The opening ceremony was over, and when Zar watched the figure of the Wind Cliff City Lord disappear into the viewing platform, all that was left to his ears was the noise coming from all directions, and the laughter of the crowd slowly exiting. Silence followed the other gladiators back to the lounge, the nervous or restless look that had just appeared on their faces was gone, replaced by a flush of excitement, and Zal was left with only a silent silence.

Zal accepted Blazei's "advice", or as the other side said, he had no other choice, it was the result of strength and had to be accepted. If possible, Zar didn't mind risking his life at all, but if it was a threat to Cadius and Gavila, the opponent did succeed and successfully forced himself into the only way: to win the game with all his might, and finally settle everything on the battlefield.

He took a deep breath and shook his head vigorously. "In this way, it becomes 'simpler'...... Isn't it?" he said to himself, and then followed the crowd and walked out of the lounge.

Passing through the gate and slowly ascending the stairs, when Zar returned to the main entrance of the Colosseum, he found that the opening ceremony had been going on all morning, and at this time, the midday sun was hot and shining on the clear blue and cloudless sky. The crowd pouring out of the arena was huddled on the main road, slowly moving forward, many talking and laughing loudly, as if they had not yet detached themselves from the opening ceremony.

Glancing around, Zar quickly found the half-elf waving his arms at him under a thick column. Cadius was still shouting Zal's name, but against the backdrop of the noise, it was clear that such efforts had no effect.

Shoulders abandoned, squeezing through the crowd, Zar and Cadius were finally under a shady wall. Successfully converging. "How does it feel, it's magnificent!" the half-elf clutched a handkerchief, wiping the sweat from his neck, "for Gorintia's sake, my ears are going to be deaf!"

Zal smiled and nodded, as if nothing had happened. "It's not bad, it's spectacular. I was a little bit intimidated by the crazy crowd...... "He didn't want to tell Cadius about Blazei.

Even though Zar was careful, the fleeting hesitation in his eyes was still caught by the half-elf. "What's wrong? You have a strange look in your eyes, what happened at the opening ceremony?" he asked.

"......No," Zal immediately shook his head and explained, "It's just that it feels a little weird to see the castle lord's mask...... Forget it, don't talk about it," he said, diverting the conversation elsewhere. "By the way, what about Gaveira? Did you see her?"

Hearing Zhar's explanation, the half-elf didn't feel much out of the ordinary, because when he first saw the city lord's bright silver mask, he also felt very strange, so he naturally skipped it. "Gavira is back, she's fast enough," the half-elf shrugged. "But understandable, for her. After participating in the opening ceremony, it's basically fine, just wait for the preliminaries to start......"

Zar smiled wryly helplessly. "Okay, and then, where is the draw going on?"

"Over there," he said, turning and gesturing to the outside of the Colosseum, a large, exaggerated wooden signboard. "That's where the preliminary draw is made. And then your names, depending on the number of sessions, will be written on it. As he spoke, he walked over with Zal. "That way, the audience will be able to follow their preferences. Select the match you're interested in and go and watch it. ”

"It's not in the 'Blood Arena', is it?" said Zar, who followed the half-elves, struggling through the crowd.

"Of course not!" he said back, "the preliminary and preliminary rounds are held in a private gladiatorial arena, and only the final stage of the competition will be played in the 'Blood Gladiatorial Arena'. He said and suddenly yelled at the crowd passing by, "Damn it, my feet! What kind of thing without eyes is doing this!"

Finally, after a grueling "wrestling", Zar and Cadius finally squeezed under the giant billboard. At this time, several agile goblins were standing on the horizontal ladders of different heights, writing the names shouted under the board on the back of the different scene codes.

There were many more spectators who followed the gladiators they supported as they carried out the draw ceremony. Whenever a set of matches was completed, the supporters who stood behind the gladiators would provoke their opponents and erupt in a roar like a demonstration. In a way, the battle between the contestants, from this moment, has already begun.

A goblin with a megaphone was standing on a large wooden box under the billboard, shouting: "All the participants in the preliminary round, please go here for the lottery and divide the group!

Zal and Cadius rushed over, and next to the goblin, the staff was counting the contestants' "identity plates". Once the statistics are completed, the contestants can draw the number of the field from a square iron box and record it on the board.

Zar quickly stood at the back of the line, and it wasn't long before it was finally his turn amid the staff's inquiries. "Nameplate, 'Left Ear String'!"

“Z.3478065。 Zal handed the nameplate to the other party, and then revealed the number on his right hand at the same time.

The other party quickly compared them, and finally found Zal's name on the roster. "Let's draw lots. The other party pointed to the iron box and said.

Reaching into the iron box, Zar immediately felt for a large pile of round cards placed inside. I picked one and took the card out of the iron box. “12。 Zal handed the card to the staff, and the other party quickly shouted loudly, "The twelfth game of the preliminary round, No. 143 Zal!"

As soon as the words fell, the goblin standing next to the kanban wrote Zal's name and serial number in the blank space behind scene 12. Zar and the half-elf looked up and saw that the opponent's column had not yet been named.

"I was ranked in the twelfth game, and I ...... on the evening of the fourth day of the preliminary round," the half-elf said, looking at the event information on the board, "this position is okay, it would be better if it could be a little bit later." ”

"Do you have any pre-match adjustments, and do you still have information on your opponents?" asked Zal, and Cadius nodded, not speaking.

The staff member returned the identification plate to Zal. Then pointed to the far right of the board, a team of staff in black uniforms. "Go to them and they'll tell you what to do next. After that, he stopped paying attention to the two of them.

He walked along the board, and before Zar could speak, a sturdy Rogkan approached. "Hello, the participants in the twelfth round of the preliminary round, right?" he nodded to Zar and the half-elves. "I'm the arbiter of the game, Salire, and it's a pleasure to meet you. ”

"Thank you, it's our ...... to be honored," Zar and the half-elf greeted each other.

"Your nameplate will be kept by me for the time being, and if you win, it will be returned to you immediately after the match for the next match. If I am defeated......" Salire's words were not finished, and Zar continued in understanding, "I will be removed." Knocked out. With both smiles on their faces, Zal handed the nameplate to the arbitrator.

"Also, please wait a minute, because your opponent is not in place yet, so we can't move on to the next item for the time being. Sabre explained apologetically.

"No problem. Zal said.

As soon as the words fell, the shouts of the staff under the kanban attracted the attention of Zal and the others. "The twelfth game of the preliminary round, No. 129 Daoud!"

Zal and Kadius were stunned when they heard this. When I turned around, I saw a man who was a lot taller than ordinary people. A burly, mountain-like human came from underneath the billboard. Next to him, a middle-aged man in a long coat was followed by more than a dozen supporters with excited faces. Not surprisingly, the eyes of both sides collided in the air between each other.

"How much heavier is this guy than you?" the half-elf whispered, smiling. "100 pounds or 200 pounds? Are you sure it's a human?......

"It's human, and it's my opponent in my first fight. Zal nodded.

Soon, the gladiator named Daoud came to Zal and the others. Without waiting for Saliret to speak, the middle-aged man on the opposite side handed over the nameplate in his hand. "Regards you, Mr. Arbitrator. My name is Tuze, the patron of Daoud and the owner of the 'Spiked Caravan Gladiatorial Arena'...... Nice to meet you. ”

After exchanging pleasantries with the arbitrator, the middle-aged man's gaze naturally turned to Zal and the half-elf. "Presumably these two are ......"

The half-elf took over. "Your opponents. "I'm Zal's trainer named Cadius. Zar had wanted to speak, but he found that from the moment he met his gaze, the fellow named Daoud was staring at him motionlessly, along with the supporters behind him, with a lazy smile on his face.

"Poof......" Daoud let out a breath with the corners of his mouth crooked, squinting his eyes up and down at the half-elf. "Trainer?......" The supporters behind him seemed to be unable to hold back, snickering, and whispering to each other.

The middle-aged man glanced at Zar and the half-elf indifferently, and said to Saliré, "Where are we going?

The arbitrator nodded, glancing at Zhal. "That's right, what do you have to say about the venue?" he asked, "Whose home stadium will you play?" ”

"No need to negotiate, we don't have a home stadium. Cadius's words stunned everyone.

Salire asked. "And what about the space you rented?"

"No, there isn't. ”

"And your patron, do you have no objection to that?" Salire finally asked.

"We don't have funders either. Cadius replied truthfully.

As soon as he finished speaking, Daoud's supporters burst into a sarcastic laugh, as if they had heard something extremely incredible, and they looked at Zar and the half-elves as if they were two fools. Daoud, who was standing opposite, hugged his shoulders, and large chunks of muscles gathered in his upper body. "No venue, no patrons...... Newcomer?" he leaned forward and reached out in front of Zal, "Hey, wake up, for the sake of the Lord God, are you here to join the arena, or are you here to die?"

"Hahaha......" A louder laugh rang out.

"This guy has a sick head!"

"Go back and find a sponsor and come to the 'Blood Arena' again! If I hurt you, do you have the money to see a doctor!hahaha......"

Zal stood there unmoved, and a voice came from the darkness under the hood. "Enough laughing? ”

Daoud raised an eyebrow, and the middle-aged man's face showed the same contemptuous expression, and he looked at Zal and Kadius. "Are you serious? In that case, the game will be in the 'Spike Caravan Gladiatorial Arena'. He turned to the arbitrator.

Saliret nodded. "The side that doesn't get the home right can choose the rules of the battle," he said to Zal, "choose the rules of the battle you want, 'Death to win' or 'Defeat to win'?"

Without waiting for Zal to answer, Daoud, who was standing opposite, said to the arbitrator: "Actually, you don't need to ask at all, he must choose the 'admit defeat and win' rule......" As he spoke, he tilted his head and looked at Zal sarcastically, "I know what you think, there is no venue, there is no sponsor, a scum like you just wants to rely on automatic admission of defeat and earn a little ticket share, right?!"

Amid the ridicule of his supporters, Daoud rubbed his chin covered with cyan stubble. "Do you want to make more money? Actually, I have a good way!" he said with a smile, "You can also press me to win on the handicap, so that although you don't make much, it is enough to reward you with a few more silver table......s!"

He laughed at the end, and the supporters behind him kept heckling. But in the midst of the laughter, Zal's voice drifted calmly. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, I'll choose 'Fight to the Death'. ”

It was like being suddenly stuck in the neck, and the chaotic laughter came to an abrupt end. The supporters who stood in the back roared loudly as if they were annoyed. Daoud, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes gloomily and stopped speaking.

"I don't know if I'm alive or dead, don't you know how to be grateful for sparing your dog's life!"

"Crush his head! Daoud, don't let this kid get out of the 'spiked caravan' alive!"

"Kill him, kill him, make him regret making that choice!"

"What do you think you are!'Fight to the death'!

“......”

Salile, who was standing next to him, looked at Zal and confirmed. "You're going to choose 'fight to the death', aren't you?"

"That's right. Zal nodded.

"Okay, if there's nothing else going on, I'll update the information on the schedule. "Please note that if the match information is officially written on the board, it cannot be changed." After receiving an affirmative reply from the other party, Salire nodded to himself, "Since there is no objection, the schedule statistics are over, both sides must be on time, otherwise it will be regarded as a waiver and an automatic loss." ”

"Okay. Zar and the half-elf made it clear.

On the other side, Tuze nodded. "So, I'll wait in the 'Spiked Caravan' for the two of you?" he said to the two of them with a smile, "I'll see you then, and I'll be absent, gentle......men," he said, glancing at Daoud, and walked out first.

"Before leaving, let me give you a piece of advice......" Daoud, surrounded by his supporters, turned back and said, "As long as you can roll as far as you can while you are not beaten to death by me, abstaining is your best choice!"

Zal looked at the other man's back and said in an inaudible voice. "Another suggestion, what a lot of suggestions today......" (To be continued......