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Chapter 800: 800

Chapter 800: Opponent

The previous battles had all been arranged by the arena long ago . To ensure that the final battle’s excitement and popularity could be kept up, the most powerful gladiators would not meet during the early phase of the battle . But now, Zhang Heng had appeared in from of the audience while they were cheering for him . It also brought out a new problem . His opponent hadn’t yet been decided . The organizer did not know what to do at a time like this . Zhang Heng, however, walked to the judge and talked to him, to which the latter looked very surprised . He repeatedly asked, “Are you sure?”

“Of course, I won’t play around with my life,” Zhang Heng said .

The judge then hurriedly told Zhang Heng’s proposal to Commodus in the front row . And the young emperor also had a strange look on his face when he heard what Zhang Heng said, “He said that?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I asked him twice . ” The judge affirmed .

Commodus thought for a while, “Then we should trust him . He is a man who can always perform miracles, and I think this time is no exception . ”

Commodus gave the order, and soon, more and more people in the stands knew which opponent Zhang Heng would face in the next battle .

The results shocked the audience, especially when they saw Zhang Heng handing over his two Persian swords . They started a fervent whispering to each other . Although Zhang Heng had presented overwhelming strength in the previous battle, not many people were optimistic about his next . Considering the opponent that he was going to face, his fighting skills, strength, and speed would not give him an advantage in this battle . And the worst part was that he actually planned to fight his enemy with his bare hands .

Of course, this was just what the audience thought about him . Not planning to use any weapons, Zhang Heng, who proposed this fight, did not feel that his decision would cost him his life . The only item that he requested was only a rope .

He first tested the strength of the rope before tying it into a knot to make a noose . He felt like he was back in the 19th century wild west of the United States with the lasso across his shoulder .

Next, his opponent was released from the cage .

He was met with a full-grown adult bison . With a length of more than two meters and a weight of around one ton, it was no wonder the audience thought Zhang Heng couldn’t win this battle . With its weight, it was impossible for a regular human to stop its attack . If it did run into someone, the poor soul’s bones would probably be crushed and shattered .

Moreover, the bison’s skin was thick and tough, and its pair of horns was almost indestructible . If it felt that a group of lions threatened its life, the bison would risk its life to fight against the lions . A lot of times, when a pride of lions went on a hunt, the bison would plant its tusks into the lion’s stomach and kill it on the spot .

Reality was different from the movies . In reality, gladiators and beastmasters were two completely different professions . Under normal circumstances, the two professions would not exchange opponents . The fighting skills that a gladiator learned and trained for were used to deal with another gladiator, which also meant they had never learned how to deal with beasts . On the other hand, the same applied to the beastmasters as well . These two professions would never cross paths with each other .

That was why the judge was taken aback when he heard that Zhang Heng was about to challenge the bison . After that, the judge got even more shocked when he heard that Zhang Heng did not need any weapons other than a strong rope . The audience in the stands could not imagine how he was going to defeat the bison . With his fists and teeth?

But just when everyone was puzzled, the battle had already begun . The beastmaster poked a sharpened rod into the bison to provoke it . Immediately, the bison locked on Zhang Heng with its pair of big copper bell-like eyes . After that, the bison lowered his head and revealed the deadliest weapon on its head before rushing toward Zhang Heng .

On the other hand, Zhang Heng did not rush to throw the lasso at the bison .

When he was a cowboy, he tended to many bulls and had dealt with many disobedient ones . However, this was his first time dealing with such a large bovine, and there was no horse for him to ride either, so he had to be more cautious . Fortunately, the method that one used to capture a bison was the same method used to tame a bull . All the experience that he had accumulated earlier could be put to use right now . Zhang Heng did not rush to lasso it because the beast was so powerful that even if the lasso landed on its neck accurately, Zhang Heng would probably be the one that dragged around .

So he chose to dodge the bison’s attack for the time being . He rolled on the ground to avoid the bison’s tackle . However, the bison had locked on to him, and it was determined to kill Zhang Heng . Once it realized that it missed, it quickly turned around and ran towards Zhang Heng’s back, seeming as if it was ready to deal a lethal blow .

Seeing that the bison was less than half a meter away from Zhang Heng, the audience began to worry about him . And Queen Christina could not bear to watch the performance anymore . She quickly plunged her head into her husband’s arms . Commodus’s heart sank . Although he said he wanted to believe in Zhang Heng, he was also skeptical about dealing with the bison empty-handed . Seeing that Zhang Heng’s life was at stake, he could not help but suspect that the gladiator would meet his end here .

It would be a pity if this oriental man really lost his life here . Commodus had started to like Zhang Heng, and he wanted to look for an opportunity to chat with the latter . After the previous battle, Zhang Heng’s odds soared in the betting business . It meant that everyone was very optimistic that he would win the championship . If his arrogance caused him to lose his life here and failed to join the final battle, his flawless victory in the first round of his battle would become a joke .

Pompeo Nuss, on the other side, also shook his head while watching and said to his wife, “It seems like your five thousand gold coins are about to disappear soon . How are you holding up? Is your private money enough to pay for the loan? Do you need me to help you to pay some of it first?”

“What a caring man . ” Lucilla smiled upon hearing this, “but the battle is not over yet, isn’t it?”

As if he had a pair of ears growing behind his head, Zhang Heng knew what was going on behind his back . Instead of looking back, he moved a little to the left and dodged the brutal sneak attack . The two sharp horns touched his arms, and the bison would plant them into Zhang Heng’s body if he made the wrong move . After that, Zhang Heng did something so crazy that no one had expected .

Soon after he had escaped death’s claws, he took the initiative to reach out to grab a horn and lightly tapped his toes on the ground . The next moment he leaped onto the back of the bison, and there was a burst of applause from the stands . The audience was shocked, bewildered by what they saw .

However, Zhang Heng’s plan also fell through . The bison’s back was so bumpy that he could not string the lasso around its neck . After that, the bison charged at the rope net at the edge of the arena, trying to throw Zhang Heng off his back . Fortunately, Zhang Heng managed to figure out its intention in time . Leaving with no other option, he had to jump down from the bison’s back, roll on around and escaped another round of trampling .

Chapter 801: Bullfighting Performance

This would be the day the Romans would remember for many years to come.

Not only did they get to enjoy a grand gladiatorial show to celebrate the enthronement of the new emperor of the empire, but they even got to witness an authentic western cowboy bullfighting show in the Amphitheatrum Flavium for the first time.

This might not be rare entertainment for the later generations. After all, the golden age of western pop culture had subsided in the 21st century. However, in the second century AD, watching the bullfighting performance was as shocking as witnessing a Quidditch game or coming across a wild Pikachu in a park.

This was especially true after seeing Zhang Heng dangerously evading the attacks from the bison again and again. Zhang Heng even leaped into the air and rode on the bison in front of everyone. This scene had managed to capture everyone’s heart. Almost every person at the stand was awestruck by Zhang Heng’s performance as if an invisible hand was manipulating the audience’s emotions in the stands. Sometimes, they were amazed by what they saw, and sometimes, they are worried about Zhang Heng. And then sometimes they overjoyed.

And Commodus was one of them. Mark Reuss, however, was the one that worried Zhang Heng the most. As Zhang Heng and the gladiator school owner, he had been in this business for quite some time and had seen thousands of gladiators, but none of them could compare to Zhang Heng. The thing this Asian man could do had way exceeded his imagination.

In less than a day, he provoked Sartonilos, his rival, for no reason. It caused Mark Reuss a tremendous headache. Then, after half a day, Zhang Heng put down his identity as a gladiator and asked to fight with a bison. Mark Reuss almost collapsed and was on the verge of yelling at Zhang Heng.

‘Can’t you win the damn championship without causing any troubles? Why do you have to initiate so many unnecessary things? What good will it do to you?!’

Zhang Heng was his most valuable asset right now. And Mark Reuss realized that he cherished Zhang Heng more than his wife and daughter. But Zhang Heng did not seem to appreciate it at all. He repeatedly challenged Mark Reuss’s bottom line, causing him to lose the confidence he had when he talked to Gaby. He began to realize that no one, not just him, could ever control people like Zhang Heng. Even Commodus himself would also find it extremely difficult to tame this beast.

And his face was darkened now. However, Mark Ruess still had to rely on Zhang Heng to win the championship for him. Once Zhang Heng won the championship, he would inevitably become more and more out of his control, which worried Mark Reuss.

After several rounds of fights with the bison, Zhang Heng gradually figured out the beast’s battle pattern. And at the same time, he figured that the audience should now be satisfied by what they had seen. So he prepared himself to end this battle.

With Zhang Heng’s current speed and strength, all those risks that he just took were actually unnecessary. Or perhaps it should be said that it was thanks to his existing skills that allowed him to make the whole performance look so thrilling without threatening his life substantially. It was like a play made deliberately in a movie, its purpose to stimulate the audience and deeply satisfy them.

And the method Zhang Heng used to end the battle would be dramatic as well. When the bison charged towards him again, he jumped on the back of the bovine, causing it to keep flailing its hind legs. It was doing everything possible to flick Zhang Heng off its back. When all conventional methods failed, it rushed towards the edge of the arena again.

But this time, it failed to get what it wanted. When the side of its body collided with the big net, Zhang Heng had already moved to the other side of its body and was firmly holding onto its fur to prevent himself from falling.

And there was a burst of applause from the stands. When the bison ran back to the center of the arena, Zhang Heng freed his hands to put the rope on the bison’s head. The more the bison struggled, the tighter the rope was. And the rope almost strangled it. After running a while, the bison’s gasping became louder and louder. Although it was not willing to give up, it had to surrender eventually in order to survive.

Zhang Heng then loosened the ropes a little. However, the bison broke out again, moved even more violently, trying to throw the nasty human off its back. Fortunately, Zhang Heng had experienced dealing with this kind of violent creature. Hence, he was more than ready when he saw that the bison was about to run wild. After another round of fierce wrestling, the bison knelt down again. This time, it could not fight back anymore, and it had to keep on kneeling on the ground because Zhang Heng used a rope to tie its legs.

In the end, the bison had no second option other than surrender.

And when Zhang Heng got down from the back of the bison, he received the biggest cheer since the completion of Amphitheatrum Flavium. Every single audience, including Commodus, stood up. The cheering sound flooded the entire arena to the extent that no one except Queen Christina could hear what Commodus was talking about.

Sprinkles of flowers and copper coins rained down from the stands. This exhilarating, novelty bullfighting performance would definitely become the most popular topic of discussion in Rome for some time to come. And those who had the honor to witness this fight would be revered. This trip was worth it.

Because of this performance, a new form of entertainment would emerge in a future Rome. And that was bare-handed bullfighting. However, without professional training, many brave slave bullfighters would be killed by bison. It would also turn out to be the performance with the highest mortality rate.

Zhang Heng did the same thing after he defeated the bison. He did not stay in the arena for too long. After bowing at Commodus, he turned and walked toward the lounge. Until now, Zhang Heng’s goal had been over-fulfilled. After these few battles, Commodus’s interest in him had also risen to its apex. When the performance was over, Commodus would definitely contact him. After that, he would need to figure out how to ask the whereabouts of Altrus.

…

Unlike what happened outside, there was a deathly silence in the lounge at this moment.

Inside, the gladiators had different expressions. Habitus and Sartonilos were no fools. Although they had not seen the bullfighting performance, they knew from the outrageous cheers that Zhang Heng had completely conquered the arena. And now, the gladiatorial performance had not even ended yet. They had no idea how Zhang Heng did it.

The people who would fight on the stage after Zhang Heng had it the worst. Zhang Heng had completely snatched their limelight. Now, they did not know what they should do to capture the spectators’ hearts, and this greatly frustrated them.