Second Round

The youths who were resting stood up and returned to the edge of the circle. Two youths then stepped into the circle and took aggressive stances. One was Tony who had a nonchalant expression, and the other was Steve who was rather short in stature, but stable like an oak. Having both made quick work of their previous opponents, none was underestimating the other. "Begin" came the call from the elder.

Instead of immediately engaging each other, the two levelled each other cautiously and approached each other slowly. They finally locked armed and tussled for a while, before Steve slipped out of the lock towards Tony's back and caught him by the waist. Steve went for a lift but Tony reacted by spreading his feet and tucking in. He only lifted from the ground marginally before regaining his footing. Tony then tucked in his arms into the waist lock and slowly widened it. Unable to maintain the waist lock as it was slowly loosening, Steve jumped into the air and switched into a choke-hold on Tony,grabbing him by the neck with his arms. The crowd broke into cheers as Tony was under heavy pressure from Steve. If he passed out from the choke, it would be Steve's win. However, after a short while in the hold, Tony burst out in a surge of might, grabbing Steve's hands and bending forwards in the same motion. Steve was flipped right over Tony and onto the ground on his back.

"Tony wins." immediately came the call. Tony once again turned to the crowd and celebrated with his fists in the air as Steve left the stage dejectedly. Chief Saito gave another nod, the youths this time around were quite impressive.

"Number Twos step forward!". Philip stepped into the circle while rubbing his hands. He knew he couldn't rely on the element of surprise for this round. On the other end the burly youth who was chatting with him since the beginning of the tournament also stepped into the circle. He had an awkward look on his face but was still emanating a sense of danger. "Your luck is really terrible there Phil" he said while getting into his stance. "You haven't won yet Brian." he replied in a determined tone. This was Brian, his best friend and more terrifyingly, the number one wrestler in the younger generation. He was always slacking off and barely ever training, but simply by being his friend none of the other youths dared bully him. This was because even in his sleep Brian's physique was horrific. And it wasn't just being muscular, he was agile as a cheetah as well without even trying. Even the elders said such a pure warrior's physique is only seen once every thousand years. Even without wanting to, Brian was a natural warrior in his bones.

"Begin."

Philip immediately created space when the call came, with Brian also moving to close in immediately. they ended up maintaining a healthy distance from each other around the circle once before Philip slowed down and let Brian close the distance. Brian reached out with one hand and Philip also met it with a single hand. The two threatened each other with one hand with each trying to grab the others hand for a short moment before finally Brian got the better of Philip with his massive paw of a hand. He rapidly yanked Philip toward him and in a shocking move plainly head butted him in the chest. An impact like a tree trunk assaulted Philip and all the breath in his body left him. He was thrown back unceremoniously flat on his back.

"Brian wins." Philip heard vaguely in the distance as the world still spun in his view. The crowd had gone quiet for a moment from surprise before breaking out into a roar. "As expected of the prodigy of the Nyasanga clan, he's really making short work of his opponents." One of the elders leaned over and said to the King. "Hmm." Replied Chief Saito in agreement. Even though his son had lost quickly, it was because his opponent was simply too tough of a nut to crack. What was hard work worth in the face of a heaven blessed talent? Not much it would seem. The elder who had just spoken was Brian's father, and even though he was trying to hide it the gleam of pride in his eyes still shone through. If no mishaps happened his son could even have a claim over the seat of Chief in the future at this rate. How could Chief Saito not see through this old man's schemes? He was well aware, but of course could never bring himself to deal with a junior just to hold his seat. But they both had their problems, one with a weakling of an heir, and one with a son completely uninterested in the throne his father always wanted. Maybe that's why the two were such good friends.

Brian had already left the stage as the chief contemplated. Philip had regained his bearings and was making his way out of the circle as well, while rubbing his sore chest. "Number thr...huh" Elder Charles was just about to announce the next round of matches when he paused in confusion. The ground had started to shake, with pebbles vibrating on the surface of the sand. The crowds of spectators had also gone quiet as they felt it as well. Murmurs of discussion broke out as every one wondered apprehensively what was going on. Chief Saito had already shot up from his chair with a serious look on his face. "Booom!" A loud clap of thunder came from the skies. Everyone looked up to see the white clouds in the clear blue sky gather together and start to swirl while rapidly darkening. Even the other seated elders were up on their feet in shock. "What in the world is that?" one of them murmured.