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 ident.i.ty 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 d.a.m.n champions.h.i.+p 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 a.s.set 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 champions.h.i.+p for him. Once Zhang Heng won the champions.h.i.+p, 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 s.n.a.t.c.hed their limelight. Now, they did not know what they should do to capture the spectators’ hearts, and this greatly frustrated them.