Martial Arts Worlds-Chapter 267: Sky Drop

Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum!

Drumsticks pounded against the drums furiously. It was a powerful rhythm that echoed through the entire stadium.

It was never-ending and blood-pumping.

Through the several entrances, the remaining schools walked to their respective rings, heavy tension lingering in the air like a storm about to break.

"And just like that, the second round of the nationals is about to begin!"

The commentator shouted into the microphone.

Zvezda High's members took their place at their bench. They were wearing their jerseys of red and gold with a pickaxe embroidered on the front.

"It looks like no one really expects us to win."

Nessa, the first fighter of the team, said while scrolling through social media on her phone. She went through some comments on their upcoming match against Karuza High.

"Heh~ We are fighting against a winning contender, after all~"

Mikhail said with a loud laugh and a grin on his face.

Despite facing insurmountable odds, he still kept the same grin on his face.

"Argh…"

The coach massaged his temples, trying to ease the rising headache.

He was told by the principal to somehow try to succeed in the nationals, but it was hard since they were only interested in the mining.

When they attended the nationals for the first time, they hadn't discovered the rich resources hidden under their city, but after the nationals, a big discovery was made that changed everything.

Since then, the focus shifted from martial arts to mining, and therefore, Zvezda, which could've been a powerhouse school, became a booming mining town.

"…"

Coach Jin looked ahead at Zvezda High's bench, then pulled Jonathan over to him and whispered into his ear.

"Zvezda High is a strong school. Their first fighter is a girl named Nessa. She is High Stage Martial Soldier, but I think you can take her on.

"However, Kesha and Mikhail are Low Stage Martial Fighters. To make sure that you don't get injured, leave the rest to Julian."

After hearing that, Jonathan wasn't pleased and said.

"I-I think I can take them on still."

"You don't have to. You must stay healthy for… later rounds. Those will be very difficult for you, as there will be Martial Fighters and they are much stronger opponents."

Coach Jin said with a serious tone.

He knew that in the later rounds they had to rely on Julian and Kiernan, but as the first fighter of their team, Jonathan had an important role.

It wasn't much of a spoken role, but as the first fighter, Jonathan had to set the tone for the entire match.

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If he did poorly, it could affect the mentality of Julian and Kiernan, who were next in line to fight.

"Alright…"

Jonathan said with a deep sigh.

"Bring forth your fighters!"

At that moment, the referee arrived at the ring and called out towards the two coaches to bring forth their first fighters.

From Zvezda High's bench, Nessa stuffed her phone inside her bag and slowly made her way up to the ring.

"Good luck, Jonathan!"

Julia and Dominic cheered him on.

"Whoo…"

With a deep breath, Jonathan slowly made his way up to the ring, but before reaching the ring, he threw a side glance in Kiernan's direction.

He was sitting silently and looked like he was busy meditating. It was clear that he wasn't that interested in these early fights.

'I can't believe that only year ago I defeated him in a tournament, but then he has transformed into… this.

'I know for a fact that in later rounds I will always be the weakest fighter. I still have something up my sleeve… a technique that once defeated Kiernan!'

Jonathan took a deep breath, made his way up the ring, and arrived in his corner.

"I will be officially refereeing this match. It will be held between Zvezda High and Karuza High.

"First fight—Nessa Romanov versus Jonathan Ackers!"

The referee then asked whether the two fighters were ready. Without a single hesitation, the two nodded their heads and moved into their fighting stances.

"Fight fair! Let the match begin!"

He whipped his arm down, and then backed off to the edge of the ring.

After the first round's incident with Zachary, the referees were going to keep a closer eye on the matches. Therefore, they won't leave the ring like before.

Instead, if it looked like the match was over, they would end it right away.

They received quite heavy criticism for allowing a few students to get heavily injured. It also happened in the same match, which was just blatant disregard for the safety of the students.

It was a major oversight on their part.

The referee watched sharply as the match started, but before he could even blink, Jonathan made his move.

With a rapid dash, he closed the distance between himself and Nessa.

She outstretched her fist towards his face, but he blocked it with his left arm and grabbed her by the face with his right.

"?!"

Nessa's eyes dilated in surprise.

"Sky Drop!"

With only his right hand, Jonathan lifted her up from the ground and then smashed her back to the ground with the back of her head hitting the ground first.

Smack!

"Oh?"

Julian's eyebrow raised in surprise.

Kiernan slowly opened his eyes and felt a slight tingling sensation on the back of his head. That technique brought some unwanted memories.

'That technique brought my previous self down. Back then, he hadn't mastered it, and I was nothing but a testing dummy. It looks like he has now mastered it.'

"Enough!"

The referee pushed Jonathan away from Nessa and turned to look at her blank-looking eyes.

It didn't look like she was completely conscious at the moment.

"The fight is over! Winner is Jonathan Ackers!"

He quickly shouted, then waved towards the doctors, who came and took Nessa away on a stretcher.

Jonathan bowed to the referee, then made his way down the ring and sat back down on the bench.

It took most people by surprise.

After the dominant victory, they thought he would fight the second match as well, but it looked like he was done.

"Good job."

Coach Jin patted him on the shoulder, then nodded towards Julian, who stood up and made his way to the ring.

"Ah, shit…"

Kesha scratched the back of his head and slowly made his way to the ring. He thought that he would get at least a victory over Jonathan, but instead he had to fight a monster right away.