Skylar realized that he was falling down soon after. He was in the air and had no support. There was no way out. He was going to fall on his back.
But that didn't happen either because Arthur rotated his whole body along with his left leg. He turned in such a way that his right leg shot up as soon as his left leg gained support on the ground.
What he had performed was a roundhouse kick. His kick struck Skylar square in the same spot he had been touched in.
Arthur's right leg used the momentum of the rotation of his body and the support of his left leg to strike Skylar with far more force than his punch had delivered.
The impact of the kick was so powerful that Skylar flew through the air and struck the ground with enough force that he kicked up sand and bruised his back.
It would have been if he had just fallen on his back earlier. But Arthur wanted to make sure that falling down truly hurt.
It was a good decision because Skylar flipped over as soon as his back touched the ground. He also regained the support of his two feet underneath him very quickly by rolling onto his feet and taking a fighting stance immediately after.
If he had been allowed to fall down easily, he would have been able to get away with that mistake without much damage. But now that he has feet under him, that can't change the fact that his back and stomach hurt.
Skylar's vision flickered as his internal organs rebelled against him. This lose in the second exchange was a great blow to his body and ego. It made him determined not to lose, so he gritted his teeth and dashed towards Arthur.
This time, he didn't jump. He had made up his mind not to lose the support of his legs ever again.
His two hands came one after the other, one following the other. He wanted to use the position of the claw to force Arthur into a pattern.
With his right claw attacking first, Arthur would have to deal with it first, which will give him the upper hand.
Arthur breathed in deeply first. Then he spread his legs and punched forward.
His technique has the advantage in strength as long as his two feet are on the ground. What's more, as long as his feet are on the ground, he is not afraid of blocking because he can use the force of the recoil to his advantage.
He visualized that metal block that he always bears every day with a sledgehammer as he punched forward with all the strength in his body.
He wasn't playing any tricks with this attack. Unlike Skylar, he was truly going all out. Either Skylar makes way for him or the two of them will collide.
Skylar noticed his intention and knew that he was in trouble. As he was lacking in strength, he couldn't use brute force at all. He had to skillfully neutralize the threat, or he would lose.
He knew this but didn't dodge Arthur's attack. He continued on his way because he was confident in his skills.
His left hand smacked into Arthur's right hand. He wanted to smack the punch aside so that it would sail past him and destabilize Arthur's posture.
It was a good plan, but what he didn't expect was the great strength behind that punch.
He succeeded in smacking it, but his smack didn't change its direction much. The punch struck his right shoulder and caused him to stagger.
He was forced to take a step back to stabilize himself. This was just in time for Arthur's left fist to smash towards his face.
He tried to parry Arthur's punch again. But he failed again. It was only because he shifted his body and his head that he was able to avoid the hit to his face.
He escaped this punch, but he was undoubtedly put on a back foot. As more and more punches came his way, he had to dodge, block, and parry more. It was all he could do so as not to be beaten into the ground.
But the pressure only increased. Arthur's attacks came faster and faster as he was blocked. With an opposition in his way blocking his pinches, he was getting faster and faster.
He was already stronger and faster. Now that he had gained more power, Skylar began to fail to avoid his hits.
Skylar is bigger than Arthur. He is taller too and has a longer range with his arms. But his size is working against him by making him a big target.
Punches flew through the air so fast that the onlookers only saw blurs. They heard the sounds of palms smacking into fists as Skylar struggled to parry the attacks.
They also heard the sound of fists smashing against flesh. The sound was muffled but audible.
Then came the sound of snapping bone. It was a loud, crisp sound that set the audience on edge with phantom pain. Many people even winced.
Skylar fell to the ground after that. His face was bruised and bloody, but it couldn't compare to the injury of his broken left arm.
Arthur stood over him and asked, "Do you surrender?"
He asked for a surrender instead of killing Skylar because the fight was an honorable challenge. It is also why the two of them gave their opening remarks and why they only fought with their arms and feet.
They were not allowed to use weapons or kill each other in such a fight. Even if he was allowed, he would be offending Master Owl Claw if he killed the old man's successor.
Now that he has asked for surrender, if Skylar refuses and something worse happens, it will be his fault, not Arthur's.
Skylar was unreconciled with his situation. He didn't want to surrender at all.
He would have preferred it if Arthur had knocked him unconscious. That way it wouldn't be his decision to surrender or not.