People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Before applying for the position in Sherag, he was already a well-known leader in the surrounding area. His muscular physique was a testament to his strong muscles! After a disastrous first interview, he was determined to improve himself, spending countless hours in the library studying and honing his skills in all aspects.

Upon arriving in Sherag, he was entrusted with a great responsibility by Ernst and appointed as the Secretary of Defence. Although this position of Secretary of Defence neither concerned him with national defense nor resembled that of a secretary, this did not prevent Jeston from being grateful for Ernst's recognition and support.

Although he always acts arrogantly towards outsiders, he is very tactful, knows how to advance and retreat, and is humble and courteous towards his benefactors.

As the defense secretary, he had ample time to spar with Brother Bear Aktos every day, and occasionally to clash with the cunning villain who came to his door looking for fun. Coupled with the spirit of "The Prime Minister's intelligence is never-ending!", his current strength was far beyond what it used to be!

At this moment, with his back to Ernst and feeling his expectant gaze, Jeston wanted to shout:

Do not worry!

The weak Jeston of the past is dead. The one standing before you now is an incomparably powerful me!

He grinned, revealing a wild smile, and struck a pose, beckoning to the Yan man in the distance who, after removing his jacket to conceal his identity, was already physically inferior to him.

The meaning couldn't be clearer: bring it on!

Jeston's plan was shrewd: Chongyue was physically weaker than him and looked younger, in the prime of his youth, and his combat experience might not be extensive. A slight provocation, letting him attack first, would make it easier for him to expose an opening. And Jeston, by simply maintaining his flawless defensive stance, could easily counterattack and defeat the enemy!

Meanwhile, Chongyue frowned slightly, lost in thought for a moment.

The attitude that Jeston adopted was something he had never seen before.

To be honest, Chongyue felt that Jeston was full of flaws.

He couldn't help but wonder if this was a deliberate illusion created by Jesston. After all, given the other man's admirable confidence, this possibility certainly existed, and was quite significant.

Especially after Jeston openly provoked him, Chongyue dared not be careless.

A heavy sword has no edge, and great skill lies in simplicity. The more unassuming an enemy appears, the more likely they are to be hiding a terrifying killing intent. The more flaws an enemy reveals, the fewer true weaknesses they actually possess!

Theoretically speaking, given Chongyue's cautious nature, he would absolutely not be willing to launch the first attack at this point.

However, if this stalemate continues, it would be tantamount to being cowardly before the battle even begins, losing face as a martial arts master and becoming a laughingstock in the world. Moreover, it would not achieve his goal of making friends through martial arts and meeting heroes from all over the world.

"In that case, let's attack first."

Having made up his mind, Chongyue took a deep breath, focused his energy in his dantian, and exerted his strength from the ground. He pushed off with his right leg, let out a low shout, and left an afterimage in the spot!

In the next instant, before the sound arrived, the person was already there; Chongyue's figure had already flashed in front of Jeston. He joined his fingers together to form a palm, and slowly and steadily pushed forward with his palm.

This palm strike is a question!

Ask where the enemy comes from, what school or sect he belongs to, and what unique skills and supernatural powers he possesses!

The speed is neither too fast nor too slow, because every question must have an answer. The "questioning" palm strike is a test, and enough space must be left for the opponent to give an answer, and also to give yourself enough room to change your move in order to guard against the opponent's sudden attack!

"So fast!"

Jeston was secretly surprised, and his expression changed.

His gaze hadn't even caught how Chongyue had vanished from the spot! This was something that had never happened before!

I have long heard that the martial arts scriptures of the Yan Kingdom are infinitely profound. What kind of footwork is this?

When masters clash, Jeston realizes he may have underestimated his opponent and instinctively tries to counter with a powerful shoulder strike. However, what happens next is somewhat unexpected.

Chongyue's sudden advance caught him off guard, but why did the palm strike he launched after getting close appear so weak and powerless?

It's not that Chongyue's palm strike was really weak, but compared to the powerful explosive force he had just displayed, this palm strike clearly gave the opponent enough time to prepare and counterattack.

This is not normal!

In Jeston's words, it wasn't ruthless enough!

If he had Chongyue's speed, he would have been close to the enemy in an instant. What he would do next would be a barrage of attacks, like a storm. Even if he couldn't kill the opponent on the spot, he would at least leave more than a hundred wounds and inflict tetanus on the opponent.

Jeston's mind raced, and he quickly came to a simple conclusion:

"There's something fishy about this palm strike! We can't take it!"

With a twitch in his eyelids, Jeston immediately abandoned his plan to deliver a brutal elbow strike to Chongyue. His brows furrowed, a black light flashed in his eyes, and the next second, to Chongyue's astonishment, several sharp iron spikes shot out of thin air from Jeston's shoulder.

The jet-black, sharp iron spikes hurtled straight at Chong Yue's palm and face with astonishing speed. However, Chong Yue's initial palm strike already contained a plan to counter a surprise attack, and he instantly changed his move, transforming his palm into a fist and slamming it down!

"clang!"

A crisp metallic clang was followed by a cracking sound.

Chongyue knelt on one knee, his fist landing on the ground, leaving a spiderweb-like crack and dent on the reinforced surface of the Rose Arena!

It should be noted that even the fierce knight wielding the heavy axe, who struck the ground several times in succession, did not leave any marks on this ground! This demonstrates the remarkable physical strength of the magical Terra material used for this floor.

But even such a floor couldn't stop Chongyue's impromptu change of tactics and the punch he unleashed.

If the floor is like this, one can only imagine what Jeston's iron spikes are like.

Chongyue slowly stood up. As his hand left the center of the spiderweb crack, wisps of iron ash fell from his knuckles, indicating the whereabouts of the crystal that Chongyue had smashed with his fist.

Jeston glanced at his shoulder with lingering fear, then at the broken metal on the ground, swallowed hard, and struggled to control the expression on his face.

Wait, bro, am I seeing things?

You just broke my iron...?

You want to use your fists?

Jeston looked at Chongyue's right hand, which was still clenched into a fist. Apart from a little dust, there wasn't a single other mark on it. Clearly, Jeston's sharp iron spikes hadn't caused any effective damage to that hand.

No, buddy, that's iron! It's my iron spikes!

Are your fists harder than iron? Are you even human? If you are, I'll eat you!

He quickly organized his thoughts and realized that there could only be two possibilities.

Either Chong Yue possessed immense strength and smashed the iron spikes with absolute power, or Chong Yue's skill was superb, and in the blink of an eye, he discovered the weakness of the hastily formed iron spikes and shattered them with a single punch.

It doesn't seem like any of the news is good?

Is it even necessary to continue this fight?

Jeston instinctively wanted to look at Ernst, but before he could turn around, Chongyue spoke first, interrupting him:

"amazing!"

"That iron blade thrust just now, was that an Originium Arts move?"

"Impressive!"

Two consecutive words of praise were enough to show Chongyue's excitement at that moment.

Indeed, truly excellent. No joke, in that brief exchange just now, Chongyue was almost caught off guard by Jeston's surprise attack.

Fortunately, his first palm strike was a probing "questioning" palm strike. Otherwise, if he had attacked with other moves, there would have been no room for maneuver. If he had been attacked by Jeston's iron spikes again, the worst outcome would have been an exchange of injuries.

That was something Chongyue didn't want to see, because his body wasn't the body of the giant beast [Shuo] that he could act on at will, but rather a [mortal body] that had shed its [divine power] and was merely relatively strong.

If it really comes down to a situation where each wound is exchanged for another, his hand is irreplaceable, but Jeston's Originium Arts are inexhaustible.

In fact, if he hadn't left enough room for maneuver with his palm strike, giving him time to gather his strength, and if he hadn't been so experienced in fighting iron soldiers that he had quickly identified the weakness of the iron spikes, then that punch, while capable of breaking iron, might not have been able to turn it into dust.

If Chongyue were to evaluate the exchange just now, he would only give himself a score of five.

The first strike was a draw between him and Jeston.

His efforts were worthwhile; he had indeed encountered a formidable opponent.

A long-lost feeling called "fighting spirit" rekindled in Chongyue's heart, and a few excited and cheerful smiles appeared on his face.

This time, just like Jeston had done before, he struck a pose and waved:

"Come on, Mr. Jesston, this time it's your turn to attack!"

"Don't hold back, bring it on!"

Jeston's lips twitched, and he moved them a few times as he tried to say:

"How about we stop here and call it a day?"

But Chongyue had just become interested and was not about to agree so easily.

He knew that Jeston wanted to hide his true abilities, but at this moment, he also played dumb with perfect timing, appearing wise but actually foolish.

"No, no, Mr. Jeston, since it's a friendly spar, it should naturally be divided into three rounds."

"In the first round, I was fortunate enough to be allowed to attack first, and although I didn't achieve any definite results, I still benefited greatly from learning how to fight Originium Casters in close combat. For such a righteous act, I feel I have lost half the battle!"

"In this second round, I will naturally seek revenge and show you the strength of the Great Yan martial arts!"

Jeston: "......."

His voice trembled slightly, but he still forced himself to ask, "Excuse my intrusion, but what is this third round...?"

"Naturally, it will be a battle of mutual attacks; when paths cross, the brave will prevail!"

Jeston: "........."

A direct confrontation? A battle of wits, where the brave prevail? Huh?

Honestly, if you want to save me the cremation process and just turn me into ashes, just say so. It's no big deal, what can I do to resist?

No, it's not that bad, I mean, it really isn't!

Chapter 375 With no great generals in Shelag, Jeragand himself takes the lead.

Why, why does this happen?

What a joy it is to have the opportunity to travel with Prime Minister Ernst to Kazimierz! On top of that, to represent Kjerag at the Kazimierz International Games, to dominate the field, to showcase my abilities, and to let the world know the name of Jeston from this day forward—isn't that yet another joyful thing?

Two happy events combined should have been a double celebration, bringing immense happiness! But why did it turn out this way?

As he gazed at Chongyue, who was now in a fighting stance, a bead of cold sweat slowly trickled down Jeston's temple. The bead of sweat slid down his angular face, splitting and coalescing on his beard before finally crashing heavily to the ground, just like the plummeting mood he felt at that moment.

It's full of flaws.

His attitude toward Yue was full of flaws.

But the opponent was Chongyue, a man who could quickly change his move even when the two were less than half a meter apart and he was facing Chongyue's Originium Arts Iron Spike attack, smashing Chongyue's iron spikes and confidence to pieces with a single punch.

Even if Chong Yue were standing right in front of him right now, sticking his butt out and using the kind of "selling groin literature" recorded in unofficial history on it, he would still have to think twice about whether there was some insidious Yan Kingdom hidden weapon lurking in that butt.

To put it in a slightly more polite way, he was genuinely afraid that if he threw a punch, Chongyue would save face for him.

But unfortunately, he really had no choice but to go.

Prime Minister Ernst was watching from the stands behind him. The boast he had made just a few minutes ago was still ringing in his ears. Now it was his turn to attack. If he went up, it might be that Chong Yue had inadvertently saved face for him. If he didn't go up, he might have to save face himself!

For a civil servant, physical death at least earns them a reputation for dedication and selflessness, but social death...

Hiss—even Jeston didn't dare to think about it.

That's impossible!

Fight! Fight! At this moment, only a fight to the death is possible. How can we talk about surrendering? I'd rather be a martyr in Shelag than a piece of fermented bean curd in Casimir!

Besides, what if? What if Chongyue is just a glass cannon with strong offensive capabilities but weak defensive capabilities?

Clinging to a last shred of hope, Jeston lowered his body, shifting his weight, and fixed his gaze on Chongyue's waist.

The waist is the most vulnerable part of a person. Organs such as the liver and kidneys are located on the sides of the waist, but unfortunately, there are no strong bones like the knees or wrists to protect it. In combat, it is considered the second most vulnerable position.

What, you're asking where the most important part is?

Jeston said that's somewhat obvious. If you grab a random man off the street and ask him if you can kick him in the groin, where do you think he'll cover?

However, unless one is in a perilous situation and fighting with their back to the wall, most people would not choose to strike vital points in combat.

No other reason than to offend his character. If you kick him once, as long as he doesn't die, then the feud between you two is officially established. If you kick him harder, then this feud will be one of life and death.

There's no need for it, absolutely no need.

Having identified his target, Jeston leaped forward, attempting to catch Chongyue off guard.

But he had only taken one step when, in the next second, Chongyue had already taken a step to the side and forward, raised his arm, bent it slightly, and struck a pose that Jeston was all too familiar with.

"hit!"

Damn it!

The force originates from the ground, flows from the waist, and converges at the shoulders. What appears to be a simple and unadorned headbutt possesses unimaginable power.

It is said that in the Yan Kingdom, a powerful martial artist can knock down a tree the size of an adult's two arms with a single strike using the Iron Mountain Lean. There are also martial arts masters who specialize in this martial art and can create an Iron Mountain Lean domain around themselves. Once someone enters, they can spontaneously and continuously unleash the Iron Mountain Lean, making it impossible for ordinary people to get close. Even other martial arts masters who spar with him must first consider whether they will be sent flying several meters by this single strike!

As for Chongyue, he certainly doesn't belong to either of these two schools.