Chapter 476: Kamehameha VS Nezha's Wheel (Neither of Them)
Although both sides' morale had dropped significantly due to Cheng's unboxing antics, Billy's situation was clearly better.
Billy, who was the first to recover, thrust his staff forward like a dragon, directly aiming it at Andy from the front.
Andy, whose mind was currently a mess, still had a solid foundation. His body almost instinctively reacted to the whooshing sound, attempting to dodge by jumping back.
But at that very instant, Billy's long staff split apart, becoming a three-section staff linked by metal chains. The now three-section staff suddenly extended its attack range, successfully striking Andy's exposed chest, causing him to wince in pain.
However, that wasn't the end of it. From the section of the staff closest to Andy, which had just struck his chest, a burst of flame suddenly erupted. The explosive flame not only caused this small section of the staff to accelerate fiercely for a secondary strike, but the bursting flames also simultaneously inflicted explosive damage on Andy.
"Billy's mechanical staff can not only split into a three-section staff at any time, but it also conceals a gunpowder igniter internally, allowing the staff to deliver firearm-level penetrating damage when necessary!"
A flash of fire, and Andy's figure suddenly blurred. His entire body seemed to transform into a phantom, rapidly creating distance and leaving a trail of afterimages in his path.
After creating a distance of about five or six meters, Andy's body suddenly burst with astonishing speed, as if he were skating on ice, moving almost horizontally to charge in front of Billy, his left elbow's olecranon clearly aimed at Billy's chest.
Billy's reaction was also swift. The red mechanical staff in his hand was already successfully held horizontally across his chest. The staff, with a diameter of only about four centimeters, precisely blocked Andy's elbow strike and, with the momentum, swung the now three-section staff back at Andy.
But almost at the same time, Andy, whose elbow strike had failed, had already lowered his body and thrust his shoulder forward.
Shoulder met staff, and a moderate airflow spread outwards. Both fighters, following the force of the impact, either jumped back or rolled, ending this first round of tentative exchanges.
"Lightning fast! A textbook-level offense and counter-attack! Ten minutes on stage, ten years of practice off stage—these are the results that can only be displayed after years of accumulated training and practice!"
"Andy first used the unique mobility of the Shiranui-ryū, 'Phantom Shiranui,' successfully evading a small portion of the mechanical staff's fiery mid-section strike. After creating distance, he immediately followed up with 'Zan'ei Ken,' using its ability to instantly close the distance to force a close-quarters fight against an opponent skilled in mid-range combat!
Billy had a precise premonition of this and countered with the 'Water Dragon Chase Staff' to block and counter-attack. However, his final counter-attack and the shoulder tackle 'I'm Gonna Be Lucky' derived from Zan'ei Ken resulted in a mutual exchange, and both sides once again created distance, returning to a standoff!"
Perhaps the first round of exchanges reignited the fighting spirit of the two demoralized fighters. As Cheng passionately spoke into the microphone, their expressions also more or less returned to normal, and they looked at their opponent with full battle intent.
As Cheng's voice faded, they once again charged at each other.
"Andy and Billy can be considered old rivals, but their opposition is at the level of factions and forces; in reality, there's no deep-seated hatred between them that cannot be resolved.
The two fighters have battled numerous times, both openly and in private, and they are quite familiar with each other's styles. It's foreseeable that this match will be quite intense."
Just as Cheng said, Andy and Billy knew each other inside and out in terms of combat. They could guess most of each other's moves, preferred tactics, habits, and thought patterns. Furthermore, neither side would fight to the death, and there was even the meddling presence of Joe Higashi acting as a buffer, making a closely contested match inevitable.
Unlike the previous match, although both were from "Fatal Fury," Joe Higashi and Ryuji Yamazaki had almost no interaction. Both sides could only attack each other with their strongest techniques, and the result was that just one oversight could decide the winner, which was indeed what happened.
"Andy is a disciple of the Shiranui-ryū, an ancient martial arts style based on the 'Koppōjutsu' of striking joint techniques, fused with modern combat arts like boxing and kickboxing. If attentive viewers watched yesterday's match between Mai Shiranui and Andy, they would notice a very high similarity in their techniques, especially their diving elbow strikes." (Man!)
"Billy hails from the streets of England. His fierce staff techniques were forged purely from the broken bones of street thugs and swollen dog heads. There's no talk of self-cultivation; his existence is solely for drawing blood. I estimate that Billy chose the staff as his weapon of choice because it's readily available, can be easily replaced from any nook or cranny, and even if he gets caught committing a crime, a staff is perceived as far less serious than a knife or an axe, resulting in a lighter sentence."
Seeing Andy and Billy locked in a stalemate, exchanging skills in a fierce offense and defense, Cheng naturally switched to explaining the backgrounds of both fighters.
"So, Orange Host, who do you think has the advantage right now?"
The bespectacled man with the small mustache, who had been diligently assisting and preventing Cheng from going wild since Chengintervened, took over the conversation.
"The power gap between the two sides is not as large as one might imagine, but I personally believe that, whether a master or an ordinary person, a weapon user always has some advantages."
"Such as?"
"For example, limbs like hands and feet eventually get tired, and pain doesn't quickly dissipate but accumulates as the battle progresses. Once a certain threshold is crossed, it will collapse like a stack of blocks with its base removed.
In contrast, for a weapon user, as long as these things aren't broken, he can use them with full force… Of course, if the opponent is strong enough to easily disarm or even destroy the weapon, then a fighter whose martial arts are mostly concentrated on the corresponding weapon will inevitably experience a sudden drop in power."
This point is particularly prominent in the "Samurai Shodown" series and "Tengai Makyō," which have a "weapon drop" rule. When the weapon is dropped, the original sword strikes turn into punches, and the combat power and character performance plummet.
"Oh!? There's a change on the field!"
Following the little mustache man's reminder, Cheng saw Andy, with his hands cupped in front of his chest, suddenly push forward, emitting a blue-white gaseous wave from his palms—an attack with a very short range but a satisfying feel—
Flying Meteor Punch!
And facing Andy's "Kamehameha," Billy's response was to rapidly spin the mechanical staff in his hand. Flames erupting from both ends of the staff had already formed a fiery whirlwind around Billy—
"Nezha's Wheel… Bah! It's Super Fire Hurricane Staff!"
Cheng blurted out, directly jumping channels to the adjacent "Knights of Valour" game.