Routine Gladiatorial Combat

"A pity that large-scale deathmatches of such intensity don't happen every day."

"But today's few regular bouts can still satisfy the bloodlust of every Nucerian. Let us welcome the gladiators who will be fighting next..."

"The Prince of the Mountains, the one who has drawn all eyes since his first day as a gladiator—Annnnnn—Angron!"

"..."

Qin Xa frowned, listening to the announcer's drawn-out introduction. He had always taken issue with that style of presentation.

Thunderous cheers erupted from the arena. The gladiators participating in the match were about to enter.

"This is a regular bout. We don't have to fight to the death." Oeno kneaded Angron's muscles, glancing at the twin gladiators who had already left the cave for the Armory. "Hold back, but stay sharp. Kill if you must."

"Why?" Angron asked, puzzled. "Don't those people out there want to see us slaughter each other?"

"They do, but not just anyone dragged in off the street can be a gladiator." Oeno shook his head with a smile. "Replenishing the gladiator ranks isn't as simple as grabbing random people. The arena has to keep unnecessary casualties low. In non-lethal bouts, just deciding a winner is enough."

With that, Oeno turned to Yochula, speaking with grave seriousness as if giving a warning. "The Skinner and the Nusa Twins have never killed anyone before... but... we still need to be careful ourselves. Do you understand?"

Yochula nodded.

Then the young gladiator, entrusted to Angron by his mother, crouched in front of Qin Xa. His gaze, framed by golden curls, fixed on the old man. "Could you bless me?"

"Bless?" Qin Xa was confused.

"My mother says wizards can bless people," Yochula said. "If you bless me, I think I can survive the arena, until one day I leave this place... and take my mother and my brother with me."

Qin Xa nodded, reaching out to place his hand on Yochula's head. "May you live."

Yochula closed his eyes, as if he could truly feel some mysterious power being bestowed upon him. He savored the sensation for a moment, then opened his eyes, stood up with resolve, and walked over to Angron's side.

"I'll protect you too, kid." Kleist, also scheduled to fight, patted Yochula on the shoulder. "If you make it out alive, tell me your mother's name."

Yochula shot Kleist a glare, then left the cave.

Angron and Kleist nodded to Qin Xa and followed him out.

The gladiators set to fight in the regular bout were escorted by Security Automata to the Armory to choose their weapons.

Angron picked up two axes. Kleist, as usual, grabbed the spear she was most skilled with. Yochula took a harpoon and a fishing net.

As they left the Armory and walked down the corridor leading to the arena's combat zone, the three ran into the Nusa Twins, who had already grabbed their weapons earlier, and the gladiator known as the Skinner.

"The Nusa Twins—one's good with a net, the other with a harpoon. They work well together."

Kleist leaned close to Yochula, her expression serious as she whispered a warning.

"As for the Skinner... no one knows his real name. All they know is he's skilled with two daggers and can flay a man's skin off whole in a fight."

Hearing this, Yochula tensed up immediately, instinctively holding his breath.

Having become a gladiator before Angron and Qin Xa, Yochula wasn't unaware of what the Nusa Twins and the Skinner were capable of. His tension came precisely from knowing their abilities all too well. Before becoming a gladiator, he had read the files on every fighter.

As if sensing the fear radiating from the young man, the Skinner, standing ahead, turned around. His pale face broke into a gentle smile. "Don't be scared, kid. We don't need to fight to the death today. We just need to decide a winner, then go back and carve our Triumph Cords."

The Skinner's appearance was unsettling—pale skin, perpetually damp black curls.

He wasn't tall, and he always smiled with a cold, eerie air.

But now, the smile on the Skinner's face looked very warm and reassuring.

"Thank you, thank you, sir." Yochula forced a smile.

The Skinner gave a slight nod, raised a hand to pat his own chest, then pointed at Yochula, as if to say: I've got your back.

At that moment, the Nusa Twins also turned around and smiled.

The gladiator family was quite heartwarming after all.

But Angron, at the very back of the line, furrowed his brow.

The bout began quickly.

Back in the cave, Qin Xa wasn't sitting cross-legged, tending to his own affairs. Instead, he moved to the window and looked down at the arena.

Oeno had said the arena was underground, yet the view outside the window was from a bird's-eye perspective.

Qin Xa realized the window wasn't actually a window—it was a ventilation shaft disguised by holographic technology.

"If one side is defeated but still alive in a bout, do the nobles or the audience get to stand up and give a thumbs-up to decide the gladiator's fate?" Qin Xa suddenly asked Oeno, who had also come over.

"In large-scale deathmatches, yes. But these regular bouts are essentially just competition and sparring," Oeno replied. "The arena's policy is generally to save people for dying in the big matches."

Qin Xa nodded and watched in silence.

The gladiators, split into two teams, faced each other, half a meter apart.

The Maggot Eye hovered up and down, capturing every fighter from the best angles and projecting them as holograms, so even those in the back rows of the audience or those not present could see clearly.

"Begin the bout!"

At the Maggot Eye's command, a deep horn echoed through the arena.

Angron was up against the Nusa Twins. Naturally, he hefted his axes and went straight for the twin gladiators.

The Nusa Twins immediately covered Kleist with a fishing net, then circled around Angron.

As for Skinner, he and Yochula himself had both deliberately and inadvertently drifted toward each other.

Though this regular bout was more like a competition, the gladiators still had to put on a decent show—at least enough that the audience wouldn't think it was too fake.

"Choosing a harpoon was a smart move."

Skinner stood with his feet together on the red sand, his smile appearing so warm and friendly in Yochula's eyes at that moment.

"I heard you were a fishing slave at the Artificial Sea before becoming a gladiator. You've had no combat training, so picking a tool you're comfortable with is wise."

"Me, I used to be a guy who skinned worm organs for a living, so I chose a dagger."

"Make your move."

Skinner gestured for Yochula to strike at him. "I'll teach you a couple of tricks."

"Yes!" Yochula immediately stepped forward and thrust his harpoon at Skinner.

Skinner dodged with ease, then sliced off Yochula's right arm as he was about to retract his strike.

The dagger in Skinner's hand was exceptionally sharp. By the time Yochula realized his right arm was gone, the excruciating pain had already hit him.