Only then did Hark realize that Stone had already made a move. Although he had been stopped by the guards before he could attack Scarface, it still gave Scarface more than enough reason to punish Stone.
Scarface viciously kicked Stone, who was kneeling on the ground, in the face, then rained punches down on him. Stone had little strength to begin with, and with the guards holding him down, he could not fight back at all. Hark and the other gladiators wanted to stop it, but they did not dare make a move. They could only watch helplessly as Scarface beat Stone.
Scarface did not have much strength. After hitting him for a while and seeing little effect, he ordered two guards, "You two, break this bastard's legs! Let them know what happens when they resist me!"
One of the guards hesitated. "This... isn't this going too far? He didn't actually try to start a riot, so just... I-I understand. Everything will be as you say!"
Seeing Scarface's gaze grow increasingly vicious, the guard immediately did not dare say another word. He could only obey Scarface's orders.
Scarface thought darkly, Although I can't collectively punish these disobedient pieces of trash, making an example of one of them will do nicely. Let them know the consequences of resisting me. After a few more times like this, let's see who still dares be The Bald Man's lackey and cause trouble for me.
Just as the guard raised his halberd and was about to bring it down on Stone's legs, there was a sharp whoosh. A javelin flew in from afar and knocked the halberd right out of the guard's hands.
The other guards hurriedly took up defensive positions around Scarface and shouted, "Who's there? Are you tired of living, attacking us like this?"
Scarface jumped at the sudden javelin. Only after the guards tightly shielded him did he pat his chest in lingering fright, then fly into a rage. "Looking to die? Sick of living, are you? Who the fuck threw that javelin?!"
Everyone looked in the direction the javelin had come from. A burly, bald man was striding toward them alone, head held high.
The gladiators beside Harrot cried out excitedly, "It's The Bald Man!"
As The Bald Man walked over, he roared furiously, "Didn't I tell you? Beasts and magical beasts are your responsibility, while gladiators are mine! Are you fucking brain-dead, or are you tired of living, coming to cause trouble for my men?"
The Bald Man's voice rang out like a bell, and his furious roar made several guards beside Scarface retreat in fear.
The Bald Man closed in on Scarface step by step, the fury on his face making it seem as though he might tear the frail Scarface apart with his bare hands.
Several of Scarface's trusted guards leveled their halberds at The Bald Man. The leading guard said, "The Gladiatorial Arena's affairs have always been managed jointly by several overseers. There's no rule saying who manages people and who manages beasts. If our lord wants to punish a gladiator, it's none of your business."
Hearing that, The Bald Man roared in rage. He moved with incredible speed, reaching out to seize the iron shaft of a halberd. With a savage heave, he lifted both the guard and the halberd into the air.
"Hah! What the hell are you? A dog like you dares lecture me?"
As The Bald Man spoke, he casually swung the "human-shaped weapon" in his hand and smashed it into the other guards. Harrot, standing nearby, stared with his eyes wide in shock.
He had thought his own strength had reached the peak of humanity, but now he saw there was always someone stronger. The Bald Man truly had the hairstyle of a powerhouse.
The Bald Man's strength was genuinely terrifying. Those guards were private soldiers Scarface had brought from the slave caravan, and they were not especially capable. The Bald Man swung them down one after another.
At this point, even the halberd in The Bald Man's hand could no longer withstand such monstrous force and snapped in two. The Bald Man tossed aside the broken half and charged the remaining guards barehanded.
With one hand, The Bald Man knocked aside a thrusting halberd. With the other, he punched down the foremost guard. Then he lunged forward, lifted another guard, and with a shout, hurled him out, knocking over the rest of the guards.
By then, every guard Scarface had brought had been beaten to the ground, leaving Scarface standing alone.
Everything happened quickly. From the moment The Bald Man arrived to the moment he knocked down every guard, only a dozen seconds had passed. The gladiators all cheered and praised The Bald Man, while the guards on the ground groaned in pain.
The Bald Man slowly walked toward Scarface step by step. Scarface kept backing away in terror, only to trip over the leg of a guard lying on the ground and fall flat on his back.
"You... you... don't come any closer! If... if you dare touch me, Count Sarik will never let you off! That's right, I'm one of the Count's favored men! The Count sent me here to help manage the Gladiatorial Arena! Are you trying to defy the Count's orders?"
After falling to the ground, Scarface trembled all over in fear. He could only invoke the Count's name in hopes of intimidating The Bald Man.
Although The Bald Man's expression remained furious after hearing Scarface's words, he stopped. Count Sarik had turned him from a gladiator slave into an overseer of the Gladiatorial Arena. He truly could not, and did not wish to, defy the Count's orders.
Scarface was very useful to the Gladiatorial Arena now. The Count would not care if he and Scarface had minor disputes, but he would never allow either of them to secretly kill the other.
The Bald Man grabbed Scarface from the ground and lifted him before his face, speaking word by word.
"Listen, trash. This is the last time. If I catch you causing trouble for the gladiators under me again, I'll tear you into pieces and feed you to the beasts!"
"Now, take your useless trash and get the hell out of my territory!"
With that, The Bald Man threw Scarface to the ground. Scarface scrambled up in a sorry state, not daring to utter a single threat as he fled the Training Ground in a panic.
Seeing their leader run, the guards lying on the ground did not dare say anything either and left. The Bald Man had been furious, but he had held back well. None of them had suffered fatal injuries; at most, a few bones were broken. Those more seriously injured were helped out by their companions.
Every gladiator was thrilled. In their eyes, The Bald Man clearly held far more status than that beast Scarface. As long as The Bald Man protected them, they would have nothing to fear.
The Bald Man also encouraged the gladiators, saying bluntly, "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, that bastard won't be able to boss you around. Just train properly and don't die in the arena."
"Haha, don't worry, Boss! We'll definitely make you proud!" "That's right! Let me fight a magical beast next time. I guarantee I won't embarrass you!"
"And now we've got another expert! The newly arrived Harrot is only second to you!"
"Yeah, yeah! I sparred with Harrot, and he beat me like I was a child!"
Stone hurriedly joined in the boasting. When someone utterly crushed you, you always wanted everyone to know it was because your opponent was too strong, not because you were too weak.
Hearing everyone praise Harrot's strength, The Bald Man was delighted. He had picked up a bargain with that purchase.
The Bald Man smiled smugly and bragged, "Of course! Harrot is an expert I bought for 200 gold coins.
That day, I went to the slave market and spotted Harrot immediately, standing head and shoulders above the rest. I could tell Harrot was extraordinary, far beyond ordinary people. Everyone else thought 200 gold coins was too expensive, but I thought it was far too cheap!
When I paid, my men urged me to calm down. They told me I should test his skills before buying him, but I refused outright. I just said, 'I can't be wrong about someone I've taken a liking to!' Then I bought Harrot. So? My eye for talent isn't bad, right?"
As he spoke, The Bald Man vigorously patted Harrot on the shoulder. Even with Harrot's physique and +10 Golden Bell Shield, he could feel pain. Just how much strength was this guy using?
Was he warning me not to say anything? Come on, I'm not an idiot. What kind of brain-dead person would expose their boss while he was bragging?
Harrot could only smile silently, though inwardly he despised The Bald Man. The slave trader had clearly come to him to promote Harrot, and he had only paid 50 gold coins while still thinking it was too expensive.
More importantly, if Harrot had not transmigrated into this body, what he had bought would have been a farmer with enormous strength but slow reactions, mild dementia, and a curse on him! What the hell was he so proud of?
The gladiators excitedly chatted with The Bald Man for a long time. Finally, seeing that it was getting late, The Bald Man sent them all back to their cells to wait for their meal.
When they left, nearly every gladiator was happy except Hark. Hark was filled with worry. He stayed behind in the Training Ground and spoke to The Bald Man.
"Cleon, tell me honestly. In the Count's eyes, who is more important, you or Scarface?"
Cleon was The Bald Man's name. Hark had stayed in the Gladiatorial Arena with The Bald Man before, so he knew his real name.
The other gladiators were relatively young and uneducated. They felt that The Bald Man was brave and powerful, so what was a loser like Scarface compared to their boss?
But Hark, who had seen much of the world and received an education, understood that whether Scarface or Cleon would have the last laugh depended entirely on Count Sarik's wishes.
As long as the Count favored Scarface more, then neither the gladiators' support nor Cleon's own combat prowess would mean anything.
Cleon had not expected Hark to suddenly ask such a question. After pausing for a moment, he said, "Lord Sarik is a wise and great noble. He won't care only about the Gladiatorial Arena's short-term profits."
"Events like Man-Beast Combat consume gladiators too quickly. If this continues, the elite gladiators and high-ranking gladiators will all die soon enough. Without those core gladiators, even Man-Beast Combat won't remain popular for long."
"The core of the Gladiatorial Arena will always be its gladiators. Trust me, I'll be able to convince the Count!"
After hearing Cleon, Hark sighed and silently walked toward his cell. Cleon had not clearly given an answer, but it was obvious that the Gladiatorial Arena now earned far more than it had before Man-Beast Combat existed.
In Hark's view, noble lords would never care whether common people lived or died.
If Cleon could truly convince Count Sarik, why would he have dragged things out until now? He could have driven Scarface away the moment he arrived. But now that the Count had already tasted the benefits, convincing him would be even more impossible.
Scarface could bring greater profits than The Bald Man, so there was no need to say who was more important. Sooner or later, The Bald Man would be transferred away by the Count. After all, The Bald Man's own combat strength meant noble lords would not discard him, but the fate of the gladiators would not be so fortunate.
Before you continue