—“Privileges will be granted in order according to the results of the preliminary test.”
—“Starting from the highest ranks, each will choose their opponent.”
—“Therefore, the first to select an opponent will be...”
—“Group A, Kim Donghu.”
The mont the series of broadcast announcents ended, everyone instinctively turned to look at Kim Donghu.
Who would he choose? And just what kind of strength would he show?
‘If the broadcast is to be believed, there are three arenas total—a playground-like area, a mud pit... and the cage.’
‘So those with the higher rank ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) get to pick the location and the opponent?’
‘That’s definitely an advantage. Choosing the stage and opponent...’
As the participants exchanged thoughts in silence,
Kim Donghu rose from his chair with an air of utter calm.
His expression said he’d known who he’d choose from the start.
And the direction he moved toward wasn’t the lowest rung, where the lights didn’t even reach—
“Kade Walker, should we just do the finals right here?”
—But directly to the row beneath his own.
The spot where Kade Walker, ranked in the TOP 10, was seated.
“...Seriously? Are you serious right now?”
“Yes, I’m asking. If you’re open to it, I’d like to choose you.”
“...”
At that bold question, Kade Walker’s pupils dilated wide.
He’d been an athlete for a long ti.
Always kept himself at the top.
So he instantly understood what Kim Donghu ant by saying this.
“I didn’t expect you to be the kind of guy who crushes soone’s spirit like this.”
“It’s fun, isn’t it?”
The one with the right to choose hands that right to soone else.
The one ranked higher gives the lower-ranked the authority to decide the match.
This wasn’t kindness.
It was a dare.
If you’ve got the confidence, then go ahead and accept.
A move ant to crush the opponent with sheer montum.
‘And he’s doing that... to , Kade Walker.’
Height: 191 cm. Weight: 110 kg on average.
Currently taking PEDs, his physical condition was at its peak.
And yet this guy was doing this on purpose to break him?
A scoff slipped out.
“Ha.”
It ca out naturally.
“...”
But despite that, he couldn’t easily accept the challenge.
Sure, the guy was probably shorter and weighed less than him.
Then why did he seem bigger?
Even so, he had no choice but to grab it.
He had to.
Just as Kade Walker was about to open his mouth—
“Just kidding. You’re way too strong, Mr. Kade. Honestly, you scare .”
Kim Donghu backed off with a playful grin, quickly stepping to the side.
‘That should be enough to give them the shot they wanted.’
Even if was a program focused on physical competition,
Its foundation was still, at its core, entertainnt.
Pulling off a scene like that was incredibly important.
So after getting the ideal shot,
Kim Donghu turned toward the opponent he’d had in mind from the beginning.
The person he’d sworn to challenge if the ga involved taking a ball.
Step, step.
“Hey, hey, hey, wait—where’s Kim Donghu going?”
“Wait... who’s he heading toward?”
“No way. No freaking way, right?”
“Wow, no way... wait. I think it is.”
Ranked 263rd in the preliminary test.
“Let’s do this.”
“...Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. Let’s make sothing beautiful in that mud pit.”
Height: 2 ters 3 centiters. Weight: 186 kilograms.
Angus the Highland Wall.
Winner of the 2021 World’s Strongest Man competition.
***
Kim Donghu vs Angus the Highland Wall.
The mont that match was set—
“This is fucking insane!!!”
PD Ji Yonghu couldn’t hold back his shout.
He normally loathed profanity, but
The second the match was confird, the excitent overwheld him.
Even after other intense and thrilling matches were decided,
None could match the dopamine rush of ‘Kim Donghu vs Angus.’
The man said to be the strongest in the world,
Against the one currently considered the strongest on Earth.
‘Feels like sothing straight out of a comic book.’
Starting with Kim Donghu’s match decision—
The 300 participants quickly found their pairs.
And since there was no need to delay,
They were given about 20 minutes to warm up before the ball-stealing ga began.
“...Wow, both Donghu and Angus aren’t saying a word while warming up like beasts.”
“Their focus is insane. With this many people watching, too.”
The rules of the ga were simple.
The person who holds the ball—about the size of a human torso and wrapped in leather—
Until the end, wins.
Each match lasts three minutes, and striking is strictly prohibited.
Body contact and wrestling-like movents were allowed, of course.
But any deliberate striking, if caught, resulted in imdiate disqualification.
If no one held the ball for the full three minutes, a two-minute overti would begin.
It resembled the ball-stealing gas people played as kids.
Only this version was... a little more extre.
‘He... picked .’
Angus, realizing the situation, rushed to finish warming up.
He had to build up heat quickly and loosen his muscles.
‘This will go down as the biggest and most glorious battle of my life.’
Kim Donghu.
Smaller than him. Weighed less. An East Asian.
In the past, he might’ve dismissed him without a second thought.
But the mont their eyes t, when they squared off, he realized—
‘He’s like a fortress.’
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
He sensed overwhelming power in this small East Asian man.
But still, he believed he would win in the end.
Because weight class isn’t sothing you can overco.
Sure, skill can flip that—
But Angus wasn’t just soone with raw power.
A brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Only the black belt test remained.
He had a deep understanding of body chanics and weight distribution.
That’s why—
—“The first ga, Ball Steal, will begin shortly. All participants, please move to the filming set.”
When the announcent ca,
Angus wore a confident smile.
He understood that Donghu had challenged him to try and beat him.
He recognized Donghu’s frightening natural talent for striking.
‘But this is power against power. The weight difference won’t even let him get a technique off.’
This ti, he could only think:
Kim Donghu had made a stupid mistake.
***
Actually.
“Isn’t this way too much, though?”
“Well, he’s a Strongman, so of course he’s disadvantaged in long-distance runs... But if it’s three minutes? He’s probably the strongest.”
Most people were predicting Kim Donghu’s loss.
Sure, he was strong, and clearly had power.
But the general consensus was that he had seriously chosen the wrong opponent this ti.
“Just watch. It’s not like you’re not going to.”
“There’s no way you could not watch this.”
People rushed up to the second-floor railing, leaning over to peer down at the first floor.
A battle unfolding in a trench filled with mud.
Even the area outside the trench was covered in dirt—it gave off a wild, primal atmosphere.
“Definitely a solo match this ti. Makes sense, the scale’s insane.”
“Yeah, if anything else happened during Donghu vs. Angus, no one would pay attention.”
Originally, all 150 pairs were supposed to fight.
So usually, three matches would be conducted simultaneously.
But in the case of Kim Donghu vs. Angus,
They scheduled it as a solo match.
Proof of how much of a big deal it was.
—“Participants, please enter.”
As the announcent rang out,
Kim Donghu and Angus stood side-by-side at the starting line, right before the match began.
Each entered through their individual passageways.
The gate at the entrance was shut, preventing them from charging out like racehorses.
Tension rippled through the air.
Plop!
A leather ball dropped from the air, landing dead center in the trench.
A visual cue blatantly designed to force trench combat.
“No matter how strong you are, this ti you seriously screwed up!”
Before the match began, Angus boldly taunted Kim Donghu.
And at that exact mont—
BEEEEEEEEEP!
The signal blared, and the gate blocking the path flew open.
Thudthudthudthud!
The mont the gate opened, Angus charged into the trench full-speed.
He calculated that if he grabbed the ball first, no one would be able to take it from him.
Got it!
Just like that, Angus seized the ball in an instant.
But... how did I get it faster?
As that thought hit him, he glanced back—
Step.
Step.
Step.
“...!”
Kim Donghu was casually walking toward the trench.
Not running—just strolling in,
As if he were out for a walk.
“Feels like I ca to a mud festival. They say it’s good for your health.”
Strolling leisurely into the trench,
“You crazy son of a bitch!!!”
Angus was genuinely enraged.
To show that kind of composure after pointing him out and initiating the match?
Even if it was obviously just provocation, there were limits.
“I’ll kill you!”
Roid rage.
The side effects of anabolic steroids exploded to the surface.
Smack!
As if the ball didn’t matter anymore,
Angus tossed it aside and rushed straight at Kim Donghu.
It should’ve been difficult to move properly in the mud.
But Angus bulldozed through it with brute force.
Like an enraged bull in full charge.
Smack! Smack!
Slicing through the mud,
He reached for the head of that insane East Asian, ready to knock so sense into him.
“Just gotta knock him out!”
For soone pushing nearly 190 kilograms,
Angus moved with stunning fluidity as he executed a wrestling technique on Kim Donghu.
In a blink, he had his back.
A brute-force wrestling move that relied entirely on size.
And right after—swift jiu-jitsu movents followed.
He took the opponent’s back,
Slid one arm instantly under Kim Donghu’s chin—
Squeeze!
And locked in a choke.
There was no need for complex two-handed technique.
His forearm was the size of a woman’s thigh.
He didn’t need a fancy hold—he could just crush the carotid with raw pressure.
It’s over!
He didn’t care if he got disqualified for excessive force.
As long as he taught this cocky bastard a lesson, that was enough.
Just as he thought that, and prepared to choke Kim Donghu unconscious—
Tap.
Kim Donghu calmly grabbed Angus’s choking wrist.
Crackcrackcrack!
With nothing but pure grip strength—
“AaaaaaAAAGH!”
He broke the hold.
“C’mon, Strongman. Show what you’ve got.”
That was the first thing Kim Donghu said to his opponent.
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