Until many years later, the residents of Rome would still remember this day.
It was not only because of the grand gladiatorial show held to celebrate the ascension of the new emperor of the empire, but also because it was the first time they saw an authentic western cowboy bullfight in the Amphitheatrum Flavium.
This might not be a rare entertainment in the later generations. After all, the golden age of western culture had long passed in the 21st century. However, in the second century AD, everyone felt as if they were witnessing a Quidditch game or seeing a wild Pikachu in the park.
This was especially true when they saw Zhang Heng narrowly dodging the bison's attack again and again. He even performed a wonderful performance of flying god riding on a bull. This exciting bullfighting performance had completely captured the hearts of everyone present. It was as if an invisible hand was manipulating the emotions of the audience in the stands, causing them to be amazed, worried, and enraptured by the figure in the arena …
His Majesty the Emperor himself was one of them, but the one he was most worried about was Mark Reuss.
As Zhang Heng's owner and the owner of the gladiator school, he had been in this business for quite some time. He had seen thousands of gladiators, but none of them could bring him as much excitement as Zhang Heng. The latter's ability to stir up trouble had completely exceeded his imagination.
In less than a day, Zhang Heng provoked Sartonilos for no reason, giving Mark Reuss a headache. After half a day, Zhang Heng gave up on being a gladiator and chose a bison as his opponent. When Mark Reuss saw this, he was on the verge of breaking down.
He almost shouted at Zhang Heng, "Can't you just win the damn championship? Why do you have to play so many tricks? What good will it do you?!"
Zhang Heng was his most valuable asset now. Mark Reuss knew that he loved Zhang Heng more than his wife and daughter. However, the latter did not seem to appreciate it at all. After repeatedly challenging his bottom line, Mark Reuss was no longer as confident as he was when he talked to Gaby. He began to realize that a person like Zhang Heng would never be controlled by anyone. Not only him, even Commodus would find it difficult to tame this beast.
So his face became gloomy. However, Mark Reuss had to rely on Zhang Heng now. Once Zhang Heng won the championship, he would inevitably be out of his control. This also made Mark Reuss feel complicated.
After a few rounds of confrontation with the bison, Zhang Heng gradually figured out the latter's action pattern. At the same time, the spectator had also met his expectations. Hence, he decided to end the battle.
With Zhang Heng's current skills, the whole process would not be so thrilling. Or it should be said that it was precisely because of his current skills that he could make the whole process look thrilling without posing any real threat to him. It was like a fight scene in a movie. The purpose was to stimulate the audience's nerves and give them a sense of satisfaction.
And the method Zhang Heng used to end the battle also continued the drama. When the bison rushed at him again, he jumped on its back again. And the bison jumped up and down again, trying everything it could to throw Zhang Heng off its back. After all the conventional methods failed, it rushed to the edge of the arena again.
But this time, it did not get what it wanted. Because when its body rubbed against the big net, Zhang Heng, who was on its back, had moved his body to its side. At the same time, Zhang Heng firmly grabbed its mane, preventing it from falling.
There was a burst of cheers in the stands. When the bison ran back to the center of the arena, Zhang Heng successfully tied the rope around its head. The more the bison struggled, the tighter the rope became, almost strangling its flesh. The bison's breathing became louder and louder. Although its eyes were filled with unwillingness, it eventually had to give in to the cruel reality and stop running.
So Zhang Heng loosened the rope a little, but the bison broke out again. It struggled and shook its legs more violently, trying to shake off the annoying human on its back. Unfortunately, Zhang Heng had dealt with more of its kind than it had ever seen. So, he was already prepared for this move. After a less intense struggle, the bison knelt down again. And this time, it really knelt down because Zhang Heng had tied a knot on its legs with the rope.
In the end, the bison had no other choice but to surrender.
When Zhang Heng came down from the bison's back, he received the loudest cheers since the Amphitheatrum Flavium was built. All the audience, including Commodus, stood up. The sound waves drowned the entire arena. Except for Queen Christina, no one could hear what the emperor said.
Flowers and copper coins fell like raindrops. This novel and exciting bullfighting performance was bound to become the most popular topic in Rome for some time to come. Those who were fortunate enough to witness this scene had a strong sense of satisfaction, as if the trip was worth it.
Because of this performance, Rome had a new entertainment activity in the future, and that was bare-handed bullfighting. However, because it was not professionally trained, many brave slave bullfighters died under the bull's horns. At one point, it became a performance with the highest death rate. Of course, these were all things that happened in the future.
And the initiator of all this did the same as the previous performance. He did not stay in the arena for long. After bowing slightly in the direction of Commodus, he turned and walked to the lounge.
So far, Zhang Heng's goal had been exceeded. After these few battles, Commodus's interest in him had risen to the peak. When the performance was over, the young emperor would definitely take the initiative to contact him. After that, Zhang Heng would have to figure out how to find Altrus's whereabouts.
…
Unlike the fiery atmosphere outside, the lounge was dead silent at the moment.
The gladiators inside had different expressions on their faces. Habitus and Sartonilos were not fools. Although they did not see the bullfighting process, they knew that Zhang Heng had completely conquered the Amphitheatrum Flavium from the excessive cheers outside. And now, the gladiatorial performance had not even ended. They had no idea how Zhang Heng did it.
Of course, the most miserable ones were the gladiators who were going to fight later. Their limelight had been completely stolen by Zhang Heng. They did not know what to do to capture the audience's heart, and they were at a loss.
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