Promotion

Kirk clearly disagreed with Spartacus's idea. Without warning, he launched a vicious thrust and drove Mori's Hand-Cutting Blade toward Spartacus's chest!

"Too naive!" Spartacus knocked the blade aside. Kirk went flying. If Mori's Hand-Cutting Blade hadn't come with a hand guard, his left hand would have been crippled.

But now Kirk had completely calmed down. Spartacus was indeed powerful, but he still had weaknesses.

Spartacus's first crushing defeat had been at Cress's hands. It had forced the proud man to humiliatingly raise his index and middle fingers and beg his master, Bartitas, for mercy. Before that, he'd rather take a beating than learn the gesture of surrender. Kirk needed to draw on Cress's experience in bringing down this humanoid monster.

What was the greatest flaw in Spartacus's personality?

Pride.

Cress had exploited Spartacus's eagerness to prove his strength. He'd deliberately provoked his opponent into attacking and exposing his weaknesses, then unleashed a string of attacks that made Spartacus surrender and beg for mercy.

Kirk needed to make him rash and careless now, but that wouldn't be difficult. Kirk's "outstanding" performance had already made Spartacus careless enough.

Next came the setup for the kill.

Spartacus feinted again. Kirk leaped once more, trying to evade the attack from the left. Spartacus kicked him, knocking him down and leaving his guard wide open.

Without a second thought, Spartacus brought his sword down. If it hit Kirk squarely in the head, his skull would burst open.

But Kirk's lips curled slightly as he calmly unleashed his most powerful Advanced Skill, Throat Cut!

He was gambling. If Spartacus didn't get greedy, he'd play it safe and attack Kirk's lower body or legs, badly wounding him before finishing him off at his leisure. But the proud Spartacus only wanted a perfect kill, so he had to attack above the chest!

The wooden sword, shaped like a Roman Short Sword, wasn't long. It was about the same length as Kirk's hand-cutting blade. Spartacus had to bend down to reach Kirk's head.

Kirk hadn't used Throat Cut before because Spartacus guarded his throat, a Vital Part, too carefully, and Kirk hadn't found an opening. This time, Kirk used his own Vital Part as bait, luring Spartacus into offering his neck.

Kirk's gamble paid off! There was no doubt this time: the Attack Judgment succeeded. Spartacus's throat took a devastating blow as he bent down to strike, and a spray of blood splashed across Kirk's face.

Clutching his throat, Spartacus staggered back in agony. He paid for his carelessness and recklessness.

Though his Stamina was over 25 points, the instant-kill checks for Decapitation and Throat Cut would certainly succeed, dealing only four times the damage of a critical hit and 30 points of Bleed Damage—and his powerful defensive skills and damage-reduction techniques would greatly diminish even that.

But Kirk had 19 points of Strength, and Mori's Hand-Cutting Blade dealt 20–35 damage. Multiplied by four, combined with 30 points of Bleed Damage and the weapon's Blood Groove damage, it cost Spartacus over 100 Health Points in an instant. Blood poured from his throat, and he went straight into critical condition.

Spartacus was utterly enraged. His Light Blue eyes were like those of a furious tiger. In a hoarse voice, he said, "You bastard. You could have died without pain!"

Kirk knew Spartacus's character well. He was no saint; no man who had nearly toppled the Roman Republic at the height of its power could be. After Cress, his fellow rebel, was killed by the Roman army, Spartacus had cruelly ordered 300 Roman nobles to fight each other to the death, avenging Cress and honoring his memory.

Fortunately, Kirk was no saint either. If he'd made an enemy, so be it—strength was everything. He made an obscene gesture and taunted his opponent.

Spartacus was truly enraged now. Gripping his wooden sword, he charged like a lion!

Kirk and Spartacus fought viciously, like two cornered beasts.

Kirk had given up dodging. He made the most of his Weapon Dual-Wielding advantage, taking Spartacus's punishing blows without flinching as he swung both blades rapidly, inflicting equally severe wounds!

Trade Injury for Injury!

A minute later, blood spattered the ground, and both men were gravely wounded. But overall, Spartacus was gradually taking control, and Kirk was slowly being forced onto the defensive.

With a furious roar, Spartacus had meant to finish off this "raw material" cleanly and show everyone his strength. Instead, the fight had become a mutual beating, something the man who thought himself above the heavens couldn't accept. That brat's fighting technique was as crude as a whore's smile in a Roman brothel, but he was strong, quick, and especially hard to put down. Even other gladiators might not have lasted this long against him. Spartacus couldn't help feeling a trace of admiration.

But this wasn't Water Margin. This wasn't a tale where two heroes fought until they came to respect each other, then laughed together and buried the hatchet. On the gladiator's battlefield, only one man was destined to survive!

Suddenly, Kirk tripped over a branch at his feet and stumbled, losing his balance.

Spartacus let out a roar and swung hard at the off-balance Kirk!

Blood and screams erupted into the sky.

Spartacus's blow nearly severed Kirk's right arm in one strike. Only a bit of muscle tissue still held it on.

"It's finally over for this kid," Spartacus thought. But then he saw that faint green light again, like a starving wolf in the mountains of Xeres!

"Not good!" He was horrified and dodged desperately. But Kirk was repeating his old trick, using self-injury to lure him in—and he wouldn't let Spartacus escape!

Throat Cut struck Spartacus's throat again, gravely wounding him! This time, he crumpled to the ground, blood gushing out as if there were no end to it! Spartacus's Health Points were probably around 250–300. Both Throat Cut attacks had counted as critical hits, dealing four times the damage plus a fixed 30 points of Bleed Damage. With the Blood Groove and other additional damage from the weapon, even the iron-willed Spartacus was plunged straight into a near-death state!

Kirk had paid a heavy price too, trading his entire right hand for Spartacus's throat!

Kirk had managed to bring the fight this far by exploiting Spartacus's impatience, trading injury for injury, and making full use of Throat Cut's high-damage effect.

When planning his tactics, Kirk hadn't expected things to go this smoothly. But this had been his only choice.

Now, he had only 16% of his Health Points left, and had come within a hair's breadth of entering a near-death state.

But Spartacus had already risen to his feet again, like a wounded wolf! His Mediterranean-blue eyes shone with astonishing resolve!

"Sura is still waiting for me! How can I die here!" Spartacus roared at the sky like a God of War!

A ray of gold broke through the heavy clouds and fell upon Spartacus, despite the gloomy sky!

At that moment, he seemed to have become Mars, the God of War, from Roman Mythology! His bronze skin gleamed like gold, like an ancient deity! His head thrown back in a fierce howl, he looked like the offspring of a god! Even the gloomy sky had to make way for him!

"Come on, that's cheating! You can't do that. I fought tooth and nail to get the protagonist near death, and now he turns into a demigod!" Kirk lamented. "Gods, look at all the trouble you've caused by sowing your seed everywhere! You've made life impossible for us mortals!"

Spartacus's eyes had changed from Light Blue to golden yellow. He evidently carried a trace of the blood of ancient gods, radiating an overwhelming majesty and a chilling killing intent!

Kirk was so numb he couldn't even speak. He could only wait helplessly for death.

Spartacus gripped his wooden sword and kicked Kirk away. Kirk crashed into a tree, snapping the thick trunk in two!

Kirk plunged straight into a near-death state!

"I can't accept this! Was I wrong?" Kirk's vision blurred as he watched Spartacus approach step by step.

"Stop!" Batista's gloomy voice rang out, sounding like music to Kirk's ears.

"Finally..." Kirk gave a bitter smile and collapsed.