Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 249 (Patreon)

Chapter 249: The Second Victory

As days passed by, and just as Machi and others reached the two-hundredth floor, Luo finally faced his second match.

He had chosen to fight anytime, yet it took so many days before his opponent was scheduled, making one wonder how long it would take to achieve ten wins.

Today, he finally got a match lined up, which was good news. Another piece of good news was that Uvogin and Nobunaga had already reached the two hundredth floor, clearly aiming for him.

Thus, taking two victories from Uvogin and Nobunaga seemed to be a sure thing.

It wasn't that Luo underestimated Uvogin and Nobunaga; the gap between their abilities was a real thing.

Of course, Nen is peculiar and versatile, and when applied to combat, along with geographical advantages and other factors, it can sometimes produce unexpected effects. However, Luo knew the capabilities of Uvogin and Nobunaga; this advantage no longer existed.

Ever since Luo won cleanly against Sundy, the local audience at the Heavens Arena had been eagerly anticipating Luo's second match. Today, they finally got what they had been waiting for.

This match was less ceremonious than the last one, but the organizers had cleared the largest venue for it. Despite that, the venue was already packed even before the scheduled time.

Sanbica and her group got wind of the match's schedule and time early from Luo, so they managed to grab tickets early and arrived at the venue to watch.

"The odds are really not enticing anymore," Bisky lamented.

Sanbica glanced at her, thinking it might be better for her to earn less, lest she has to buy her more occasionally sexy clothing and rarely used cosmetics.

This time, the odds were overwhelmingly in favor of Luo, even though his opponent had already secured seven wins. Still, most of the audience supported Luo.

Uvogin and Nobunaga had just reached the two hundredth floor. They were planning to fight Luo in the next few days, and today's match was crucial; they could glean some insights from it.

"Let me see how much stronger you've become this past year!" Uvogin thought to himself.

Uvogin had been severely disheartened by a loss to Bisky, who then constantly persuaded himself using Bisky's identity to finally recover.

Inside the venue, the crowd was buzzing with anticipation for Luo's entrance.

Before the contestants entered, the announcer girl briefly introduced the contestants.

"Riseth, currently with seven wins and no defeats, is only three wins away from a challenge for the floor master's position. If he wants to advance further, he'll have to defeat the recently popular Luo!"

"Next, please welcome Riseth to the stage!"

With the announcer's passionate voice, a figure in a black cloak and a black mask walked onto the platform.

Since he was wearing a mask, the audience couldn't see Riseth's solemn expression.

Given a choice, he would rather not face Luo. Despite repeatedly reviewing recordings before the match, he still couldn't figure out the true nature of Luo's abilities.

"Please welcome Luo to the stage!"

As soon as the voice fell, the audience burst into uproarious cheers, as if trying to break through the ceiling.

This stark difference between home and away treatment didn't affect Riseth's mindset.

Luo emerged from the other side's passage to the platform.

He was dressed in a casual black outfit today, also bought by Bisky. Coincidentally, Riseth was also dressed in all black.

The referee confirmed the distance of one hundred meters between the two, gave a routine explanation, then gestured for the match to start.

The moment the fight commenced, Luo stood still, surrounded by aura.

He knew nothing about Riseth, so he didn't take the initiative.

Riseth wasn't a close-combat type, so he too stood still, pulling out a black 'V'-shaped dart from under his wide cloak, which had a row of tiny holes.

"A dart?" Luo noticed the small holes on the dart very sharply.

After Riseth pulled out the dart, he threw it hard.

The dart, wrapped in Riseth's aura, spun rapidly towards Luo.

"It's fast, but this level can be taken head-on."

Luo quickly concluded and prepared to deflect Riseth's first attack, but before the dart got close, it suddenly flew upwards.

"Huh?"

Luo looked up, his gaze intensifying as he saw dozens of sharp spikes shooting out from the dart's holes, descending chaotically towards him.

"It's aura."

Once he saw clearly, Luo didn't retreat but advanced, dodging the barrage of aura-condensed strikes.

Hissss!

The stone slab where he had been standing was pitted with dozens of small holes.

As the dart ascended forward, retreating

 would not allow him to escape the range of the sharp spikes, so he had to move forward.

And with such a thing as a dart...

Luo looked back, just as he thought, the dart circled back in mid-air, aiming to strike again.

At the same time, he made two moves; one was flicking a Nen bullet at the dart, and the other was using his right foot to channel Nen into the stone slab in front of him, manipulating the slab to stand erect in front of him.

When the dart's holes shot out dozens of aura-condensed sharp spikes, Luo first categorized Riseth's Nen abilities as belonging to the emission type, while also understanding the dart might circle back for another strike.

So, mentally prepared, he aimed to knock it down at the moment it circled back. Meanwhile, guessing Riseth was an emitter, to prevent Riseth's next attack, he covered the slab with aura and placed it in front as a shield.

This precaution, though potentially a waste of aura, was necessary.

As Luo's gaze shifted, Riseth immediately released a premeditated attack.

The dart had a two-stage combo attack, but its main function was to distract Luo, creating a conducive environment for the third strike.

This was Riseth's plan, and Luo reacted just as he had anticipated.

However, he hadn't expected Luo to be so well-prepared; the multitude of aura needles released barehanded were blocked by the aura-covered stone slab.

At the same time, the returning dart was also broken by Luo's Nen bullet.

This wave of preemptive triple strikes, a routine Riseth had prepared in advance, was tricky due to the front and rear pincer attack, but Luo cleanly broke through it.

This was Riseth's first time using the dart on the platform to create this long-range pincer attack setup, yet Luo, as if he already knew, made moves to counter the front and rear attacks at the moment his sight shifted.

Using his hands and feet to manipulate Nen, but overall very smooth, this was Luo's intricate operation.

After using the stone slab to block Riseth's direct emission attack, Luo quickly raised his hand to touch the upright stone slab, and silently, the slab flew towards Riseth, with Luo quickly following behind it, using the slab to block Riseth's line of sight.

The stone slab flew upright, increasing air resistance, but after Luo infused it with Nen, although its speed was not faster than Riseth's aura needles, it was not slow either.

Riseth saw the flying stone slab leaning mostly to the left, so he moved to the right to dodge, which would be easier.

However, when he moved right to avoid the slab, Luo was already waiting for him.

Seeing Luo suddenly in front of him, Riseth's eyes rapidly narrowed, never expecting Luo's speed to be so fast, and was struck by a punch to the temple.

Boom!

Riseth's body flew to one side and he lost consciousness before he hit the ground.

The upright flying stone slab blocked Riseth's view, but it also blocked Luo's view.

In that situation, Luo couldn't see Riseth's movements, but he was sure Riseth would move to the right because he intentionally leaned the slab's flight path to Riseth's left, making it easy for Riseth to dodge to the right.

However, whether Riseth would actually move right, he wasn't certain; even if Riseth didn't dodge to the right, he had another attack planned.

The referee quickly confirmed Riseth's unconsciousness, signaling that Luo had knocked out Riseth, winning the match.

It was too fast... the fight ended in probably less than five seconds.

From start to finish, the announcer girl only managed to say Riseth threw the dart, and in the blink of an eye, Riseth was knocked down by Luo's punch.

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