Borul's face was thrown backwards after Nurbag's punch seemed to have connected with its mark. Nurbag released his grip over the guy's shoulder and lifted his hands to indicate that he had won.
People started chanting Nurbag's name even more. The guy immediately activated his movement spell and walked towards the edge of the battlefield to receive compliments from the spectators.
Borul on the other hand was seen standing just the way Nurbag had left him. His earth armour spell seemed to have crumbled away. The semi-transparent wind-element mana obscured his face, throwing it backwards. The guy looked like he was passed out while standing up and would fall at any time.
Yet suddenly someone said something to seemingly nobody.
"Enough with the drama. Wrap things up fast. I have things to do."
Eren heard Sharong speaking because he was standing close to her. He wasn't sure how many spectators around her could have overheard the statement. But apparently, the guy it was intended for heard it loud and clear.
Borul shook his head before resuming a straight posture all of a sudden. He had a gentle smile on his face that conveyed that he was totally fine.
Only now did people realise that even if Borul's simple-looking clothes made out of beast skin looked ragged and dusty because of Nurbag's thrashing, the guy himself was completely fine. He didn't have any injuries on his body whatsoever.
This sudden development quieted the cheering crowd. All eyes were suddenly fixated on Borul and Nurbag's limelight was taken away from him as easily as he had gained it.
Nurbag still had his hands raised with closed fists in victory. People came to realize that he was shouting with them the whole time because the whole crowd quieted down unnaturally.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Yeeeee… Hell yeah... I won fuckers! Hahahaha! That was an easy win, baby. That dirtbag Borul was nothing but a…
Hmm?"
Nurbag had a puzzled look on his face as he registered the sudden silence of the crowd. Following the spectators' gaze, he glanced back to find Borul staring at him with a smile on his face.
'Didn't I just beat the guy? Why is he…'
Nurbag couldn't complete his thoughts because Borul appeared right in front of him like a ghost. But he wouldn't be afraid of the guy just because he made a small comeback. This wasn't Nurbag's first battle after all.
Swish! Tah!
Swish! Tah!
Swish! Tah!
Swish! Tah!
Swish! Tah!
Nurbag started throwing punches at Borul at incredible speeds. The spell-powered speed was so high that it looked like he had grown an extra set of arms and attacked Borul with all of them at once.
This time, Borul didn't generate any earth armour. Nor did he get swayed by the fist-fighter's punching force. Standing there peacefully, he handled all of his punches with his open palms alone.
For the first time since the battle started, Borul had tried to defend himself actively instead of relying on his earth-element armour. His speed as he tackled those punches was unbelievable. If there wasn't a rule of spectators only using their vision to see the ongoing battles, a lot of mana senses would have been sent towards the pair fighting. The rule was designed so that the participants wouldn't get distracted.
"Stop generating wind-elemental force with your punches, Nurbag. It makes me aware of the direction of the punch it is coming from."
Nurbag's punches were easily handled by Bulur while he lectured him with a laid-back look.
"You can use your wind-element mana to create spectral punches and attack me from my blind spot while using your real punches as a distraction. That way I'll have fewer openings in your offence to take advantage of."
Borul said all the right things. But for some reason, it pissed off Nurbag even more. He would rather the guy taunt him the way he did during their previous round. He didn't care about anything anymore and increased the force behind his attacks to a new level.
Yet Nurbag could feel that not even a single punch from him was making a difference. Borul looked the same as he did before starting their current round.
Borul wasn't done lecturing Nurbag yet.
"Your Fist Art is immature. As far as the progress of your element is concerned, it is inadequate. And the way you use your spells is also not optimized.
And yet, you have won against many of your opponents because of your ferocity. It makes up for almost all the drawbacks you have in your fighting style.
Your passion as a fist warrior orc is unmatched in your generation."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThis time, instead of just criticizing, Borul also highlighted Nurbag's plus point. His speech was steady when he had spoken all this. His voice was mild. And the things he said made sense to everyone, including Nurbag.
Borul decided to end his speech and the duel with his last piece of advice.
"That being said, Nurbag. You need to work on a lot of issues at once. We can revisit the things I mentioned after some time. But you need to prioritize one issue that needs immediate attention."
This time, it looked like Borul had grown multiple limbs as he kept up with Nurbag's insanely fast pouches. Then all of a sudden, Borul decided to launch an offence for the first time.
One simple punch landed on Nurbag's right chest, just below the shoulder. Eren had observed with his Sedated Perception that the punch hadn't even connected with Nurbag's body. Yet he could see the shoulder region forming a depression all of a sudden.
The spectators watched in awe as Nurbag disappeared from his position only to clash with the dome-shaped mana membrane located at the edge of the battle ring.
Slip!
Badum!
Nurbag's body stayed on the mana membrane so long as the vector force was still acting on it. Then it fell on the ground with a distinct thud produced by his weight and all the heavy defence gear he had worn.
Nurbag was in a world of pain at this time. His shoulder felt like it would just crumble away. Yet he pressed his right shoulder with his left hand and managed to lift his face while lying down. He was looking at Borul who was returning his gaze with a smile on his face. The guy was waiting for Borul to finish his advice.
"You have a weak defence. Work on that first before everything else."
Borul said and started walking towards Sharog. Despite his injuries, Nurbag listened carefully and nodded at no one in particular as he closed his eyes. One had to say that Nurbag was prideful but wasn't a complete fool. He only listened to his opponent when Borul beat him fair and square.
Now anybody could tell that the fist-fighter was done for the day. Wtt
AN: Two more chapters will be uploaded soon.