The second gladiator opponent entered the arena. Kirk looked over and felt relieved. They had sent out an Elite Gladiator, not [God of War] to keep fighting him to the death. Seeing Kirk's frenzied performance, as if he'd taken aphrodisiacs, the opponent's trainer—no, his owner—had probably changed his mind and decided to wear him down with a series of fighters.
Kirk smiled. Although he had taken [Weidomei Cake], his Health Points had only recovered to 70%, and the cooldown hadn't ended yet. If [God of War] came back out, he'd be taking a risk.
As the announcer spat out a stream of commentary, the Elite Gladiator was revealed to be a Roman legionary general. He had fought in Gaul alongside Julius Caesar during the conquest. In one battle, he had been overeager to claim credit and advanced recklessly with a small force, resulting in the annihilation of an entire thousand-man cohort. A military tribunal had sentenced him to slavery, and he had eventually become one of Andinus's gladiators.
He carried a large tower shield, the Roman Legion Shield, its scarlet face fitted with a sharp boss. It was both a sturdy defense and a powerful weapon. The Roman legions had two great assets: their orderly ranks of tower shields and their sharp short swords. Their shields could form an impregnable wall, holding back the furious charges of the barbarians. The legionaries stabbed with their short swords in a steady rhythm, while spearmen behind them provided support at close range and javelin throwers and archers handled attacks from medium and long range. In large-scale battles, several or dozens of Roman legions would form ranks upon ranks in a triple-line formation, crushing one barbarian resistance after another and proving unstoppable.
Kirk had no interest in the heroes of the Roman legions. He