And it didn't take long, and about 30 thousand people had occupied the entire space of the arena!
"Ah... This place is fascinating. I think I will come here a lot in the future!" Someone said in the middle of the crowd.
"Hmm, even if I can't fight here, for now, there will be a lot of fights here in the future!"
"I wonder what will happen today..."
"Haha, rest assured, your older brother here will tell you ..."
"I heard from a friend of mine that a small competition is going to happen here today!"
"A competition, huh? That will be my first time seeing such a thing. I just watch the professors at the former Black Star Academy activating their techniques. Still, I never witnessed a real fight." A young woman said, with a smile of anticipation on her face.
"See there! It looks like it's about to start!"
And as soon as someone said that, Sergeant Pyke went up to the stage in the center of the arena and used a sound array to welcome everyone.
"Ehh, welcome to the opening of the Arena of the Dry City!"
"Today, we are opening this building for the first time. So, the Black Plain Army will be holding a small competition for the audience present."
He then started talking about what would happen next, including the rules of this small tournament.
According to Pyke, eight army soldiers would fight in a key tournament, with seven matches in total. But there would be no dispute for the third place since only that soldier who took first place could win the prize of a thousand low-grade crystals.
Anyway, among the soldiers were the strongest in the army, at level 42. As for Sergeant Pyke, he usually had a leadership role in the group, even though he was on the same level as them, so he was not competing but just acting as a match referee.
And it didn't take long, and all the soldiers who were going to participate in this inaugural competition had already arrived at the place.
"Well, if everyone is ready, let's start the first fight!" Pyke said excitedly, looking at the two men who would make the first match.
These were two soldiers who had come from the group of Minos' guards, who had accompanied him since the City of the Setting Sun, until here, in the Dry City.
One of them had a broad and robust body, with hair shaved from the sides, and he held a blunt sword in his right hand. The other was a man with a few extra pounds, a round face, and a metal shield resting on his left arm.
As they positioned themselves on the stage, the two looked at Pyke, waiting for authorization to fight.
"Start!"
Upon hearing this, neither of them was late. Both were already running towards each other, activating their respective battle techniques.
Crash!
Quickly, the strong man cut his way towards his opponent's fat body while making a quick move with his sword.
Despite his vulnerability, the fat man used his shield to defend himself, ignoring the soldier's attack and punching him in the chest.
Pow!
"Ahh!"
Upon receiving this unexpected attack, the strong soldier took a few steps back, expressing pain because of the blow he had just taken. 'This fat man is truly good at hiding behind a shield!' He complained in his mind.
And it didn't take long for their fight to become more intense.
...
Pow!
"Ahh!"
Soon the strong man could no longer stand the constant attacks of his rival when he was finally thrown off the stage after being hit in the face.
It was a beautiful sight to see!
By the time he received the blow, the man with the sturdy body was already exhausted when he started to fall towards the ground.
But unfortunately for him, the opponent's punch was already close enough to his face when the collision had finally happened.
That muscular man's face was beaten as his cheeks shook from side to side, and he was thrown away the combat platform, like a sack of potatoes!
The fat soldier knew how to use his defense, protecting himself from the enemy and attacking in moments of vulnerability. That ensured his victory, even though he seemed to have some disadvantage in some fight moments.
"Okay, let's go to the next fight!"
...
"Hmm, very interesting how that soldier used his shield. I didn't think you could use a shield that way!"
"Ehh, the shield is not just any item. It can be decisive in a fight. The problem is that most people prefer to use weapons such as swords, spears, etc..."
"Look, one more fight is going to start. Let's see what will happen now!"
...
After a while, finally, the fourth battle of the day, the last of that first phase of the arena's opening competition, was about to happen.
"Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for another fight. After this match, we will stop for 1 hour so that the competitors can recover their energy."
Pyke then looked at the man and woman who were on the stage and said. "Well, get started!"
Hearing this, the two took no longer and began to fight.
The woman was a former resident of the Yellow City, and she had joined the army just over seven months ago. As for the man, he had come from Stone Island and had been with Minos' forces for four months.
The two were thrilled with their current reality and, even more, were very motivated to win those thousand crystals offered to the winner of this small tournament...
The woman then used her movement technique, deflecting the flames created by her opponent. At the same time, she attacked him, punching her opponent's back.
Pow!
Sssss!
However, when her fist was about to touch the defenseless back of that man, a fire barrier appeared in her path, burning towards the woman's arm.
'Ah! Shit!'
She mourned inwardly, seeing that this had been a trap of her opponent.
"Ahh!"
And then a cry of wail sounded in the air as the woman was thrown on the floor with part of her clothes on fire.
Seeing this, the man who comes from Stone Island quickly took this chance, attacking her.
Flame Fists!
Sssss!
But to his surprise, the woman from the Yellow City had her plans for this competition, so she was putting everything into this fight.
She then jumped towards her opponent, using most of her remaining spiritual energy in her movement technique, and then attacked him as the last struggle!
'Damn it! This woman tricked me! '
Pow!
Quickly, the woman used all of her strength, punching her opponent in the face with force, throwing him into the distance.
"Ahhh!"
He hit his back hard on the floor while turning from side to side in pain, with an ugly expression on his face, making wailing sounds.
She had nailed him the moment he had hesitated!
Upon seeing this turnaround, the general public in the arena went into a commotion, seeing how decisive that competitor had been.
At a crucial moment, she had counteracted her opponent's trap while still suffering from the damage of his previous attack. However, she had managed to deliver a critical blow with her strong perseverance, recovering the last obstacle.
"Haha, what a woman with personality!" A man said out loud.
"Hmm, she wasn't affected by what happened before. I thought the fight was going to end at that moment."
"Hehehe, I feel sorry for that guy. Look, he seems to have lost some teeth..." A young woman said while pointing at the man who was trying to get up, spitting a mouth of blood, with some teeth mixed in the middle.
After that, he couldn't endure continuing fighting. The woman was finally declared the winner of the last round of this phase!
"Well, the fight is over!" Pyke excitedly said while sighing for a moment. These guards were truly taking this event very seriously, but he could understand their motivation...
"Okay, guys, let's stop for an hour, and then we'll be back with the next part!"
...
Meanwhile, in the VIP room of Minos, the young sovereign was watching everything from the deck of that place while Dillian and Mia were there with him.
Mia then commented surprisingly. "Hey, I never thought these things were so exciting!"
She was not a warrior. She was just an ordinary cultivator who did this to live more and better. And living in a place like the Dry City, Mia hadn't seen many fights in her life.
So, she was amazed by this type of event.
Butler Dillian then smiled gently and spoke. "Ahh, I remember the time when I was still young, and I saw the Spiritual Tournament. It is not bad to watch some friendly matches..."
"Hmm, who knows, in the future, we may have our own Spiritual Tournament..." Minos commented with a smile on his face.
That would be a good way for them to attract people to the Black Plain in the future. After all, this was the most effective way to attract the region's talents.
But that would only be in the future when Minos' forces were strong enough to be able to do this.
"Hmm, it would be interesting to do this here. Many would certainly come after the awards." Dillian agreed, shaking his head in approval.
Most of the Spiritual Tournament competitors didn't even have a chance to make it to the 3rd test, so they would undoubtedly be interested in other opportunities.
So these young people wouldn't have to risk anything by going to an empire where they would be ordinary people...