A Spectacular Performance

Once the beast tamer had locked the well-fed leopard back in its cage, it was Zhang Heng and Valo's turn to clear up the mess.

The two pushed a cart into the arena. According to Valo, this was not the first time he had seen an execution, but back then he had been sitting in the stands. Though he had only been in the commoners' section at the very top, he had not felt any bloodiness or discomfort.

In fact, he had been just as excited and thrilled as the audience in the stands now. In an environment like this, one was naturally swept up by the surrounding frenzy. Adrenaline surged, hearts raced, as though they were watching a magnificent play—and plays were indeed performed in the arena from time to time.

Besides feeding condemned criminals to wild beasts, there was another punishment: having them perform in stage plays. These plays were usually based on myths or historical events. For example, Icarus, who fashioned wings of wax for himself only to fly too close to the sun, causing his wings to melt and sending him to his death. To perform that story, the arena would strap wax wings onto a condemned man, then find a way to launch him into the air. The audience would watch him trace a parabola before crashing down, his brains bursting and blood even splattering outside the emperor's box. There were also prisoners playing Prometheus, publicly acting out the scene of an eagle eating their hearts...

It had to be admitted that, given the era, the Romans had quite a flair for entertainment. They could come up with all sorts of variations even for an execution. Of course, by modern standards, much of it was exceptionally cruel and bloody. Especially during Nero's years as emperor—even