Tiger's Fight

As punishment for being killed as "raw material," Bartitas starved all contractors at noon.

The contractors were actually under no pressure. Although not eating or drinking for a long time would put them in a [Weakened] state with a 10% decrease in all stats, it wouldn't kill them. Moreover, they had all stored some food and water in their Space Marks.

Bartitas's seemingly strict but actually permissive attitude had actually kicked off the prelude to bloody slaughter among the contractors. His punishments only worked on mortals. As long as they didn't kill each other in front of the guards, leaving no witnesses, they wouldn't receive severe punishment.

Thus, during the noon break, Kirk witnessed a scene reminiscent of the Warring States period. Countless people were whispering, forming factions, plotting schemes, and pointing fingers. Nearly 30 contractors formed alliances and counter-alliances, making the situation more complex than 21st-century international relations.

Little Fatty was a bit uneasy; some people were clearly pointing at him and big brother.

"Big brother, why don't we also try to get acquainted and join a team? It seems like everyone is forming factions and seeking protection right now?"

"No need," Kirk sighed. "Even if we want to join, they might not genuinely accept us. If they have ulterior motives, it's even more dangerous. Contractors are highly suspicious of each other, making it difficult to cooperate sincerely to kill. Kirk always felt that surface alliances were more dangerous than surface hostility. If sincere cooperation isn't possible, it's better to go it alone. He would neither easily recruit people nor rashly join others."

The bearded Arab who was beaten by Vero had a very ** aura. He gathered 6 or 7 contractors who believed in Islam to form the "Muslim Brotherhood." Little Fatty simply called him **. Due to shared faith, the Muslims exchanged greetings upon meeting, without regard for Sunni or Shia differences, and then patted each other affectionately. Kirk estimated this was the most harmonious faction among all the groups.

The bearded man with a full beard who fought Spartacus claimed to be from America and was the leader of a cult, though he refused to mention the name of his sect. He united 5 contractors into a loose alliance, with himself at the head. This cult leader was very charismatic and spoke eloquently, seeming to have spent a long time in The Space, earning the deep trust of others.

Adding the gang of the one-eyed black man who was the first to kill and loot, the overall situation presented a tripartite division. However, there were also quite a few who chose to go solo. Two individuals caught Kirk's attention: one was a tank wielding a large round shield, and the other was a female magician in white robes. Neither had joined any gang. Perhaps they were confident in their own strength and didn't want to follow others, or they were still hesitating about which side to join.

After the spheres of influence were delineated, the various factions of contractors began to size up Kirk and the other "unaffiliated individuals" with ill intentions, clearly planning to pick on the weaker ones first. However, with the current proliferation of gangs, and internal disputes within those gangs, a tense stalemate held through the noon break, and no new bloodshed occurred.

The afternoon training proceeded as usual. Kirk and Little Fatty continued to slack off, the gladiators continued to beat the "raw material," the contractors continued to hold back, and Dochet continued to curse loudly, until an unexpected bleeding incident occurred.

The young contractor training with Cress was repeatedly hit in the face by Cress, and finally snapped! Even a rabbit bites when cornered, let alone a contractor who had traversed the plot worlds!

Without a word, he pulled a sharp German hand-and-a-half sword and a gleaming silver half-plate shield from The Space, exuding a Captain America-like aura. The contractor raised his right hand high, clenched his fist, extended his thumb, and then slowly turned it downwards, making a provocative gesture full of Roman-era temper! It seemed this contractor was extremely confident in his own strength and was determined to break ties with Cress and fight him to the end!

Cress blinked, smiled slightly, and then extended his right hand, thumb also pointing downwards.

The contractor roared and suddenly swung the German hand-and-a-half sword in a powerful horizontal slash! His Strength should have been over 15. The sharp and heavy hand-and-a-half sword in his hands actually made a sound like wind and thunder, slashing through waves of sword shadows, whistling as it aimed for Cress's left arm!

Kirk, who used a long saber himself, could tell at a glance that this guy's [Basic Large Sword Mastery] was definitely over level 5, no lower than his own!

Those who could enter the ranks of contractors were hidden dragons and crouching tigers; there were no useless individuals!

Cress let out a cold laugh and casually blocked with his wooden sword.

A training wooden sword against the contractor's elite enchanted weapon!

The two swords of unequal levels collided, emitting a sound like metal striking stone!

As a result, the contractor was directly pushed back two or three steps. An incredulous expression appeared on his face. All the contractors were greatly shocked.

Even the strongest contractors wouldn't dare to guarantee they could block this melee contractor's full-power attack with a wooden sword.

Cress smirked, "Hmm, not bad, not entirely a coward. There are still those who dare to challenge me with a sword. However, I'm particularly unhappy about some things from last night. I especially want to kill and see blood today, which is why I provoked you. Die, fool!"

Then, he launched a fierce assault.

With a ferocious side slash, the contractor defended with his shield. Cress quickly retracted his sword and delivered another agile upward slash. The contractor moved quickly to dodge. Kirk saw that his [Basic Footsteps] were also over level 5.

Cress showed a satisfied expression, while the contractor's face grew more solemn. As a melee expert, he could already feel the "momentum" emanating from the opponent, the fierce aura of countless battles on the battlefield.

Cress executed a sliding lunge. The contractor sneered and, just as he raised his shield to block, he saw Cress's footwork suddenly change from beneath the shield. The contractor inwardly cried out "Not good!" but it was too late!

Cress used a feint to bypass the contractor's defense and then, like a swallow darting through clouds, rolled behind the contractor and deeply plunged his wooden sword into the contractor's side!

The contractor wasn't fatally wounded because Cress still wanted to play. He merely stabbed fiercely at the ribs, breaking two bones and partially piercing internal organs, causing unbearable pain.

A murderous glint flashed in the contractor's eyes, and suddenly, his aura erupted fiercely!

Kirk found it difficult to describe this aura, but he could tell that this contractor had likely used some special advancement ability or hidden talent.

In fact, this contractor's hidden talent was [Power Burst], similar to KOF's "Max Mode": it unleashed his full potential for 60 seconds, increasing all stats by 30%. After 60 seconds, he would directly enter a [Deep Weakness] state, with all stats decreased by 30% for 300 seconds.

If he couldn't kill the enemy, he could only wait for death.

He had thrown caution to the wind.

Cress looked on, actually laughing gleefully, then he steadily held his wooden sword and charged.

Just 34 seconds later, the melee expert, at 130% of his full power, had his legs broken and knelt on the ground. Cress brought his sword down, and a perfectly round head, with eyes wide in rage, flew into the sky. The cross-section of the neck was incredibly smooth, white cervical nerves still twitching, blood vessels still spurting, but the head was gone. Life had departed from this body!

All the contractors watched in horror. In terms of stats, this contractor, after his burst, wasn't much worse than Cress in any attribute, yet he still met a tragic end with his head severed.

"The combat awareness and combat instinct are too different!" the one-eyed man snorted coldly.

Little Fatty didn't understand. Kirk explained, "A wild Siberian tiger and a captive-bred Siberian tiger are similar in size. Who would win if they fought?"

"Of course, the wild tiger would win because it's been hunting all its life; if it doesn't hunt, it starves. Although the captive-bred tiger is not small in size or strength, it's a flower grown in a greenhouse. Hunting is just a hobby and instinct for it. There's a world of difference between the two in terms of power application, skill mastery, and killing instinct." Kirk sighed, "The strength of us contractors comes from The Space, not from our own training. Therefore, in its application, we can never reach the natural, effortless state of the gladiators."

Seeing this, all the contractors finally understood. In this plot world, many contractors had been dismissive, thinking they couldn't beat the gladiators because they had been holding back. In reality, they never knew that the gladiators had also been holding back!

If they were to fight with real swords and armor, it was likely they who would end up decapitated.

Many people had entered the cattle pen with an aloof mindset of "hermits of the world, hidden in the city," but now, looking at the simple cattle pen, it had truly become a prison. This training camp possessed over 30 highly skilled gladiators. Even if the contractors united and revolted, they would be killed one by one.

After slaying the melee expert contractor, Cress, carrying the bloody head, hummed a Roman tune and walked away with light steps. Despite the instructor Dochet yelling at him to come back, this champion gladiator, being a money-making star, didn't even respect Bartitas, let alone a black slave. Dochet gritted his teeth in hatred and roared at the remaining gladiators to intensify their training.

The contractors hadn't recovered from the shock when another blow struck. A "Muslim Brotherhood" contractor had his thigh wounded by a gladiator's sword, blood flowing down his leg, rendering him unable to continue training. Dochet ordered Bartitas to be notified. Bartitas severely scolded the gladiator who had used excessive force but directly ordered the contractor to be taken away. The gladiator followed, and returned a while later, his sword still stained with blood. The contractor never returned.

Upon returning at dusk, the contractors quieted down. The tense atmosphere of midday, with swords drawn and fur bristling, had dissipated. No matter how great the benefits they could gain, if they couldn't survive to leave, collecting any number of bloody keys would be useless.

In the afternoon, Cress's combat skills and Bartitas's cruelty had taught the self-important contractors a lesson. The primary conflict shifted from the brutal hunting among contractors to the dual conflict between contractors and gladiators, and among contractors themselves.

The American bearded man stood up and said loudly.

"Everyone! I've inquired. Bartitas's plan is to outperform his rival, the fat giant Andinus, at the 'Dionysia Festival' gladiator performance held in Marseille in 7 days, achieving both fame and profit. For this goal, I heard him instruct Dochet that it doesn't matter if the raw material, which is us, is consumed more. The key is to cultivate these gladiators as quickly as possible. Tonight, he will depart for Gaul to buy another batch of raw material!"

The contractors descended into chaos, whispering amongst themselves.

"I say, if that's the case, everyone can think about how many of us can survive these 7 days! This camp has a rule: if raw material is crippled, a gladiator lacking qualifications will kill them that day to avoid wasting food. I've come close to being crippled by that son of a bitch at least three times. In The Space, being crippled is a minor issue, but now it's a matter of life and death! Who can guarantee they won't get injured fighting mad dogs like the gladiators? You? You? Or you?" the bearded man roared.

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