Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 259 (Patreon)

Chapter 259: An Arm

As soon as Antomu made his appearance, he naturally drew cheers from over half of the fans in the venue.

His imposing physique, composed and calm demeanor, battle-hardened aura, and the metallic sheen of his knuckledusters lent a rugged charm that was very much in keeping with his temperament. Unfortunately, his right hand was missing three fingers.

Being an Enhancer, his primary mode of attack was his fists, and now, with the visually appealing knuckledusters on, his intimidation factor was even more pronounced.

After all, Antomu had been a floor master in the Heavens Arena for many years and had a lot of loyal viewers. His entrance set off a non-stop cheer in the venue.

The female commentator, having no choice but to address the overly enthusiastic crowd, called for them to tone it down before she finally announced Luo's name.

As the commentator's voice fell, Luo emerged from the other side, walking up to the ring with a calm expression.

Seeing Luo's empty hands, a cold glint flashed in the depths of Antomu's eyes as he said, "Do you think too highly of yourself, or do you look down on me?"

He knew Luo used a knife, and in most of his previous matches, Luo hadn't brought a knife to the ring, probably thinking his past opponents weren't worthy of it. But this opponent was him, and this battle was to the death.

Yet, Luo hadn't brought a knife.

Hearing Antomu's words, Luo simply raised his hands and clenched his fists, saying nothing.

Seeing Luo's response, Antomu gave a cold smile and didn't waste more words. He had already decided on Luo's fate—death by twisting off his neck.

Luo hadn't brought a knife?

He had, just that the time for its appearance hadn't come yet.

Two months earlier, during training, Luo had made an excessive request to Bisky.

He asked Bisky to transform and use her physical body to test the sharpness of the True Master.

Such a request was akin to someone holding a knife and asking another, "I want to see if this knife is sharp enough, could you let me chop at you a few times?"

And the key point was, not just once, but several times!

However, Bisky agreed, granting Luo her full trust.

This trust was a precious gift that Luo received from Bisky.

With God's Hand, whether the True Master could cut through Nen defenses was crucial information for Luo. Having Bisky as a reference made it easy to draw conclusions.

After that experiment, Bisky's name occupied a page in his book, and Luo had his answer.

Now, the True Master had become one of Luo's trump cards in defeating Antomu.

Atop the ring, the two stood a hundred meters apart with the referee in the middle.

"Please note, the condition for victory is: death of the opponent."

The referee raised his right hand, glanced at Antomu, then at Luo, and announced the start of the match before quickly retreating.

Under the death match mode, the referee didn't need to exert effort to reduce the mortality rate of the contestants. After announcing the start, he just needed to cheer from outside the ring.

"The match has begun! Antomu charges straight at Luo, employing his usual tactic 'Charge' that has knocked out opponents before!"

"But our contestant Luo stands still. Is he planning to use the same old trick, using stone slabs to fend off his opponent's attack?"

As the match began, the previously frustrated commentator burst out, unleashing several sentences in one go, fearing the fight might end quickly.

On the platform, Antomu adopted a diagonal stance like a speeding train, charging toward Luo a hundred meters away.

Luo, upon seeing this, raised his hand and formed an Aura Disc.

If he wanted to probe, a Nen bullet would be faster and consume less Aura, but Luo chose to use the more Aura-consuming Aura Disc because his opponent was Antomu.

Luo flung the disc-shaped Aura Disc toward Antomu, who, seeing this, had no intention of dodging. After predicting the trajectory of the Aura Disc, he gathered most of his Aura in his left shoulder, ready to withstand it.

He made this judgment for two reasons.

One was that he knew Luo's Nen was somewhat special, lacking impact force but possessing significant penetrative power against Nen defenses. The other was his confidence in his own Nen defenses, not wanting his momentum to be blocked.

"Overconfident? Not quite..."

Luo's eyes narrowed, and without hesitation, he stamped his foot, causing four stone slabs to rise in response.

Meanwhile, the Aura Disc hit Antomu's left shoulder but failed to slow his charge even slightly, splitting into two halves and

 falling to the ground, creating deep gashes.

Using 'Ryu', he managed to withstand the Aura Disc, and because it lacked impact force, his charge was unaffected, just as Antomu had predicted.

This choice might not be considered a gamble, as Antomu was fully confident.

Antomu, like a wild bull, closed the distance in an instant.

Luo, manipulating the stone slabs, barely managed to infuse them with Nen and send them flying before Antomu had already breached his attack range. Antomu roared and shattered the stone slabs, charging right in front of Luo.

"Boom!"

Antomu's right foot stomped heavily on the ground, releasing his Nen in a burst akin to a jet engine, propelling his body forward and fiercely colliding with Luo.

In a critical moment, Luo risked expanding his domain, laying down air resistance in Antomu's charging path while dodging to the right.

Antomu's charge was momentarily slowed by the resistance, brushing past Luo's body, but Luo, though not hit directly, was still blown away by the generated wind force, nearly losing his balance and falling.

Antomu's explosive power was terrifying, seemingly related to his Nen. If Luo hadn't quickly expanded his domain and used the resistance to slow the momentum, he definitely couldn't have dodged.

This charging attack was Antomu's sharpest attack at the start of the match, not worth taking head-on if it could be avoided.

With the charge missing, Antomu stopped at the edge of the platform, crouched with his left hand on the ground, and made a fierce turnaround, charging back toward Luo who had just regained his footing.

Up close, he swung his fist!

The punch, carrying a tremendous force, caused a distinct sound of breaking air above the platform.

Luo's combat prowess had significantly improved. His physical condition was also tough, and his use of 'Ryu' had deepened. Seeing Antomu bearing down on him, he didn't give an inch.

In such moments, if he retreated, he would be suppressed by Antomu, losing the rhythm and being continually pressed.

Luo could not retreat, nor did he need to.

He slightly ducked, dodging Antomu's right punch, and then countered with an uppercut toward Antomu's extended right arm. Antomu flicked his arm, dodging the punch, and counterattacked calmly.

Their bodies instantly entangled, with continuous dull collision sounds reverberating throughout the arena, loud enough to cover the noise of the spectators.

In just one minute, Luo and Antomu exchanged over thirty rounds of blows.

Because Antomu wore knuckledusters, Luo tried to avoid punching directly with him, always looking to counterattack with the Heart Source Fist technique in between dodges. However, Antomu's seasoned experience blocked his every move.

Sharp and flawless…

That was Luo's impression of Antomu's offense, unlike Uvogin's style that ignored defense entirely.

Luo intended to use 'Trap Method' during counterattacks to create more opportunities, but after a dozen rounds of entanglement, he found himself too drained to spare any effort for such minor tactics.

Antomu used his Nen as jet fuel, repeatedly accelerating his speed and increasing his attack power, like a gift box with a bomb inside, causing Luo much trouble.

"Keeping up!"

Antomu's expression darkened slightly. After the exchange, he realized just how terrifying Luo's growth rate had been over the past year. Ignoring physical attributes, the skillfulness with which he used 'Ryu' had caught up to his own pace.

A year ago, he couldn't even manage half-decent 'Ryu', but now he was using it smoothly and confidently.

Such talent...

Antomu's killing intent grew even stronger!

In their last fight, Luo lacked direct combat power and could only resort to cunning tricks, which was merely a slow death. Now, although he had the capability to withstand Antomu head-on, he couldn't easily defeat him.

After nearly fifty rounds of attacks, Luo realized that playing it safe wouldn't crack Antomu's defenses. At that moment, he thought of Uvogin's approach in battle.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Wherever they went, the hard stone slabs first cracked slightly, then splintered completely. With each step, the slabs shattered, and in no time, most of the platform was unrecognizable.

This was the 230th floor's arena. The higher the floor, the better the material quality of the platforms, yet they still suffered from the battle's impact, ruined as if made of tofu.

Fortunately, the floor's quality was solid. Otherwise, if they continued like this, they might crash through to the 229th floor.

After over fifty rounds of fighting, the situation remained unclear. Even the

 experienced Bisky couldn't tell who had the upper hand for a while.

"With Luo's current strength, if there's a suitable whetstone, no one is more suitable than Antomu." Bisky watched intently as the two struggled on the platform. "As long as Luo wins this battle..."

Beside her, Uvogin, Machi, Nobunaga, and Buhara wore serious expressions. After seeing Luo and Antomu's struggle, they instinctively imagined themselves in the same situation, each coming to a powerless conclusion.

The Nen unleashed during their body collisions seemed exceedingly harsh. Such fierce attacks, even Uvogin wasn't sure he could last more than thirty rounds, maybe not even twenty.

On the platform, the fierce exchange of blows suddenly escalated to sixty rounds.

At this moment, Luo's attack pattern subtly changed. He no longer defended against Antomu's overwhelming attacks but gradually adopted a do-or-die stance.

Playing it safe was certainly a good choice, but it didn't suit a stalemate. A change had to be made, leaning towards offense…!

Luo suddenly expanded his domain, setting up resistance within a meter around himself, meaning he had allocated 30 points of his Nen, perhaps even more.

The resistance controlled within the domain could slow Antomu's attacks, but it also meant Luo's attack and defense values could only maintain up to about 70 points.

"Hmm?"

Antomu was sharp and immediately noticed the formation of resistance, also observing that the flow of Nen around Luo had weakened, quickly understanding.

He only had a superficial understanding of Luo's Nen abilities, but even now, he could see the signs. Luo had sacrificed some of the Aura he could mobilize to construct an environment advantageous to himself.

However…

"The point isn't about speed, but whether it can cause damage!"

A chill appeared in the depths of Antomu's eyes. In his view, slowing his speed was meaningless as long as the Nen value at the moment of physical collision was higher than Luo's, he could inflict damage!

The attack exchange intensified.

Antomu didn't mind the consumption of Aura, continuously using it as propulsion to accelerate the pace of his attacks, wishing to suppress Luo. However, the resistance specifically formed against him was indeed troublesome.

However, once Luo created a resistance environment, Antomu saw a glimmer of victory. He didn't realize, though, that Luo had gradually revealed his trump card.

The resistance in the domain changed the combat situation instantly.

Antomu was affected by the resistance, thus weakening his attacks somewhat and reducing the pace. However, he also gained absolute initiative—that he could hurt Luo, but Luo couldn't hurt him.

Conversely, Luo lost a critical advantage but captured the rhythm.

Both had gains and losses. Ostensibly, Antomu had a clearer advantage since the moment Luo expanded his domain, his spear could penetrate Luo's shield, while Luo's spear couldn't penetrate his.

This was the crucial difference and the most direct expression of the skill 'Ryu'.

If the mobilized Aura was weaker than the enemy's, one could only be on the receiving end of blows.

Such an important matter, how could Luo not be aware? To seize the rhythm, he indeed made his spear unable to penetrate Antomu's shield, putting them on a roughly equal footing in terms of skill, which meant losing the key to victory.

But he had not only a spear but also a rusted sword called 'True Master'!

As the number of offensive rounds surpassed eighty, no slab on the platform remained intact, and the referee, far from the platform, was already terrified. Such a level of fighting, not to mention standing on the platform, even standing next to it could get one killed by flying debris.

"He's brought it in!"

Luo thought to himself, having discarded the spear, finally drawing Antomu into his rhythm. Next…

At this moment, Antomu, comfortably fishing, was unaware that Luo had gradually shown his trump card.

In the commentary booth, the female commentator was numb, feeling as if her commentary was stuck in a loop, just one punch for you, one punch for him!

Just then, the situation suddenly changed!

Luo finally managed to surpass Antomu's speed-based attack pattern by a notch. Then, his right hand suddenly produced a rusted sword, and before anyone could react, he slashed at Antomu's neck.

Expanding the domain, the resistance lowered Antomu's attack speed but also reduced his own attack power. However, the oath on the True Master itself was an enhanced attack!

This cut was beyond Antomu's expectations.

"That sword… a conjured weapon?"

A hint of astonishment flashed in Antomu's eyes. He barely managed to lift his left arm, placing it in the path of the slashing sword.

Hiss…

A faint sound, almost like a mosquito's buzz.

The rusty blade cut through Ant

omu's elbow, severing most of his left forearm.

Simultaneously, Antomu quickly retreated, a correct move after having his arm slashed because that sword could breach his defenses.

"You…!"

After creating distance, Antomu stared at Luo, speechless.

How could he have expected that the rusted sword was a weapon conjured by Luo? But Luo's abilities were clearly not related to conjuration.

"General."

Luo gave a cold smile, pulled on Antomu's severed arm to retreat, and then retracted the True Master back into the black cat's flame tattoo. Then, he summoned the book.

What followed was simple: either Antomu gave up his left forearm, or Luo kept reducing his Aura, eventually leaving him powerless.

This scene was reminiscent of a year ago, but this time, Luo was fully confident. The moment he severed Antomu's arm, he knew he had won.

Seeing Luo suddenly produce a knife and then chop off Antomu's arm, the audience in the venue was stunned.

Meanwhile, at Kukuroo Mountain.

Silva sat on a couch, watching the broadcast of Luo and Antomu's battle on a large screen.

When Luo summoned the book with 'God's Hand' written on it, Silva blinked, feeling the font looked familiar.

Just then, the door opened, and Illumi walked in, having received a rather troublesome task, wanting Silva to join him.

"Dad."

Seeing Illumi come in, Silva raised his hand and pointed at the screen.

Illumi's intended words were momentarily suppressed as he looked at the screen, catching the camera shift to Luo.

"Hmm?"

Illumi let out a low, surprised murmur.

His gaze fell on the book Luo held, specifically on those four characters.

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