"The Steel Fist herself has given us the go ahead folks! The first match would begin shortly!" Peter spoke enthusiastically into the amplification stone.
"Indeed. All that remains are the representatives for each team's first match," Maggie added.
"Who do you think would start for the two teams?" Peter asked.
"Well the first match is of great importance because it carries a lot of weight. Winning the first match takes a great load off the shoulders of the winning team and pressures the losing team. It also fills the winners with morale and confidence to go all the way. Rarely do we see a team win the first match and then go on to lose the game. So it would be important for both teams to bring strong contenders to the table. Ideally the captains who are the strongest should be the ones to go forward" Maggie quickly replied.
"But the captains wouldn't go forward that easily. Not only must they sit back to analyse their opponents, the risk of losing is enough for both of them to stay back until the very end"
Mane nodded his head in approval to Maggie's words. She was right. If two captains fought, there was bound to be a winner, and a loser. Winning would mean a great boost in morale for your team and destroying the confidence of your opponents. But losing would mean that it would be your team that would experience a loss of confidence which would more often than not lead to losing the entire game in the end. So unless it was absolutely necessary, the captains wouldn't come out.
"But I'm guessing that Orange Monk would come out for the Orange Team. As for the Blue Team, they would likely send their number two warrior, Blue Mantis."
No sooner had Maggie's prediction ended when the two teams finished their deliberations and presented their representatives. The captains of the teams handed a writing slate each to the referee, Steel Fist. These writing slates contained the names of the members of each team in the order that they would take the stage.
Steel Fist looked over the writing slates for a brief moment, and then she raised the slates and displayed them to the crowd. The Record Stone zoomed into the slates to get a closer look at the names written there. Soon the names appeared on a large Reflection Crystal suspended high up above the stadium so that everyone could see.
"It's just like you said Maggie. The first match is between Orange Monk of the Orange Team, and Blue Mantis of the Blue Team!" Peter announced loudly, and the people in the crowd who didn't know how to read finally understood what was displayed.
"OHHHHH," they cheered with the exuberance of men with nothing to die for.
"Take your positions. The rest of the members should stand back." Steel Fist still stood at the center of the stadium. Her words drew out the first two combatants, as the other members of their teams drew back to the east and west wings of the stadium.
"Are you ready?" Steel Fist turned to the handsome Blue Mantis and asked.
"Ready," Blue Mantis nodded his head with a serious expression on his face and unsheathed a pair of red daggers from his waist. The small smile that he had on his face only moments before was no longer there. He knew how important it was that he won this match. Seeing the daggers Mane knew instantly what kind of fighter Blue Mantis was. The man was likely an Agility New Type and focused on quick and efficient ways to dispatch an enemy.
"BLUE MANTIS!"
"BLUE MANTIS!"
"BLUE MANTIS!"
"BLUE MANTIS!"
Hearing the voice of Blue Mantis and seeing him draw his weapon, the crowd went wild with cheers. This was a man representing a team from their city! They were keen on cheering him on to victory. Of course there were also the voices of women who had little to no interest in the match shouting the name of Blue Mantis, with most of them begging for his attention. But Blue Mantis ignored them all. He wasn't one to bask in the glow of a screaming audience before a match was fought. He didn't feed on the energy of the crowd like some people did. To him that was a dangerous well, one that he didn't want to fall into. A warrior who was encouraged and egged on by the screaming voices of his fans would be equally discouraged and broken by the booing of rival fans. So he had trained himself to be unmoved by any distractions, and was fully focused on the match. It was an attribute that had Mane nodding in approval. Although Mane was very young, he had been on the battlefield for as long as he could remember. Though he had never been exposed to fighting tournaments like this, he hoped that when he did, he would have the calm of Blue Mantis.
"Unfortunately for him, his opponent is the same," Mane looked at Orange Monk who was smiling without a care in the world and murmured. The man didn't care about the cheers his opponent got, and his smile was still on his face. It wasn't because he wasn't taking the match seriously, but because his mood was completely unaffected by whatever was happening in front of him. So whether he was thrust into a battlefield, or sinking deep within a pool of gold coins, he would be the same.
"Are you ready?" Steel Fist turned to Orange Monk and enquired.
"I am," Orange Monk stated succinctly, with his hands still behind his back. He didn't make any attempt to reach for his weapon.
Looking at Orange Monk's nonchalant attitude, a frown found its way to Blue Mantis's face. He felt his opponent wasn't taking him seriously by not unsheathing his weapons.
"Doesn't matter if he underestimates me. It's even better if he does." Blue Mantis thought silently to himself, and his face regained its former calm.
"BOO!"
"Hey pull out your weapon?"
"Where is your sword?"
"Did you leave it in the changing room?"
"Did you know you would lose anyway and that was why you didn't bother to even bring your weapon?"
"Do you fear Blue Mantis?"
"Coward!"
"Take out your sword!"
Several voices of disapproval came from the crowd. They were clearly displeased by Orange Monk's actions. They had seen him use a sword before, so they didn't know why he was acting this way now. They tried mocking him to put him off, but Orange Monk's smile still remained. The man wasn't moved in the slightest.
"What do you think Orange Monk is doing Maggie," Peter asked the question the entire crowd was itching to find the answer to. But this time they were bound for disappointment, for Maggie wasn't in the know.
"I have no idea Pete," Maggie shook her head with a confused expression. Orange Monk was a Strength New Type. Facing an Agility New Type like Blue Mantis wasn't very advantageous to him. In cases like this, it was best to take out your weapon so that you could prepare for the opponent's attack. But Orange Monk wasn't doing this very logical thing. Rather the man was keeping his sword to himself, an action that would cost him a second or two and could be vital in a match like this.
Steel Fist lifted her hand, and the crowd became mute. Then she started her countdown.
"3"
"I would rush at him immediately the countdown ends," Blue Mantis quickly decided his course of action as Steel Fist was counting down the clock.
"2"
"The goal is to pierce his arms before he can draw his sword."
"1"
"Then he would have no choice but to surrender"
"Fight!"
Immediately Steel Fist announced the start of the match, Blue Mantis dashed forward at a remarkable speed, intent on getting to Orange Monk before the man could even react.
*Boom*
But Orange Monk wasn't one to be so easily done in. He did something completely different from what Blue Mantis thought he would do. Blue Mantis had assumed his charge would force Orange Monk to go on the defensive, but Orange Monk did the exact opposite.
*Boom*
Orange Monk stamped his foot on the ground as he too dashed towards Blue Mantis, stunning the Agility New Type. In no time the two were only a few feet away from each other, and in less than a second too. As Orange Monk's robes fluttered in the wind, Blue Mantis was able see what was beneath the robes, and once he did his face turned pale.
"Elbow and knee spikes!"
That's right. The reason Orange Monk wore a robe and walked ever so slowly when the teams were being introduced was because of what he was hiding under his robes. These were weapons best used for surprise attacks and assassinations and would serve very little purpose in a tournament such as this one. But that was only if the opponent knew what was coming. And Blue Mantis as well as the rest of the Blue Team obviously didn't know this. What was worse was the accuracy of Orange Monk's timing. It was so dead on that Blue Mantis's speed and momentum made it impossible for him to get out of the way!
Seeing the panic in Blue Mantis's eyes, Orange Monk's smile grew a tad bit wider. He wasn't smart enough to come up with a plan like this. But he didn't need to be. His Captain was there for such a purpose.
"We have some time to prepare a few surprises. We don't want to give away our hidden cards so easily. So unless we are forced to, we would stick to the basics."
"Monk, did you get the spikes?"
"I did."
"Good. Use them tomorrow"
And so he had. The spikes were specially crafted by a top blacksmith after the group stages had ended. They had been made during the break they had been given and were the non-lethal type. They weren't as sharp or as long as regular spikes. But they were good enough to injure a person well enough to force a referee to call off the match.
Soon Orange Monk crushed into Blue Mantis, and the spikes went through the armor and into the man's chest. Then Orange Monk quickly pulled out the spikes and punched Blue Mantis with all of his strength, on the same spot!
*Bang*
Steel Fist immediately appeared beside Blue Mantis once he was blown away. She checked his breathing and his injuries and breathed a small sigh of relief. Then she stood up and announced,
"Orange Monk wins! The First Round goes to the Orange Team!"