"..." Shreya glared at him, her eyes narrowing, calculating his every move.
"..." Tam stared at him, his face a mix of concern and disbelief. He knew how dangerous Shreya was, but An? He wasn't sure where this would go.
"..." An didn't elaborate any further, his gaze locked onto Shreya with an intensity that made Tam nervous.
Shreya, not in the mood for an arm massage or to deal with a pervert—which, unfortunately, had become more common than she had hoped—decided to take one step back away from An, her body language as controlled and poised as ever.
In half a second, she pivoted on one foot, shifting her weight as she planned to create some distance between them.
An needed that window of opportunity. His eyes flashed, and without hesitation, he saw the opportunity in the brief opening she gave him. He lunged, aiming a powerful oblique kick to the anchored foot still on the ground, intending to dislocate or severely damage her knee.
But Shreya reacted with the knowledge of someone who had fought countless battles. In an instant, she bent her knee forward, effectively solidifying her stance. An's kick landed with a hollow thud against her calf, but it had no damage. She had neutralized the force with precision.
"You have brains, huh?" An said, his voice laced with a mix of admiration and challenge. (Vietnamese)
"So, you want a fight?" Shreya replied, her words sharp and direct, her voice filled with the promise of something dangerous. (Hindi)
"You can't fight her!" Tam screamed, his eyes wide with panic. "She was the middleweight WMMA champion before becoming a full-time public figure!"
An's lips curled into a smirk upon hearing that. "This will be predictable then."
With a grin tugging at the corners of her lips, Shreya lowered her head, covering her chin with both hands and slipping into a classic fighting stance.
Tam, in a fit of panic, darted between them. "Wait, wait, you don't understand! She's—she's too strong for you! You're crazy if you—"
"You idiot!" An exclaimed, his tone cutting through the chaos. He wasn't having it with the frantic man jumping around in front of him.
"Please!" Tam cried, now pacing in a circle, tugging at his hair. "Why do you keep fighting with these people?! Can't we just leave?! There's got to be a better way!"
Tam's voice reached a fever pitch, but neither An nor Shreya acknowledged him. In one fluid motion, Shreya shot her fist toward An's face, the punch quick and efficient. It was a jab—a seemingly simple strike with low damage, but deadly in its precision and speed. The average person would know to block it or keep their distance, as the punch would do little damage unless it connected directly.
"Elephant Fist!" she called, her voice carrying the weight of the technique.
But this wasn't just any jab, it was an Elephant Fist, and they all know how deadly the skill was.
An, keenly aware of the danger, knew that blocking it head-on could mean the end. The shockwave from the punch would be devastating. The logical move for a typical fighter would be to dodge to the side.
clung
But An wasn't the typical fighter. In fact, he was far from it.
He stepped forward, leaning in right as her fist was about to make contact. His forehead collided with her arm at the apex of her punch, where the force of the jab was fully extended. The momentum of her punch was already halted. Their skin touched, but there was no more force from the jab.
However, the shockwave still surged through the air, and it was not blocked.
"... How is your skull not fractured yet, young man?" Shreya asked, her tone both curious and impressed. (Hindi)
"Jesus christ, you act just like my sister..." An glared over at Tam, "And now I'll feel bad if you die." An said, looking over at Tam, before contiuing to ignore him and refocused on Shreya.
"Elephant Fist's shockwave isn't generated from the fingertips," An explained, speaking quietly as if to no one in particular. "But a rough 22.6 cm from where the fist lands. You wouldn't notice this because you're usually taller than your enemies, and your shockwave hits them directly. But did you know the average human skull is about 19 cm long?"
Shreya didn't understand a word of that, the language barrier rendering his explanation moot. Tam, meanwhile, stood frozen in disbelief, still too stunned to comprehend what was happening.
"Elephant Fist."
But perhaps An had forgotten one crucial detail: Shreya didn't need to extend her punch fully to generate a shockwave. She had already proven that with the wolf.
With a swift, fluid motion, Shreya moved her other hand from her guard position, shifting it downward just enough to validate the God-Warrior concept of a punch. This time, there would be no mistake. The shockwave was coming.
bud
An reacted faster than anyone could have predicted.
"Elbow Uppercut," he muttered under his breath, his voice steady.
The elbow was a deceptively powerful weapon, capable of generating intense force even with minimal movement. An used it expertly, misdirecting Shreya's fist up into the air, deflecting.
Before Shreya could even react, An brought his other arm into play, driving an elbow into her jaw.