Where is the Emperor

The gladiatorial combat soon began.

Gravity Hammer and Ant-Man gradually moved closer to each other, stopping when they were ten meters apart.

"Begin!"

After the command was broadcast, the two gladiators immediately started fighting.

The battle wasn't a gradual escalation; it was intense from the very start.

Despite Ant-Man's massive size, he was exceptionally agile and nimble. He slid into Gravity Hammer, severing his left arm with a single strike.

However, this was a feint by Gravity Hammer. Taking advantage of Ant-Man's inability to quickly dodge after his attack, he grabbed his right leg. The clamp on his arm spun rapidly, tearing off Ant-Man's right leg.

Amidst the roaring crowd, the two fighters quickly created distance.

Ant-Man hopped to maintain his balance, while Gravity Hammer picked up the severed arm from the ground and placed it in a storage compartment sewn onto his back.

As the crowd's cheers gradually subsided, the two began the next round of their duel.

"Die!" Ant-Man roared, charging forward with powerful leaps directly at Gravity Hammer, his two blades ready to pierce flesh and metal.

Gravity Hammer was also charging, but he was actually slower than Ant-Man, who was hopping on one leg. However, Gravity Hammer's momentum was greater. As he ran, he roared, "May the Valorous Champion bless me!"

With his roar, Gravity Hammer's speed increased. He pounced and knocked Ant-Man down before the latter could even react, repeatedly smashing the clamp on his arm towards Ant-Man's head.

After the first blow, Ant-Man's head was already deformed.

After the second blow, Ant-Man's face was deeply caved in.

After the third blow, Ant-Man's head exploded.

Gravity Hammer rose from the pool of blood, lifted Ant-Man's corpse, and roared at the audience, "For the Valorous Champion!"

The crowd's cheers and applause became even more fervent, celebrating the victor of the duel.

Gravity Hammer didn't leave the arena. He dragged Ant-Man's corpse off the stage and then walked along a ring of iron railings outside the spectator stands, flaunting his spoils of war and the gruesome corpse of his enemy.

"This man is truly committed, willing to trade an arm for his enemy's death," Klein said, standing up and applauding.

Grey looked at Grot beside him. He expected Grot to enjoy such a fierce duel, but he found Grot looking astonished and trembling.

"Antala!" Grot shouted at Gravity Hammer, "It's me!"

Hearing the name Antala, Gravity Hammer immediately turned his head towards the direction of the voice. He saw an officer and two people in power armor.

Then, Grot removed his helmet and rushed to the edge of the stands, waving at Gravity Hammer.

Gravity Hammer dropped Ant-Man's corpse and jumped up, waving enthusiastically at Grot. The two shouted to each other, but their voices were quickly drowned out by more enthusiastic cheers and applause.

Grot pointed in the direction from which Gravity Hammer had emerged at the start of the duel. He then used hand gestures that only the two of them could understand, indicating he would go over there.

But Gravity Hammer just shook his head with a solemn expression and turned away.

Backstage at the arena.

As a reward for the victorious Gravity Hammer, the arena implanted a new prosthesis into his severed arm. This prosthesis did not have the function of a normal arm; it was merely a blade that could release electric currents.

While the prosthesis was being implanted, Gravity Hammer saw Grot arriving with a female guide.

Grot had come alone. He had already sent Grey and Klein back to prevent them from getting involved in trouble.

Upon seeing Grot, Gravity Hammer immediately got up and walked over, dragging the half-implanted prosthesis with him. He knelt before the female guide and said, "Mentor."

The female guide nodded in satisfaction and then introduced Grot, "This is a guard from the First Legion Commander. He said he wants to meet you, a brave gladiator."

"Yes," Gravity Hammer said, bowing his head deeply towards Grot, "Respected sir, I pay my respects to you."

"Antala... you... I..." Grot stammered, trembling. He struggled to form a complete sentence and finally turned to the female guide, "I need to be alone with him."

"Of course," the female guide nodded and left with the others in the backstage area.

Once everyone else had left, Gravity Hammer dared to stand up and hug Grot, "Brother... my brother..."

"What... what have you been through?" Grot asked, feeling his brother's half-cold metallic body. He didn't dare to guess what he had experienced.

Gravity Hammer didn't answer immediately.

The two muscular men embraced and wept bitterly, their tears and snot mixing and dripping onto each other's power armor or metal shoulders.

After Gravity Hammer had finished crying, he pulled Grot down to sit and recounted his experiences during this period.

The day after Grot entered the Underhive, a military officer suddenly arrived at their home, stating that he had become a traitor on the front lines and had defected to the rebels.

As the family of a traitor, Gravity Hammer and his sister had to pay a redemption fee of five hundred Throne coins. A soldier's monthly pay was less than twenty Throne coins, so it was impossible for them to afford it.

These five hundred Throne coins then became a debt for Gravity Hammer and his sister. Both were sold to the guilds. His sister's whereabouts were unknown, while Gravity Hammer underwent modifications and became a Pit Slave.

"A week ago, I killed the overseer and ran away. Then I was forced to join the arena and began fighting after two days of training," Gravity Hammer said, looking down at the ground, his voice filled with barely suppressed anger. "I gave myself the name Gravity Hammer. A good middle-aged gladiator guided me to believe in the Valorous Champion."

Saying this, Gravity Hammer took out a statue from his pocket.

The statue depicted a gladiator holding a captive in his right hand and a string of skulls in his left.

"No... you cannot betray the Emperor... I fought alongside the Emperor's envoy in the Underhive, and you actually believe..."

"Where is the Emperor?"

Grot's words were interrupted by Gravity Hammer. The serious older brother stared at his younger sibling, and after a few seconds of silence, asked, "When they called you a traitor, where was the Emperor? When they sold our sister, where was the Emperor? When I was remade into a Pit Slave, where was the Emperor?"

Grot was rendered speechless by the questions.

"The Valorous Champion bestowed strength upon me. I couldn't leave. I could only remain in the arena, sacrificing blood to this great deity," Gravity Hammer said, tucking the statue of the Valorous Champion into his embrace.

"But... but the Emperor's messenger saved me... If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to leave the Underhive..." Grot suddenly thought of a reason to defend the Emperor.

Hearing this, Gravity Hammer glanced at his brother and calmly replied, "Perhaps the one who saved you was also a god, or another messenger of a god willing to bestow grace upon the world. Whatever he is, he's far better than that slave owner on Terra who isn't even willing to release a fart."

Grot fell silent, contemplating. He remembered that some people did indeed worship Qin Mo as a god.

"I have to go participate in the next match," Gravity Hammer said, standing up and heading towards the arena.

"You have to come with me," Grot said, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "The Legion Commander will get you a better prosthesis, make you like a normal person. Then we can go find Maya together, and our family can live in the Underhive."

"Will they let you take me away?" Gravity Hammer looked towards the door.

"Of course, they won't," Grot said, taking Gravity Hammer from his back and shoving it into Gravity Hammer's manipulator. "But I'm taking you with me anyway."

Looking at the power armor on his brother's body and the hammer he had just placed in his hand, Gravity Hammer pondered for a moment before nodding. "We need to find Maya, and then we need to be together as a family like before. But before that, I need to get revenge on those scumbags."