Free Web NovelChapter 153: Chapter 153 Ashley Taking Action 6
Her nonchalant attitude only added fuel to the fire. The champion’s face twisted with rage, but unlike before, he no longer charged in recklessly. Ashley’s earlier throw had taught him to be more cautious.
Instead of attempting another tackle, he began shifting his footing, constantly changing angles as he circled around her. His movements were intended to confuse her while creating openings for his true weapon, his legs. After all, his reach far exceeded hers.
As long as he kept the fight at kicking distance, he was confident he could land a clean hit and put Ashley in her place.
Without warning, he launched a sharp sidekick toward her midsection. Before the kick could connect, he flowed into a roundhouse aimed at her head, followed by another sidekick and then a low kick to her thigh. The attacks came one after another in a relentless combination.
Yet every strike missed. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Ashley calmly retreated with measured steps, slipping just outside the range of each kick. Sometimes she shifted sideways, other times she leaned back at the last possible moment. Her movements were efficient and precise, as though she had already calculated where every attack would land before it was thrown.
While the champion thought he was applying pressure, Ashley was doing something entirely different.
She was observing.
Every step, every shift of his hips, every habit in his footwork was being carefully analyzed and stored away. She was dissecting his fighting style piece by piece, searching for weaknesses she could exploit later. frёeωebɳovel.com
Unfortunately, the champion completely misread the situation.
To him, Ashley’s constant retreat meant only one thing: fear.
The fact that she wasn’t counterattacking convinced him that she was being overwhelmed. Sure, none of his kicks had connected so far, but he attributed that to her luck rather than skill. In his mind, if he kept pressing forward and increased the intensity of his assault, sooner or later, she would run out of room to retreat.
And when that happened, she would have nowhere left to run.
"What happened?! Why is Ashley down there?!"
The moment Gage returned to the VIP section, he hadn’t even taken his seat before his gaze swept across the arena. The instant he spotted Ashley standing below, his expression darkened. She was being cornered by the reigning champion, a fighter infamous for his dirty tactics.
He had only been gone for a few minutes, yet something this serious had already happened.
A low growl escaped his throat as he turned toward Gideon, murderous intent rolling off him in waves.
After escorting the injured girl to the infirmary, Gage had immediately gone looking for Ashley so he could report what he had learned. On the way, however, he saw Drake being rushed toward the infirmary on a stretcher.
The fighter’s body was battered beyond recognition, his face swollen and bruised, while dried tear tracks remained visible on his cheeks. Though curious, Gage chose not to interfere. The situation had nothing to do with him. He had only gone backstage to investigate the commotion at Ashley’s request.
Using the VIP passage, he made his way back without much concern. At first, everything seemed normal. But when he reached his seat, Ashley was nowhere to be found.
She wasn’t sitting beside Gideon.
She wasn’t curled up on his lap either.
A frown creased his brow as he scanned the entire VIP section. Then his eyes drifted toward the arena below.
The moment he saw Ashley standing there, facing the reigning champion herself, his blood ran cold.
Gideon was so focused on the fight unfolding below that he didn’t even bother turning around. His eyes never left the arena for a single second. He trusted his assistant to handle the explanation, unwilling to risk missing even a moment of the match. More importantly, he wanted to be ready the instant Ashley found herself in danger.
Yet the longer he watched, the more astonished he became.
Ashley’s movements were precise, efficient, and far more refined than he had expected. Every dodge, counter, and strike was executed with remarkable confidence, causing him to see her in an entirely new light. Only now did he truly understand why she had been so certain of herself when she insisted on stepping into the arena. Her confidence wasn’t arrogance, but it was confidence born from ability.
Behind him, his assistant quickly stepped forward and explained the situation.
"Sir Gage, Miss Ashley went down there of her own accord. In fact, she even made a wager with the gentleman seated beside Mr. Walker."
His words caused Gage’s gaze to shift immediately toward the masked man sitting nearby.
"What?! How could that be?"
Gage’s eyes widened in disbelief as he turned his attention back to the arena.
Below, Ashley was effortlessly weaving through the reigning champion’s relentless assault. A flurry of Muay Thai and Taekwondo kicks came at her one after another, yet she avoided them with astonishing ease. Occasionally, she would casually raise an arm and swat a kick aside, redirecting its trajectory without suffering so much as a scratch.
At first, it looked as though she was merely defending herself.
Then Gage realized that she was studying him.
Her sharp eyes tracked every movement, every transition, and every attack pattern. It didn’t take long for her to figure him out. The champion’s fighting style was aggressive but predictable.
He seemed to have started as a street thug, picking up techniques here and there without receiving proper professional training. While his strikes carried power, his combinations were limited, repetitive, and full of openings.
By now, Ashley had already memorized his patterns.
Since there was nothing left to learn, she decided to stop wasting time.
The moment the champion launched another roundhouse kick toward the left side of her head, Ashley moved. Her forearm shot up to intercept the attack, stopping the kick dead in its tracks. Before the man could even react, she stepped forward and drove a vicious side punch into his raised leg.
Crack!
The sharp sound echoed throughout the arena.
The champion’s face instantly twisted in pain as a bloodcurdling scream tore from his throat. The force of the strike had fractured the bone in a single blow, causing him to collapse and squeal like a slaughtered pig while clutching his injured leg.
"Fuck! Did you use brass knuckles or something?! Damn, that hurts!"
The champion nearly dropped to the ground as he clutched his injured leg, his face twisted in pain. Cold sweat beaded across his forehead as waves of pain shot through the fractured bone.
Ashley merely tilted her head and looked at him with an amused smile.
"What a crybaby," she mocked. "It was just one punch, and you’re already screaming like the world is ending."
The crowd immediately burst into laughter.
The champion’s face turned red with humiliation.
"You bitch!"
Any remaining trace of rationality vanished from his eyes. Ashley’s taunt had struck deeper than her punch ever could. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he forced himself upright. Though he was limping heavily and wincing with every step, his rage drowned out the pain.
Abandoning kicks altogether, he lunged forward and began throwing wild punches, determined to wipe that mocking smile off her face.
