We Should Be in the Winners' Bracket, Right?

Although what had just happened was far too sudden and unbelievably unreal, the referee still declared Zhang Heng and Valo the winners.

There was simply no disputing the result. Julius and Asclepius still had blades at their throats, their faces grim, looking utterly incapable of fighting back. However, because Zhang Heng and Valo had finished too quickly, there were no other opponents available to match them for the moment.

Yet neither of them seemed to need much rest. Valo in particular had barely run two meters before the fight ended. He had not even broken a sweat. The victory had come so easily that it felt unreal to him, and only when Zhang Heng sheathed his twin blades and returned to his side did Valo snap out of his daze.

"We won?"

"That's right, but it's only the first round," Zhang Heng replied. He looked calm, as if what had just happened were something utterly insignificant.

Meanwhile, Julius and Asclepius looked somewhat dejected. Their defeat had been too ugly; they had not displayed any of their strength at all. That was a serious disadvantage in the eyes of the audience, especially since neither of them was particularly famous. Once the brawl ended, dissatisfied spectators might very well demand their deaths.

Fortunately, there would still be fights in the losers' bracket. Since their defeat had come so suddenly, they had suffered little injury or exhaustion, so they would still hold a slight advantage in the upcoming losers' bracket battles. Of course, from this point on, they would have to fight with everything they had.

On the other side, Nasica began to exert himself as well. He had fought his opponents before, so both sides knew each other well. The other pair was not weak, and they had taken the initiative to