Chapter 260: Goki’s Merciless Training Regime, Philip Finds A Reason To Figh For

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Goki and Philip were relentlessly beating each other without pause. However, Goki was clearly the one dominating the exchange. His durability and resistance to damage were simply otherworldly, showing just how amazing someone who had trained under harsh mountain monks could truly become.

As they fought relentlessly, Goki laughed heartily while smashing Philip’s face downward with another heavy, bone-jarring strike. Philip roared in pure frustration. He was wearing only simple gym clothes, as Kagehisa had requested of him and the others. He attempted to land solid kicks and punches against Goki, yet every single one was blocked or avoided with effortless ease. He ended up on the hard floor over and over again for reasons he still could not fully understand.

In that moment Goki laughed and spread his arms wide. After hearing Philip constantly complain about him being such an impossible foe with his immense defense and how the entire matchup felt unfair, Goki happily invited him to beat him down and punch him all he wanted.

Philip did not waste that chance. His eyes blazed with the intent to finally make this bastard pay for being such an annoying prick toward him all this time.

Philip suddenly smiled with a burst of forced confidence. His arm bulged with concentrated muscle as pure Mana erupted around his clenched fist in a bright, glowing aura. The empowered punch flew directly toward Goki’s exposed stomach and... Philip dislocated most of his fingers in the process. He felt an intense, sharp pain shoot up his entire arm as if he had just punched a solid boulder. His whole hand turned bright red from the impact and began to throb violently.

"A-Ah! Aaaaaggh!" A painful scream echoed from Philip as he grabbed his arm in agony and cried tears of pure pain. He stared at his own hand and all his twisted fingers, which now bent in shapes that should not have been possible. He had punched giant monsters before, but nothing had ever felt this tough. "W-What the hell?! What is this?! Goki, Y-You’re a monster! What sort of person undergoes so much training that their skin becomes so damn hard?!"

Goki looked down at him while shaking his head, feeling a faint sense of annoyance while listening to the same complaint for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Hey, it’s not just my skin that’s tough. Muscle too!" Goki replied with a proud grin, giving his own shoulders a friendly pat. "This is the training I underwent for over a decade up in the mountains! And let me tell you, bro, I am way kinder than those Monks who starved us and tortured us for years just to get us where we are in my clan. Some kids didn’t even make it and died before they could reach proper age."

"...!"

"But I never gave a single fuck up, because I knew that my life was the only freaking thing that truly belonged to me, and I couldn’t let anybody fucking take it from me."

"?!"

Goki’s aura surged with visible flames as his eyes sparkled with sharp golden light.

"So I trained and trained and kept training until my fists bled and every single one of my bones broke more times than I can count. But as I kept growing up, my body surprisingly regenerated very quickly. I also ate all kinds of herbs in the mountains. Some of them almost killed me. Others kept me alive when nothing else would. I hunted every day. I lived off the land like everyone else over there. That’s how you shape yourself into a proper warrior."

"T-That’s not something I could ever do. I didn’t start training as a child... I’m already a grown-up..."

"Yeah, I know. That’s exactly why you’ve gotta put even more effort into it!"

"But... I can’t...! This is hopeless, man!"

"It hasn’t even been a full day and you’re already giving up?! What if your girl over there gets captured by monsters again? What if she’s about to get killed right in front of you?"

"W-What?!"

"What if she... Emma, was it? What if she gets attacked and cannot move or fight back... Are you going to run away like a pussy, Philip? Or are you going to freaking fight for her? Are you going to run or are you going to protect her with everything you’ve got?!"

"I... I mean...! I... I have to protect her, but I’ve already failed her twice. I don’t even know how she still loves me... I’m a complete failure, man... I—"

"Shut the hell up!"

Goki smashed Philip’s face down into the ground once more with a heavy palm strike.

"You’re lucky you’ve got such a loyal girlfriend, Philip! You have to fight with everything you’ve got if you want to protect the woman you love! Where’s your fucking pride? Where’s your inner strength? Are you really just going to accept your own ineptitude and stay weak forever?"

"..."

Philip clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached. He forced himself back onto his feet and roared with rising anger. "You’re getting on my nerves already...! It’s fine if you want to talk shit about me, but can you stop talking about her like that?!"

"Or what?" Goki smiled viciously, his expression turning completely unhinged. "What if I grab her and do whatever the hell I want with her?" He stuck out his tongue and salivated openly while making a completely perverted face. "What if I fucking rape her right in front of you?"

"H-Huh?" Philip was left completely paralyzed as those words sank in.

"What will some weak-ass motherfucker like you do about that, hah?" Goki laughed like a demon, his voice full of mocking cruelty. "I’m going to have my way with her and you won’t be able to do a single damn thing about it! HAHAHAHAH!"

"...!" Philip’s face twisted in pure anger and disbelief. "Y-YOU DAMN BASTARD! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"

RUMBLE!

BOOOM!

FLUOSH!

Suddenly, from within Philip’s own heart, mana began pouring and pouring outward without limit. All the magic power he had accumulated as a Heavy Knight to reinforce his body through Vitality and Endurance Stats manifested outside his body through pure, uncontrollable rage.

"YOU BASTARD!!!"

His fist smashed into Goki’s face with everything he had. The ninja’s expression twisted as he felt genuine pain for the first time. Even so, Philip was still unable to push him down or knock him off balance.

However, visible smoke surged from the exact spot where he had punched. Even as Philip’s own fists bled heavily and burned with sharp pain, Goki also felt the impact. A thin line of blood trickled down from his cheek.

"Heh... Not bad at all. See that? That was your real strength coming out."

Philip slowly pulled his hand away, revealing that Goki’s face was actually hurt quite a lot despite everything.

"E-Eh? I did... that?"

"Well done, Philip. See? Sometimes you’ve gotta be pushed all the way into a corner before you finally let go of your fears and show what you’re really made of!"

"W-Wait... you’re not...?"

"Hah?! Why would I ever do such an awful thing for real? That was just bait, man. I was baiting you by saying the most disgusting, unhinged thing possible on purpose. It worked perfectly. That means you still love her, don’t you? If you want to protect her from anything like that ever happening, you’ve gotta fight even harder than this, Philip."

"...Goki."

Philip looked down at his pained, bloodied fists. Then he quickly forced his dislocated fingers back into place one by one while dealing with the sharp, searing pain however he could, refusing to cry out this time.

"That was just bait, man. I was baiting you by saying the most disgusting, unhinged thing possible. It worked. That means you still love her, don’t you? If you want to protect her from that ever happening, you’ve gotta fight even harder, Philip," Goki repeated with a wide grin.

"Bait...?" Philip looked at his swollen fists again, then forced the last of his dislocated fingers back into place while enduring the pain without complaint.

"What’s wrong? Not gonna take the potion this time?" Goki teased him.

"I don’t need it," Philip said as he took a determined step forward. "I’ll fight until I break into pieces and then use it! Until then...! Let’s die."

"HELL YEAH BROTHER! LET’S DIE!"

Goki laughed loudly as he clashed against Philip once more. Both men punched each other mercilessly.

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