Leo observed the first match unfold with great interest.
Both participants looked really wary of the swinging battle rams at the start and were only making cautious movements to avoid the battle rams slamming into them.
By observing them, Leo realized that there were small square patches of arena land which were completely safe pockets.
Neither the horizontal, nor the vertical rams hit those spots and if one stood there, they could perpetually wait for their opponent to approach them without any fear.
Of the two opponents fighting, one of them accidentally found such a pocket and only realized that it was a perpetual safe spot after noticing that neither the horizontal nor the vertical rams were reaching his location.
"Well, well, well…. This is sweet" he said, waiting for his opponent to approach him as he decided to not move from this location at all.
Compared to him, his opponent struggled a lot. He did not find a safe spot and was constantly moving to avoid the rams as he slowly yet steadily made his way towards his opponent standing still.
"Woah….woah….oooooooooo"
"Woah….woah…oooooooooo"
The crowd thoroughly enjoyed the battle ram swings, as they cheered for every swerve, every close dodge that one of the contestants was forced to make.
To Leo, it seemed like they wished to see someone being hit by the rams more than they wished for a good fight as even after the two fighters became embroiled in a close ranged fight, all the audience seemed to care about were the battle rams.
Once the fighting between the two fighters began, the whole dynamic changed as fight timing coincided with battle ram timing.
One had to pull back attacks mid-way to dodge the incoming rams in time and then try to re-engage in what seemed to be a never ending struggle.
There was no possibility of creating any real momentum as by the time one exchanged two moves, it was already time to dodge, before jumping back in and exchanging two more moves.
Within a few minutes of the match starting, it became apparent to the two fighters that the only way to end the fight was to force a collision between their opponent and a battle ram as it slowly evolved from a contest of who timed their attacks first, to who could dodge last.
The two fighters began progressively dodging later and later, putting both one's own life and the opponent's life in danger as the crowd absolutely went wild for this show.
Soon it became apparent that something had to give and something did give when one of the opponents could only dodge the incoming battle ram slightly and was hit hard in his right shoulder.
*Crunch*
The sound of bones pulverizing and cracking permeated loudly throughout the arena as the man hit by the battle ram spun several times in the air before landing with a heavy thud on the floor.
From one look, anyone could see how his right arm was only hanging to the side of his body as a blob of flesh and how his shoulder and connective bones were all destroyed.
Passing out cold from the impact, the contestant was knocked unconscious, however, his opponent still pointed his weapon to the fallen enemy's throat, just to be sure.
"I win-" he declared, amidst the cheers of the crowd as the match referee quickly swooped in and carried both contestants out of the arena to safety, while brakes were applied to the swinging rams by its operators from the outside.
"The winner of this match, fighter Tin Tin!" The match official declared as Tin Tin celebrated with the crowd while his opponent Fang Po was carried out on a stretcher.
This was the first time when a contest was actually critically injured during a Grand Tournament fight, and Leo felt slightly sympathetic for the fallen contestant.
These themed arena fights depended highly on luck and auxiliary skills rather than pure fighting skills and Leo did not think that this was the best way to determine who was the best fighter amongst the next generation.
He could acknowledge that from an entertainment perspective, having the same boring fights again and again did not make for a great viewership experience, however, if one truly wished to determine which fighter in the next generation was the best, then fighting the traditional way was the most sure-fire way of finding the answer.
************
"Next up, Bonucci and The Boss" The match official announced, as Leo cracked his neck and stretched his muscles before heading out.
Just like how his attitude had always been, he did not glance back at his opponent at all, as the crowd welcomed him with thunderous applause.
"YEAHHH BOSSS IS HERE-"
"BOSS! BOSS! BOSS!"
"CRUSH THE ENEMY! FOR THE PRIDE OF THE PEOPLE"
Despite the betting odds being against Leo, the public opinion was definitely in his favor as the vast majority of the crowd cheered him on.
His opponent, showboating on his way to the arena blew a kiss to the audience which turned into a flaming bird that flew into the sky.
It was a cheap parlor trick, however, got the women in the crowd excited as the more shrill voices in the crowd seemed to be cheering for Bonucci.
As the two contestants took their starting spots, the battle rams started to be cranked up to speed, as the two had a few minutes of time to shit-talk before the fight began.
"All the best to you as well, but I'm going to win this one" Bonucci said, as he did not seem arrogant but rather confident in his ability to win.
Leo, remaining silent only gazed deep into his opponents eyes as he did not utter a single word.
"Not the talking type, I see-" Bonucci said, as he drew his long sword and held it with both hands as the start of the match drew close.
*Swa* *Swa*
Gripping two daggers from his belt, Leo gripped them in battle stance rather than a throwing one, as he prepared to charge once the match started.
"BEGIN-" The match referee announced once the battle rams were cranked to full speed as both contestants charged towards one another at full speed.