Chapter 583: Kill Him
There were several men who had gathered around, planning the next weekend’s games. While they were sure that the people would enjoy a constant day after day event, they just didn’t have the resources for it right now as there was a war going on in the north and the threat from the south was still there, no matter how hard they tried to contain it.
"We need something big, something that can surprise even the great Emperor himself."
"But what would that be? We are getting another load of beasts soon, but even they are becoming hard to come by as most troops have been moved north."
"We could always flood the stadium and do another water battle. The Emperor gave us much praise for that the last time."
"We’ve already done that once since then. While it is fun for everyone, doing it too often takes the appeal away. Besides which, there is no time between then and now to get enough trained sailors to participate. And watching those slaves try to control ships without previous knowledge would only end up becoming a comedy show. Hells... We can’t even be sure any of them know how to swim. If they crash the boats into the side wall, fall off and drown, all we will be giving the crowd is a comedy act. We might even be dismissed if such a thing were to occur."
"So then what shall we do? Chariot races? An Army clash?"
"Again, our pool is too small for such things. Once the slaves captured from the north get here, we should be able to hold something grand, but until then we are lacking of people."
"We could just clean out one of the slum districts?"
"Bah. And drag those emaciated wastes into this hallowed hall of battle? Of course we can’t do that. Many of them would just kill themselves anyway in a less painful way."
"There is a strange creature that one of the collection groups found and should be here before the weekend. It’s... like some sort of strange mixture of animals. The head of a deer, the body of a bear with a tail like that of a great lizard... and no I do not mean a dragon. All of those were hunted years ago. Not only that, but it seems as though it can fight on both two legs as well as four. Such a strange creature would be a sight. Hmm... those that captured it said it seemed like the creature was enduring great pain, hence they subdued it with ease. But it was able to break out of the chains in the cage but couldn’t get past the energy infused bars. Perhaps this could be a highlight?" One of the younger members of the group said, looking through the reports.
"But... While the creature is strange and strong... we have no real idea on it’s ability since it’s never been seen before. If we put a team against it, it might be killed too easy or they could be wiped out too quickly. And just a strange creature isn’t enough of a draw..."
"Perhaps we use the crippled?"
"The crippled?"
All of the men, young and old, thought about the suggestion for a while before one of them finally spoke up.
"That could work... depending on how it’s brought to the people. Something like the best vs the demon or some such?"
"Demon’s are nothing but childhood myths, you know that!"
"Yes. But do the normal people. Considering the skills the young man brought, there are ways to make him seem even more dangerous. Perhaps give him some evil looking armor and such while he fights against this beast? Make it more of a villain versus a villain match. Whoever wins would not only wow the crowd but also scare them as well. That should be a nice change as opposed to the normal bloodshed, of which of course there will still be as much as we can safely offer."
"Not a bad idea. There is quite the collection of old armors and weapons that have been collected over the years laying in the national armory. If we can get access, which I don’t believe would be a problem as long as we go for the strange ones, it could be quite the spectacle."
With this laid out, the plan was set. They wouldn’t need to check with anyone else concerning their plans as the Emperor preferred the surprises the would bring. In the end, the only thing the Emperor wanted was the final say.
"Spare Him."
"Kill Him."
As he had said before, life and death is the domain of the gods such as himself after all.
***
The following week for Laz was filled with training as all of the slaves were allowed access to the grounds during the week. As such, Laz spent his time familiarizing himself with the various weapons that were offered. In the past, he would only rely on his abilities and body to keep himself alive, but with both of those things being locked, he now had no choice but to explore other alternatives. What’s more, even he had no clue what had happened to his own blade, "Sever." Not that he imagined he could have used it anyway with his own energy being locked. And even if he did, he knew it would be quickly taken away.
Instead, Laz spent time learning the sword, the spear, the shield, the lance, the dagger and the sling. Sadly for him, due to his back injury, trying to draw a bow proved to be too hard for his body to handle as he couldn’t stretch himself far enough to get it to a full draw.
While the other gladiators watched on, Laz we all out like a mad man, swinging and practicing moves that made him look like a complete amateur, which, in fact, he was. Some of them, including Jacob, walked over to Laz and asked if maybe he wanted to learn a bit of fighting from them.
"Thank you all. I appreciate it. I know my moves look stupid and sporadic, but there is a method to it, I promise," Laz said with a smile. The other men shook them heads and walked away, thinking maybe the young man had grown a bit to big headed after his win, but Jacob continued to look on closely, his years in battle allowing him to see something more.
"A horned ape... now its a spike mammoth... and I can only assume that would be a pack of lightning cougars..." Jacob said, watching Laz’s movements and trying to picture what the connection was.
"What’s that then?" One of the other men who was standing by Jacob asked.
"Look at his movements, the pattern and his swings. Think about it like this then. If he was fighting another human, big movements like that would be stupid. You need to make quick, powerful thrusts, precisely block and perry and then attack. But what if you were fighting a large beast and had no room to move? Or smaller beasts and you were surrounded? Or even several man sized beasts that could run on either all fours or stand up for powerful swipes? What kinds of movements would you make then?" Jacob asked, never taking his eyes off Laz.
Hearing Jacob’s words, the men took another look at Laz’s crazy movements before they saw what he saw... a man battling beasts, not humans.
"That’s.... how...?"
"Amazing."
"This really is just a boy?"
When the time came for them to gather for dinner, Laz kept going over the actions in his head as his sweat ridden and sore body sat down next to Jacob.
"You picture them in your hear like? The fight as if they were there?" Jacob asked, causing Laz to smile.
"That’s right. Grandpa there scares me a bit... but other than him, what I’m most worried about is what monstrosity they will find for me next. You said they bring in strange beasts all the time, right"
"That’d be right. Whatever they can find that looks big, fast and dangerous, they make us fight them to the death."
"So after what happened last time, what do you think I will end up fighting next?"
Jacob considered his words and understood what he meant.
"You be smarter than I was giving you credit for."
"Thanks old man. You ain’t so bad yourself for just writing me off like that."
"I ain’t letting you have any of this wine though. Deal’s a deal," Jacob said with a laugh.
The next day, a group of troops arrived, wanting Laz.
"Don’t do something stupid now boy. Just be going with them. I don’t know why they want you, but they can’t be having no show if you dead," Jacob advised as Laz passed by him.
"Come with us slave. No trying anything though or we will gut you where you stand," the heavily armored leader said.
Laz just offered his arms and legs and felt the shackles snap into place before being escorted towards one of the doors, upon which they ended up walking into a carriage.
A brief ride later saw them enter a massive stone building made of both metal and stone, something that was far removed from ancient roman architecture.
They then began walking Laz to a door where a few older men were standing. Seeing Laz, they smiled and unlocked the doors, bringing him inside.
What none of them noticed was a brown haired girl standing close by, having noticed the strange group enter.
"You’re weapons repairs should be done shortly milady. You don’t need to wait around for them as we would be happy to deliver them to your residence."
"I will allow no one but myself and the blacksmith to handle my moon bow, you know that. Besides, it seems like there is something the keep my attention for a bit. I will be back soon," the princess said, walking towards the doors the group had just disappeared into.
The guards at the door bowed down on one knee when she approached.
"My lady Artemis," they both said in unison.
"For what reason was a slave allowed to enter the national armory?" she said, her tone one of questioning.
"My lady. It was a request from the Arena’s organizers. I am not sure of the goal, but it seems as though they wish for something... special... for the young man who survived the unthinkable," the guard responded with everything he knew.
"I am allowed to enter?"
"Of course my lady. While the organizers like to keep secrets to not ruin a surprise, they do not have the ability to prevent someone of your stature from finding out what they are doing."
"Good. I wish to possibly speak to this young man as well. Perhaps this would be a good time to do so..." Artemis said, with a smile forming on her radiantly beautiful face.
