Chapter 16

“That’s a bit harsh, dumping his champion like that just because he couldn’t throw an axe as well as me,” Urich sympathized as he looked down at the arena with his arms crossed. He didn’t have a match today as Donovan was given the highlight match this time.

“Well, a gladiator of that level can be bought pretty easily. The life of a gladiator like us all comes down to money, anyway. Trios must be a noble with quite a bit of money,” Bachman said beside Urich.

The arena was a cauldron of madness.

‘Lion and man.’

It was a rare matchup. Two male lions roamed the arena as they released their frightening beastly growls.

Creak—

A gladiator emerged from the opposite gate. It was Mogdi, Trios’ champion.

“U-ugh, ughh.”

Mogdi carried his trembling body onto the arena grounds. His body was a mess from getting beaten to a pulp the night before. It seemed like he was having a difficult time even holding his weapon.

“He doesn’t look too good,” Bachman remarked with a frown.

“Judging by the way he’s moving; I’d say his left arm is completely broken. Looks like his leg is a bit fractured, as well.”

“What, you can see all that from here?”

“Eh, somewhat.”

“You really are not a human. You’re a monster.” Bachman clicked his tongue at Urich’s superhuman vision.

‘Are we really the same species?’

Bachman thought. The physical abilities that Urich occasionally showcased were anything but human.

“He won’t be able to take on two lions with a body like that. This is going to be a slaughter show.”

Mogdi’s death was all but certain.

“Woaaahhh!”

The crowd expressed their anticipation for the imminent gory spectacle that they were about to witness. Their roar called for Mogdi’s execution.

‘This is what you get for humiliating me, Mogdi,’

Trios thought and laughed in his seat with his legs casually crossed as he watched his helpless champion’s inevitable death.

The lion pounced on the wounded champion. The shield raised in the futile attempt to protect himself was shredded and shattered by the front paws of the beast.

Schluck.

Mogdi swung his sword at the lion but failed to land a fatal blow.

Rip!

The lion bit off Mogdi’s face. His painful screech echoed through the arena and the crowd roared with exhilaration. Some even collapsed at the terrible sight.

“A-ahhhhh!”

Mogdi struggled and screamed even as he was dying. His cry for help didn’t seem to bother the lion at all.

Crack, crunch.

The sound of his flesh and bones being crushed and broken muffled his dying screech as Mogdi’s life was being turned into meat. The crowd cheered for his death.

“Grrr.”

The lion dragged Mogdi’s lifeless body around the arena. Soon, skilled hunters entered the arena and captured the lions in their nets.

“That was horrible,” Bachman clicked his tongue at the sight of Mogdi’s demise. Being fed alive to a beast was the worst of the many terrible ways to go as a gladiator.

“Donovan’s up next, yeah?” Urich said as he bought a snack from the arena vendor wandering around the stands.

“There he comes.”

The metal gate opened, and Donovan walked out, heavily armed.

‘Chainmail, a sturdy shield, and a sword of a length that is just right.’

Donovan’s armor was that of a typical heavy infantry.

“Donovan is solid. Even though his battle style is quite gruesome, his fighting strategy is textbook. He doesn’t take any chances in a match,” Bachman murmured.

“Yeah, I know. He squeezes the life out of his opponent slowly, like a snake.”

Donovan showcased a highly sophisticated match. His opponent was a mercenary gladiator of equal caliber. The fight was full of fierce back-and-forth as both gladiators looked for a sliver of opportunity to take get an advantage through mind games and trickery. Donovan was a seasoned gladiator with plenty of real-life experience, so he took the higher ground with better tactics.

Schluck.

His sword dug into his opponent’s shoulder.

“That’s that, then,” Urich remarked. Once Donovan had the advantage, he never let it go to waste.

“He’ll probably drag that guy around and cut him up until he decides to ruthlessly finish him.”

Bachman was well aware of how Donovan’s matches went. Gory endings were what was behind Donovan’s popularity.

“We’re all done here.”

The victorious Donovan raised his sword and roared.

With the end of this tournament, Horus Gladiators’ visit to this city was also wrapped up and it was time for them to move on to the next city. Horus personally knew several Counts in various cities, and he had a full schedule of tournaments lined up for his gladiators.

“I’m glad I followed Horus.”

Urich was enjoying his life as Horus’ gladiator. He was making plenty of money and the endless fights were keeping his body from getting rusty. Most importantly, he was seeing so many new things as he traveled around with the squad.

* * *

“Did we load all the cargo? Do another headcount.”

“What about the slaves?”

“They’re all gathered.”

The Horus Gladiators were busy preparing for their departure to the new city. They were traveling with more than fifty people including all the gladiators, slaves, guards, and servants.

“This should be enough to get you settled here. Thanks for all your hard work, Vienne.”

“And best of luck to you as well, Master.”

In a corner, several female slaves each with full bellies said their farewell to Horus. They were the ones responsible for releasing the sexual desires of the men. The female slaves who became pregnant were left behind in the departure city where they would birth their children and start a new life for themselves. They had their freedom back—although most of them ended up back in the red-light districts.

“He’s letting them go

and

giving them money. That’s interesting.” Urich tilted his head in surprise.

“It’s not like we can bring all the pregnant women around with us, anyway. And this way, the remaining female slaves have something to look forward to. Without a hope like this, they wouldn’t be able to handle what they have to do for us. Them being set free with a bit of money is the only thing keeping them sane through all the men. Horus knows how to handle his slaves,” Bachman explained as he loaded his luggage on the cart.

“Hmm.” Urich looked at the female slaves. He’d been in their quarters quite often throughout his journey, and since they were bound to that role in the first place, they were always quite accepting of his requests.

Cling

.

‘That’s about three million cils.’

Urich took out his money pouch and walked toward the women.

“It’s not much but share it among yourselves. Thanks for everything and take care,” Urich told the women as he tossed them the pouch full of coins. Their eyes widened at Urich’s unexpected gift, and so did Horus’.

“You should’ve just given that money to me,” Bachman whined after seeing what Urich had just done.

“Who knows? Maybe one of them is carrying my child,” Urich grinned and showed his teeth.

“Hah, as if. What woman gets a full belly in just three months?” Bachman shook his head in disbelief.

The Horus Gladiators wrapped up their schedule and left the city. The gladiators took turns alternating between riding in the chariots and walking. The guards placed themselves on the edges of the marching group, and Horus yawned lazily from his horse.

“Hey Urich, where are you really from? You give off the vibe of a southerner, but at the same time, you sometimes feel like a northerner,” Horus came up to Urich and asked. Urich laughed off his question.

“Let’s just say that I’m from the south. Besides, what does it matter?”

“Hmm, you’re right. That’s not important.”

Horus had been in the gladiatorial business for ten years. Over those years, he had seen countless gladiators.

‘Urich is special.’

It was hard to put a finger on it, but he was certain that Urich was out of the ordinary.

‘He’s not someone whose life would end as a gladiator under someone like me.’

In many ways, Urich held a lot of potential. At first glance, he seemed like an arrogant young man, but after spending time with him, it was obvious that he followed through with his words. If he said he would do something, he did it. If he said he would kill someone, he killed them.

‘It only took him three months to catch up to Donovan. A barbarian like him at that, too.’

Urich had a lot of supporters. Many gladiators, including Bachman, were mesmerized by him. Even Donovan, who couldn’t give him the time of day at first, had come to recognize his status.

“I really like this place, Horus,” Urich said as he gazed at the wheat fields outside the city.

“Interesting. Out of all places, you like the fields?”

“Yeah. That’s why I want these lands,” Urich said as he squinted his eyes. A strange life force squirmed around him.

Horus shivered with an unexplainable chill.

“When you have a lot of money, maybe you can buy some land somewhere in the countryside,” Horus replied gruffly as he clasped the symbol of Solarism near his chest.

‘Oh Lou, the God of Sun, is it alright for me to keep this barbarian around?’

Whenever Horus stopped by a city, he met with the local priests and made a donation. It was his attempt at atoning for the immoral sins that he committed for his business.

“Where are we going next? When are we getting to the sea?” Urich asked Horus.

“The coastal cities are still a long way away. And our schedule is exactly as we discussed earlier,” Horus answered as he looked at Urich, who was paying close attention to what he was saying.

“Oh yeah, you know how to read and write, right, Horus?’

“Of course.”

“Teach me. Teach me the letters.”

Horus frowned at Urich’s request.

“It’s not something you can learn overnight.”

“That’s why I’m asking you to teach me!”

“What, for free?”

“Fine. From now on, take ten percent more than what you usually take from my winnings.”

Urich’s offer made Horus chuckle.

“Alright then, come find me after dinner tonight. We’ll start with your name.”

* * *

“

Burp,

that was a nice meal.”

After dinner, Urich broke off a thorn from a tree and used it as a toothpick.

“Hey, where are you going, Urich? We’re playing dice.”

“I’m good. I don’t even have money right now, anyway.”

“Haha, you idiot. I heard you gave away all your money to those female slaves! What a saint,” one of the gladiators jokingly said to Urich.

“Would you like to have your skull cracked open by an idiot?”

The gladiators laughed at Urich’s retort. He left them behind and headed to Horus’ tent.

Chirp–

The night was deep, and the sounds of insects filled the cold evening air. The unlit outskirts of the campground were pitch black. Eyes that have been adjusted to light could not see in the dark forest. The guards had their backs turned against the light and their gazes were locked on the darkness.

“Urich?” the guard saw Urich and asked.

“I’m here for the leader.”

Horus, who had just finished his dinner, waved Urich over.

“So, do you really want to learn how to read and write? You probably won’t have much use for it, anyway.”

“That’s for

me

to decide, not you.”

“You are a peculiar person, Urich.”

Horus and Urich sat next to a campfire and took out a dagger.

“Let’s get started, Horus,” Urich said as he looked at Horus with bright and curious eyes. Horus scratched the ground with his dagger, spelling out each alphabet.

“We’ll be lucky if you can memorize these letters and spell your name with them by the end of the night.”

Horus didn’t have much expectation. He was expecting Urich to give up soon enough.

“Hmm.” Urich rested his head on his hand and took a careful look at the strange Hamelian alphabet. He read them out loud, repeating after Horus.

Pop, snap.

The bonfire was ablaze, and the embers floated around the two men.

“Urich,” Horus was stunned.

“What?”

“Are you sure you’ve never learned this before?”

“If I did, then why would I be doing this with you right now? Did you suddenly lose your brain or something?”

Horus’ eyes widened.

‘It only took him a couple of tries to memorize the whole alphabet?’

Urich’s memorization ability was phenomenal. It only took him a few repetitions to memorize what should have taken him at least a few days.

“U...rich... Is this how I write my name?”

Urich scribbled his own name on the ground.

“Precisely.”

“Haha, if I keep this up, I’ll learn how to read and write in no time! This really isn’t that hard.”

Horus couldn’t say anything. Urich’s words didn’t feel like an overstatement.

‘He’s really going to learn the letters in no time. His memorization ability is something else. I did hear that barbarians pick up on reading and writing surprisingly well, but this... this doesn’t feel right.’

Urich urged Horus to teach him more words, and it wasn’t long before he had them all memorized.