TWO HOURS LATER
As soon as the next batch of battles was ready, the hundred or so betting booths were again open for the business and soon, the scoreboard as well as the betting odds were revealed for the audience.
90:10
Kahn’s betting odds for his next round shocked thousands of people checking it. However, this time it was him at favorable odds instead of his opponent.
These odds were even bigger than his first match. And due to the previous commotion, many people had chosen to bet on him after the impeccable display of speed and skills in his previous match.
When Kahn entered the battle ring, in front of him, stood a four-meter tall intermediate master rank Botir warrior whose entire body was covered in a gray exoskeleton armor from head to toe. And in his hands, was a large warhammer.
He looked at Kahn with eyes full of scorn because based on betting odds.. He was considered very weak as the 9 out 10 people bet on Kahn instead of him.
For someone like him, it was a form of insult and he was thoroughly furious after being looked down upon by a few hundred thousand people sitting amongst the audience.
Six hundred other matches were happening but none of them had betting odds differing by this lot.
“You.. I will beat you into a mush and show everyone here that I’m not some weakling.” spoke the botir warrior in a threatening tone. His deep and hoarse voice was filled with wrath and malice.
“Begin!” spoke the female foxkin referee.
BOOM!
The opponent released his aura and leaped in Kahn’s direction.
BANG!
His huge arms hit the floor and sent shockwaves all around the battle ring and Kahn barely escaped it by hair’s breadth.
At this moment, Kahn too had limited his strength and stats to Intermediate master rank in order to test his limits.
Since no external tools such as smoke bombs or any other equipment than your primary weapons were allowed, he appeared to be in pinch right from the start.
“Come here you insect! Let me crush your bones!” he shouted and charged after Kahn who was trying to create distance between them.
SCHRRRR!!
Kahn’s daggers collided with the opponent’s broad hands and sparks appeared at the point of friction.
Kahn was instantly flung backward and he tried to adjust his footing.
But the next second, his figure disappeared from the spot and suddenly, the botir warrior felt his body disoriented out of the blue.
Kahn appeared right above this four meter tall opponent’s head and tried to pierce through his shoulder. But his attack was stopped by the stone-like armor that covered most parts of this botir’s body.
Grab!
The botir warrior grabbed Kahn’s right leg and swung him towards the other end of the arena after Kahn kicked his head and tried to injure his shoulder.
If not for his inborn armor-like body, he would have been gravely injured and then unable to fight furthermore. And if the rules allowed killing, he was certain that Kahn would’ve struck the dagger in his nape instead.
Kahn quickly cemented himself on the ground and then rushed towards the opponent at full speed.
Currently, all he could use were the B rank and below skills, as nobody below Grandmaster rank could A Rank or above skills so he had to fight while using the most basic ones. Otherwise, he would’ve won the match in the first ten seconds alone.
The spectators were glued to their seats because it hadn’t even been a minute and both Kahn and the botir warrior has engaged in an intense battle.
Many people started cheering for Kahn because he was the one many of them had bet on. And a normal human fighting toe to toe with a botir was a rare sight to see as well.
The opponent readied himself and created an aura shield around himself, leaving no opening around his body.
[Templar! He’s a Templar!.. So he was hiding his original class by not using a sword or a shield. What a cheeky bastard..] thought Kahn and smiled under his black mask.
Aura Shield was one of the signature skills of the Templar class fighters and hence Kahn quickly guessed the real class of the opponent.
For the next two minutes, Kahn made preemptive strikes and kept the opponent constantly moving and defending against his fast attacks.
Although the botir had a massive advantage over brute strength and defense.. He was completely lacking in speed and accuracy of attacks as his giant body itself restricted many of his movements.
“Argh!” groaned the opponent as Kahn successfully managed to cut off his tendons and pierced the gap under his right shoulder.
Even the audience was taken aback by how the situation turned around so quickly. The seemingly impenetrable botir warrior was already on his knees against this small and lean human assassin who had only a few set of attacking skills.
“Admit defeat or I will go for the shoulder.
Although it won’t kill you, it will decommission you for a long time. And it will hurt even more.” said Kahn loudly. His voice resounded through a part of the arena.
“Hah! I dare you to try.” spoke the opponent.
Swoosh!
The next moment, Kahn disappeared and revealed himself behind the back of the botir warrior and stabbed his spine.
Crack!
But instead of injuring the opponent.. Kahn’s dagger broke and it failed to penetrate the spine.
“Ha.. Idiot. Our back is where we are sturdiest. ” spoke the botir and quickly turned around, catching Kahn off guard.
Both of his giant arms caught Kahn in a deadlock before he even had a chance to retreat.
“You’re lucky that people are watching. Otherwise, I’d crack your bones and bury you under the ground myself.” whispered the opponent as swung his entire body and threw Kahn high up in the air.
Thud! Thud!
In front of a hundred thousand onlookers..
Kahn was thrown out of the battle ring.
Ding!
“The winner is no. 2,98,370!” declared the referee and with this, the botir warrior won the match.
[[Author : Reference Art for Botir Templar warrior in chapter comments.]]
Gobsmacked!
Many people among the audience were left speechless. Mainly because they had spent a lot of money when they bet on Kahn.
But the fan favorite lost the match over small error in judgement.
Thousands of people who had bet on him started cursing and hurling abuses at Kahn for losing the match as he returned to the resting area.
Kahn quickly changed his attire and left the resting area as a mage whilst avoiding the people who wanted to find him and cause trouble because they lost a lot of money.
After he exited the arena, Kahn contacted Ronin.
“So?”
[Master.. By the looks of it.. I can say one thing for sure.]
“What is that?”
To his question, Ronin replied coyly.
[That you’re the best scam artist ever!]