First Gladiatorial Match

The Bald Man clenched his right hand into a fist and slammed it hard into the ground. Furious, he said, "I already made it crystal clear to him—the Gladiatorial Arena is going to be finished if this keeps up. But that One-Armed bastard calmly told me, 'What does that have to do with me? Go talk to Count Sarik yourself!'"

"He's the closest to Count Sarik. Only when he speaks will Count Sarik listen. I've brought this up to Count Sarik several times over the past six months."

"Not only did Count Sarik ignore my advice, he cared more about that bastard Scarface! Why? That animal Scarface doesn't give a damn about the future of the Gladiatorial Arena or the gladiators. He just wants to make broker fees by buying monsters and magical beasts..."

Perhaps because he had never found anyone to vent these worries to, once The Bald Man started talking, he could not stop. The more he spoke, the more agitated he became. By the end, he had gone completely off-topic and was endlessly cursing Scarface.

After listening to The Bald Man, Harrot became even more convinced that Scarface was Count Sarik's scapegoat.

The One-Armed Man might truly have wanted to retire, but with the loyalty he had shown by being willing to take a blade for his master, there was no way he would sit by and watch the Gladiatorial Arena collapse. This was a business the Old Marquis had arranged. It absolutely could not be ruined.

Since The One-Armed Man had chosen to stay out of it, that meant everything was still under Count Sarik's control.

The Bald Man had begun to feel anxious, public opinion had started to shift, and the gladiators' losses had reached a certain point. Count Sarik would probably wrap things up soon. After the next Monster Hunt Battle, Scarface would definitely be dealt with, and Man-Beast Combat would be abolished as well.

But Harrot could not explain any of this to The Bald Man. The Bald Man sincerely served Count Sarik, and Count Sarik also valued Scarface highly. Even if Harrot pointed it all out, it would not change anything. It would only affect the relationship between The Bald Man and Count Sarik, and harm The Bald Man's future.

Harrot could only choose his words carefully and comfort him. "Don't worry. Count Sarik is wise and mighty. Scarface might fool him for a while, but eventually he'll see through him and listen to your advice!"

Strong people often only needed a little comfort from others to pull themselves together again. Even if that comfort was perfunctory, they would follow your words and comfort themselves.

After hearing Harrot's words, The Bald Man nodded, and his gaze became resolute once more.

Having said his piece, The Bald Man sent Harrot back to his cell. Before leaving, he warned him, "Forget everything I told you today as soon as you go back to sleep. Don't tell anyone."

"And as long as I'm still in this Gladiatorial Arena, I won't let Scarface get what he wants! Believe me!"

The Bald Man added silently, I'll also trust Count Sarik. He's different from the other nobles. He never cared that I was a slave. He promoted me and put me to work. I believe in him!

The next day, Harrot got up early and went to the Training Ground again. Dragon Slaying Sword Art was a precious technique created by The Bald Man himself, so Harrot could not practice it openly in front of everyone during the day.

Chopping wooden posts and practicing footwork had mediocre results and gave no experience. Sparring with other gladiators was the best way to improve his strength.

Naturally, Harrot kept challenging every gladiator to one-on-one fights. This made the other gladiators miserable. Even though they knew they could not beat Harrot, they could only force themselves to accept.

After all, surrendering without even fighting was too humiliating. Even if they got hurt, they could not let others look down on them. That was how most gladiators saw things.

After gaining Light Strike and 106 points of Two-Handed Weapon Proficiency, Harrot's attack speed had improved greatly. Most gladiators found it difficult to dodge and could only take his blows head-on.

The few gladiators who were exceptionally agile lacked too much strength. With only wooden swords, it was difficult for them to injure Harrot.

Before noon, Harrot had challenged nearly every gladiator.

Only the elderly Hark did not fight. He refused Harrot's challenge and replied:

"Stop sparring with us. We aren't that strong. The truly formidable ones were promoted to elite gladiators long ago. Wait until those elite gladiators recover, then go spar with them!"

Harrot felt somewhat regretful after hearing that. His chance to farm experience was probably gone.

After all, his strength had already completely surpassed these senior gladiators. Fighting them again would just be deliberately bullying them and could easily sour their relationship.

Besides, he had already reached level 4. The experience needed for future levels had increased, so a few hundred experience points were no longer that important.

That afternoon, Harrot practiced his basics for a while before returning to his cell to read.

After secretly training with The Bald Man the previous day, he no longer had to worry about his books being discovered.

The previous night, The Bald Man had personally taken Harrot to the Training Ground. Quite a few guards had seen them. With The Bald Man protecting him, how would those guards dare cause trouble for Harrot?

The contents of the Sword Fighting Manual became more profound the further he read. Many things could not be understood through reading alone and had to be mastered through practice.

Once night fell, the gladiators were no longer allowed to go to the Training Ground. His reading progress stalled at 85% and could not increase further.

Left with no choice, Harrot could only wait for The Bald Man to take him training.

Just like the day before, The Bald Man continued teaching Harrot Dragon Slaying Sword Art.

While practicing, Harrot also came to understand the key points behind several moves in the Sword Fighting Manual. His reading progress increased to 86%.

Training was as exhausting as ever. After two hours, Harrot ran out of stamina.

"Pant... pant... I can't do it anymore. Let's stop here for today!" After training for two hours, Harrot collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.

"You've grasped it very well. It won't be long before you can use it in actual combat!"

The Bald Man praised Harrot. Watching someone grow step by step with his own eyes was one of the few pleasures he had left. His own strength had not improved in many years.

"I heard you beat up every gladiator in the Gladiatorial Arena?"

The Bald Man asked Harrot, who was lying on the ground.

Harrot thought The Bald Man was going to settle accounts with him. He quickly sat up and explained, "My hands were just itching, so I sparred with them a little. I didn't hit them too hard!"

The Bald Man burst into laughter. "You're just like I was back then. Don't worry, they aren't pampered young ladies. A few bruises are nothing."

"But it looks like you've fully recovered. I'll arrange a gladiatorial match for you tomorrow!"

Hearing that he would have a gladiatorial match the next day, Harrot did not feel afraid. He could not avoid it anyway, so he would face it bravely.

Besides, he was confident in his own strength, and The Bald Man would not deliberately set him up.

The Bald Man said seriously to Harrot, "Tomorrow's fight has a special requirement. You cannot spare your opponent. You must kill him!"

The request was somewhat strange. Only after The Bald Man explained did Harrot understand that his opponent tomorrow was a rapist.

That man had violated several unmarried girls in a village. Yet his family had quite a bit of money and bribed people at the prison to send him to the Gladiatorial Arena.

His family planned to buy him back from the Gladiatorial Arena afterward. That way, the rapist would effectively escape punishment.

Although it sounded deeply unfair, it was legal. The entire Northern Province was Marquis Harlaus's territory.

The Marquis had the right to make and amend laws, so long as they did not conflict with Kingdom Law. The law enforcement officers were also all subordinates of the Old Marquis.

As one of the Old Marquis's properties, the Gladiatorial Arena naturally fell outside the law's jurisdiction.

After prisoners were transferred from prison to the Gladiatorial Arena, they were no longer criminals but slaves. As long as someone was willing to pay a high price, who cared whether they had committed crimes before?

"Do you understand? Tomorrow's fight is not a duel. It is an execution!" The Bald Man looked grave as he earnestly instructed Harrot.

Seeing The Bald Man's serious expression, Harrot found it strange. There's something fishy about this!

The Bald Man was upright, but he was not someone who could not tolerate even the slightest injustice. Why would he offend someone for villagers he did not even know?

Anyone capable of bribing the prison was probably not an ordinary wealthy merchant. They likely had noble backing.

Besides, if that family wanted to buy the rapist, the Gladiatorial Arena could simply demand an exorbitant price and make a fortune.

That way, everyone would benefit. There was no reason to insist on killing the rapist.

Harrot asked suspiciously, "Boss, is there some inside story here? Tell me about it!"

The Bald Man replied irritably, "That scum deserves to die. Why are you asking so many questions? It has nothing to do with you!"

Harrot immediately knew there really was something going on. He hurriedly pressed on, "If you're assigning me a task, you should at least explain it clearly. My lips are sealed. I guarantee I won't tell anyone!"

Gossip was human nature, and Harrot was no exception.

The Bald Man felt that Harrot had a point. He waved Harrot closer, then whispered, "That rapist didn't just violate villagers. It seems a noble's daughter was also... You understand, right?"

Harrot understood at once and nodded repeatedly. That nobleman was probably furious, but he feared that word would get out and ruin his daughter's reputation.

So the noble had not openly stepped forward to deal with the rapist. Instead, he had secretly asked The Bald Man to kill him, preventing the matter involving his daughter from being exposed.

Having understood the whole story, Harrot patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry. I guarantee I'll complete the task. Tomorrow's gladiatorial match will end with either him dead or me dead!"

Although The Bald Man trusted Harrot's strength, he still worried and warned him again, "That rapist isn't weak. I originally planned to deal with him myself, but I was afraid it would be too obvious and expose everything. That's why I arranged for you to do it. Don't let your guard down!"

"Also, you must keep this matter buried in your stomach. If you dare spread it around, be careful or you'll lose your life!"

Only after Harrot promised again and again did The Bald Man let him return to his cell to rest.

Since he would be fighting tomorrow, he decided to spend all his system points. He had to make sure nothing could go wrong.

His agility increased to 10, Running rose to Lv. 3, and his proficiency reached 112.

Dragon Slaying Sword Art required both speed and strength. His strength was sufficient, but his speed was somewhat lacking, so he improved his agility.

The next morning, The Bald Man brought several guards and took away Harrot, who was warming up.

The Bald Man led Harrot to an entrance to the gladiatorial platform and warned him again, "That rapist is agile and his swordsmanship is nimble. Don't let him throw you off!"

"Got it. Don't worry. I'll deal with him calmly and steadily!"

Harrot felt rather speechless. The Bald Man had warned him no fewer than twenty times along the way.

It felt like a parent worrying about sending a child to school alone.

At that moment, the gladiatorial match was about to begin. The stands were half full, and the host was introducing the two fighters to build the atmosphere.

"Today's fighters are Rodri, who specializes in dual blades!"

"He possesses extraordinary speed and agility. This is also his first gladiatorial match since arriving at the Gladiatorial Arena!"

A scattered wave of cheers rose from the stands. After all, it was Rodri's first match, and he had no reputation. Naturally, few spectators cheered for him.

"And his opponent is the ace of our Gladiatorial Arena, an elite gladiator—Har... rot!"

The host raised his voice while introducing Harrot, and shouted Harrot's name one syllable at a time.

The audience responded enthusiastically with loud cries. Most of the spectators had been here before. They knew that such a grand introduction meant a true expert was about to appear.

The gate in front of Harrot opened. He knew it was his turn to enter. Taking the battered greatsword The Bald Man handed him, he walked toward the gladiatorial platform.

Harrot looked around. The gladiatorial platform was enormous, nearly half the size of a 400-meter track field, while the surrounding stands could easily hold over a thousand people.

Holding a horn-like object, the host stood on a high platform and introduced Harrot as he slowly walked toward the center of the gladiatorial platform.

"Harrot, the Undying God of War who survived a full-force blow from a troll! One of the heroes who defeated the troll! He possesses top-tier endurance and strength! Rumor has it that he can tear apart starving wolves with his bare hands and wrestle black bears!"

The audience's cheers grew even louder. Although Harrot was not particularly famous, all the spectators vividly remembered the stirring scene of the troll hunt from several days earlier.

When they heard that Harrot was one of the gladiators who had fought the troll, they naturally cheered for him.

Harrot wondered who had started those rumors. Tearing apart wolves and wrestling black bears? What the hell was that?

But that did not matter. Harrot reached the center of the gladiatorial platform and examined his opponent, Rodri.

Rodri was rather lean, with long limbs and a height of roughly 1.8 to 1.9 meters. He held a curved blade in each hand. What stood out most was his face—he was extraordinarily handsome, able to rival many celebrities from Harrot's previous life even without any makeup.

He looks less like a rapist and more like a seducer. That was Harrot's first reaction. He felt somewhat jealous of this pretty boy. Having money was bad enough—why did the guy also have to be so handsome? I'm definitely chopping you up today!

Rodri, meanwhile, stared at Harrot with an ugly expression. His body would not stop trembling, and he was so nervous he could barely breathe. "Damn it! Didn't my family say they would spend a fortune to buy me out? Why did the Gladiatorial Arena arrange for me to fight a monster like this?"

Gladiators could only be purchased after participating in at least one match. The original purpose of this rule was to prevent buyers from being cheated.

Although Rodri's family had said there was no need to "inspect the goods," the rule had been set by the Old Marquis. No one dared make the decision to waive it.

Rodri had assumed the Gladiatorial Arena would arrange some weak cannon fodder for him, just to put on a show and collect the money. Who would have thought they would send an Undying God of War like this?

Harrot's huge frame, his two-meter height, and solid muscles like granite placed enormous psychological pressure on his opponent. Seeing the Killing Intent in Harrot's eyes, Rodri felt his legs weaken and begin to tremble.

Rodri took several deep breaths and forcibly reassured himself. "It's fine. He's so big, so speed should be his weakness. I might still have a chance!"

"Besides, maybe he's here to throw the match. Maybe the Gladiatorial Arena wants to temporarily raise the price and demand more money? My family has plenty of money. The Gladiatorial Arena won't turn down money. I'll definitely be fine!"

After comforting himself, Rodri calmed down considerably. His legs straightened, and his body stopped shaking. He felt that even if he lost, his life would not be in danger. At most, his family would spend a little more money.

"So, who will emerge victorious in this gladiatorial match? Let us wait and see!"

As the host's words fell, the gladiatorial match began!