Chapter 27: Preliminary Rounds (2)
The ring was the closest ring to the Genji Dojo, where the terrain was open. It was the location where the largest number of people gathered.
Most of the people were either novice newcomers or only came to spectate the matches. Experts tended to select solitary rings and steer clear of the most competitive rings.
When Ayla arrived at the location of the ring, she found that the area around the ring was already crowded with people. A 30-foot by 60-foot wooden platform served as the ring, while white paper ropes and a blue wooden railing surrounded it on all sides.
A grandstand with a folding screen behind it was on the platform's other side. The upper-middle and junior supervisors stayed here, but it also hosted the seats of inspectors, high officials, and nobles who would come to watch the battle. Several onmyouji, who were in charge of keeping records, were stationed at the ring's edge.
The gathering of spectators was already dense, but the competition had sometime to wait before it started as the ring was still vacant.
Ayla stood in the back row of the crowd and watched quietly, as she felt there was no point in going up first with everyone having only one bronze token, so she decided to wait for the others to gain enough bronze tokens and fight them, taking all the tokens that they fought and risked their lives for.
While some of the spectators peered around in an attempt to locate the other contestants, the crowd chattered calmly. The atmosphere was a little tense, growing the closer the time drew to 5:30 am.
The moment was finally approaching. It was the first day of the preliminary rounds, and this ring served as one of the central rings. Suddenly, a group of armored soldiers pushed through the crowd, and a few solemnly attired warriors and Genji officials, each with their individual responsibilities, made their way to the grandstand. While the Genji officials oversaw the competition as a whole, the warriors judged who would win each match.
"Isn't the one in front the chief of the Genji supervisors? He's the head of the preliminary rounds supervisors and an 8th rank Genji official—"
Ayla ignored the rest of his rambling, blocking off her sense of hearing until all the ones who went to the grandstand took their seats. The chief supervisor was about to shout something, so she unblocked her sense of hearing.
'Finally,' thought Ayla.
"Everyone, be quiet. The samurai tournament's preliminary rounds have now officially begun!" The chief supervisor announced it in a loud voice.
After he spoke, a number of chiseled, middle-aged mourners wearing loincloths began to beat on taiko drums. The audience laughed when a few strange-looking individuals entered the ring and performed chaotically. Gradually, the atmosphere warmed.
The inept performers soon descended from the platform with laughter, as the junior supervisor rose to make the announcement, "The ring competition has officially begun. Who has the courage to enter the ring first?"
The crowd quieted down and the ring stayed vacant for a while, as no one had the courage to be the first to enter the ring. Eventually, someone did have the courage and shouted, "I'll do it!"
A tall, muscular man with tattered black clothes walked out of the crowd. He had a tachi on his waist. The bearded man stepped into the ring with his straw sandals.
An attendant approached him at the edge of the ring and said, "Please pay the one kan."
"You want money?" With a proud grin, the beard guy reached inside his clothing, drew out a single kan, and threw it to the attendant. "There you go!"
The attendant was angry at how prideful this peasant was, but he kept his cool and caught the single kan, before pulling out a bronze token and handing it to him.
The bronze token was held by the bearded man, who threw it into the air before catching it as he observed from the platform. "What is it? Does anyone want to come and compete with me."
"I'll go!" A samurai wearing a light and dark blue kimono emerged from the crowd and stepped onto the ring. He proudly handed over the 1 kan in exchange for a bronze token.
The junior supervisor said, "The competition has the following rules: You lose if you leave the ring, surrender, get killed, or are deemed unable to continue fighting. You may only utilize weapons that are clearly visible on your person. It is not permitted to employ any non-sword fighting techniques, secret weapons, arcane arts, or tools!"
At opposite ends of the ring, the two men were positioned. Ayla saw that the blue-clad samurai had a white flag on his side, while the bearded man had a red flag hanging below the railing under the taiko drum on his side.
The junior supervisor said, "Both of you state your names and places of origin."
"Konto Province, Itou Tomoie!" As he spoke loudly, the bearded man chuckled a little.
"Taesan, Suenobu!" The samurai in blue said, looking serious.
One by one, the onmyojis inside the ring wrote down each person's name and place of birth.
Next to the junior supervisor, a middle-aged samurai stood up. He served as the match's judge, saying, "Itou Tomoie versus Suenobu, match— begin!"
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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