The venue fell completely silent, and a wave of anger surged toward the stage where Skyler stood.
His actions had angered every Chanaean there, but he withstood it fearlessly. In fact, he even wore a taunting look on his face as he surveyed the audience.
It was his way of taking revenge. The audience was cheering to beat the Jetroinian to death, so he used the same method to give them a taste of their medicine.
Skyler killed Stephen on the stage, so the Chanaeans could not punish him and could only be enraged.
At that very moment, Jonathan was simmering with anger. He rarely felt furious, but Skyler managed to anger him.
He only knew Stephen for a couple of days, but Stephen was an honest man, so Jonathan treated him as a true friend.
Jonathan's eyes were brimming with anger from Stephen's tragic death.
Skyler then walked off the stage, and he was looking at Jonathan. The look in his eyes was still filled with mockery as he showed Jonathan a thumbs down and then laughed.
Jonathan sucked in a deep breath and returned to his seat with Hector.
He sat down and immediately leaned into Amber's ear to whisper, “Tell Mabel to arrange a match between Skyler and me.” Amber was startled by his instruction. She hated Skyler as well, but she also learned about Skyler's horrific strength from that fight. Therefore, she could not help but worry for Jonathan's safety.
“I can't contact her right now.” Amber made up an excuse.
Jonathan was shrewd, so he knew she was lying. He grabbed Amber's hand and said, “Please, trust me and tell Mabel to arrange it.” Amber pulled her hand out of Jonathan's grasp and explained, “I really can't reach-" She paused in the middle of her sentence because she saw the screen showing precisely Skyler and Jonathan's names.
Jessica and Yasmin were also shocked and turned to
Jonathan with worry in their eyes.
Jonathan turned to look at the screen and stood up when he had a clear view of it; his eyes were filled with an intense fighting spirit.
Hector looked at Jonathan before standing up to grab Jonathan's shoulder. He advised, “Jon, don't be rash. Please withdraw from the match. | don't want to lose another friend.” Jonathan smiled. “The stage is where we fighters belong. I'm sure you can respect my decision to fight if you respected Stephen's, right?” Hector was stunned, but he retracted his hand after letting out a sigh.
Jonathan walked forward while Polly remained calm.
“You're not allowed to lose, Jonathan!” Jessica yelled at him while grabbing onto the edge of her sleeve.
Jonathan paused briefly, but he did not turn around and continued marching forward to the stage.
On the stage, Jonathan stood facing Skyler.
“I've said that | will end you. I'll make sure to dig out your heart and feed it to your mouth today,” Skyler mocked with a cruel smile playing on his lips.
The bell rang right after he finished speaking.
Jonathan did not want to waste his saliva on useless talks and said, “Come at me, you pretentious idiot.” His insult at Skyler gained him cheers from outside the ring.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWhile the cheers erupted, Jonathan and Skyler started moving as quickly as lightning.
Jonathan reached Skyler in one step. He did not bother with testing the waters and threw a Rolling Thunder Punch toward Skyler.
The thunder roared with a brewing storm.
Skyler scoffed when faced against the Rolling Thunder Punch. He ducked and then performed the Stars Rotation.
His technique was amazing, but he miscalculated.
The moment he moved, Jonathan reacted swiftly with Mongrel Attack. Jonathan reigned supreme in combat strategies. Hence, all his attacks were simple but sharp and deadly.
His kick reached Skyler before the latter ducked completely.
Skyler was surprised and retreated three meters hastily amidst the danger.
Jonathan chased after him immediately when he backed away.
The fight between the two was extremely intense.
Although Skyler retreated, it was to regain his composure for another strike. When Jonathan closed in on him again, Skyler took two steps forward and clawed toward Jonathan's chest ruthlessly.
Jonathan ignored the attack and used the Heavenly Hook on the spot between Skyler's brows.
That one moment revealed the disparity of strength between Jonathan, Stephen, and Kenneth.
Jonathan fought fiercely without hesitance, while Stephen and Kenneth were shaken by Skyler's intimidating aura and retreated.
Skyler experienced the monstrosity that was Jonathan for himself and tilted his head to avoid the Heavenly Hook. Then, he started performing Stars Rotation again.
Unfortunately for him, Jonathan changed his attack from Heavenly Hook to Dragon Claw and clawed toward Skyler's head the moment the latter tilted his head to dodge the first attack.
Jonathan's technique transition was as natural as flowing water. It was as if he had clairvoyance and knew Skyler's next move.
Skyler groaned inwardly and helplessly retreated again.
However, Jonathan was relentless in his pursuit and did not allow Skyler any room for breathing.
In one moment, Jonathan's limbs continuously moved and burst into a series of punches and kicks, forcing Skyler to retreat in defeat.
The scene was surprising to everyone, and their throats felt knotted as they continued to watch.
They were all praying for Jonathan's victory.
In the next second, Skyler was already on the edge of the stage.
He jumped off the stage and seemed to have disappeared.
However, he came back up in the blink of an eye as if he was a snake circling and climbing a pole or a dragon ascending to the sky.
Skyler was a strong fighter who knew how to utilize the terrain in his fights.
He seized the opportunity to perform Stars Rotation before Jonathan recovered from his sudden appearance.
However, his expectation fell short again because Jonathan lowered himself.
Skyler reacted with Eagle's Ironclaw toward Jonathan's face while Jonathan sent a palm upward.
The look in Skyler's eyes turned chilly, and he wanted to rip
Jonathan's palm apart.
However, Jonathan's palm suddenly changed to a cutting posture, and he used Satin Palm.
His fingers compressed and slipped past the gap between Skyler's fingers.
He followed up by changing his hand into a claw and pulled his hand backward.
The move was akin to a hook on a fishing line and threatening to rip off Skyler's fingers.
Skyler's expression paled, and his heartbeat sped up. He hastily turned the trajectory of his hand and escaped upward.
In the middle of his panic, Jonathan kicked forward with Mongrel Attack.
It caught Skyler off-guard, and he was kicked off the stage.
Before he fell off completely, Jonathan stomped on and crushed both of his hands.
Jonathan was treating him the same way he treated Kenneth
before.
It did not stop there; Jonathan's hand was swift as he reached forward and cut apart Skyler's chest.
He pulled out Skyler's heart as an act of revenge for Stephen.
Skyler was horrified to see his heart in Jonathan's hand.
Then, he died immediately after that.
Meanwhile, Jonathan slowly calmed down.
He had been fighting Skyler with a heart filled with anger and killed Skyler swiftly.
Consequently, Skyler's death also appeased Jonathan's anger.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmInstantly, thunderous applause broke out below the stage.
Jonathan had become a hero in these people's eyes.
He put the heart on Skyler's body, then flicked his wrist to get rid of the blood on his hand before returning to his seat.
Jonathan's fame soared among the people and even people who practiced martial arts.
In the past, he never bothered to mingle among martial
artists, so he was relatively unknown when he came to join the Golden Sword Tournament.
However, that was all in the past, and his name was spread all over the world after that moment.
The screen began flashing again when Jonathan returned to his seat.
Jessica, Yasmin, and Amber all looked at Jonathan with admiration.
Jonathan had always been joking and fooling around with them, so they never thought he had a ferocious side.
They were then reminded of how excellent, powerful, and outstanding he was.
Hector exclaimed, “You were amazing up there, Jon.” Despite the compliment, the look in Jonathan's eyes dimmed as he thought of the deceased Stephen.
Life is indeed unpredictable. It is the greatest gift bestowed by the gods, but humans never knew how to cherish it.
It was just like how Stephen was still energetically running about earlier but was permanently gone in the blink of an eye.
How could one not let out a sigh from the loss? On the other hand, Polly did not express many emotions.
She was the most unfazed among everyone because Stephen's death and Jonathan's victory were all within her expectations.
The fight confirmed one thing for Jonathan; Mabel was watching closely from somewhere nearby. The match with Skyler was definitely arranged by her.
The following matches were also interesting but not as brutal and bloody anymore.
The Golden Sword Tournament ended at ten o'clock at night and would continue tomorrow and the day after.
After the tournament ended that day, the martial artists left the stadium.
Jonathan, Hector, and Polly left together to handle Stephen's body.
Fighters were destined to fight and lay their lives down in a fight. At the very least, Stephen's death in the ring had stuck true to his identity as a fighter.
His body was sent to the funeral parlor and cremated on the ‘same night. The ashes of his remains would be sent to the Green Clan.
After settling the matters with Stephen's remains, they left the funeral parlor, and it was already one in the morning.
Jonathan, Hector, and Polly went back to Pearl Hotel with Donovan as the driver.
Hector bid his farewell to Jonathan and Polly once they arrived at the hotel. Jonathan patted Hector's shoulder. “My condolences, Hector.” Hector smiled bitterly. “I grew up together with Stephen, and we even swore to bring back the golden sword together.
Who'd knew that he'd die here?”