Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

People cannot imagine that this terrifying sound comes from human flesh hitting the ground.

As the violent shaking began and cracks and dust covered almost the entire arena in an instant, people realized that the entire arena was shaking violently—the audience section of the venue was gradually moving away from the ring, with the four edges of the ring as dividing lines.

The enormous arena has collapsed!?

But upon closer inspection, it became apparent that it was the conveyor belts beneath the ring that were working, automatically pulling the audience to a more distant location.

The audience also noticed that, after the blow, the moving platform of the ring showed a crack extending to the ground below in its cross-section.

On the ring, Tomat, who was slammed directly into the ground, did not sink too deeply into the ring; he was simply in a large depression with a relatively gentle slope.

Tomat released his grip, but before getting up, he crossed his arms—instantly preventing the stomp aimed at his chest!

At this moment, the arena, like a nail in soft mud, sank deep into the ground structure of the Great Knight Territory without any hindrance under the immense pressure.

Even though people were far from the venue and their vision was much more blurred than before, they could still clearly see the impressive effect of the event.

The arena, which the Blood Knight could only damage slightly with all his might, was no match for even a toy made of dough during their fight!

"ha!!!!"

Bardak felt resistance as he pushed his foot down, and after that roar, he even seemed to be pushed back up.

Tomat used his uppermost arm to support himself, preventing Bardock from exerting force while making room for his other arm to move.

"drink!!!!"

Another angry shout! The arm that could move immediately swung horizontally, aiming at the ankle of Bardock's foot that was supporting his body.

Bardock immediately jumped up to dodge—however, in that moment of panting, Tomat also used the muscles in his waist and back to perform a bridge-like motion, launching his entire body into the air and adjusting his stance to closely pursue Bardock who was dodging the attack!

This time, Tomat moved to a position slightly higher than Bardock and threw a jab at Bardock, who was diagonally below him. Bardock reacted just as well, immediately raising his arm to block the attack. Then, Bardock caught another punch thrown by Tomat with his hand!

Knee strike!

Headbutt!

But both sides used the same move simultaneously, as if mirror images of each other! The collision of flesh produced a loud bang, but neither gained the upper hand!

They entered a stalemate again.

"Humph!"

While the two sides were locked in a stalemate, Bardock suddenly realized that the fist he was holding, Tomat's, had opened into the shape of a hand, and was now interlocked with his own five fingers. What followed was a force that was far more difficult to resist than before!

Tomat's fingers gripped Bardock's knuckles tightly, exerting increasing force to tighten his grip, while Bardock's fingers could only bend in the opposite direction, showing a subtle tendency to be suppressed—if he didn't break free or resist in time, it might only be a matter of time before they broke.

But when Bardock tried to counter-pressure, he found that Tomat's fingers seemed to have several times his strength, and he was unable to resist at all.

Is it really a difference in strength?

Bardock still had time to think, and he quickly dismissed the idea.

It's not a difference in strength, but rather that technology is at work.

Tomat is better at finding the right spot to apply force and at exploiting the opponent's weaknesses.

In the past, Bardock would have been confident that he could easily counter such a trick, because even if the opponent pressed down on his fingers, he could still crush their fist.

But things are different now.

"Creak...click..."

Strange cracking sounds came from his wrist and knuckles, and his entire hand was bent into an unbelievable arc by Tomat's palm. If the struggle continued, his hand would definitely be crippled.

"Then I'll let you have this punch!"

Bardock abruptly pulled his arm away from Tomat's other fist and unhesitatingly took the punch that was thrown forward at the opportune moment with his shoulder—the impact almost passed right through his body!

In the midst of their struggle, the distance between the two was less than ten centimeters, and their postures were definitely not suitable for exerting force. Yet, under such distance and posture, the punch that Tomat unleashed was no less powerful than a normal punch!

But seizing the right moment to launch an attack also comes at a price; Bardock didn't pull out that arm just for fun.

Short uppercut!

While Tomat was still headbutting each other, he couldn't dodge Bardock's strike aimed at his jaw as soon as Bardock pulled his hand away.

The moment he felt the force of the punch, he clenched his teeth and tilted his head back with all his might, but the fist still grazed his chin.

Thomas immediately let go and jumped backward, creating some distance between them.

After completing these actions, Tomat suddenly stumbled forward, kneeling on one knee and supporting his head.

Although he had prepared for the impact and stabilized his jaw, Bardock's punch still caused a mild concussion, even though it grazed him.

Such a violent shaking would have caused a normal person to faint from the severe impact on their brain long ago.

Tomat's vision began to blur, and he tried to adjust to the situation while creating some distance.

"What? You can't do it anymore?"

Bardock wouldn't give him much time to adjust. His voice rang quietly in his ear, and Tomat, whose coordination was temporarily impaired due to the concussion, was unable to create distance again immediately.

"Bang!!!!"

A rough and heavy blow struck his chest without reservation.

[Main Text] Terra Conquest: Chapter 40 - The Seal is Broken

Depending on the technique used, striking techniques can produce a variety of different effects.

It focuses on penetrating power; the damage does not spread but instead "passes through" the point of impact.

It emphasizes the diffusion effect, so that the damage will be evenly distributed throughout the body, making the opponent feel as if they have been blasted into "shattered to pieces".

It focuses on the effect of knocking back, not on direct killing, and is basically a "push-pull force" that only causes minor damage to the body surface.

The most common force application techniques produce a mixed effect—most of it spreads and is absorbed by the skin, causing redness and swelling on the surface, while a small portion penetrates deeper, causing internal damage.

This is why this method is considered rather crude.

However, this crude technique is also the most flexible and direct, since its purpose is very pure: to brutally kill the enemy.

And it is indeed very effective.

"cough..."

The pain felt as if my internal organs were being shattered, and they might actually be shattered.

Lying on the ground, Tomat coughed up a mouthful of blood through the gaps in his visor.

It is often said that when people of similar strength fight each other, it will either become a protracted battle or a quick, decisive battle.

This statement is not contradictory, because if the strength is similar, it means that both sides are capable of dealing with each other's attacks and prolonging the battle by constantly defending.

But precisely because their strengths are similar, both sides have the ability to inflict serious damage on each other—provided they do not defend themselves.

The battle between Tomat and Bardock proved this point.

Both sides could defend themselves in the previous battle.

Just now, Tomat was in a state of "undefendable vulnerability".

If the roles were reversed, Bardock would also be unable to withstand Tomat's heavy blow when caught off guard.

The outcome is decided.

At least, that seems to be the case for most people.

"It's truly shameful."

The Blood Knight, watching the match from the sanatorium of the Crimson Knights' stronghold, clenched his hands as he watched the live broadcast.

He almost defeated the rookie knight with a single blow, yet he encountered such a powerful opponent.

He could tell that if an ordinary knight had caught that decisive blow, it wouldn't be surprising if he had exploded into a cloud of blood mist on the spot.

"The rookie knight is down and can't get up! That decisive blow dealt a heavy blow to this Major's dark horse!!!"

Mob, the commentator, was saying that he might never see a match like this again in his life. His emotions seemed to be stimulated to an even more excited state. Just as he was about to announce the winner of the match, an unexpected situation occurred.

"Ugh...it hurts so much."

Thomas stood up.

He muttered to himself as he rubbed his abdomen—his armor had been shattered, revealing his well-defined abdominal muscles.

There was some redness and swelling, but the injury didn't seem too serious.

"You've been healing yourself, haven't you?"

Bardock raised an eyebrow, realizing the secret to Tomat's ability to get back on his feet.

"Yes, thankfully they were all stunned, which gave me more time to perform first aid."

"Tomat said in a relaxed tone."

Of course, he wasn't at ease inside.

Healing also consumes Qi, and when healing oneself, it consumes even more Qi and the effect is somewhat reduced, so it cannot achieve a complete recovery. Otherwise, he would have used this ability to repeatedly perform near-death recovery on himself.

"But that's not all—thankfully you didn't use the fist I had gripped earlier, otherwise I might have really been knocked down by you."

"What do you mean?"

Bardak raised his hand, his palm, which had been nearly broken by Tomat, was still trembling slightly as he clenched it, as if he had not yet fully recovered from the injury.

"Think about it yourself!"

Instead of giving him a direct answer, Tomat rushed towards Badak.

"The injury to his shoulder affected Grandpa's power; otherwise, that punch would have decided the outcome immediately, and Mr. Thomas would not have had the chance to stand up again."

Although Gohan on Rhodes Island couldn't hear their conversation, he discerned the secret from their reactions during their battle and explained it with a hint of admiration.

“I have lost my entire arm before, so I know how much an injury near the shoulder can affect the arm’s power… Mr. Tomat’s move was very deep and bold.”

"When you throw a punch, it's important to clench your fist, but the arm is actually the part that generates the most power. Sometimes, even if your fist is injured, as long as you're determined to throw it, the power is not much different. It's just that people subconsciously think they can't deliver a powerful attack and therefore don't use their injured fist."

"However, if the arm is injured, depending on the severity of the injury, at least half of the force may be lost. Mr. Thomas's previous blow to the shoulder was not light, and Grandpa's arm strength is not as good as before."

This is the secret to Tomat's ability to rise again.

He bet that Bardock wouldn't use his injured fist.

He bet that Bardock believed the other arm could deliver a more powerful attack.