Chapter 13)

The crowd went absolutely berserk.

I could barely see as the crowd jumped into the air, it seemed that this entire city was crazy about this event, I couldn't even hear my own thoughts anymore, it was like sitting directly next to a large speaker with music blasting into your ears.

Barsanti and Iris seemed to not be fazed by the crowds cheering, as Iris still sat with her illuminated eyes towards the field, and Barsanti still smiled as he stared downwards towards the field.

After a short while, all of the large gates that surrounded the field began to lift open, revealing large amounts of gladiators who ran onto the field, raising their swords to the air as they yelled in joy. They held swords, spears, shields, maces, anything you can think of that could be used as a weapon. They wore light bronze armor which covered their chest and legs, and wore a bronze helmet, only leaving their arms bare.

As they entered the field, the man gave one final speech before leaving the arena, as he was already at one of the exits.

"Now that we're ready, here are the rules! First, if you are cut or hit once, you are out! Second, once you are hit, you must exit the arena! Third, the last gladiator standing becomes our victor, and wins the grand trophy! Now that the rules have been said, it is now time..."

He trailed off, leaving the suspense as the crowd waited in angst for him to start the fight.

"Begin the gladiator games!"

He fled towards the exit, as without a moments notice, all of the gladiators in the arena began to run towards each other. The crowd did not become silent again after that, as they cheered and mocked the fighters in the arena, who began to clash their weapons against one another. 

Their swords would collide, attacks would be reflected against shields, and spears would be dodged with agile movements. Some of the gladiators would sometimes team up against one of the large warriors, using double teaming tactics to take down an enemy before continuing to fight each other again. 

Seeing the fight even had me cheering, as I began to yell in excitement watching the gladiators clash. 

One by one, the gladiators would end up getting cut or hit, and would leave the arena in shame, their heads hung low as the other warriors kept fighting. 

In the crowd around us I could hear all sorts of cheering and arguments, people were fighting each other, creating brawls in the crowd over which of the warriors would end up winning. Some of the people looked flat out drunk, not even watching the fight as they passed out. 

"Hey! Who do you think is going to win the battle?"

I had to yell so that Iris would be able to hear me, as she still studied the warriors fighting in the arena. 

"I think the smallest guy with the sword is going to win. They won't be able to keep up with his swiftness, and he'll be able to to dodge and cut the larger enemies."

Looking down I could see who she was talking about. It was a small warrior who was fighting against huge man, almost twice the size of him. As the larger man raised his mace, the small gladiator twisted around his body, confusing the warrior as he couldn't keep up with where he went, eventually just smashing the mace down to the ground where he last saw the gladiator.

Using that tactic, the gladiator would cut the large man's leg, effectively eliminating him from the battle using his quick agility. There seemed to be no warrior smaller than him, and he soon went ahead to fight against the next enemy. 

"Oh yeah! He definitely looks like he can win! What about you Barsanti?"

"Mmm, I don't know for certain, but I think it can possibly end in a draw! There's another man in the arena who can rival the smallest gladiator! He's the one wielding the spear!"

I looked down again, and found the warrior Barsanti was talking about. With his long spear, the warrior was able to fight his enemies while keeping distance between him and them, moving his spear in jolting speeds to find an open area to pierce his enemy's body. He was fighting a man with a large shield and sword, who was kept at bay by the man's spear. It seemed like he was being pushed back, as his back was now against the wall. 

In a sudden act of surprise, the man with the shield parried the spear's attack, leaving the warrior open for attack. The man raised his sword, when I also saw another gladiator run towards the warrior with the spear to attack him from behind. 

It seemed as though there would be no way that the warrior would be able to get out of there, but to my amazement, in a quick burst, he flicked his spear towards the ground, climbing it's pole and jumping out of the attack where the two gladiators would collide, leaving them both surprised, as the man with the spear was now instead attacking them from behind. With two quick attacks with his spear, he eliminated the two warriors, who looked as though they were still puzzled on what had happened. 

"Yeah! He also looks really skilled! I wonder if they will be the last two standing!"

"You don't have to wonder! They are!"

I looked down again, and saw the small gladiator and the gladiator holding the spear circle each other in the middle of the arena. It looked like they were both sizing each other up, as they looked for an area to attack. 

"Will it be the small and agile warrior, or the gladiator who can keep his distance with his spear and get out of troublesome situations?"

Barsanti questioned with a grin on his face, as without hesitation, the two gladiators began to make their move.