Together we walked side by side for a few seconds until, placing my left palm in front of his chest, I indicated for him to stop, to which he responded with a look of confusion since he did not fully understand my intentions.
Despite this, I did not try to communicate anything else to him because I knew doing so would be useless. So, instead, I continued to move forward for another ten or eleven meters, always with my open hand pointing in his direction, to show him at all times that he was still present in my thoughts.
Doing so was significant, as I feared he would be confused into thinking that my actions stemmed from disinterest, which would cause him to turn to the group of men I had left behind, who were eagerly awaiting the end of our confrontation, to begin a new one.
Upon reaching my destination, I finally lowered my arm and turned around to face him as I stretched my fingers, ankles, and shoulders in preparation for what was to follow.
Although I had been preparing for days for this event, at the last moment, I felt the urge to give a final warm-up so as not to make any fatal mistakes that would lead to a humiliating defeat.
However, the boredom and annoyance that started to shine in his eyes allowed me to understand that the waiting time was over.
Hence, after putting my back as straight as possible, tensing my abdomen while raising my eyes to the sky and stretching my two arms to my sides, I let out a scream, similar to the roar of an enraged beast, accompanied by a loud and vigorous applause, which left my palms reddened.
Such was a vivid spectacle that I performed without having the naive notion that these insignificant actions would succeed in intimidating him. On the contrary, I knew that doing so would only excite him, making him more violent than usual.
Still, I did it because I wanted to attract the attention of the spectators. I hoped they would see with wide eyes the fruits of my efforts and a display of my power.
With a grimace of wild enthusiasm plastered on his face, he began to run at me the same way I did. We both lunged at each other as our arms were raised above our heads in order to test our strength.
Five steps were enough for our hands to touch, and in an instant, as short as a blink of an eye, I felt myself bowed down before his immense power. My body was forced to receive a bitter reminder that this confrontation could not be won by brute force alone.
I needed to move with skill and prudence but, above all, with cunning.
That is why, just before he knocked me down, having planted my right foot firmly on the ground, two steps ahead of the left, which was bent at the knee, I turned my torso backward while holding his hands firmly and, using his momentum greater than mine, sent him flying a few meters away.
‘Nice!’
Joy danced in me when I realized that the movement I had practiced so much had been completed without problems, but albeit my heart was happy, my body suffered.
Because of the weight and force they had to bear, the muscles of my legs and their joints transmitted mild shocks of pain to my brain. In addition, a sting on my lower backside reminded me to be careful with my actions if I didn’t want to end up with a severe open wound on my butt.
Then, once I had controlled such a sweet emotion so as not to let it distract me, I quickly regained my balance, and as soon as I could, I started to run in the direction in which he had fallen.
During the period I had of preparation before this fight, so many scenarios were drawn in my head, designed so that I would be ready to react to any variant that presented itself, which is why I could easily discern that this particular result was among the best possibilities I could obtain.
He was on his knees, shocked by what had happened, but without having received a single scratch and being about to stand up. Even so, I did not expect to hurt or even stun him with something like that. I merely sought to generate in him a breach.
My real attack just came next.
After reaching his side, using the speed provided by my previous rush, I threw a heavy knee to his face, and even though I wanted it to connect with him since it would allow me to achieve an easy and resounding victory, I was not surprised when I saw him stop it with only one hand.
Using his right, he grabbed without difficulty my dominant leg, which he began to hurt with his long nails that were buried deep into my skin, and, as if that were not enough, upon rising, my body was also lifted. So, to prevent him from doing what he wanted, I threw a desperate punch with my left fist, which in midair, he stopped again with his remaining hand.
With his arms crossed, he had been left in a vulnerable position, although the same could be said of me if I did not manage to free myself from his grip in time, which made my bones creak and my knee bleed.
Thus, with the corners of my lips lifting slightly, seeing that this was an ideal opportunity not to be missed, I stretched out the fingers of my right hand, pretending to be a sharp blade, and launched a brutal strike aimed directly at his eyes.
I had hoped that this would be enough to break him or, at the very least, cause him much debilitating damage but, unfortunately, despite treating this guy like a beast, he was without a doubt also a man, so, instead of allowing my attack to hit him, he did something to replace my growing bliss with deep fear.
From up close, I saw him open his mouth open wide, giving way to the emergence of a massive, darkened vortex or bottomless pit, in which only his shiny teeth stood out because of the saliva covering them, the one in charge of reflecting the light of the midday sun.
As if it were a future forecast, in my mind appeared the clear image of him having bitten off a big chunk of me.
Being hit by reality, dread came over me, but instead of it clouding my actions, it prompted me to create a contingency plan in an instant that would allow me to get out of this dilemma.
Lifting the pillar that kept me standing, I let myself fall heavily backward, resulting in, due to the unexpected weight in his hand, my knee being released from his grip as my fist deflected from his mouth.
Moreover, before my butt touched the ground, I returned my foot to its previous position, where I buried my toes to obtain the necessary support that would allow me to give him an accurate kick in his genitals with my now free leg.
That blow was delivered with all the force I could muster in such an awkward position, but even then, that was more than enough to make him let out a hoarse shriek of pain.
Finally, on my fourth attempt, I managed to cause him genuine damage.
Taking advantage of his carelessness, with my right fist, which had not yet returned to its original position, I hit him under his chin, not very hard as I did not manage to get too much swing. However, by giving it a good time, such a punch caused a piece of his tongue to be cut off by his sharp teeth.
Evidently, seeing that I got an unexpected but more than welcome result, I didn’t stop there, and even though he let go of my previously apprehended hand, I grabbed back his so that I could then deliver a second blow to his face, which alas, caused him less damage.
A true disgrace, no doubt about it. A regrettable fact that led me to shake my head internally because, again, I realized that senseless violence would not take me anywhere and only intelligence was what would allow me to stand out.
While engraving that teaching in my soul, I launched a third attack, a terrible mistake I soon regretted.
I must have thought it through before doing so, as the bulk of my arm obstructed my view, preventing me from seeing how his arm, which remained free, lashed out in my direction.
Not being in a good position, it was the back of his right hand which impacted against my elbow. Moreover, although this attack was weaker than it could have been from the opposite side, it was brutal enough to cause me a decisive injury.
As soon as I lost the feeling of the fingers of that limb, I immediately let go of his hand, and making my best effort, I quickly jumped away from him, completely forgetting about the judging looks around me.
At the time, all my focus was on my arm, which looked really bad.
With the arm joint twisted in the wrong direction to what nature dictates, while I did not feel any pain from it, I could quickly realize that this dislocation would render it useless for the rest of the fight. Therefore, now I had to figure out how to achieve victory, having lost at least a third of my power.
I had to devise a way to beat a savage who looked much more enraged than at first.
