She Used Me for a Dare… Now I Own Her Mother Chapter 432: Four vs One (2)

The confrontation escalated fiercely.

The four assailants abandoned all restraint, their coordinated assault a symphony of destruction. Each blow delivered was more vicious, swifter, and deadlier than any before.

Alex struggled to match their intensity, the pressure mounting. Just as he parried one strike, another lunged from an unexpected direction.

Pavel attempted a low sweep to Alex's legs, while Dimitri simultaneously lunged from the side, landing a sharp impact on his shoulder.

The combined force unsteadied Alex. He attempted a hasty backward leap to regain his footing, but it was too late.

Damien materialized before him as if conjured from shadow.

With explosive force, he unleashed a devastating roundhouse kick directly at Alex's chest.

The impact was crushing... a deep, resonant boom echoed throughout the hall as Alex was propelled through the air like a tattered kite caught in a tempest.

He sailed across the training grounds, crashing heavily onto the reinforced floor. The force of his landing sent a muted tremor through the earth beneath.

A profound silence descended.

Alex remained prone, unmoving, as the four adversaries resumed their positions, their breaths ragged, their gazes fixed upon his downed form.

"Got him at last," Andre declared with a triumphant grin, dabbing sweat from his brow.

Pavel chuckled, a sound of affirmation. "Indeed... vengeance is ours."

Dimitri smirked, hands resting on his knees. "It took us long enough. He certainly made us earn it."

Pavel's eyes flickered to Alex's still figure, adding with a light laugh, "Think he'll get up? Or is he finally out cold?"

A shared, lighthearted chuckle rippled among the four – not with malice, but like comrades who had finally landed a decisive blow after a prolonged struggle.

Observing from the sidelines, Viktor watched in silence, arms crossed, his gaze sharp and focused. He absorbed the scene with the keen insight of a mentor, intrigued by Alex's potential reaction to such a potent hit.

Then—

A low chuckle sliced through the quiet.

Alex slowly began to rise from the floor. His body bore numerous bruises and abrasions, yet his expression remained unfazed. To all appearances, he seemed perfectly fine.

He straightened, rolled his shoulders, and emitted a brief laugh.

"Haha... Nicely done," Alex commented, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip. "You certainly didn't hold back, did you?"

The four men regarded him with evident surprise.

Alex met their gaze with a sincere smile, offering a nod of respect.

"Your synchronized movements are remarkable," he stated truthfully. "The way you shift positions, cover each other's blind spots, and attack in unison... It's truly exceptional. I am genuinely impressed."

And he spoke no falsehood.

Initially, Alex had presumed he could handle them without significant difficulty. After all, he had bested each of them individually in the preceding days. Their fighting styles, their strengths, and their weaknesses were intimately known to him.

However, facing them as a unified force presented an entirely different challenge.

His initial assessment had been proven incorrect.

The sheer terror of their coordinated assault had caught him entirely unprepared. Their attacks flowed into one another with flawless transitions, leaving virtually no opening for a counter. It was an overwhelming onslaught.

Yet, even in this minor setback, there was a gain.

A faint, contented smile touched his lips as he glanced towards his system interface.

[Battle Sense: 5% → 5.01%]

It was a minuscule increment, but considering it was achieved in mere minutes of intense combat, it represented significant progress. The pressure of confronting multiple skilled adversaries simultaneously had evidently spurred his development.

He then shifted his attention and looked toward the edge of the ring.

Viktor stood there, arms folded, silently observing the entirety of the bout. A subtle, pleased smile graced his lips as he witnessed Alex's unhindled recovery.

Their eyes locked.

Alex offered Viktor a slight smirk, a silent message passing between them—The fight is far from over.

Viktor's smile broadened fractionally.

The atmosphere crackled with renewed intensity.

The four combatants exchanged glances before cautiously resuming their fighting stances, poised to resume the engagement.

Alex inhaled deeply, settling back into his own guard, his eyes ablaze with focused resolve.

This time, his objective was not merely defense.

His mind raced with incredible speed.

Every subtle motion, every attack sequence, every shift in formation... he had meticulously cataloged it all. He had already dissected their coordination, their pacing, their ingrained habits, and even the minute gaps that appeared during their transitions.

He had exercised patience.

But the moment for action had now arrived.

Alex's gaze sharpened. The profound calm and focus radiating from him sent a shiver down the spines of the four opponents.

Without pre-announcement, he moved.

Swift. Precise. Lethal.

As Damien unleashed a potent punch, Alex eschewed blocking or dodging. Instead, he advanced with impeccable timing, seized Damien’s wrist, and harnessed his adversary’s momentum to hurl him directly at Pavel, who was rapidly approaching from the flank.

Crash!

The two men collided forcefully, staggering from the impact.

Before anyone could process their surroundings, Alex executed a swift pivot, delivering a sharp and crushing elbow strike to Dimitri’s solar plexus. The maneuver was so precise and powerful that Dimitri’s eyes widened in sheer astonishment as his breath was violently expelled from his lungs. He collapsed onto a single knee, gasping for air.

Andre attempted a rear assault, but Alex had anticipated this. He ducked low, sweeping Andre’s legs with a whip-fast kick, and followed through with a palm strike to the chest that sent him hurtling backward.

In mere moments, the entire dynamic of the engagement had been inverted.

All four combatants regarded Alex with stunned, widened eyes, utterly taken aback by the abrupt turn of events. Only moments prior, they had held the upper hand. Now, he was systematically dismantling their synergy as if it were trivial.

Observing from the periphery, Viktor’s demeanor shifted.

He had been dispassionately dissecting Alex’s every action, but now his gaze sharpened almost imperceptibly. A flicker of genuine surprise mingled with respect surfaced on his features.

’This young man…’ Viktor mused internally. ’His strength is undeniable. But it’s his composure under duress, his adaptability amidst conflict, his incisive strategic thinking, and his battlefield awareness… he has truly ascended.’

What struck Viktor most profoundly was Alex’s complete absence of arrogance, ego, or gratuitous showmanship, even as he completely dominated the confrontation. His engagement was marked by unadulterated focus and ruthless efficiency, reminiscent of a veteran who had faced countless life-or-death scenarios.

A profound sense of fulfillment washed over Viktor.

This… This is the very essence of a warrior’s mindset.

Alex’s offensive continued unabated.

He moved with spectral grace… evading strikes, countering with flawless precision, and shattering their cohesive formation with each calculated blow.

Within minutes, the battle that had initially seemed insurmountable had been completely reversed.

The quartet endeavored to regroup and mount a counteroffensive, but Alex was no longer the same individual they had faced moments before. His movements had acquired a razor’s edge, his reactions quickened, and his counterattacks grew increasingly devastating.

Damien was the first to succumb.

Following a rapid volley of exchanges, Alex caught him off-guard with an impeccably timed sweep, immediately following up with a decisive strike to the chest that sent him crumpling to the ground.

Dimitri attempted a flanking maneuver, but Alex had already deciphered his intent. Ducking beneath the incoming blow, he delivered a sharp elbow to Dimitri’s ribs, forcing him down onto a single knee.

Andre managed to prolong the struggle, offering staunch resistance, yet Alex’s unyielding pressure ultimately breached his defenses. A blur of swift strikes left Andre gasping for air as he fell.

Only Pavel remained on his feet.

The two adversaries faced each other, both laboring for breath. Pavel’s face was slick with perspiration, his respiration shallow and ragged. He gazed at Alex, a complex mixture of respect and disbelief etched on his features.

Alex granted him no respite.

He surged forward, dismantling Pavel’s guard with a sequence of exact strikes before landing a final, clean impact that propelled Pavel backward in a stumble before he too hit the ground.

An echoing silence descended upon the training hall.

All four men lay prone on the floor, their chests heaving. None made an attempt to rise. They had expended their utmost effort, but ultimately, they proved incapable of overcoming Alex when he fought with absolute concentration.

Alex stood at the arena’s center, his breath coming in heavy gasps. His body bore the marks of combat – bruises adorned his skin, and sweat streamed down his face. He was clearly spent and far from peak condition, yet a look of profound satisfaction graced his lips.

He had achieved it.

He had vanquished all four of them concurrently.

Pavel was the first to break the silence. A weary laugh escaped him as he looked up at Alex from his position on the ground.

"...We have been defeated," he conceded with a grin. "Utterly."

Dimitri nodded, still regaining his breath.

"Indeed… that was remarkably skilled, sir. You truly turned the tide."

Andre wiped the sweat from his brow and added, "We genuinely believed we had you cornered… yet you demonstrated our error."

Damien regarded Alex, undisguised respect gleaming in his eyes, and stated, "Your progress is immense. We were unable to match your pace by the conclusion."

All four men had formally acknowledged their defeat.

Approaching from the side, Viktor advanced slowly, his arms still folded. A proud, content smile played upon his lips as his gaze rested upon Alex.

He could perceive it unequivocally… Alex was fatigued, bruised, and breathing heavily. However, the serene, focused intensity in his eyes and the satisfied curve of his mouth conveyed everything Viktor needed to comprehend.

This was the very embodiment of a true fighter’s spirit.

Viktor halted before Alex and laid a hand upon his shoulder.

"Well executed," he pronounced softly. "You have surmounted the trial."

Alex gazed at the figure before him, his breaths still ragged from exertion, yet a smile persisted on his face.