Chương 66: One-Punch Uvogin

Heavens Arena, eighty-sixth floor, Ring B. The stands around the ring were already full. That was the influence of Heavens Arena. Even an ordinary match below the hundredth floor could nearly fill the audience seats.

"Everyone! Sorry to keep you waiting!" The announcer beside the ring began the opening with an excited voice. Her job was to stir the crowd. Excited, tense, shocked, admiring. A good announcer could make even two pigs fighting sound dramatic.

"Our next match features two super-heavyweight fighters weighing over one hundred eighty kilograms. Both performed brilliantly on the first floor and jumped directly to the fiftieth!"

"Now, please look at the big screen. We will show footage from their previous matches."

"Contestant Uvogin strikes with the force of a mountain! One straight punch from his right hand sent his opponent flying!"

"Contestant Aubel, meanwhile, displayed excellent wrestling technique. His throws were skillful enough to slam an opponent of similar size into the floor until the man vomited blood!"

"That is the basic performance of both fighters. Now, everyone, are you ready to place your bets?"

"Press those buttons!" As the announcer's voice fell, the spectators began placing bets. On the big screen, the odds for Uvogin and Aubel shifted rapidly. When they stabilized, Aubel's odds were 1. 57, while Uvogin's were 2. 08. The announcer's excited voice rose again.

"Oh? According to the betting results, Contestant Aubel is more favored!"

"Is it his wrestling technique that gives everyone confidence?" Uvogin did not particularly care whether the audience favored him. But being placed below Aubel was different. That, he could not ignore. His killing intent toward Aubel deepened. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"This round will be fought under a three-minute, three-round scoring and knockdown system." After announcing the rules, the referee looked at both fighters. His hands crossed sharply.

"Begin!" The instant the word fell, Uvogin charged at Aubel like a heavy tank, his face split by a bloodthirsty grin. The pressure rushing toward Aubel was overwhelming. Feeling that terrifying momentum, Aubel's face turned blue-white. Cold sweat broke across his forehead.

"Wait, I surr--" He stared at the approaching Uvogin, terror dragging the words from his throat. It was already too late. Uvogin had no intention of listening. His right fist smashed aside Aubel's raised arms and drove straight into his chest. Crack. The clear sound of a breastbone breaking rang through the ring. The force spread outward into the ribs. One rib after another shattered under Uvogin's savage strength. Aubel's entire chest caved in.

His massive body flew from the ring like a torn cloth and slammed into the wall outside the arena.

"Critical Hit! A brilliant attack worth two points..." The referee began judging the strike by instinct, then turned toward Aubel and froze. The man's eyes had already rolled back, and his body had gone limp. His chest had collapsed across a wide area. There was no continuing.

"No, Contestant Aubel is unable to fight!" The result sent noise surging through the stands.

"That was amazing, Uvogin!"

"Yeah! One punch killed him!"

"Damn it! Useless Aubel! What was the point of being that big?"

"I'm finished! I put everything on Aubel!" The spectators who had bet on Aubel howled over their bad judgment. Those who had bet on Uvogin celebrated wildly. His odds had been higher than Aubel's. The arena made the difference between winners and losers painfully obvious. The announcer seized the moment.

"Contestant Uvogin wins with a single punch again! This is his fifth consecutive flawless victory in three days!"

"One-Punch Uvogin! With his results climbing so quickly, how high can he go? Who can possibly stop him?" Uvogin accepted the ticket from the referee and glanced at Aubel's body with boredom.

"I thought you had more guts. You didn't even resist. Boring." Then he turned and left the ring. Fortunately, Chrollo had told him that the true experts were above the two-hundredth floor. Otherwise, after five fights against trash in three days, Uvogin might have considered leaving. When he reached the ninetieth floor and exchanged his ticket for prize money, he saw Machi step out of the elevator.

"Hey, Machi. You're done too?" After greeting her, he handed over the money he had just received. He did not really understand why Machi wanted so much Jenny. If there was something she wanted, they could just steal it. They were thieves, weren't they? Uvogin had no need for the money anyway. If Machi wanted it, he would give it to her. Machi accepted the prize money naturally, counted it, and nodded with satisfaction. It was still not much, but the reward did rise sharply with each floor.

Then she held out the two Flying Thunder God kunai.

"This is what Aren sent." Uvogin took one and toyed with it in his hand.

"What's it for? A weapon? The deputy leader should know I don't like using weapons." Machi originally intended to hand him the letter. Then she remembered that Uvogin knew very few words and gave up.

"If you run into danger you can't handle, inject Nen into this. Aren will appear here." She summarized the letter for him.

"Oh!" Uvogin's eyes lit up.

"So the deputy leader made another ability. He's worried we'll run into trouble alone. He's as reliable as ever." He immediately understood that Aren had developed something new. By now, he was used to Aren producing new abilities from time to time, so there was no need to make a fuss.

"Yes," Machi said, looking at the kunai in her hand. A gentle smile touched her lips.

"He always is."