Disarm

The best way to deal with those you are least suited for.

If the opponent is slow, use your speed to create a time difference. If the opponent is weak, crush them with your strength. If they have high offense but low defense, use your stamina advantage to trade blows and tank their hits.

However, Spartacus has no weaknesses. As a powerful protagonist, his Strength, Speed, and Stamina should all have reached the maximum allowed by this world, leaving no exploitable flaws.

"If you find an opponent with no weaknesses, you must exploit their psychology in battle and create weaknesses! Just like you did before," Vero continued training Kirk.

Kirk blocked a thrust with his weapon. He was carefully observing his opponent's every movement, attack, and feint. Gladiators are very cautious in combat, relying mainly on movement and feints to break or trick an opponent's defense. They rarely attack recklessly, as that would create numerous openings. Mistakes are not allowed in the arena. An opening created by a careless strike, once seized by an experienced opponent, leads to utter ruin.

To defeat this human beast, who has no openings when calm, there is only one method: provoke him, fill him with the passion for slaughter and the desire to attack, and openings will appear in his attacks. Thus, Kirk went all out, dual-wielding his weapons and dancing them like a whirlwind, one blade and one edge, cutting at Spartacus!

Spartacus grew excited. He loved this kind of combat, a dance with death amidst flashing blades. He couldn't help but let out a long roar, laughing as he unleashed his full power and fought Kirk head-on.

Vero watched speechlessly as the two delighted figures, risking their lives, inflicted wounds upon each other. This rarely happened in the arena; usually, it was a single, fatal blow.

Suddenly, Spartacus launched a surprise attack. He exploited a gap after Kirk's attack, delivering a vicious diagonal slash. If it hit Kirk, he would lose his right arm and be forced to concede and withdraw from the fight.

Kirk himself felt he couldn't dodge this attack and was about to be eliminated. But at this moment, his mind became clear, as if divinely inspired. He instinctively blocked with his dual weapons, and miraculously, he managed to parry Spartacus's fatal blow!

Then, as if his wrists were being guided, he used his dual weapons to entangle the opponent's wooden sword. To the astonishment of Spartacus and Vero, he deftly twisted his wrists, crossing and pressing the wooden sword downward! Another twist, and Spartacus's wooden sword was sent flying!

The wooden sword spun through the air and landed in the sea with a splash.

The Space issued a notification: "Contractor No. 4444, you have automatically learned the Basic Melee Combat Skill [Basic Block Mastery] level 1 during combat: Passive Skill. In melee combat, there is a 5% chance to block an opponent's attack with your weapon. Blocking requires Strength and Agility checks. Upon successful block, you take no damage, and the opponent enters a 2-second stun, unable to dodge your attacks. Weapon durability is consumed at double the rate.

Contractor No. 4444, you have automatically learned the Advanced Melee Combat Skill [Disarm] level 1 during combat: Active Skill. After a successful block, at the cost of 10 Energy, cross and press the opponent's weapon downward, then fling it away. Requires Strength and Agility checks. If successful, the opponent's weapon will be in a [Disarmed] state for 4 seconds. In the [Disarmed] state, the opponent cannot attack with their weapon. The [Disarmed] state can be calculated consecutively with the stun time from a block."

All three were stunned. Spartacus had been defeated before, but never had his weapon been disarmed; this was unprecedented for him. Kirk withdrew his weapons and stared for a moment. This Space, while fraught with danger, also held infinite opportunities. By repeatedly dueling Spartacus, his own potential had been pushed to the extreme, leading to a breakthrough in his abilities.

"Good lad!" Vero chuckled and punched Kirk on the shoulder. "Daring to disarm a monster, you've got some skills."

"Don't get cocky," Spartacus said with a dark expression. "This is just the beginning. Pick up your weapons, and let's go again."

Kirk smiled. After two duels with Spartacus, he had gained confidence. This confidence stemmed from his adventures in the Space; having brushed past death countless times, he had become indifferent to danger but craved strength even more.

Sparring with a Demigod Gladiator like Spartacus, dancing on the edge of death, his strength would improve by leaps and bounds daily.

When the moon reached its zenith, the two men finally stopped.

Kirk's hands were so sore he couldn't lift them. The shoulder blades of both his arms were shattered, his head was bleeding, and his clothes were tattered beyond recognition. He was in a pitiful state.

Spartacus was not much better off, covered in blood, with several wounds still bleeding. When Kirk got desperate, his attack speed and damage were quite formidable. He possessed 7 melee combat skills, with 5 of them upgraded to level 5; his melee combat ability was not to be underestimated.

"That's enough for today. We still have training tomorrow," Vero said. The three agreed to continue training at midnight the next night and then parted ways.

Kirk returned to his lodgings and began to organize his thoughts.

Three days had passed in the Blood and Sand world. The characteristic of [Arena Mode] was very few quests, with even main quests being hidden and offering minimal rewards upon completion. The primary benefit was contractors killing each other to obtain Bloody Keys and [Valuable Items]. Currently, Audi, a veteran contractor, possessed a total of 4 Bloody Keys and 12 Soul Crystals, including his own share, which had ignited envy and jealousy among all contractors. Next, he needed to continue training his melee combat skills with Spartacus, while also instigating conflicts between Audi and other contractors to wear them down, preparing to fish in troubled waters.

The next morning, Kirk woke up. His injuries had largely healed after 4 hours of rest. He didn't want to use the medicine obtained from contractors unless absolutely necessary. He went to the training ground, and the morning training began on time.

As Kirk had suggested to One-Eyed Dragon and the others, the contractors had chosen the circular greatshield tank to challenge Audi this time. Audi naturally refused. However, the tank brought up the sacred Gladiator Code, demanding a fight with the gladiator without waiving his right to surrender, in order to gain gladiator status. Under Dochet's command and the scornful gazes of the other gladiators, Audi resentfully accepted the tank's challenge, vowing to kill the challenger publicly.

Kirk's lips curled into a smile.

Audi vs. the tank. The crowd watched intently. It was clear that the tank had been heavily buffed with beneficial statuses before the fight. Kirk recognized [Cat's Agility] and [Stone Skin], which he had consumed himself. Coupled with the tank's reliance on defense and HP, and the dazzling Spartan Greatshield, which was likely at least a deep blue rarity item, the tank had become almost an iron-shelled hedgehog. Audi, a sorcerer who relied on spells and summons, had considerable offensive power, but he couldn't pose an effective threat to the tank hiding behind his shield.

The Gladiator Code stipulated that if a slave challenged a gladiator, the gladiator must accept, but the challenge could only end with one death. Until the challenge ended, the gladiator could not challenge others. Breaks and sleep were permitted in between. Thus, the entire morning was spent with Audi and the tank engaged in a "ping-pong" exchange of offense and defense. Initially, others watched with interest, but after an hour, no one paid attention anymore. During lunch, someone suggested they take a break and continue in the afternoon. Audi was naturally seething with rage, while the contractors were all beaming with joy.

Kirk noticed that while Audi was being tied up by the tank, One-Eyed Dragon and the Female Magician were not idle. They were continuously challenging gladiators. This time, they weren't passively holding back but were earnestly seeking opportunities. Finally, in the afternoon challenges, One-Eyed Dragon was the first to break through, defeating a Black gladiator. Kirk observed coldly that there was a lot of manipulation involved. The Black gladiator was not acting normally; it was likely that One-Eyed Dragon had bribed Ashur to let the Black gladiator go easy.

The Female Magician, again exploiting Ashur's lecherous nature, directly challenged Ashur and, once more, unleashed her charm and magic, quickly turning Ashur into a bruised mess and knocking him down.

Although both had employed dishonorable tactics, they had defeated a gladiator in a one-on-one situation. Bartitas had no choice but to agree to their joining the gladiators. It was estimated that this cunning old fox guessed that these two imposters would surely die during the Marseille Dionysia Festival performances, so it wouldn't matter much if they became gladiators for a few days.

Meanwhile, the tank happily continued to pester Audi. It was likely that others had compensated him sufficiently. Even if he didn't obtain gladiator status, he was already content.

Audi was furious all day, but he couldn't disobey the training camp's orders yet, nor did he dare risk inciting public outrage by privately killing contractors. Despite his superior strength, he couldn't defeat 14 contractors ganging up on him.

The days passed like this, and the Marseille Dionysia Festival was about to begin.

During these days, Kirk was oblivious to the outside world, focusing solely on honing his skills. He participated in training during the day, enduring whippings, throwing into latrines, and beatings. At night, he was alternately abused by Spartacus and Vero. Kirk didn't know how much his combat techniques had improved, but his ability to take hits and his toughness had undergone a qualitative leap.

To speak in data: his Stamina value increased by +1 from being beaten, his [Basic Defense] broke through level 6, his [Basic Block Mastery] rose to level 3, and even [Disarm] reached level 2, which showed how many beatings he took daily.