episode_0045

Episode 45

As I was walking down the long hallway following the manager, I ran into Chris.

“Yeoerion! You’re so unlucky to be named by the executioner, Urgos. Or are you lucky? Hehehe…”

As if he had been waiting for me from the beginning, he approached me with a welcoming face and greeted me.

“Lion, if it’s you, Urgos won’t be a problem. I’ve seen your face, so I’ll go back. ”

“…”

I don’t know if the manager was right next to me and just quietly said hello and left, but Chris sent me a cheer without saying much and disappeared across the hallway.

“If you keep following this road, you will reach the stadium.”

After a while, the manager gestured to me with his chin, as if to say that he would only guide me this far.

-Limp…Limp…

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-Next in order! Players, enter!

At the announcer’s signal, I went up onto the pitch.

-The first player of this match! The executioner, Urgos, famous for brutally executing losers!

-Wow!

On the other side, the audience began to cheer as a muscular giant emerged wearing an iron lion head helmet that covered his entire face.

The face shield, shaped like a human face below the lion’s mouth, appeared to be intended to instill fear in the opponent.

As his name suggests, the Executioner’s weapon was a large, thick-bladed sword with a long chain attached to the hilt.

-And a new sacrificial lamb to face the executioner! A new gladiator, Rioon!

-Wow!

-Kill him quickly!

-What? You’re limping! It’s not funny!

Perhaps because he was new and had no guidance, boos poured down from the audience.

A completely different reaction from the appearance of the executioner, Urgos.

My body feels tingly under the pressure of everyone in the Colosseum wishing for my death.

But that’s okay.

Even if you have an injured leg, this is an opponent you can easily defeat if you remain calm.

-Now that all the players have entered, there’s no need to wait any longer! Then, let’s start the game right away!

-Crunch…Crunch…

As soon as the announcer signaled the start of the match, the executioner, Urgus, slowly approached me, dragging his chain.

“Hehehe… I wonder what kind of sound you’ll make before you die.”

The voice of the executioner, Urgos, echoed through the iron face shield.

-Clang!

I raised my sword without saying a word and assumed an ox stance.

-Click…boohoo…!boohoo…!

The executioner, Urgus, held the hilt of his sword in his right hand and began to twirl the chain with his left.

“Cooking a cripple is too easy, that’s the problem… oh my! ”

-Whoosh!

The high-speed rotating chain flew towards my left leg along with Urgos’s shout.

-Kaang!

He quickly brought his sword down and struck him on the ground before it reached his chained legs.

-Kururuk…! Boohoo! Boohoo!

Urgos didn’t even care that his attack was blocked, and quickly retrieved the chain and began to turn it again.

“Hehehe… Let’s see how long I can hold it off!”

-Clang!

‘You can’t just defend, you have to close the distance and decide the outcome.’

-Kang! Kagakak!

Sparks fly whenever the chain and sword collide.

-Ahh! Leon is being attacked unilaterally by Executioner Urgos because he couldn’t close the distance! Is this the end where he’ll just keep getting attacked?

I moved forward towards Urgos, step by step, kicking away the chains flying towards me.

Now, the distance between me and Urgos is about 3 meters, so I can attack by moving a little.

“Hahahaha! Do you think you can win if you stick to me!”

-Whoosh!

-Kagagak!

Urgos began to pull the chain around my sword.

-Here it comes! The executioner, Urgos, has snatched the opponent’s weapon.

I strengthened my grip to keep the sword that was chained to me from being snatched away, and I circulated my mana to the limit to strengthen my muscles.

“Ugh!”

He pulled Urgos like a fishing rod, using his right foot as a stepping stone.

“What power…!”

Urgos couldn’t hide his bewildered expression as I, a smaller man than him, displayed incredible strength.

-Kkakakakak!

The tug-of-war between Urgos and me began with an ear-piercing sound as the chains and swords were pulled with all their might.

-Ohhhh! What is this! Leon, who was being attacked unilaterally, is now engaging in a tug-of-war with Executioner Zaurgos!

“Haaap!”

-Koosh!

I shouted again and pulled the chain with all my strength until Urgos lost his balance and fell towards me.

“Oh no!”

The distance between Urgos and me narrowed to within two meters, and I took advantage of his opening by thrusting the chained sword into his shoulder.

-Phew!

“Kyaaak!”

Urgos, unable to defend himself properly due to his collapsed posture, screamed and stepped back to gain some distance.

-This is impossible! Rookie gladiator Rion shows off his unexpected skills!

-Wow!

The Colosseum was filled with the surprised voice of the host and the excited screams of the audience.

‘Now is the chance.’

We must finish it now, even if it means pushing ourselves a little, before Urgos regains his composure and completely distances himself.

-Koosh!

-Crunch…

“Ugh!”

I concentrated my mana on both legs, kicked the ground, and charged towards Urgos.

I felt terrible pain as the loosely attached leg bone cracked again.

He approached Rorgos in a half-swording stance, holding the center of the sword with his left hand, and swung the sword as if stabbing him.

“Ugh!”

-Kagagak! Kagagak!

The moment Urgos’ sawtooth clashed with my sword, I twisted my body and thrust my sword between his lower jaws under his helmet.

-Phew!

“…!”

My sword pierced his lower jaw, which was not covered by the face shield, and came out through his crown.

-Brrr… bang! Clank!

Urgos, whose brain was shattered, trembled briefly, then dropped the saw blade he was holding and his body fell limp.

-Whoa!

-Koosh! Thud!

Urgos fell to his knees as he pulled out the sword embedded in his lower jaw.

Blood flowed from Urgos’ lower jaw as he fell face down on the dirt floor, spreading out and dyeing the floor red.

-Crash!

“Hoo…”

My left ankle was completely shattered from the exertion, so I couldn’t stand any longer, so I buried my longsword in the ground and leaned back to catch my breath.

A moment of silence.

-The winner is Leo! With his unbelievable skills, the rookie gladiator Leo has cleanly executed the executioner, Urgos!

-Wow!

-My money! It’s my money! Leon, give my fucking wife back her money!

-Lion! Leon! Leon!

After a brief silence, the announcer’s voice burst out and the excited crowd’s cheers echoed throughout the Colosseum.

#

“Leon…he’s pretty good, he may be a little lacking in entertaining the audience, but…it was a heart-warming match.”

In the splendid waiting area at the corner of the Colosseum, a silver-haired man wearing black leather clothes that revealed his bronze abs was looking at Leon in the stadium with interested eyes.

“Once I awaken my Aura and reach the 4th rank, I look forward to the day when I can purge all the shabby arena shows in the Caracalla Colosseum together and rule this place with Nawarion’s show.”

-Wriggle! Wriggle!

Alexon’s body was on fire as he imagined his match with Leon, his muscles twitching as if they were alive with will.

“We’re on a restricted ship, Leon!”

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-Clap clap clap!

In another waiting area, a man with light blond hair was clapping his hands while looking at Leon.

“That was a great game, Leon… I don’t know who you’re aiming for that revenge hidden deep in your eyes, but I wish you’d pour it all out on me. ”

-Lick…

“…Should I have eaten it then? No, I’m not excited at all by being hated by a kid who hasn’t even awakened yet.”

Chris slowly licked his lips with his tongue and looked at Leon with sticky eyes.

“Grow up to be a gladiator worthy of taking my life, Lion…! And let’s see the end together.”

##

After finishing the match with Executioner Urgos, I followed the manager back to the waiting room where I was staying.

“Amazing, you killed our Colosseum’s famous executioner, Zaurgos, while you were in poor health.”

The manager did not hide his surprise and praised my performance during the game.

“What is the match winning reward?”

“Take two gold Florin coins.”

-Jangle!

“Normally, veteran gladiators receive 1 gold florin for each match, but this time, the Urgos you killed is worth 2 gold florins.”

“Gladiators get paid quite a lot for being slaves.”

“First of all, he survived and proved his usefulness, and it’s only natural since he was given money in exchange for his life.”

“How much does it cost to buy my freedom?”

“Hahaha! The gladiators of the ancient Ram Empire could buy their freedom with money, but the gladiators of the Holy Ram Empire cannot buy their own freedom even for a billion dollars.”

“…”

“You can only receive the Wooden Sword of Freedom if you win 100 or more matches against someone as strong as you or stronger, and survive the final battle.”

“I see.”

“Or there is no other way, unless you catch the eye of other nobles, who will buy you for a very high price and release you as a freedman.”

“But I wonder if there are nobles who would do something as pitiful as releasing a gladiator they bought with a lot of money.”

-Knock knock!

The manager lightly patted my shoulder.

“Now that you’ve got the gold, tell me what you want to do with it, good gear? Or maybe booze and women? Tell me anything, because pretty much anything is possible here if you pay.”

“Can I get my leg treated? It’s been a little over a week since I broke it.”

“Hmm… It depends on the situation, but usually, you can get pretty good healing magic and treatment with 1 Florin gold coin.”

“I don’t mind spending two gold florins, but I hope it gets healed as quickly as possible.”

“It’s not hard, but you’ll have to wait a day or two to call a therapist of the level you want, so for now, just relax and watch the game.”

“Okay.”

“Hehehe… Congratulations on surviving once again, Rion. Now you too are an official gladiator of the Caracalla Arena.”