48 Hours a Day

Although the whole thing happened so abruptly and seemed incredibly unreal, the judge still had to rule that Zhang Heng and Varo won the battle.

The main reason was that the outcome was too obvious for anyone to refute. Two swords were placed in front of Julius’s and Ascle’s necks, and they looked extremely embarrassed by their current circumstance. They had lost their strength to fight back. Since Zhang Heng and Varo ended the fight too quickly, they had to wait for the others to finish their battle before they could get another pair of gladiators to fight with.

Judging by how the two looked right now, it seemed like they did not need too much rest. All Varo did was run two meters, and the battle was over. He did not even break a sweat. They had won the battle so quickly and easily that Varo felt that it was unreal. Until Zhang Heng put away both of his swords, Varo realized that everything was real.

“We won?”

“Yes, but it’s only the first round.” Zhang Heng replied, his expressions calm as if what had just happened was just something that did not matter to him.

On the other side, Julius and Ascle looked a little depressed. It was a terrible loss for them since they did not get to showcase any of their strength. This was definitely not a very pleasing scene for the audience, especially since the two had little to no reputation. After the battle was over, the audience would probably request for the two to be executed.

Fortunately, the losers were allowed to fight one more fight to redeem themselves. Due to the sudden defeat, they did not suffer any injuries nor consume any of their stamina. In other words, they had a better advantage in their next battle. Indeed, they would come up with all their strength to fight against their next opponents.

On the other side, Nasika had also started to showcase his combat skills. This was not the first time he fought with his current opponents. Hence, both sides knew each other rather well. The opponent’s group was not weaker than Nasika’s group, so he dared to take the initiative to strike at Nasika.

Nasika knew what his opponent’s plan was. Instead of picking the weakest team, they chose to tackle the most powerful team first. It was apparent that they did not plan to win the fight from the beginning. Their goal was to get into the loser category. Before they let Nasika and his partner defeat them, they would make sure to exhaust and injure them as much as possible.

It had to be admitted that this was indeed a good plan. If it went well, everyone’s favorite, Nasika, would pass the duel’s first round. He would suffer from a certain degree of injuries, which meant it was very likely that he would be eliminated in the next battle. After that, it was possible that they would reencounter each other in the losers bracket. By that time, the chances of defeating them would be significantly increased.

This strategy, however, was a rather risky one too. If they lost to Nasika, the spectators would no longer favor them, meaning their chances of getting executed would increase significantly. Therefore, the star gladiators would try their best not to lose in any battle. Secondly, they might not be able to get out of the loser group again.

The other most significant problem was that a plan did not constantly develop in the direction they expected. Nasika, for instance, was now going to go all out in this battle. He was different from the other gladiators. Due to his enormous strength, not only the large shield in his left hand could be used to block attacks, but it could also be used as an offensive weapon.

If he tackled his enemy with the shield, the person might fall or be sent flying. And if he exerted all of his strength in this attack, his shield would be able to break the bones of his enemies.

During the duel, the two opponents were focusing on guarding against Nasika’s attacks. However, they had underestimated their opponents. They forgot that Nasika still had a partner.

The latter was not as well-known as Nasika and was overshadowed by him. But this did not mean that one could underestimate him. He had always been Nasika’s best partner. The two made up for each others’ weaknesses. Nasika focused on offensive attacks, and his partner would focus on attacks that harassed their opponents. With the two partnered up, the opponents would often find that they had no other options but to go against Nasika.

Now their opponents were facing what other opponents had faced in the past. When they wanted to retreat, one of them was stuck in the battle with Nasika’s partner. When that happened, Nasika charged at them immediately. Seeing that his opponent would put up a defensive posture, Nasika cunningly put away the big shield and slashed the opponent’s side body with his sword. Although his opponents managed to dodge this lethal attack, it also forced them to reveal their weaknesses.

Immediately, Nasika’s partner slashed one of the opponent’s arms with his sword.

The judge had no intention to stop the battle. That was because this scene was similar to what happened between Bach’s and Rufus’s battle. The cut on the opponent’s arm was not as deep, and although blood gushed out from the wound, it was not fatal. Hence, there was no reason for the judge to stop the battle. It did not take long for another opponent to get hurt. However, it was only a minor injury. It was at that time the two opponents realized what Nasika wanted to do.

Nasika knew his opponents’ plan from the very beginning. Now, he was using their plan to go against them. Not only did he want to defeat them, but he also wanted to drain all of their strength and stamina. They would not be able to win the next round when they would fight among the loser bracket. And they were about to face the worst possible outcome. The two remembered that Nasika was well-known for making his opponents pay for what they did to him. It was now too late for them to change the outcome. There was no way for them to get out of it unharmed now.

They could not defeat them, and they could not surrender just like that after suffering such slight injuries. The audience would not let them off the hook easily. Therefore, the two had to bite the bullet and carry on with the fight. In any case, they had to survive for a little longer before they surrendered.

However, at this moment, a cunning smile could be seen on Nasika’s face. He dropped his current combat style and tackled one of his opponents’ chests with his shield. This time, Nasika exerted all of his strength in this strike. The unfortunate opponent was sent flying away by the brutal attack. By now, some of the bones in his body must have been broken. When the other opponent saw that his partner could no longer fight, he put down his weapon and wanted to surrender. Unfortunately, it was too late for him to do so.

Nasika charged at him in that split second, raised the sword in his hand, and cut off his target’s arm.

This cruel and bloody scene immediately made the audience cheered for him. The Bone Shatterer was famous for a reason. His brutal and violent combat style was considered art in that era.

However, when Nasika, now bathed in blood, raised his hands, he found out that he received fewer cheers from the audience. When he looked back, he saw that Varo was looking at his heroic posture like the audience in the stand.

Nasisa frowned. He realized that he might have unintentionally helped Varo and Zhang Heng unintentionally by eliminating a pair of competitors in the loser group.

But the next moment, he saw the judge signaling him to walk towards Zhang Heng.

Nasica was a little puzzled by it. He then said, “We should be the winner group, right?”

The judge nodded and agreed, “You two are the ones that left in the winner group.”

Nasika was shocked. He realized that he had spent quite some time making his opponents pay what they failed to do to him. However, it wouldn’t be that long. At most, Zhang Heng and Varo could only fight one round of the battle. But according to the judge, Zhang Heng and Varo had completed two rounds of the battles, and they had won both rounds.

How was that possible? Nasika looked at Varo in confusion, only to find out that the doubt on the latter’s face was no less than his.