"Can we change the fighters anymore?"

Lumian asked the teacher.

"The fight started as soon as the two entered the ring. If you want to waste one of your team's changes now, you may do it."

The teacher said.

"…Nevermind."

Lumian sat back down in his seat.

If he knew that Jock was going to go first, he would've gone first as well, but he thought that Cleo would like to try to go against Della.

"Tch…"

Della clicked her tongue and looked at Cleo, who wasn't paying attention to her but instead at Jock.

It was clear that she didn't care about the petty feud that Della had towards her and only fought to win.

"Whoo…"

Jock took the majestic Iron Style stance, rooted himself on the ground with a very solid stance, and lifted his hands.

His hands weren't clenched. They were open, his fingers outstretched in a calm, almost meditative pose.

"You don't belong in the finals. You don't even know how to throw a good punch, let alone win a fight without tricks.

"Unfortunately, if Markus were Cleo's partner instead, this might actually be a competitive fight!"

Della said, slowly walking circles around Jock, and he kept spinning in place, trying to keep her in his sights.

His feet never stopped touching the ground. It was exactly what Kiernan taught him. With this, his balance couldn't be disturbed.

"Boom!"

Della snapped in his direction but stopped in the middle of it, as she just wanted to see Jock flinch, but he didn't react to it.

She clicked her tongue and then lunged in. This time, she wasn't faking it. She came low and threw a fist over her shoulder.

Jock brought his hand to catch the fist, but at that moment, the fist stopped, and Della changed into a low tackle.

The over-the-shoulder punch was a feint. Her real intention was to tackle him down to the ground!

In that moment, Jock lifted his knee towards her face, but then Della rolled out of the way and swept her leg towards his shins.

The tackle was actually also a feint!

She wasn't foolish enough to go for a tackle, as Jock had already defeated Oritori with a well-timed knee kick.

Thus, her actual and final intention was to sweep his legs out from underneath him. Then mount him, and destroy him on the ground fighting.

Her kick landed at Jock's shins. A fleshy sound of smack. However, she couldn't make him fall for some reason!

"What?"

Della was really shocked.

It was really a strong kick, and no one would be able to keep their footing, especially not someone like Jock.

However, Jock had deeply rooted himself on the concrete ground with Iron Style. Nothing was going to make him fall.

It was like he was a mighty tree!

Della rose back to her feet. Her cheeks were flushed red. It looked like she was embarrassed.

The reason was simple, as she hated the fact that her famous—Feint O' Attack—technique that she herself created was defeated like this.

It was something that she was really proud of, and she had become such a good feinter that even her seniors over in the dojo had a hard time reading her moves.

They never know when her attack is a feint or a real one.

Della punched at Jock. Jock reacted with a swipe parry. The punch was a feint, and she instead executed a roundhouse kick.

Jock slid under the flying kick. Della landed on the ground and kicked back at him. He redirected the kick with a quick grab.

She pulled her leg back and started raining punches at him with many feints included, but Jock was able to parry all of them.

'Unbelievable! How can't I hit this bastard!'

Della was on the verge of tears, as she had never been humiliated this badly, and Jock didn't even look like he was really struggling.

It was because she was slower than Ethan, so Jock was able to manage her attacks much better.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Lumian cracked his knuckles, excitement building up in his body, and he already wanted to jump in the ring to take on Jock.

However, he knew that if he suggested changing fighters to Della, she was going to lose her mind.

She would definitely think that Lumian didn't trust in her abilities to beat Jock.

While Lumian believed that Della would be able to beat him, she wouldn't be able to do it without exhausting herself.

And when Jock changed with Cleo, Della would be too exhausted to keep fighting her, and because of her swollen ego, she definitely wasn't willing to change against Cleo.

That ego could cause their team to lose, so Lumian had to make a drastic decision.

"Let's change."

Lumian said, stood up, and approached the ring.

"W-What?"

Della said with a stunned expression, hardly able to believe her ears, and looked at Lumian with a shocked expression.

"You want to fight Cleo, don't you? We'll change back when Jock changes with Cleo. I just want you to be at your best when going against her."

Lumian said.

"…Argh."

Della gritted her teeth, looking hatefully at Jock, and then jumped out of the ring with plenty of stamina to spare.

"Don't defeat him then. I know you can if you want to."

Della said.

"…I am not sure if I even can."

Lumian said with a chuckle and climbed into the ring while the crowd's excited sounds filled his ears.

"Lumian…"

Cleo whispered worryingly and wondered whether they should change, but then she saw Jock's determined expression.

Lumian's aura was oppressive and strong. It has been able to frighten all of his opponents so far. However, Jock wasn't affected.

He was still very much aware of the immense gap between him and Lumian, but the Iron Style stance was giving him confidence.

'Trust in this stance!'

Jock thought to himself with a firm look.

"That is good. Very good. Iron Style—oh, how I've longed to test myself against that. I could barely hold myself back when I saw you fight Della."

Lumian said with a grin and took his stance.

Ok Family Style's stance was very offensive-oriented. It was made for attacking only, and they very much followed the saying—attack is the best form of defense.

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