The Legend of Hombarume (Legends Series, #1)

48.

Revai could not believe the strides that Hombarume had already taken towards winning the sparring contest. After the matches he had witnessed, he didn't put it past the hunter to snatch the title from the unsuspecting Dererai. The two's previous match had proven that Hombarume knew exactly what he was doing and would stop at nothing to prove his prowess in the sparring ring.

If Dererai did not pull himself together, he would lose the title and the hunter would prevail, hence the next fight was highly anticipated. Both fighters excelled well in the ring but Revai was eager to see what they would do to break the barrier of excellence. After all, only one could be pronounced the victor.

The mystery of the Chief's secret conversation still bothered Revai very much, so he kept watching for signs, anything out of place, out of the ordinary. So far the only peculiar happening was that of the disappearing old man whom Revai partly thought was a creation of his own mind paired with the many gourds of beer he downed in a short period of time. Whatever it is that was supposed to take place was seemingly yet to happen, but the anxiety was taking a firm grip on Revai already.

The beer was still manifesting it's magic in him and as he staggered along to the Chief's throne where he would get the best, unabated view of the match, he saw Dererai, eyeing him as if he was doing something completely out of character. The Chief was now paying special attention to the proceedings, impatiently waiting as if his snare was about to catch him a mouse.

There was nothing Revai could do in this situation, he hated his lack of control over it, but then again, he knew that if he exhibited any signs of retaliation it was tough to tell what the Chief would do to him. The gong was struck as in all previous matches, signalling the beginning of the fight. The two men stood opposite each other in the ring, their skin glistening as if adorned with precious oils. Dererai now had bruises and a split lip from his fight with the vicious Gengezha. This fight did not look favourable for him.

Dererai lost the first match as Revai had predicted. Hombarume came on too strong and in no time he had brutally beaten his opponent, almost a flawless victory. Dererai was a fan favorite and the long time holder of the title, hence he had the support of the people to regain his strength and come back stronger on his opponent. At the beginning of the second round, Revai was almost certain that the hunter would take the title, his moves were way better than before and he was exhibiting fighting strength that almost matched that of the now conquered Gengezha.

However, halfway through the match, the odds changed and now favored the long time champion. He finally rose to the occasion, barring most of the attacks that Hombarume was launching against him without wasting to much of his energy, which he preserved for his own attack once he saw that Hombarume was getting tired. He tackled Hombarume, who lost his balance and struck the ground with a grunt before Dererai weighed him down with his own body and started punching, he did not get up until the match was over.

Since both of them had won a fight each, they needed to break off the tie for the final match to be completed. The crowd of villagers had almost doubled in enthusiasm, zeal and also numbers as everyone who had been going about their work, be it cooking, singing, dancing or anything else had now joined the crowd and had to witness the legendary match first hand. It began with Dererai continuing his work, delivering unexpected blows, swift strikes that the hunter could not see coming. He was exhausted from the second fight, for his mistake had been using too much energy in the first half of the fight, pushing himself too close to the limit. His strategy was now defence, as he lumbered across the ring trying to bar Dererai's vicious attacks. He managed to rejuvenate and stop most of them.

Hombarume might have recovered some of his strength to fight off Dererai's attacks, but he wasn't aware that the man could push himself much further for longer. Dererai finished off Hombarume in a glorious final attack that saw the hunter embracing the ground yet again.