Chapter 358: -351- The spirit of boxing
"Administrator, how far can I go?"
Stepping on the octagon cage floor, Sett twisted his neck and turned to ask Linwin, who was beside him.
Fighting is something Sett enjoys. When he was in the underground arena, Sett was someone who preferred not to use his legs if he didn't have to. His most confident and trusted weapons are his fists, so Sett had no objections to the rules of boxing. He fully cooperated with the rules of Twin Cities.
Even if it weren't for his mother, Sett would have even thought about settling down in Twin Cities. After all, there are his favorite hobbies, comfortable air conditioning, magical Hextech gadgets, delicious food, and fine wine.
In comparison, that place in Ionia, they don't even put salt when cooking fish!
Linwin glanced at Sett, then looked at Shagu, the Shuriman opposite him.
Shagu was similar in height to Sett, and even taller if you subtract Sett's pointed ears. However, his muscle mass was not as much as Sett's.
Well, it's difficult for tall people to build muscles. This is something even Linwin knows. But compared to Sett, Shagu, with his bare body and yellowish skin, actually had a physique surpassing most people.
However, when it comes to muscle definition, Sett's muscles even surpass that of Darius, the humanoid beast. After all, Sett is not a pure human.
"Give it your all, show your best, this is not only respecting your opponent but also respecting yourself. You are competing on the same stage." Linwin said.
Can Sett punch through Shagu's head?
According to the story, if Sett were to punch with full rage, then it's indeed possible.
However, in Linwin's eyes, Sett cannot do that.
He can stop Sett at any time.
"I understand." Sett bumped his fist, and the blue gloves on his hands made a silent sound. He smiled.
For other players, gloves protect both opponents and themselves, especially their knuckles, fists, and wrists.
But for Sett, gloves not only do not protect him but also weaken his strength.
But it's okay; he will respect the rules.
"Shagu, do you have anything to say?" Linwin looked at Shagu again.
"No, Administrator, I'm ready." Shagu shook his head.
Linwin nodded.
Now, looking at it, the first sports meeting was suddenly proposed to gather candidates from various countries and uncover the veil of the Void. Therefore, the preparation time was indeed too short.
After all, the Void won't wait for you. While Twin Cities was gathering people from all over the world, Void creatures were roaming around the underground world.
Especially Shurima, it's hard to imagine that those Xer'Sai even dug their way into Zaun.
Also, due to the extremely short time, Twin Cities' preparations were really inadequate.
This kind of highly confrontational sports competition is different. Even the distinction between men and women isn't made, even though this is an extraordinary world. But honestly, Linwin now thinks it's not appropriate.
The only two female players who can participate in boxing, look at who they are — the current boxing champion of Twin Cities, Vi, and from the Freljord, Sejuani.
Well, strive for the next tournament to be more reasonable and better?
Thinking like this, Linwin raised his hand.
And at the moment he raised his hand, Vander outside the arena picked up a small hammer and forcefully struck the bell hanging on the wall next to him.
"Ding-Ding-Ding!!!"
A crisp bell rang, and Sett raised his right fist, smiling faintly at Shagu.
Shagu nodded cautiously, walked up, and lightly bumped fists with Sett.
"Be careful."
At the moment the boxing match officially began, Sett grinned and said, his ears also stood up, and his eyes underwent subtle changes, his dark yellow pupils becoming slightly reddish, and the irises began to shrink.
Sett's hands were itching, eager to fight.
Linwin's expression became strange the moment he saw Sett rushing towards Shagu.
Sett's speed was really fast. In this small octagonal cage, he closed in on Shagu in just two breaths.
Instinctively throwing a jab, Shagu sent his right fist towards Sett's face. The yellow glove appeared in Sett's eyes for an instant, and the fist, the size of a sandbag, kept enlarging!
Is Sett strong? Of course, he's very strong. He could snatch victory from the hands of a group of soldiers from Noxus with just his own hands in the underground arena. His combat power naturally exceeds that of ordinary people, not to mention his Vastayan blood. As a Vastaya combat breed, Sett may not use magic, but his physical body, strength, and speed far exceed those of ordinary people.
It can even be said that in terms of physical fitness alone, Sett's physical strength is even stronger than that of the Dauntless Vanguard of Demacia.
But the Twin Cities invited countries from all over the world, and more than just a few people applied to participate in the boxing match. Linwin and Zoran personally selected and eliminated a group of players. Shagu was selected from among them, elite fighters who could hold their own.
Moreover, he spent nearly a year training hard in the Twin Cities, so of course, he's not weak. He's not cannon fodder.
Linwin certainly doesn't believe that Shagu can beat Sett, but he also doesn't think Shagu will lose so easily.
The popping fist, the strong and powerful punch wind blowing Sett's red hair up, revealing his forehead and his playful expression. The expression on Sett's face contrasts with Shagu's, who looks extremely serious!
Sett's body leaned back, facing upwards, easily avoiding Shagu's punch.
"Such quick reflexes," Vander exclaimed.
If he had to defend against Shagu's punch, Vander would probably raise his arm, as his reaction time and age no longer allow him to make movements like Sett's.
But upon hearing Vander's words, Vi whistled and said, "The speed is very fast, much faster than mine, but Vander, don't you think his movements are too big?"
Vander nodded, smiled, but said nothing.
Fast speed, quick reaction, great strength, but. Also big movements.
During their conversation, Sett was already getting up.
But he suddenly froze.
In front of Sett's eyes, the yellow fist that had appeared before reappeared and hammered down heavily on his face.
"Bang!"
A dark yellow fist struck Sett's face.
"Nice!"
The people outside the Octagon cheered.
The people watching on TV were also stunned.
Many who initially thought the boxing match would be boring suddenly became interested.
Originally, if they couldn't fight to the death like in an arena, such matches naturally wouldn't attract some people. But now, their thoughts have changed slightly.
It seems like they're all experts!
That Shuriman man quickly changed his line midway, following the trajectory of the half-beast, his speed and strength were indeed quite fast.
"It's quite interesting!"
"Boss, another plate of beef and a glass of wine."
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Inside the Octagon, Shagu, who landed a punch, did not follow up with an attack. On the contrary, he pulled back his fist and jumped back suddenly.
Something's not right.
It doesn't feel like he struck, but rather the opponent moved into it?
Shagu's expression changed.
He immediately thought of something. When sparring in the boxing ring, that woman also did this.
This made Shagu instantly alert.
He hadn't seen this half-beast in the boxing ring before!
Linwin also nodded.
Sett just lifted his head actively, letting his face collide with Shagu's fist?
Dissipation?
Thinking of something, Linwin suddenly smiled.
When Vander was teaching Vi defense, he told Vi this method.
"If you want to hit someone, you have to learn to take a hit first" - Vander, the King of the Black Alley.
"Vander, I have to take back that statement, his movements are not that big," Vi said.
Vi's eyes lit up. Although she was a bit far away, she saw what happened.
Originally, Linwin warned her to be careful of Sett and Sejuani, and Vi found it strange.
She knew what Sejuani said because she had fought her before, but Sett? They both belonged to Zeri's team, but Vi hadn't seen Sett in the boxing ring a few times.
She thought he was just another big guy who only knew how to use brute force.
This kind of big guy, Vi had knocked down a thousand or eight hundred of them, even back in the black alleys when she relied on her hands wrapped in bandages while the opposite side held big knives or sticks.
Because of this, Vi looked down on people without skills.
But now.
"He's got something, he's got strength."
Vi pressed her hands on the railing and said softly.
"Haha."
Standing up, Sett looked excitedly at Shagu. His punching speed was fast, and not only was it fast, but the force was also great.
Sure enough, there are experts everywhere in the world.
And that's what Sett wants!
Stepping with agile steps, Sett rushed up suddenly.
The left fist he struck out was dodged by Shagu's swaying, but Sett's other fist struck out violently, accurately and forcefully hitting Shagu's abdomen. His right fist followed quickly, the speed was fast, it was as if Sett had punched with both hands at the same time.
"Ugh," Shagu felt a tickle in his throat, a feeling of nausea arose, Sett only punched once, but Shagu felt nauseous from the punch alone.
In that moment of dizziness, Sett quickly followed up with another attack.
In just two seconds, Sett fiercely threw out 18 punches, several punches hitting Shagu's face, several punches landing on Shagu's abdomen, and even at the end, Shagu's whole body was struck by Sett, moving backward like a powerless sandbag, but Sett punched more and more excitedly.
Shagu is still resisting, Sett can feel it.
Wearing gloves, Sett couldn't unleash his full punching power, but even so, in Ionia, ordinary people would beg for mercy after taking two punches from him, but the person opposite him had managed to take almost twenty of his punches.
This made Sett wonder, how many punches can Shagu take from him?
Thinking like this, Sett's blue gloves suddenly emitted a faint yellow light, then, an even more powerful right hook was thrown out again, Sett took a deep breath, and punched towards Shagu's chin.
"Alright."
But just as it was about to hit Shagu's chin, a palm pressed down on Sett's fist.
Sett turned his head to look at Linwin standing beside him, he reached out his right hand and pressed it on his own fist, saying, "You win, he has already lost."
Sett nodded and retracted his fist, looking at Shagu on the opposite side, his face expressionless.
But to be honest, Sett suddenly felt a little regretful.
It seems unnecessary to hit so hard, after all, there's no grudge between him and the opponent.
But as soon as he thought about it, Sett immediately shook his head.
And after stopping the attack, Shagu's center of gravity tilted, his body softened, and he sat on the ground against the octagonal cage.
"I..." Shagu raised his head, his face visibly swollen, and one eye squinted.
"Shagu, you've already lost," Linwin said to him.
"I..." Shagu opened his mouth to retort, but recalling the situation just now, he could only smile weakly.
"Yes, I lost," Shagu replied to Linwin.
Boxing matches can go on for several rounds, but he didn't even last one round and was easily KO'd by his opponent.
Even the only time he managed to touch the opponent, he was skillfully avoided.
Thinking about this, Shagu smiled bitterly.
Sett's previous techniques reminded Shagu of that woman, the one that was called by the administrator to teach them boxing, who was also a competitor.
A teacher, an opponent, a friend.
Shagu never thought he could win the championship; he knew he wasn't worthy. The boxing ring was filled with people of similar strength, and there were many who were better than him.
But the good news is, even if he didn't win the championship, Shagu would still receive a decent appearance fee. After all, boxing can cause injuries, even though Twin Cities helps with free treatment, the pain still has to be endured. Therefore, this is the hardship fee that Twin Cities gives to boxers.
The higher the ranking, the higher the appearance fee, and the top three can also receive mysterious rewards from Twin Cities, just like other projects.
But he only made it this far.
Thinking about it, he looked over and saw his "teacher" standing next to the assistant referee, touching her chin, chatting and laughing with the referee who was way taller than her.
"How was it?"
"Very strong, Linwin was right to warn me to be careful," Vi replied to Vander.
Vander was taken aback. Linwin talked about fairness, but ended up providing such information to Vi?
Vander suddenly laughed.
Linwin and Vi, ah, Vi's sexual orientation is a bit of an issue, otherwise Vander had thought about setting up Linwin and Vi.
But now, Vander has seen through it.
After all, Councilor Kiramman is more anxious than himself. Her little princess has been abducted by a "bad woman", this matter...
Vander laughed, then saw Vi's strange expression.
He coughed and quickly reached out to pat Gedery's shoulder, blowing his beard and saying, "Vi, his punches are powerful, every move is heavy, and he's also an experienced fighter. Faced with such an opponent, what did I tell you?"
"Absolutely cannot be hasty, defense should be used as offense," Vi replied expressionlessly.
"That's right, but defense also depends on the difference, can you defend against his punches?"
"Come one, why is everyone doubting me? Do you guys not love me anymore?" Vi sucked in a breath and turned to look at Vander.
What a joke!
But Vi did conclude that after taking a few punches, her arms would definitely be numb.
"Learn to use your shoulders," Vander, the former boxing king of Zaun, said.
"Hm," Vi nodded.
Although she prefers offense to defense, what Vander says is always right. He's experienced and knows how to deal with such opponents.
Fight Sett?
Don't joke around, Vi's physical fitness is very strong, she can be said to be the number one enforcer, after all, she's the first one who can fully activate the Atlas Gauntlet, but she can't easily knock down a guy weighing over 200 pounds with every punch.
Shagu weighs at least 200 pounds, and every punch from Sett could push him back. How much power is that?
Vi can actually do it too, but it requires heavy punches, Vi can knock down a guy weighing two to three hundred pounds with heavy punches. But it's not like she can swing every single punch like that....
Thinking like this, the next match began.
Linwin still stood in the octagon, fighters can get injured, but they absolutely cannot die.
As for how far to fight... it's okay, as long as the opponent doesn't surrender, you don't commit fouls, you can fight as much as you want, anyway, as long as you don't die, Twin Cities can save you.
Finally, the fourth match was over.
In the first match, Sett started off powerfully and KO'd his opponent at a super-fast speed, igniting the climax of the boxing event.
Each heavy punch excited every audience member.
Even the Noxians felt the excitement, which was different from fighting in the arena!
After that, the equally matched boxers went back and forth, and the punch-to-flesh style was particularly popular with the audience.
Boxing, a sport with extremely high entertainment value!
Finally, it was time for the fifth match tonight.
Linwin looked up and saw Vi dozing off against Vander.
He shook his head speechlessly, raised his hand, and a breeze formed a small ball, then "croak!" Vi suddenly sat up, clutching her head and gasping for air.
"....." Then, she looked sharply at Linwin.
But Linwin had already turned around; he definitely wasn't the one who attacked Vi with magic earlier!
"The fifth match!"
"Vi of Twin Cities, versus Gedery of Nockmirch."
"Both fighters, enter the arena."
Hearing Vi's name, the group of boxers standing outside the octagon all turned their heads quickly and looked at Vi.
These people who came to Twin Cities first were also the first ones to learn boxing with Vi.
Including Gedery, a 6'1'' slightly overweight Westerner, who stood awkwardly in the octagon.
"I'm really unlucky," Gedery looked at Vi in front of him and sighed.
"So, are you surrendering?" Wearing red gloves, Vi rolled her eyes and shook her shoulders as she jumped.
After watching the second match, Vi didn't bother watching anymore. Except for Darius and Draven from Noxus, as well as Sett and Sejuani, all the other boxers were personally taught by Vi.
So, there was nothing interesting to watch.
So she just took a short nap, and now her body feels a bit numb, with a feeling of poor blood circulation.
"No, that won't do. You said it yourself, even if you know you'll fail, you still have to fight, that's the spirit of boxing."
"Did I say such things?" Vi squinted.
Linwin stood behind Vi, and if it weren't for the occasion, he would want to slap Vi's head.
This is being broadcasted worldwide.
What the hell are you doing?
"Both sides ready!"
Linwin interrupted Vi and Gedery's idle chatter.
As he raised his hand, Vander also picked up his hammer.
"Begin!"