks.

However, they could only block Arno’s direct strikes, not the shockwaves from the exploding ordinances, all of which Victor had to endure on his own. Fortunately, the resilience training with Muria had brought his resistance to being struck to its limit.

“Heh, you think you can close in for hand-to-hand combat?” Arno, bombarding relentlessly, saw Victor enduring the attacks and continuing to advance in an attempt to close the distance, a sneer appearing on his face.

Having fought to this point, they had more or less figured out each other’s capabilities. Arno knew what his rival for this battle was all about, even down to the exact models of Victor’s equipped weapons.

Hence, Arno was also aware that Victor had trained with a Martial Artist, but even so, he didn’t take it to heart. A Star Armor Master trained by a Martial Artist was still a Star Armor Master, and as far as he knew, his opponent hadn’t refined Qi. Without Qi, there was nothing to fear.

“This distance is about right!” Enduring explosions and making small evasive maneuvers while maintaining a straight path and hardly able to counter, Victor, now less than fifty meters away from Arno, activated the jet apparatus on his Star Armor Master suit.

In an instant, he turned into a streak of Light and Shadow, shedding his Star Armor armaments and breaking through Arno’s barrage to confront this scion of the Francis Family.

“You mediocrity of the O’Grass Family, don’t think just because you have a Martial Artist as a teacher that you can overpower me in Close Combat. Mediocrity, no matter what, remains mediocrity!”

Seeing Victor lunging at him, hoping to defeat him in Close Combat, Arno let out a dismissive chuckle, leapt forward, ready to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

“You fool, martial arts have little to do with Star talent; you’re just asking to be beaten,” Arno taunted with anticipation, as he watched Victor abandon his absolute advantage in Star Armor to engage him in closer quarters.

“Idiot, after I’ve battered you like this, what grounds do you have to fight me in Close Combat? Do you really think just by engaging in hand-to-hand you can beat me?”

Arno looked at Victor, his own Star Armor covered in cracks, and replied with a tone of disdain.

His opponent had lost all external armaments, clad only in battered Star Armor; why should he refuse this battle? He wasn’t a Martial Artist; what was there to fear? This battle seemed a guaranteed win.

Bang!

Before his voice fell, Victor, diving down, smashed his fist onto Arnos faceguard, which was covered in star armor alloy. The fist clad in the same hard material struck the faceguard, and golden sparks scattered in all directions.

Employing combat techniques taught by Professor Muria, Victors fist twisted Arnos head to one side, causing the top talent, encased in star armor, to feel a twinge of pain across his cheek.

“How does that feel?” Having drawn in close, Victor laughed smugly and, speaking, he also threw a kick at Arno, intent on striking while the iron was hot, set on beating this haughty fellow into submission.

“You’re asking for death!” Though pummeled by a punch and humiliated behind the faceguard, Arno lunged forward, not letting rage cloud his mind. As he attacked, he also controlled his mini floating cannons to launch a simultaneous assault.

“Are you kidding me? We agreed on a one-on-one close combat, and you’re using cannons?” Victor, whose kick had not yet landed, was immediately blasted away by the floating cannons. But he rushed back into the fray immediately. He absolutely could not afford to let Arno get too far away, or he would lose the match.

“This is a Star Armor Master match, not a Martial Artist competition,” Arno responded coolly, but as soon as he finished speaking, he was grappled and hugged by Victor who had rushed at him.

“Oh, dear audience, what have we witnessed? The battle had nearly reached its conclusion, with Victor from the Douglas family almost facing defeat. But at the very last moment, he forsook all his external armament, rushed to his opponent, and engaged in close combat. The fight is back to a fever pitch; however, it’s now looking somewhat unsightly.”

The commentator, standing on a high platform looking down at the fray, spoke with a peculiar tone, “To be honest, in all my years in the industry, this is the first time I’ve seen a Star Armor Master’s battle involving such close contact.”

“Damn you, let go of me!” Arno, entangled with Victor against his will and hovering above the arena, shouted in annoyance, having caught the commentator’s narrative.

“Sure, I’ll let go—if you toss aside all your star armor weapons. Of course, you could also just admit defeat,” said Victor, smiling cheekily as he tightly coiled around Arno like a snake.

“You’re dreaming.”

“If you’re not willing to concede, then we’ll have to continue fighting.” Victor, in an extremely awkward posture, wrapped around Arno, pressed down on his shoulder, and then the headbutt went fiercely downward.

Clang!

With a crisp yet robust metallic crash, Arno, dizzy from the headbutt, became thoroughly enraged. “If you don’t get off me now, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

“Come on, show me, how do you plan to be impolite?” Victor teased with a playful smile. He knew his current tactic was somewhat shameless, but victory was all that mattered.

“You’re forcing my hand!” Arno, unable to break free, had a thought, and then all the floating cannons circling him turned their barrels around to aim at both of them.

“Are you insane?” Victor, seeing the glow from the eighteen cannon barrels of the surrounding floating cannons, was somewhat stunned.

“You’ve forced my hand. I’ll give you one last chance to get off me now and concede defeat.”

“Dream on, if you’ve got the guts, fire your cannons!”

“Fine, since you’re so eager to die, don’t blame me”
Boom! Boom! Boom…

Under the gaze of hundreds of thousands of spectators, all the floating cannons fired, creating a huge fireball in the sky above the arena. Then, two shadowy figures with flames crashed down from the sky onto the ground, motionless.

The audience fell silent at the sight, and even the eloquent commentator found himself mouth agape, unsure of what to say.

Just as the medical team prepared to enter the arena for rescue, suddenly one of the shadows moved, propping up their upper body with both hands. Then the flame-licked figure looked around, picked up a bar-shaped object nearby, and crawled towards the other figure that started to stir.

“Victor, you lost!” Arno, whose star armor was also battered and torn, laughed as he saw Victor crawling towards him.

“I woke up before you did; you’re the one who lost,” Victor replied as he brandished the bar-shaped object, preparing to control his star armor, and smashed it hard into Arnos face.

Thud!

Already bombed to shreds, Arno was stunned by the blow. His concentration waned,
“What the hell are you holding in your hand?”

“My thigh!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read