Staring at each others face. Their fighting spirit filled the atmosphere like clouds Ina rainy day. All they waited for was the signal to charge at the each other.
The fight had not even started but the tension was high. Everyone held their breath, their eyes on the ring yet their mind subconscious listened with great attentiveness to hear that tingling bell. The seconds of waiting grew longer than expected it was like time had paused for a way. Bringing everything around into a super slow motion. Even the insects that flew could be seen, and birds Seemed to have stopped in the air, waiting to see how this fght would begin.
The starting bell rang.
The man rushed forward towards Curtis, brandishing his Dao sword with a violent intent. If they hadn't been informed not to kill their opponents, everyone would have thought he had murderous intent towards the young man, from the air of danger surrounding his body. The sword shone in a faint black light. Obviously not an ordinary sword. With this sword he had taken the lives of many foes in battle. The most feared monsters outside the Dome could not stand a swing from his sword, so his mind was filled with confidence. After all he was before a mere boy, one that appeared empty handed, staring blankly at him at if frown by fear or uncertainty. Looking at his vulnerable opponent, the eagerness to defeat him in a grand style weakened in his heart. He changed his stance, turned the hilt of the sword and faced the blunt edge to the front, hoping to knock the boy out in one clean chop.
His opponent steps was swift, dashing through the air like a bullet, still Curtis could see his whole movement play out like a slow paced scene. Clearly his opponent looked down on him, his actions of changing the sword's edge was an evidence of underestimating him.
What a big mistake.
The attack landed yet when everyone thought to see the boy collapsed on the floor, they saw him shift his body and the sword missed him by just an inch. To them it looked like he had dodged it in a close shave but the distance and time was well calculated. A 180 degree turn and his body was standing behind the man.
In high alert, the man turned making a reflex backswing as he did. The counterattack took less than a second, there was no way Curtis would have avoided it on time. The crowd could see this, even he knew this, so he did the only thing he could do at the minute.
He stretched forth his hand and blocked the sword. The sound of iron smacked against flesh resounded through the ring. The impact of the force sent him sliding backwards a few metres. In high surprise, everyone's jaws dropped to their chest.
His skin wasn't made of iron. He had minimized the impact, yet his palm suffered the hit. A thin line of visible cut appeared across his palm. He stared at the bleeding cut and wasn't too pleased to see it. That would leave a mark, even if it didn't, he would have to feel the tingling prick when he takes a bath for quite sometime, such discomfort made him angry. He stared at the amn and the will to drag the fight for a few minutes disappeared behind the frown that showed on his face.
"Big mistake" He spat out as he made a dash from where he stood. The speed he used twice what his opponent had taken. In a false he was an inch before the other man. His fist stuck out, the man reacted in fear he blocked with his sword. Yet the young man bent his body a few inches to the right, his leg swung out and struck him in his stomach.
The resonating sound of his blow against the thick clad of armour on the man's chest totally swallowed up the sounds of the man's rib cracking.
The man spat out mouthful of spit. He gripped gripped his stomach with much difficult as he fell to his knees. His face covered in disbelief and pain. With just that one kick, his gut felt like it had been wrenched out, a number of his ribs were obviously broken as they poked him with every move of his body. Still he refused to give up. He stand his sword into the ground, relying on it to get up. His efforts to stand was but a miserable scene to watch. He shook endlessly, swat oozing from his forehead albeit he never made it up on two feets.
"It's no use. Except you want to be choking on your own blood, it's best you lay down" Curtis harmlessly told the man in a small voice. His benevolent heart chose to give the man an option to play dead rather than knock him out while he was already down.
The taste of failure and a broken pride hurt far worse than a thousand injuries. Having defeated by a young child that looked so lanky and inexperienced ached his heart but he was ready to resign to his fate, after all he could tell from that kick that the boy was stronger than he appeared. Alas, the man slumped to the floor and laid unmoving.
A loud cheer exploded from the crowd. The turn of events was not what they had expected. A short and exciting first battle indeed. The young man standing with his hand folded gained a new reputation in their eyes still, the thought that he had struck a barrel of luck in this first round crossed everyone's mind.
It was not unexpected after all on one end was a known warrior and on the other was a young man that had shown no skill or had no experience before now. Still as much as they praised his luck, the result could not be changed.
The first round went to them.
As did the second...third....fourth.... fifth and on and on. After a long time, the crowd had lost count of how many people had being carried out of the ring in a stretcher yet the boy was still standing on his two feet. The section of Jaegers already had a couple dozen people with their heads, hands, cheeks, or bodies bandages in thick wraps of plaster. These were those that had being revived after their defeat from him. The sick bay still had a number of those still banked out and yet to gain consciousness.
A few cuts and scratches here and there on his body but apart from those there was nothing else to show for the countless fights he had won. Once again his fist struck his opponent in the face. Spit flew out, accompanied by broken teeth and blood.
The earth shook at the fat round man fell to the ground. He was knocked out cold by that blow, remaining on the floor till the health team came to clear him out.
"Number 32" Curtis muttered under his breath. Swinging his hands and feet didn't come as easy as they look. He was exhausted already. His breath had become heavy from exhaustion. His skin tingled too, the feeling of the wind on his broken skin was absolutely not a pleasant one. Despite his obvious tiredness, yet another contestant walked into the ring.
They took their defensive stance and at the sound of the bell charged at each other. Curtis no longer waited for his opponent to make the next move, he need to finish the fight as soon as possible.
His fist flew at the man's chest. What a surprise it what to see the man take the attack with his full chest. The momentum pushed back him with full force, he was sent stumbled back a dozen steps. Yet he stood on his feet like a solid tree. The man made a hyped up groan as he shook off the pain like it was actual dust. The crowd went hyper at his actions. the excitement deepenedas the fight began again the next second.
The man charged at Curtis his arms and legs swinging out rashly without pattern, his speed was well coordinated, being a recipient of his attack was akin to being bombarded by explosive from every corner. A chance to take a breath proved abortive for Curtis with his opponent maintaining a fixed distance between the two of them as he rained down blows and Kicks ceaselessly. All Curtis could do was block and avoid. He thought about putting some distance between the two of them but the moment he took a step backwards, the man shifted positions and cut off his route of escape. His feets moved as fast as a ghost's, his blows heavy like a Million pounds metal. A direct impact to the body would no doubt cause a lot of pain and Injury.
Curtis was choked up by his opponent. Perhaps luck had chosen to favour his rival. At some point he took a blow to his stomach and was sent crashing into the floor in a distance. With the rate at which he had struck the ground, no one expected him to get back up. Seeing the young boy remain unmoving, everyone looked on in horror.
Was he dead?