Blood and glory

Judgement day

59 days later, after winning 49 more matches in the arena:

"Alright Romulus, today is judgement day. You will be versing an opponent much harder than you've ever faced before. Die in that arena, well, then, you're dead! Become victorious, and you'll get much better gear!" Said Marius.

"Understood master! I will not fail you!" I shouted in response.

"Good, now make me proud. And don't get cocky."

I chuckled a bit inside, concealing it with my seriousness and ferocity, under a helmet.

I'm have lots of energy and adrenaline built up for this fight. I literally ran up to the portcullis, I am also happy because this is my home turf. Only a crowd cheering advantage over my opponent, but that will also motivate me more. The skies are cloudy and dark, won't be surprised if it rains any time soon, that would be nice because I love the rain but it will make footwork a real pain in the ass. Enough with the weather, I should examine my foe. Hmm... not much taller than me, wielding two swords, darker skin, and his helmet has horns coming out the back.

"In the south wing, we have Pelagius of the east; the challenger. And to the north, we have Romulus! In his hometown with ninety nine consecutive victories in a row! Now, let the battle commence!" Shouted the announcer. I've always been curious on how they speak so loud and clearly.

I stood in the centre of the arena, if there is a centre in an oval that is. Pelagius just stood there, in his pit breathing heavily. The crowd silenced, awaiting the first move from him. He started out walking, pointing one of his swords at me, warning me that he was coming for me. Then he started jogging, then running, sprinting at me. He came up to me and did a Tornado strike.

I managed to dodge and block the first two swings, but he caught my left bicep with the final swing. Lucky for me, it wasn't deep. I now know Pelagius' speed in battle, it might be tough to match. I swung at his knee, but only scratching it due to his quick reflexes. I re-thought out my tactics and prepared for another attack, I had to be quicker in order to defeat him. Pelagius lifted his arms to do a power attack and I put a not very well thought out plan into action, I ducked to the right avoiding the attack and leaving Pelagius staggered and his back vulnerable. I quickly took my opportunity to leap into the air and sliced his back open whilst in motion.

He roared in rage and pain.

Even with the gaping two foot long flesh wound in his back, he still managed to turn around and miss his every swing that was meant to hit me. Pelagius soon became weary and stopped where he was, panting heavily and fell to the ground with his head at my feet. I realized that he was suffering from massive blood loss, he fought honourably, so I gave him an honourable death by taking his helmet off and stabbing my sword straight thru his head. The crowd clapped and the majority of them cheered, while the rest booed because his death wasn't satisfying enough to them.