The colosseum that was had long been specifically constructed for the sake of the Martial Contest was now teaming with people. Spirits were high as the citizens of the Seonmun town gathered to see an exciting spectacle that they had the opportunity to witness only once every two years.
Rui learned that despite worshipping Martial Artists, the members of this religion did not see anything wrong with tossing hundreds of them inside a relatively congested area where they could not get away from each other and watching them brawl it out. There was no doubt that many of the contestants were going to die, it was inevitable, yet there did not seem to be any concern in that regard from the spectators.
It appeared that while the members of the faith decisively placed Martial Artists above normal people such that it was unacceptable for the latter to transgress against the former, there were no problems as long as it happened between Martial Artists.
The tensions in the hall kept escalating as the event had already begun.
"Welcooome brothers and sisters!! To the seventy-second preliminary Martial Contest of the Seonmun Church town…!"
"We welcome you today to an exciting battle featuring the finest warriors of the Squire Realm that this town has gathered…!"
"Only one will prevail! Only one warrior will remain standing, being bestowed with the title of the strongest! The title of the Seonmun Champion!"
The crowd cheered in a frenzy, growing increasingly excited by the second. The pair of dynamic commentators simply stoked the fires that had already been burning, hoping to get everybody even more hyped.
Rui could only sigh in response. Yet his attention pricked when his senses caught all the seated spectators being served a potion that they all quickly consumed. He could feel their minds and cognition speeding even from this distance.
"Now that you have all been given the means to enjoy the spectacle that is to follow, let us begin without any further ado!"
It was then that a man entered the hall that all the Martial Squires were in.
"Warrior," He addressed them. "I am the contestant manager. I am here to inform you that it is time. Follow me, and good luck."
They all made their way through the paths that he had them go through before pouring through the entrances into the colosseum battle arena.
Instantly, they were greeted by the bellowing cheers of the spectators.
Every Martial Squire could not help but be amazed at the sheer number of people that had gathered to witness them fight. They could not help but feel ambivalent about it.
On one hand, it was an honor that so many people were willing to bear high expenses to watch them fight. On the other, it was also a little insulting that the contest to decide the strongest had been turned into an entertainment show where they were essentially clowns of the circus.
Regardless, none of them let it dwell on their minds for more than a bit of time.
It was what it was, and there were more important things to focus on.
The crowd became more subdued as waves of pressure washed over them.
The Martial Squires were focusing.
The sheer amount of pressure that they collectively exerted was immense. Many of the spectators grew nervous even though they weren't involved.
The Martial Squires were on edge. Content is property © .
Sharp.
Alert.
Willfully pushing their minds and bodies to the limit.
It wasn't long before they formed an equidistant perimeter along the edge of the colosseum.
"And without any further ado. BEGIN!!!"
Rui immediately activated the three techniques Metabody technique to a partial degree in rapid succession.
His skin grew several shades darker as his cells began thickening their walls, they also stockpiled compounds and nutrients needed to immediately divide and form new cells to heal any wounds that his body would incur.
Yet by the time he did that, all hell had already broken loose.
What happened when you grouped up several hundred powerful Martial Squires and told them only one could prevail?
If anybody didn't know before, they sure did now.
RUMBLE!!!
A maelstrom of chaos the likes of which the spectators had never beheld before overtook the entirety of the colosseum as nothing short of a war erupted.
All of the cheers and screams ceased.
Not a single one of them dared to raise their voice as even their enhanced minds struggled to keep up with the carnage that promulgated.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOOOOOM!!!
Waves of attacks, waves of maneuvers, waves of actions and reactions all flashed across the colosseum just milliseconds after the match had commenced!
Just as Rui had predicted, the three grade-ten Martial Squires had become the greatest targets. He also predicted the barrage of attacks that many Martial Squires launched his way. It appeared that while the grade-eight Mind Mask had reduced him from becoming everybody's target, there were still some people who thought he was too much of a threat.
"Tsk."
Rui sprinted at top speed, avoiding powerful blasts that barely missed him!
He pushed his reflexes and senses to the limit, heightening his alertness to the very zenith. Primordial Instinct was his greatest friend through the initial phase of chaos.
He activated Outer Convergence and Gale Force Breathing as well as Phantom Step, dashing away at incredible speeds while weaving through warring Martial Squires.
The battle had long escalated into the air, encompassing the entirety of the three dimensions within the colosseum. Rui zig-zagged through the air, and the ground, avoiding attacks that crashed into other Martial Squires taking them out.
He felt relieved as he witnessed the three grade-ten Martial Squires struggling under volleys of attacks launched by the grade-eight and grade-nine Martial Squires that worked together to take them down. Although those three were the strongest, that did not mean that they were capable of handling so many attackers that were just a grade or two below them. Rui could have easily suffered their fate had he not concealed his power.