Ball of Nothing

Chapter 420 Truen vs Monoman

Even after the official start, neither Truen nor Monoman made a move. The tension was so thick and the audience didn’t know what was going to happen. It wasn’t often that they saw a match between two experts. While not much was known about either man, it was clear to everyone that they were not going to display their full might in a match within the Dirt Ring.

The wind swept through the Dirt Ring, kicking up dust clouds that obscured the vision slightly. That was when both men moved simultaneously. Monoman went for a straight dash, charging towards Truen but the elf decided to run, keeping the distance between them as much as possible while Monoman closed in. Unlike the match against the Griffin, Truen didn’t intend to use magic. He switched the bow out expertly for daggers with thin metal threads attached to the end of their handles. He remembered Desert Lily’s advice and devised a few plans for this match.

From the spectator seats, Desert Lily watched in anticipation at what Truen’s first move would be. The battle had only begun but already she could see Monoman forcing Truen to reveal his first card.

When Monoman got into his ideal range, Truen tossed his daggers towards his opponent. They sailed through the air with a hissing sound, the thin metal wires attached to their handles were invisible from this angle. Truen readied his next set of knives and anticipated for them to miss the warrior.

However, that didn’t happen and Monoman’s reaction threw the wood elf completely off guard.

Instead of dodging the brand projectiles like a sane person, Monoman simply crossed his arms in front of him from the oncoming daggers. That mad grin on his face made Truen abandon this first plan as he focused on increasing their distance. He wasn’t prepared for close-quarter combat with this monster who could rip wyverns apart.

The crowd cheered loudly and Zero covered Jermine’s eyes, not wanting her to see the gruesome sight that he thought would happen, completely forgetting that the mole girl was technically blind. He forgot how to breathe with how fast everything was progressing. Brutus frowned. Something wasn’t right.

The daggers made contact with a clink. Instead of seeing blood, they bounced off harmlessly like a bullet off polycarbonate glass. Truen’s eyes widened when he understood how he screwed up. He quickly fled instead of following up with a second attack.

"What the heck is he made of?!" the wood elf screamed in his head and focused on getting away. No normal human or giant can remain immune to physical attacks without the help of magic or magical items. Truen did not spot any magical items on Monoman when they were sizing each other up at the start. This defied logic completely, it was almost like a cheat ability!

Zero watched the daggers bounce off Monoman’s skin without making a scratch and was immediately interested in that layer of energy coating the warrior’s arms. What was that? He looked over to everyone else to see if they’d noticed it too but frowned when the audience simply assumed that Monoman had tough skin. As a doctor, Zero knew that tough skins didn’t make metal daggers bounce off them. Not even Truen was able to be able to see that thin layer of energy coating Monoman’s body and this made Zero very fascinated. Monoman’s martial arts didn’t pale when compared with Amon. His fluid movements lacked finesse but the raw power made up for his flaws. The ground shook with the sonic punches that Monoman threw towards Truen and the elf was now stuck on the defensive. Zero hoped his friend would either surrender or find a way to escape because even with regenerative abilities, he wasn’t looking too good.

The crowd was silent from shock as the exchange lasted for nearly a minute. In Monoman’s previous matches, everyone knew how powerful the brute was but nobody has ever withstood more than one punch from the Mammoth. A fragile-looking elf wasn’t what the audience was expecting to match this monster of a fighter and yet, Truen was holding on.

Monoman smirked and Truen growled. His daggers were rendered useless. The wire trap that he wanted to set up was now moot.

"Unaffected by projectiles or sharp objects like ordinary people but I can’t sense any mana... What could it be?" Truen thought and spat out a mouthful of blood from a new shockwave after a strong uppercut that missed the nimble elf narrowly. He put out his crappy bow just in time to save him but still received damage. Now that the bow was useless, Truen no longer had any reason to carry it around. He threw the broken remains at Monoman who wasn’t fazed as he increased their distance.

From the bench, Zero felt nervous for Truen who was getting pushed back. Not even ten minutes had gone by but Truen was already spitting out blood and receiving internal injuries. If his diagnosis was accurate from this distance, his friend was currently feeling dizzy from the shockwaves that damaged his eardrums. Truen tried to steady his steps but Zero wasn’t fooled. The archer needed medical attention at once and Zero was about to call the referee to end the match but Brutus stopped him.

"In the Dirt Ring, you must respect the rules. A match doesn’t end unless someone surrenders or dies."

Reluctantly, Zero sat back down and eyed his friend worriedly. From the other side of the arena, Desert Lily watched her client with worry. This wasn’t a match that Truen could win without pulling out all his cards.

Giving his opponent a chance to breathe, Monoman stopped. Now that they were both weaponless, he wondered if the elf was going to fight him more seriously instead of using petty party tricks.

"If you don’t fight me seriously, you’re going to end up with more than just broken bones," Monoman warned.

Truen grit his teeth, tasting the blood in his mouth. He might not be able to die but it didn’t mean he didn’t take damage. Deflecting the direct blows also inflicted damage and Truen couldn’t dodge everything because of the limited space. It was down to the old-fashioned fistfight and Truen was at a natural disadvantage against this beast. He didn’t want to worry his best friend so Truen weighed his options.

"Without using Sureshot, the only chances I have to win against him would be to use my speed or magic. Those punches might be easy to avoid but the shockwaves that follow are nothing to sneeze at. Now that it has come to this, I might as well use my last plan," Truen thought. Truthfully, he didn’t think that Monoman would be able to force him to employ this trick so early into their battle but seeing how unfair their natural advantages were, he had no choice.

The crowd went wild when Truen activated his magic. Zero blinked when he saw Truen using a basic earth spell to create a fortress.

"A mage? Interesting," Monoman smirked. Did the elf seriously think he couldn’t break through that? That underestimation would cost him dearly. Deciding that enough chances were given, Mnoman made his next move.

Jermine was surprised when she felt Truen using earth magic to create a tunnel maze beneath the Dirt Ring. She held her tongue, not wanting to spoil the surprise and watched as Truen used the tunnels to get behind Monoman who was preparing himself for a charge towards the rock mound fortress.

After getting into position, Truen sent a pelt of rock shrapnel in Monoman’s direction. There was an earth clone hidden inside that rock mound but it was still too early for the trick to be revealed. He would tire the monster first and stay hidden to recover from his injuries.

Sensing danger, Monoman jumped to avoid the projectiles and clicked his tongue in annoyance. Why couldn’t they have a proper fight with fists? Using magic like this was only irritating and Monoman didn’t want to deal with it. Elves were ranged warriors and their magicians were rare. It was his misfortune to meet one in the ring of all places but then again, he shouldn’t be this surprised. Half Moon Village was famous for its collection of different talents and Monoman was now more determined to talk to the leader. First, he had a fight to win.

Truen ran around beneath the ring, coordinating attacks from beneath and pulled up clones to distract Monoman. The trick was working but Truen remained grim. He might be able to prolong the battle but there was no hope of victory. The Mammoth didn’t seem to tire even after twenty minutes of running around and none of the attacks was effective. The difference in their power was too great. The audience might not have realised it yet but Truen was really out of cards. All he could do was buy time until Monoman realised this.

For a battle-honed warrior who founded a town in the worst lawless zone, Monoman figured out Truen’s trick quickly. Not wanting to drag this on for much longer, Monoman ignored the next wave of rock projectiles and charged straight to the rock mound. The rock fortress was smashed open in one blow, causing the biggest explosion of sand, rocks and dust that blinded everyone in the audience.

Zero shielded Jermine and Brutus shielded Zero. The audience yelled and the Dirt Ring was covered with red sand that obscured everyone’s view. Nobody knew what was going on and the announcer waited for the dust cloud to settle before making his commentary.

Desert Lily was the first to see the outcome and quickly contacted her people to escort Zero to the safe hideout. Truen had lost.

"T-The winner is Monoman the Mammoth!" the announcer shouted in half fear and half surprise with Truen raising his hands in surrender.

Monoman didn’t just smash the rock mound open and destroyed Truen’s clone. He shattered the ground and revealed the tunnels that Truen had made before catching the sneaky elf in action. It was over, Truen admitted his defeat. He would listen to Monoman’s request and negotiate terms with him before he brought the dangerous man to see Zero.

"It’s my loss," Truen said as Monoman helped him out of the rock debris in the broken Dirt Ring.

"Will you let me talk to your younger brother?" he asked and Truen dusted the dirt from his clothes without much success. These had to go for a wash.

"I have some basic rules to discuss but yes, I will set up an arrangement for you to talk to him. Also, you can stop pretending. The leader of Half Moon Village appreciates honesty so you should be prepared to answer his questions without hiding anything if you truly wanted to prove your sincerity."

The Mammoth nodded and they left the arena together, ignoring the audience who were still trying to find themselves after the magnificent last strike.

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