The previously noisy stadium was silenced by Steel Fist's proclamation. One could hear a pin drop in the quiet atmosphere. The silence lasted about ten seconds, and then there was an explosion of denial and complaints from the crowd.
"That's cheating!"
"How is that fair?!"
"That should not be allowed!"
"That's cowardice!"
"Let them fight again!"
"You call yourself a man?!"
Amidst the loud boos from the crowd was the common complaint that the match was won unfairly. Several healers run onto the pitch with a wooden board and came to check on Blue Mantis. Upon confirming that he was not in any grave danger they transferred him onto the stretcher and carried him off the field amidst the complaints of the several thousands of people here.
"Silence! Orange Monk didn't break any of the rules hence his victory is true. My verdict stands." Steel Fist was completely unmoved by the naïve cries of the audience. As someone who had fought several battles and was on the eve of her prime, she knew that war was never meant to be fair. As long as one took the opponent down, nothing was considered wrong.
That was why although assassins were disdained by all, they were still in high demand. Besides, Orange Monk hadn't broken any of the rules. It was the inability of the Blue Team to prepare for sneak attacks like this that had cost them. If Blue Mantis hadn't been so confident in himself and had just stopped to think about why Orange Monk who was a Strength Type didn't unsheathe his weapon – a very strange act indeed – he wouldn't have been so easily done in.
"Well none of us saw that coming Maggie, especially Blue Mantis of the Blue Team" Peter stated with a bitter voice.
"Indeed Peter. But Steel Fist is right. Orange Monk didn't break any of the rules so his victory stands. It was genius of the Orange Team to employ such a strategy." Maggie quickly added.
"That can't possibly be fair!" Lam complained, very unsatisfied about how the match had ended. He couldn't believe that Steel Fist had allowed the match to end this way. He was with the crowd on this. There was no way that what Orange Monk did was considered fair.
"And why isn't it?" a calm voice spoke from beside Lam. Lam turned and looked at the speaker in the eye.
"Can you possibly say that was a fair way to win the match?" Lam asked, a bit riled up.
"I can," Mane stated plainly, and Lam was stunned by his friend's quick admission.
"Your stance shows your naivety. When you think that everyone would use the right means to get what they want, you wouldn't last a second in war." Mane stated coldly. He said he would teach Lam how to fight, and he hadn't forgotten his promise. But Lam needed to change his mindset if he wanted to survive in this world. If not, he would have strength, but would still be taken advantage off, or worse killed by one far weaker than him by falling to tricks and schemes.
"But this is a tournament. Such a method is against the rules of fair play!" Lam insisted that what Mane was referring to was completely different from what had just happened. To Lam that was war, but this was just a tournament.
"And what was wrong with what he did? Did he break any of the rules?" Mane asked, his face completely expressionless. It was good that Lam was a nice person. His kindness was one of his best qualities. But he had to develop some discernment to go with the kindness. Otherwise he would help the wrong people and promote the false.
"He…he…he," Lam tried to find what was wrong with Orange Monk's actions, but nothing in the rules served to rebuke the way Orange Monk had won the fight!
"Exactly. The Blue Team members thought exactly like you did, and that was why Blue Mantis fell so easily to someone who should have had a bit of difficulty overcoming him. This is war. You can decorate it however you want; you can find rules to make it more civil; but it would still be what it is – it would still be war. As long as one has a good brain, one could find one's way around any rules and regulations and bend it to one's favor. That is brilliance. That is strategy. Assassins hide in the dark and seek 'unfair' ways to put an end to a threat. People say they disdain such a practice, yet assassins are filthy rich. If they disdain such practices, why are assassins still getting contracts? Why do they acquire so much wealth?"
Although Mane didn't know much about this world, assassins were despised everywhere. It didn't matter where, no one liked assassins. Yet they always seemed to be in demand. As for Lam, he couldn't find any words to argue against Mane's chiding. All he could do was listen to his friend's monologue silently. As he did, he felt that he had overlooked some things, things that he probably shouldn't be overlooking.
"That is because no one really cares how things are achieved in war. Despicable or not, as long as results are gleaned from the method, everything goes in war. Know this and receive clarity of judgement. Refuse this and prepare your own grave"
When Mane was done with his monologue, he turned his attention back to the Record Stone to see what else was going to happen. He could only hope that Lam learned from what he was seeing. He knew that it wasn't going to be easy for his friend to suddenly tweak his values, but it was a start.
"He has really lived a sheltered life huh," Hildegarde stated from atop Mane's shoulder. She also didn't see anything wrong with how Orange Monk won the fight. She actually thought it was pretty smart. But she also knew that if it were to be herself or Mane, they wouldn't have fallen into such an obvious trap so easily.
She thought the trap obvious because it was strange that Orange Monk didn't bother to do anything to prepare against someone who was faster than him. And to be honest, she felt that Blue Mantis was an idiot for diving straight in when he didn't really understand his opponent. It was like ignoring the basics of war. Before you make a move, you must first understand your opponent.
Mane nodded in response to Hildegarde's words. Seeing that Lam was in deep thought, Mane decided to pay more attention to the events on the Record Stone.
"Do you want to rest, or would you continue?" Steel Fist turned to ask Orange Monk.
"Yes," Orange Monk replied with a smile. Steel Fist nodded her head and called for the Blue Team to send in their next representative.
"Well unsurprisingly, Orange Monk is going to continue," Peter commented.
"This isn't good for the Blue Team at all. Not only did they lose their first match, they couldn't even shave off a small portion of Orange Monk's stamina. It would be very difficult for them to go through now." Maggie analysed.
This time the crowd didn't boo her because they felt she was right. Blue Mantis was the second strongest in the Blue Team, second to only the captain. But Orange Monk had a similar status in the Orange Team. He was also one of the strongest in that team. Based on the facts and details from their previous matches, the only people who could take out a fully rested Orange Monk were Blue King and Blue Mantis. But Blue Mantis had lost miserably, and Blue King wasn't going to be on until the 3rd Round. So there was no way the next Blue Team member would be able to deal with Orange Monk.
Soon, the next Blue Team member walked to the centre of the stadium. He was a handsome man, just like Blue Mantis. But he was slightly taller than Blue Mantis and had a stocky build.
"The next representative for the Blue Team, the powerful Strength Type Thrasher, Musclehead, is here!" Peter shouted loudly. The crowd quickly erupted into cheers as they tried to encourage Musclehead. Although they knew that Musclehead was weaker than Orange Monk, they were hoping for a miracle.
"Ready?" Steel Fist asked Musclehead once he arrived at the centre. The large man nodded his head in reply and swung the short hammer in his hand.
"Ready?" Steel Fist asked Orange Monk who finally unsheathed his sword. Orange Monk nodded his head with a smile.
"The 2nd Round contest is between Orange Monk and Musclehead. 3, 2, 1, Fight!"
*Boom*
Both men run towards the other with impressive speed. Like lock-on torpedoes they rushed straight at each other and clashed in no time.
*Bang*
The loud sound of metal hitting metal shook the stadium, as both men were forced back a few steps.
"Orange Monk unsurprisingly has the upper hand in the first clash," Peter commented as the fight progressed.
Orange Monk was knocked back about 5 steps from the clash, but Musclehead was sent a bit further back, only stopping after he had covered a distance of about 8 steps. It wasn't surprising since they were both Strength Types and Musclehead was the weaker one.
Orange Monk immediately pounced on Musclehead once he stabilized himself. Although he was stronger, he used a sword and encouraging a prolonged battle with a hammer user wasn't a good idea since the blade of his sword may not be able to withstand the constant bashing of the hammer.
He was quickly upon Musclehead who had only just been able to stabilize himself. Orange Monk launched himself into the air and swung his sword towards Musclehead's shoulder. But Musclehead had quick reactions. His years of fighting had granted him great instinctive reactions, and they came to play at this moment. He twisted his arms and brought the hammer up just in time. But instead of trying to block the attack, he struck the blade, deflecting it out of its path and leaving Orange Monk wide open.
*Bang*
Orange Monk was a bit thrown off by Musclehead's strange decision, but he recovered himself quickly. And he did so just in time to see the large hammer crushing towards him. Since he was currently unbalanced this was a genius move by Musclehead, and Orange Monk admitted that. However, if this was enough to take him down, then he wouldn't be who he was. Twisting his body strangely, he avoided the large hammer by the skin of his teeth.
*Boom*
As the hammer landed on the ground, the crowd could feel the power behind it. They secretly shed a bit of sweat for Orange Monk who had escaped from such an attack. Seeing that Orange Monk had gotten away, Musclehead was unfazed. He immediately withdrew his hammer and dashed into Orange Monk with a shoulder tackle. Only instead of using his shoulder, his elbow was leading the charge.
*Bang*
Orange Monk wasn't able to get away this time and was sent flying back by the attack. He did a few backflips and finally stabilized himself after traveling several metres back.
"YAY!!!"
The crowd roared in joy seeing that Musclehead had landed in a blow. And from Orange Monk's uncomfortable expression, added to the little bit of blood that was oozing out of his mouth, that elbow strike had possibly fractured his sternum.
"What a pulsating match Maggie!" Peter exclaimed from within the Commentator's booth.
"Indeed Peter. Musclehead seems to have gained the upper hand with his incredible battle hardened reactions. But how long would that last?"
Orange Monk barely had any time to take a breather when Musclehead descended upon him once again. Seeing the large hammer crushing down on him, he jumped to the side and rolled away.
*Boom*
Once again the ground of the stadium welcomed a new hole, as the Musclehead displayed his incredible strength. Orange Monk jumped up immediately after his roll. Although he was injured, that didn't show in his movements. He turned to the side to see Musclehead jump into the air. The large man came crushing down with his hammer, and Orange Monk could actually feel the stinging wind brushing past his face. But he kept his eyes glued to the hammer, and when everyone felt that Musclehead was going to hit him, he moved slightly to the side and narrowly avoided the blow.
*Boom*
The area the two men stood in was covered in dust, as people struggled to see what was going on.
"Can you see what's happening Maggie?" Peter wondered.
"We are sitting on the same chair Peter. If you cannot see it, then I definitely cannot," Maggie laughed.
Soon the dust cleared, and the crowd finally saw what had happened. But they were disappointed by the results. Musclehead was hunched over, his hammer smashed into the ground and his hands still on the handle. But Orange Monk wasn't under the hammer. He, in a fighting stance, stood beside Musclehead with his sword pointed at Musclehead's neck. It was clear to everyone who had won the round, and Steel Fist's announcement made it official.
"Orange Monk wins! The 2nd Round goes to the Orange Team!"