MSG – Volume 1 – Chapter 26
He was dressed in minimal clothing, leaving most of his skin bare except from the armor plates on his chests and shoulders.
Fierce.
This word would easily describe him as their eyes landed on the huge mace that he was dragging through the sand behind him.
"Roar!!!" He yelled, raising his mace as he turned around in circles as a form of showmanship.
Of course, the crowd responded by increasing the loudness of their reactions—some with boos, some with cheers, and others with good old mindless yelling.
This figure dubbed as the Blood Seeker seemed to revel in all of the attention irrespective of what type it was. Haters or supporters held no meaning to him. Only the fact that he had had an impact on them did.
After a few breathes of time, the announcer went on to progress on to welcome the next entertainer, pointing at another gate.
From there came a slightly shorter figure, standing at a height of 6 feet and 2 inches, but he had a slightly wider frame, with larger arm muscles.
This man had a large wild brown beard and shoulder length hair that was made into braids.
He had cream color skin.
He had a lot less scars compared to the person he was to battle but that did not make him look any less intimidating as his veiny body seemed to be brimming with a lot of strength.
His mood was unreadable as his face was quite straight and seemingly emotionless.
He seemed to have no weapon on his person so many wondered if he was going to take on his barbarian-looking foe with nothing but the heavy metal armor he had on his torso.
"And his opponent, a figure known for his great speed and flexibility, as well as his unpredictability—the Yellow Serpent!"
By the way, this 'Yellow Serpent' guy actually had eye-catching yellow eyes that seemed to be searching for its next prey. They weren't reptilian like a snake's but that of a human's though.
"Don't be fooled by his sheer mass of those canons he calls arms!" The announcer continued. "His strikes are so swift it's unbelievable! Normal Those who are yet to become mages would be unable to follow his movements! If his opponent isn't careful enough, then he might just be felled by attacks he did not even see!"
As he spoke, the two men walked towards the center of the arena, a few feet away from the announcer and his three companions (guards).
They were having a stare down, a battle of the mind before the physical battle begun.
The two men understood that the mind of one's opponent(s) was just as, if not in some cases more, important a factor as their physical prowess.
Watching this scene, the announcer seemed to grow more excited.
"Oh! What a mean glare! I bet they just killed each other in their minds a thousand times over!" he exclaimed as he started to float into the air.
Not only he, but his three guards as well.
Apparently, there was a magical formation placed in the center of the arena, which could be manipulated by select officials to perform various functions, one of which was creating an invisible and seemingly intangible elevated platform for the announcer who doubled as a referee.
It also provided him with protection, and hence he did not really need the guards, but better safe than sorry, right?
"As the pre-ordained referee, I hereby declare this match in progress!" he added, making a hand gesture with his hand—a downward vertical chop.
The newcomers, and those who were not all that accomplished in the path of magic, did not notice it but there had been an invisible barrier preventing the pair of fighters from shortening the distance between themselves for more than two meters—hence the intense scaring contest.
With the referee's gesture, said restriction was instantly removed and the two men charged at each other with fierce growls.
"Rahh!"
The first strike went to the fellow with the yellow eyes who managed to dodge an overhead punch from the Blood Seeker before following up with a counter-attack, a jab directed towards the attacker's neck.
The jab was not the 'first strike' as it did not make it in time before the Yellow Snake had to suddenly retreat and dodge the Blood Seeker's weapon.
The first strike was the pair of kicks that the mace-wielding fighter received when the Yellow Snake threw a back flip to dodge the trajectory of the weapon.
The taller man was momentarily dazed by the yellow-eyed warrior's attack but he quickly regained his bearings by the time the flexible guy was ready to deliver another attack—a time that was no more than a second.
A jumping roundhouse kick had been coming to his face when he suddenly raised his right arm to parry.
He attempted to capitalize on the opportunity that the Yellow Snake had presented him, attempting to follow-up his parry with an attack to the remaining leg he had placed on the ground as a foothold.
The mace, despite its apparent weight, moved swiftly as the Blood Seeker wielded it like a toy; heading downward with the intention to shatter the shorter man's knee cap.
Everyone couldn't help but subconsciously draw in a deep breathe as the match was already getting so nasty from the get-go.
Alas, it seemed that the man with hazel eyes had underestimated his opponent.
The nimble warrior raised his other leg off the ground, contrary to the Blood Seeker's and many others' expectations, and brought it towards the taller man's face.
It seemed like a kick was going to be delivered again but the flexible man defied expectations again, taking the opportunity to bring the rising leg towards the arm the taller figure had used to parry.
With both legs wrapped around the taller guy's arm, Yellow Snake twisted his whole body upwards before performing a maneuver that resulted in bending the taller man's left arm in an odd direction.
Even those who did not have extraordinary senses, like the powerful mages did, could swear they heard a 'snap' sound—it was actually just their imagination.
'Ow, that's got to hurt.' Solon thought.