At the referee's signal, Leo exploded into action with a burst of speed that seemed to catch even the wind around him off guard.
His opponent, already overwhelmed by the atmosphere, could barely react as Leo closed the distance between them in a heartbeat.
*Slash*
The nervous fighter managed a feeble attempt to try and stop Leo's advance by swinging his sword in a wild swing, but Leo slipped through it like a ghost, as he circled being him, a blur of motion and intent.
With a swift, practiced move, Leo executed a kick on his opponent's sword hand, knocking his weapon out of his opponent's grasp, leaving him utterly powerless to retaliate.
"No, my sword-" he said sheepishly as he bent forward to pick up his dropped weapon, exposing his back and neck to Leo.
The crowd, sensing the imminent end, roared in anticipation as Leo, with a precision born of countless hours of training, knocked his opponent flat on his belly as he pointed a dagger straight to his neck.
"You're dead…" he said, as his opponent immediately shrieked "I surrender", bringing the fight to its end.
The action was over almost as soon as it had begun. The referee, having barely moved from his spot, signaled the end of the match.
"Winner, The Boss" he said, raising Leo's hand in victory as Leo tried to find Ben within the big crowd.
Unfortunately, because of the sheer scale of the crowd, he could not find where Ben was seated, however, Leo hoped that he was watching this and smiling wherever he was.
"Wow that was a disappointing fight, I feel like I could have defeated that weakling-"
"Well nobody expected him to beat the boss but isn't that Ryan guy just too weak? Like how did he even make it to the third round?"
"Bo-hoo, I've spent 5 copper for this ticket, I wanted to see more blood and gore-"
The crowd was disappointed that they did not get to see any of Leo's skills in full display, however, it couldn't be helped as the skill difference between him and his opponent was just too large.
Leo's opponent Ryan, now back on his knees, looked more relieved than disappointed, perhaps even grateful that the ordeal was over without any real harm being done.
Leo offered a hand to help him up, a gesture of sportsmanship that elicited cheers from the audience.
The defeated competitor, now regaining some of his composure, accepted the help and managed a shaky smile.
"Good fight," Leo said, with a reassuring nod, knowing well that the fight had been anything but even, but he still said it for the sake of not breaking the kids morale.
While Leo enjoyed putting powerful pricks in their place, he did not like trampling over the weak, as the way he saw it, for Ryan, a socially introverted guy to come out here and fight, it was a big win for him as well.
It was clear to everyone that Leo had deliberately held back, choosing to end the match without inflicting unnecessary humiliation on his clearly outmatched opponent, but he did not gloat such things to Ryan as he only offered encouragement to him.
As he walked back to his corner, the announcer's voice filled the stadium, lauding Leo's swift victory and remarkable skill.
The crowd's cheers were deafening, a testament to the spectacle they had just witnessed and the respect they held for the number one seed's prowess and sportsmanship.
Leo, with his heart still racing from the adrenaline of the fight, paused a moment before entering the locker room tunnel as he took a moment to observe the other on-going fights.
Apparently, Lin Mu, Ramen King, Purple Rock and Cervantez had all also won their fights, as the referee was either declaring their results or checking on their fallen opponents.
Infact, all the top seeds managed to defeat the bottom ones as there was no major upset here in this round.
Apparently, Leo had finished his fight in the fastest time with a match time of just 8 seconds, while the longest fight lasted 48 seconds.
Every single bottom seed was so clearly outmatched that regardless of what fight the audience chose to spectate, they were only greeted with a thorough squashing as all fights ended with under 20 moves exchanged.
Turning towards the exit tunnel, Leo knew that fun time was over, that after the preliminaries only tougher challenges lay ahead, but for now, he had once again proven why he was the top contender in this tournament, as although everyone else also won their fights, he was once again the fastest to do so.
The journey to winning the grand tournament was still long, but the stage was already set for Leo, who had distinguished himself as one of the favorites to win to continue building on the momentum he had generated and cement a legacy of being an untouchable player so that nobody doubted his identity in the future.
With the third round qualifiers now over for Leo, the next stop was the official tournament itself, as it would be there that he would cement his legacy as Ben's only disciple and the number one player in the game.
**********
( Meanwhile Dem Paltrow )
"The first ranked seed, take him out when the opportunity is right-" Dem Paltrow ordered his direct subordinate as the man looked surprised to receive such an order.
"Isn't it too early to act this way? Should we not wait until the grand tournament is properly underway?" The subordinate asked, as Dem looked towards him with wrath evident in his eyes.
"That boy is Lin Mu, Ben Faulkner's disciple. While you fools don't see it, I recognise him instantly.
That agile body, that confidence….. he's a threat that needs to be eliminated at the earliest, I'm very sure about this-" Dem said, as the subordinate bowed and took his leave.
If Dem Paltrow thought it was necessary to take the boy out, the he needed to be taken out immediately, no matter the cost.
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/// A/N - Mass Release Chapter 5/5 ///