"I'm back." Qin Xa strode into the cave.
He paused when he found all the Gladiators gathered together, waiting for him.
"What is it?" Qin Xa sensed that the atmosphere was strangely serious.
"Buddy." Kleist slowly stepped forward, staring steadily into Qin Xa's eyes.
Qin Xa frowned at Kleist, not understanding.
Kleist's expression suddenly shifted from solemnity to wild delight. "You killed a squad of Praetorian Guard! You killed a whole squad!"
The Gladiators erupted in cheers.
From behind the crowd, Oeno also gave Qin Xa an admiring look.
Angron did not know why everyone was so happy about the Praetorian Guard being killed, but since everyone else was happy, he was happy too. He looked like he was grinning foolishly.
"You took down every Praetorian Guard with three punches and two kicks... that bastard called Swordsman—you tore off his arm and strangled him with it! Beautiful!"
"Before I saw that, I thought an Emissary of the gods couldn't bleed..."
"Emissaries of the gods can bleed. Oeno killed one of the Praetorian Guard when he was young."
"I didn't kill one completely. That guy got stuck in quicksand, and I finished him off."
"..."
Listening to the Gladiators' overlapping praise and amazement, Angron finally understood why they were so thrilled and impressed by the Praetorian Guard's deaths.
Because, to them, killing warriors of that level barehanded was impossible.
"Those pieces of trash aren't any Emissaries of the gods, and the High-Riders aren't gods either."
Qin Xa smiled as he spoke, gesturing with his hands.
"The moment that bastard claiming to be a Swordsman charged at me, I instantly knew where I needed to hit him."
"I grabbed Destiny by the throat. Did you see it? I ripped off his right arm with a crack, then threw him aside."
"I charged straight at that bastard... I wasn't planning to strangle him then. I wanted to kick him to death."
Qin Xa stepped back two paces to put some distance between himself and the others, then leaped up swiftly and kicked out with both feet together.
"Like that. A flying kick."
"But then I figured kicking him to death would be letting him off too easy. His dead father drugged me unconscious, and he still had the nerve to come looking for revenge?"
After demonstrating an Ultra Kick, Qin Xa quickly rose from the ground and said to everyone, "If it were you, you could kill those High-Riders' dogs too."
The Gladiators had all been excited, but when Qin Xa's final words reached their ears, everyone except Angron and Oeno fell silent. The atmosphere instantly went cold.
"You have a powerful body," Kleist said. "You could dodge Silver Vine and tear a Praetorian Guard's arm off, but we can't."
"You really can't dodge it." Qin Xa nodded with a smile. "But I said you could kill the Praetorian Guard because they and the High-Riders are humans, just like you. They only rely on having better equipment."
"Kleist."
"If you had a power lance, or some other nasty piece of work."
Qin Xa spoke to Kleist.
"With your combat skills, killing a Praetorian Guard would be as easy as killing a dog. Just charge one and ram the damn thing into him—make him cough blood and convulse all over."
Kleist did not echo those words. He merely forced a smile.
Qin Xa understood that most people here feared the Praetorian Guard and the High-Riders.
The gods of Nuceria—that title had not been invented by the High-Riders out of vain confidence. As Oeno had said, they could do things only gods should be able to do.
But these people needed to understand why the High-Riders and Praetorian Guard could seem like gods, and how to prevent them from wielding their so-called "divine power."
That would take time, and now was not the time for a long speech.
"Guys, it's Triumph Cord time!" Qin Xa sat on the ground and exposed his broad back. "One each. Help me record this victory—a one-sided slaughter of the Praetorian Guard."
Qin Xa looked delighted, full of cheer.
Oeno watched Qin Xa while recalling the savagery and coldness Qin Xa had shown in the Arena.
After some thought, the old bear decided that Qin Xa likely had a clear dividing line, separating people into friends, neutrals, and enemies.
His cold savagery seemed contradictory to his current joy and friendliness, but people were complex and contradictory creatures.
Kleist smiled and stepped forward, pricking a tiny bloody dot into Qin Xa's back. He deliberately deepened his voice. "So now you're a Praetorian Guard Slaughterer, huh? You beast!"
"Of course, Ms. Aspiring Praetorian Guard Slaughterer." Qin Xa laughed along. "I'm also the fucking Praetorian Guard Widowmaker."
"Praetorian Guard Widowmaker... Widowmaker..." Angron suddenly froze, then his face lit up with delight. "Good name. If I ever get a good weapon, I'll name it that."
Night fell.
Yochula curled up in a corner, drenched in sweat and pale from the pain of his severed arm.
He had already wrapped the miraculous bandage distributed earlier around the stump, but it had only made the wound heal quickly. The pain remained, though he could not tell where exactly it came from.
As the pain left this young Gladiator, who was the same age as Qin Xa, dazed and barely conscious, he kept recalling the sight of Skinner cutting off and dismantling his arm. Each time he remembered it, the pain grew worse.
In his haze, Yochula vaguely saw someone come before him.
Then that person crouched down and injected something into his arm, and the pain vanished.
"This was all I found in the Praetorian Guard's armor back in the Arena." Qin Xa sat beside Yochula and crushed the empty injector tube. "It might be what they use to quickly numb pain after being injured. Does it help?"
Yochula gave no response.
He wanted to answer, but after being tortured by pain for so long and suddenly freed from it, he was too weak to speak at all.
After Qin Xa sat with Yochula for half an hour, Yochula finally recovered a little and apologized for his silence. "S-sorry... I..."
"It's all right. I understand." Qin Xa lightly patted Yochula's back. "This will probably numb the pain for a few days. Give me some time. I'll find a way to make it stop hurting—and maybe even restore you completely."
Yochula looked at Qin Xa. His facial muscles trembled, and only with great effort did he manage to force out a smile.
Qin Xa looked at Yochula and recalled watching Kleist and Oeno go over to bandage him after he was injured.
He believed that when someone needed material help, offering only verbal comfort without giving that help was useless. That was why he had begun thinking about how to use psychic power to regrow a severed limb.
He had not figured it out yet, but at least the medicine he had found on the Praetorian Guard could help Yochula for now.
"You... you're very kind to me..." Yochula said. "W-why?"
Qin Xa was taken aback by the question.
After a brief silence, Qin Xa lowered his head and thought for several seconds before speaking slowly. "Because your mother cares about you deeply. I don't even know her name, and I've never met her, but I care about people like you... and envy you too..."
"Get some rest, tough guy." Qin Xa stood and returned to the corner, where he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. "Before your mother comes again, I'll make sure she sees her son whole and healthy."
Before you continue