Bab 40: THE FIRST FIGHT (PART1)
"Aah, I see you've already been grouped in my short absence. That is good." The officiator announced with a pleased smile.
"I just want to advise you to not get pally with anyone here. Not those in other groups nor those in your own group. Especially the second kind. For you're all here to kill. Don't make things harder for yourself by befriending anyone.
"As the owner of this colosseum and the host of this tournament, I have the honor of picking which two fighters will be opening the tournament for us. After today, the choosing of fighters will be left up to my assistants. There are four waiting rooms in this colosseum. This is the west room. In here, you all will stay and watch the fights going on outside. The north and south rooms will be used by the fighters who have been chosen to battle it out.
In there, they will prepare for the clash outside. And it is from those two rooms that the fighters will emerge from. The east gate is barred from everyone else and is only opened on special occasions. The fighters will know when they have been chosen since they will be led away from this place to the north and south gates to wait until they've been introduced to the crowd.
Also, the fights will be decided randomly and will be a little different compared to the previous years since you lot are quite many. We need to go through the chaff quickly so beware, things will start out a little tougher than you expect." The officiator grinned wickedly before continuing.
"Anyway, you" the officiator pointed at one of the fighters, a scared-looking young man from the 4th group who Joda believed was a slave. "and you" he pointed out another person, this time one of the loudmouths from the 1st group. "What's your name?" He asked them.
"Ovi" the loudmouth answered confidently with a mocking glance at the other chosen fighter who stuttered out a reply.
"Fu-Furman"
"You're going to be our opening fight, so prepare." The officiator announced and made to walk out of the waiting room again but was stopped by a question from the scared-looking slave who had been chosen.
"Please sir, what are the rules for this tournament?" The slave asked and the officiator paused in his steps before turning to look at the slave in confusion.
"What rules?" The red-haired man asked.
"T-the rules governing each fight in the arena." The slave asked and a look of understanding passed through the officiator's eyes.
"Oh. Apart from the 'High Blood', there are none. This is a gladiating tournament, not a regulated sparr. See you in a minute" the officiator answered and turned to leave.
"B-but what is the 'High Blood'?' the slave stuttered out but the officiator was already gone from the room.
"I'll tell you. It means your worthless blood will flow when the higher-ups command it from me" the loudmouth answered cryptically and the slave visibly shuddered as they were led away to separate rooms to await their introduction by the officiator.
Outside, the officiator hurried his way towards a section of the wall where a rope hanged down, waiting for him to grab it and get pulled to safety, away from the violence that was about to unfold in the sandy arena.
"I know what people say outside these walls concerning the first week of the tournament. They say it's the most boring part of the entire tournament. I won't deny it. Watching weak and inexperienced fighters for hours is a complete bore, but this year, I have changed things." The officiator announced just as he was pulled out of the arena and into a special booth for him and his associates.
"I won't tell you what I have changed. I want you to see it. So without further ado, meet the two green-horns who will be opening the tournament for us. The mighty Ovi!" The officiator revealed and the north gate opened with a loud drumroll that was accompanied by the cheers of the people as they saw the well-muscled young man walk out confidently with two axes strung behind his back.
"And the formidable Furman!"
Another loud drumroll followed the metallic rattling of the opening south gate. The crowd's cheer wasn't too loud this time around and the officiator didn't blame them. Furman wasn't too different from Ovi in terms of physique, yet, something about him just screamed 'loser'. Maybe it was his pose that lacked any intimidation or his shaking arms that held his sword tightly. Whatever it was, The officiator was sure it wasn't going to garner a lot of support for Furman.
"You can start your bets now, for this fight has already started!"
The moment Ovi heard the last announcement, he shot off towards Furman. Surprisingly, Furman didn't try running back into the waiting room ( which was now locked anyway) like Ovi and the crowd had expected. Instead, he twirled his one-handed sword expertly, dashed to meet a surprised Ovi, and just before the two of them clashed, threw his sword with pinpoint accuracy at Ovi who swerved away from the deadly missile just in time, only for his face to meet Furman's bony elbow with a sickening crunch that blinded him for a second.
Only a second.
That was all it took for the previously scared Furman to follow up his elbow strike with a devastating one-two combo to Ovi's chest, a heavy uppercut to his chin, and a sweeping kick that sent the once pompous fighter sprawling on the sandy ground.
"Four-one going for the trickster! Who's coming?" One of the spectators shouted and just about everyone with coins to spare rushed to place their bets.
All over the spectating booth, people rushed to place their bets on Furman. The officiator grinned as he saw all the money changing hands.
"50 silvers going for Ovi coming out victorious. Who's coming?" The officiator announced to the high-ranking officials whom he was now seated among.
"I'll take you up on that bet." One of the generals named khiduf answered with a greedy smile.
"It seems your eyes are failing you if you still want to bet on that Ovi. He's outmatched." Another one of the generals named Heisn pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone. "Add me to that deal." He added.
"What about you, General Orion?" The officiator asked the last general who hadn't joined the bet.
"I'm good. I already have my eyes on someone." Orion replied simply and the officiator shrugged. He was still going to make a lot with or without Orion.
"Well, I guess it's time to spice things up some more. Now for my surprise." The officiator announced with a grin and gave a signal to his associate who operated the gates leading to the waiting rooms.
The man who was far away from where the officiator sat with the generals nodded his understanding and then started doing what he had been signaled to do.
"What are you doing?!" Khiduf asked a little angrily.
"Just pushing those two to their limit so that we get quick results." The officiator answered and General Heisn started cackling the moment he saw which gate was being opened.
In the stands, the crowd gasped as the gate leading to the legendary east room started opening with a loud creaking noise that spoke of abandonment. That gate hadn't been opened in years and most people had already given up hope of seeing it opened again. It was the gate of horrors. And the sound that came from it after it was fully opened confirmed that.
ROARRRRRR!!!
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