After wining his first match Marcus headed up into the stands where the area was reserved for competitors.
He knew that the next match was going to Gurrom's first and it was actually going to be the first time that Marcus saw him fight.
All he had seen was that his weapon was an adamantine axe, but his fighting style and other gear was still unknown to him.
Yet it looked like Marcus was going to get to watch a good match as Gurrom's opponent stepped into the ring.
'Level fifty. Definitely one of the stronger competitors in the tournament.'
Gurrom's opponent was the boss of a mercenary band that typically worked for the highest paying noble.
They would do any job from rooting out large nests of bandits, to killing monsters or beasts, and sometimes even suppressing rebellious citizens.
However, unlike adventures who worked in small groups for the most part, a mercenary company was like a small army, with no oversight and only one rule, who is paying the most.
In fact, this man whose name was Lorenzo, was one of the twelve people that were seeded to the main tournament, showing just how much the kingdom valued his abilities.
Yet as Gurrom entered the ring he made just as much of an imposing figure, decked out in full top tier mithril plate armor and his adamantine axe on his back.
The tension between he two of them was almost visible as they stared each other down.
They could both tell that the other was strong and that this was not going to be an easy fight.
"On my left we have the man who leads the strongest mercenary band in the kingdom, Lorenzo. With over a hundred fighters they have dealt with many issues across the kingdom at the behest of nobles and merchants. And on my right, we have another of the famed Thabon Blazegram's apprentices Gurrom Durand. He is a senior apprentice at what many to be considered the greatest forge in the kingdom, and has even made weapons and armor for the royal family. His skills in the forge have given him renowned throughout the capital, but judging by the axe on his back forging is not all he is good at."
The commentator slash referee continued to hype the two fighters up for around another minute, before beginning the countdown to start the match.
"And let the match begin."
As the referee announced the start of the match, Lorenzo leapt right into action holding in one hand an adamantine estoc and the other a mithril stiletto.
It was certainly an unusual fighting style for this world since weapon skills normally only pertained to one type, but Marcus had seen something similar with his friend Clarisa, so Lorenzo probably had a special skill to use both of those weapons at the same time.
With Blinding speed Lorenzo closed in on Gurrom, and with pinpoint accuracy thrust his stiletto towards a gap in Gurrom's armor.
However, Gurrom was not just going to let this happen and swung his axe directly towards Lorenzo's arm aiming to chop it off.
Twisting his body around Lorenzo with expert foot work dodged just out of the way of Gurrom's axe blade and thrust his estoc right towards Gurrom's stomach.
Sensing the danger coming for him, Gurrom normally would have just let the attack bounce of his armor then counter, but the estoc was a weapon meant specifically for piercing through heavy armor, and Gurrom was certain that his would not hold up.
Bringing his axe's handle up Gurrom just managed to deflect Lorenzo's estoc and instead of it hitting him right in the stomach it hit his side.
And just as Gurrom had feared, the estoc had some type of armor piercing property and pierced through his top tier mithril armor and into him.
Luckily, because he had deflected the blow its power was lessened and with his armor taking most of the force, the blade had barely gone a half inch into his thick muscles.
"Grand Swing."
Using an incredibly powerful attack skill, Gurrom's axe began to pulse with mana before he swung towards Lorenzo.
It was a powerful attack that certainly would have spelled the end for Lorenzo, that is if it would hit him.
By nature, Lorenzo was a speed fighter, and as soon as Gurrom began to make the swing for his big move, he had begun distancing himself jumping back and evading the swing.
Nevertheless, Gurrom had not just swung his axe but also sent out a powerful blast of mana along with it that was now heading straight for Lorenzo.
Bringing his stiletto and estoc into the shape of a cross Lorenzo sent his own blast of mana to counter Gurrom's, and the two attacks met and caused a massive explosion leaving a crater in the ring.
The crowd was going wild for this fight since it was one of the best so far. Two high level fighters going at it with everything they had was the reason everyone came to watch, and this fight was already as good as the finals of previous years.
Bounding towards Gurrom again Lorenzo had decided to win by slowly whittling down his opponent with fast attacks in his blind spots.
Running around Lorenzo was constantly sending out thrust after thrust at Gurrom forcing him to continue turning around to defend, but Lorenzo was just too quick for him to hit, and slowly he was beginning to bleed from multiple puncture wounds.
"Time to end this." Lorenzo said as it was clear that Gurrom had lost a great deal of stamina after sustaining dozens of wounds.
Rushing in Lorenzo's weapons began glowing before a gust of wind formed around him giving him even more speed as he launched straight towards Gurrom.
Yet unlike before he was rushing right in head on, and Gurrom seeing this as his chance, raised his axe and swung down with all his might.
'Grand swing.'
Using the same powerful attack skill, Gurrom was sure to blow back Lorenzo this time.
He had gotten used to his speed as the two continued to clash, and now that he was coming at him from the front his attack was sure to hit.
Clang!
As his swing was about to hit Lorenzo who was right in front of him, Lorenzo had put up his mithril stiletto and somehow blocked Gurrom's swing.
'Unyielding Fortress.'
Lorenzo using a very powerful skill that allowed him to block any attack so long as it was not greatly stronger than him, had stopped Gurrom's axe.
Still such a powerful skill had its limits and Lorenzo could only use it once a day, but in a one-on-one fight that was all he needed.
With Gurrom completely open, Lorenzo finished up his attack and jabbed his estoc straight through Gurrom's stomach hitting the spot he had first aimed for.
It was a horrible wound and Lorenzo's estoc was now sticking out of Gurrom's back with blood dripping off of its blade.
But as Lorenzo tried to pull back, he felt his estoc barely budge as it was now lodged in Gurrom's strong muscles, and he was not going to let go.
A smile on his face Gurrom looked up and said to Lorenzo, "You are right, it is time to end this."
"Fire Storm!"
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