I Thought I Was Bullying a Nobody, But He's a Martial Arts Genius - Chapter 43

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Unaware That He’s a Combat Genius, He Gets Bullied — Episode 43
Lee Woo Seong wavered.
It was the first time.
The man’s heavy pressure, the weight that had been bearing down, suddenly lifted as his legs gave way.
Seo Jun didn’t miss the opening.
Tap!
His foot struck the Mat.
His body surged forward.
Right hand.
Left hand.
A short One-Two crashed into Lee Woo Seong’s face.
Thwack! Thwack!
Lee Woo Seong raised his Guard.
Both arms came up to shield his face.
Seo Jun didn’t stop.
He landed the One-Two to force the Guard up, then immediately threw a right Low Kick.
Crack!
Lee Woo Seong’s thigh shook.
Another One-Two.
Thwack! Thwack!
This time high, on the Guard.
But Lee Woo Seong’s arms rose even higher.
Seo Jun’s eyes found the gap below.
Exposed ribs.
His left foot drove through that opening.
Thud!
Lee Woo Seong’s body folded slightly.
The Spectator Stands erupted.
[Seo Jun is pressing hard! Lee Woo Seong is falling back for the first time!]
[The whole flow changed right after that Counter from inside the Clinch!]
Do Yoon’s voice cut through from outside the Iron Cage.
“Watch the kick!”
Seo Jun’s foot froze just as it was rising again.
Do Yoon gripped the Iron Cage, shouting.
“Your leg gets caught again, he’ll drag you down!”
Seo Jun’s eyes went cold and sharp.
Immediate adjustment.
He scrapped the kick.
He planted his foot back on the Mat.
Even as Lee Woo Seong staggered, Seo Jun knew the man could still reach down and trap him.
That’s the kind of fighter he was.
One mistake, and he’d drag you back into the quicksand.
Seo Jun switched to punches.
Short.
Shorter still.
A jab slipped through the seams of the Guard.
Tap!
Lee Woo Seong’s nose tip.
The right hand drummed above the Guard.
Thwack!
A left hook wrapped around toward the temple.
Crack!
It wasn’t a clean hit.
But it grazed.
That alone made Lee Woo Seong’s head snap back.
Seo Jun saw it now.
When the Guard rises, the elbows flare open.
When the chin tucks, the solar plexus opens.
When he slips left, the right temple lags behind.
He saw it all.
That sensation he’d read from fighting Hwang Dae Geon, bloodied but unbowed.
Eyes that hunted for gaps in a monster who refused to close them even when struck.
Those eyes were shredding Lee Woo Seong’s defense now.
Seo Jun’s right hand drove straight into his solar plexus.
Thwack!
Lee Woo Seong’s breath caught short.
A left jab followed immediately.
Pop!
The jaw.
A Right Straight.
Crack!
Through the guard.
Lee Woo Seong’s head snapped backward.
“Yaaaaaaah!”
“Seo Jun!”
“Keep pressing!”
Lee Woo Seong stepped back.
It was, in itself, an event.
Until now, he hadn’t given ground.
He’d seized space.
Overwhelmed his opponent.
But now he was being driven back by Seo Jun’s fists.
Panic flickered across Lee Woo Seong’s eyes for the first time.
‘The strike accuracy…’
It was too high.
What he thought he’d dodged grazed him instead.
What he thought he’d blocked slipped through the gaps in his guard.
Each landed blow invited a deeper strike to follow.
Seo Jun wasn’t swinging blindly.
He was choosing his targets with his eyes.
The jaw.
The temple.
The solar plexus.
The bridge of the nose.
And then the jaw again.
Thwack! Thwack! Crack!
Lee Woo Seong’s unblemished face flushed crimson.
His left cheekbone swelled.
Blood beaded beneath his nose.
His lip split open.
Beneath the white lights, the crimson blood bloomed vivid.
[Lee Woo Seong’s face is deteriorating rapidly!]
[Seo Jun is showing that this is his domain! His strike accuracy is unreal!]
Do Yoon’s eyes burned bright.
“Yes, that’s it!”
Tae Soo gripped the Iron Cage and roared.
“Pay him back! Every second you got pressed in the first Round!”
Seo Jun heard it but didn’t lose focus.
His breath came harsh.
His conditioning wasn’t fully restored yet.
But his hands were alive.
Three minutes and thirty seconds pinned on the ground.
As if washing away that humiliation with each blow.
Seo Jun’s fists kept punching through Lee Woo Seong’s guard.
Lee Woo Seong threw a left-hand counter.
Seo Jun tilted his head slightly.
The punch grazed past his ear.
In that same instant, he slipped inside.
A right Short Straight.
Thwack!
Lee Woo Seong’s jaw snapped back again.
His feet slid toward the Iron Cage.
One step.
Then another.
Seo Jun stayed with him.
Guard up.
Eyes open.
Already loading the next punch into the gap.

* * *
[Seo Jun’s launching a fierce counteroffensive!]
The commentary crackled with strain.
[He’s completely reversed the disadvantage from Round One! Lee Woo Seong is being pushed back! He’s giving ground right now!]
The Spectator Stands had already erupted.
“Seo Jun!”
“Finish him!”
“Now!”
The roar poured down over the Cage.
Seo Jun didn’t hesitate.
One-Two.
Jab.
Short hook.
Straight again.
Each punch slipped through the seams of Lee Woo Seong’s guard.
Crack!
The jaw.
Crack!
The solar plexus.
Smack!
The temple.
Lee Woo Seong’s head snapped sideways.
When his guard rose, Seo Jun struck the body.
When he protected the body, Seo Jun drove a straight to the face.
The moment his shoulder twitched to counter, Seo Jun cut it off first.
Lee Woo Seong retreated.
One step.
Another step.
Driven toward the Iron Cage.
Team Jujak’s Corner erupted.
Tae Soo threw both fists up.
“That’s it! That’s it! Keep the pressure on!”
A Yeon’s eyes widened too.
“His Strike Accuracy is insane.”
But Do Yoon didn’t smile.
His gaze fixed beyond the Iron Cage, his face had tightened in an odd way.
‘Something’s off.’
Seo Jun’s rhythm was flawless.
Too flawless.
Lee Woo Seong’s face was crumbling.
His left cheekbone had swollen red.
Blood ran from beneath his nose.
His lip was split.
And yet.
‘He’s backing off too easily.’
Do Yoon’s eyes narrowed.
Lee Woo Seong was taking the hits.
Definitely taking them.
But not the way a man takes them before he falls.
The moment contact landed, he’d slip his chin away.
Rolling with the impact, letting the force dissipate with a subtle shift of his body.
Even with his guard broken, he didn’t take the punch head-on.
The instant Seo Jun’s fist made contact, his entire body slipped back, minute by minute.
An ordinary spectator wouldn’t notice.
But Do Yoon saw it.
The veteran’s survival technique.
The way to blunt damage while taking the hit.
‘He’s not just holding on.’
Do Yoon’s lips tightened.
‘He’s bleeding it off.’
Tae Soo shouted from beside him.
“Coach! Couldn’t you stop it now?”
Do Yoon didn’t answer.
Perhaps he could stop it.
Lee Woo Seong was genuinely wavering.
If Seo Jun’s fists keep landing like this, anyone would crumble.
He couldn’t call it off now.
Breaking the momentum would throw away the opening.
Do Yoon bit his lip.
A trace of blood seeped through.
“Damn it…….”
Inside the Cage.
Seo Jun’s assault grew fiercer.
A Right Straight tore through Lee Woo Seong’s Guard.
Thwack!
Lee Woo Seong’s head snapped backward.
A left hook followed immediately.
Crack!
Along the cheekbone.
Lee Woo Seong’s body twisted.
Shrieks erupted from the Spectator Stands.
[They’re coming in! Again and again!]
[Lee Woo Seong’s Guard is loosening! Seo Jun has found his rhythm completely now!]
Lee Woo Seong’s feet tangled.
He looked as though he’d go down any moment.
But he didn’t fall.
One knee buckled, then held firm again.
His upper body swayed, yet his center held.
Tenacious to a point of being uncanny.
Seo Jun drove to pierce through that tenacity.
Thwack!
Solar plexus.
Thwack!
Beneath the jaw.
Thwack!
Between the arms.
Lee Woo Seong’s face reddened further.
Droplets of blood scattered across the Mat.
His breathing grew ragged.
Yet his eyes didn’t dim.
Seo Jun’s eyes caught that.
‘Why.’
He’s clearly taking the shots.
He’s wavering.
But he won’t break.
Lee Woo Seong kept his eyes locked on Seo Jun even as he was driven backward.
Never.
Not for a single instant did he look away.
Seo Jun’s shoulders.
His elbows.
His feet.
Breathing.
That was everything.
A chill crept down Do Yoon’s spine.
“Seo Jun!”
The moment he was about to shout.
Seo Jun’s right hand loaded again.
Lee Woo Seong’s Guard opened just slightly.
It looked like an opening to end it.
Seo Jun’s right foot drove forward.
Thud.
Lee Woo Seong’s Guard was wide open.
His chin rose.
His body twisted backward.
The Spectator Stands erupted.
“Finish him!”
“Now!”
“Seo Jun!”
The Commentary team’s voices cracked with strain.
[Seo Jun’s victory is right before our eyes!!]
[Lee Woo Seong is completely Groggy!! He can end it now! Right now!]
Seo Jun’s eyes turned cold and still.
There was no hesitation.
He’d been beaten down in Round One.
His breath stolen.
In Round Two his throat was caught.
His face took shots.
Yet he’d made it this far.
He’d finish it now.
Seo Jun’s right shoulder pulled back.
He loaded every ounce of strength he had left.
His toes bit into the Mat.
Hips.
Shoulders.
Elbows.
Fist.
All his power threaded into a single line.
Just as the Right Straight extended toward Lee Woo Seong’s chin.
“Stop!”
The referee wedged himself roughly between them.
Thump.
His palm shoved against Seo Jun’s chest.
Seo Jun’s fist halted in empty air.
The Spectator Stands froze.
Seo Jun stopped.
Breathing hard, he looked at the referee.
‘Is it over?’
Had the referee decided Lee Woo Seong could no longer defend himself?
TKO.
The thought flashed through his mind.
Seo Jun’s fist lowered slowly.
But the referee’s face wasn’t declaring victory.
He shouted with authority.
“The bell rang!!”
Seo Jun’s eyes wavered.
“……What?”
“End of Round Two!! Go to your Corner!”
Only then did his ears open.
Through the roar of the crowd, the lingering echo of the bell finally reached him.
Ding.
It had already sounded.
Seo Jun stared up at the scoreboard with vacant eyes.
<2R 00:00>
Time had run out.
Just before his fist landed.
Not a single second remained.
The Spectator Stands stirred as the crowd belatedly grasped what had happened.
“The Round’s over?”
“Such a shame!”
“If that had connected, it would’ve been finished!”
[Ah! Round end!]
[Just before Seo Jun’s Finish, the second Round’s bell sounded first! That was incredibly close!]
[Lee Woo Seong, after everything, survives the Round!]
Seo Jun stood rooted to the spot.
His breathing was ragged.
His arms trembled.
Power still coiled at his fingertips, unspent in the punch he’d almost thrown.
Lee Woo Seong was directly before him.
His head hung low.
His shoulders shook.
His face was swollen and flushed.
Blood trickled beneath his nose, and his lips were split.
Anyone could see the Damage he’d taken.
He looked as though his knees might buckle at any instant.
That’s what Seo Jun believed.
Until just now.
Then Lee Woo Seong moved.
Slowly.
He took a step.
He walked past Seo Jun’s side.
He didn’t stagger.
His back was straight.
His spine was rigid.
His ankles didn’t waver.
His knees didn’t give.
His gait was too crisp.
Too stable.
This wasn’t the walk of a fighter who’d been Groggy mere seconds before.
Seo Jun’s eyes widened.
Lee Woo Seong made his way toward the Corner, lightly gnawing his Mouthpiece.
The blood-stained corner of his mouth moved ever so slightly.
It wasn’t quite a smile.
But it was composure.
An icy sensation raked across Seo Jun’s spine.
‘What the hell.’
Lee Woo Seong’s face was ruined.
He’d been hit cleanly, no question.
Blood had sprayed.
His temple had snapped back.
Strikes had landed on his solar plexus.
Yet there was no Damage in his stride.
His breathing hadn’t collapsed.
His center held firm.
Hell, it had been solid from the start.
He’d fooled the crowd.
He’d fooled Seo Jun.
A veteran’s performance.
The perfect predator buying time.
Do Yoon had seen it too.
His face had gone rigid.
“That crazy bastard….”
Tae Soo stared blankly, muttering to himself.
“Just now…… did you take that hit on purpose?”
Do Yoon didn’t answer.
He only clenched his jaw hard.
It wasn’t that he took it.
More precisely, he took only as much as he could afford to take.
And he drew out Seo Jun’s stamina and explosive power.
Through the end of the second round, all of it.
Seo Jun stood frozen in place.
His heart was beating late, catching up.
His fingertips had gone cold.
Lee Woo Seong sat down in the corner chair.
He looked at Seo Jun.
Blood smearing his face.
His eyes steady, unshaken.
Only then did Seo Jun understand.
The second round he’d thought he was pushing forward in.
Even that round.
Had been resting in the palm of Lee Woo Seong’s hand all along.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————