Since this was the first lesson between Dadatis and Zhang Heng, it lasted for a long time. The sky was about to turn bright, and some diligent slaves had already gotten up from the ground to prepare breakfast. Only then did the lesson come to an end.
However, both of them on the training ground felt a little unsatisfied.
Not only did Dadatis teach Zhang Heng the stealth technique as promised, but he also introduced other assassin combat skills. In this regard, the Balance Blade did a good job. Those who joined the Balance Blade were basically the top assassins, and each of them had their own unique skills. Even if they were reluctant to teach their skills when they were young, they would still want to leave something behind when they were old, just like Dadatis.
Assassins were people who hid in the shadows of history. The more successful an assassin was, the less likely it was for them to leave their names behind. Because of this, everyone wanted to prove that they had been here before. Although the Balance Blade might not have such an idea when it was first established, its existence played a great role in the preservation and development of the traditional assassination technique.
Dadatis knew what Zhang Heng cared about, so he took the initiative to tell him that there was a library in the Balance Blade's secret base. Only core members could enter it, and it stored many ancient assassin skills and related deeds. Most of them were things that even he had never read before because everyone's energy was limited. However, if there was one person who could learn all the skills in the library, the old man felt that it was probably Zhang Heng.
That was because Zhang Heng was the person with the strongest learning and comprehension ability he had ever seen.
With his Lv 4 swordsmanship and combat experience from many quests, especially when Zhang Heng challenged all the dojos in Kyoto at the end of Bakumatsu, he learned from all the dojos, big and small, that allowed him to learn new combat skills. No one else could compare with him.
For Zhang Heng, the old trainer had opened a new door for him, allowing him to further enrich his arsenal. At the same time, he had a glimpse of a new combat style, and he had indeed benefited a lot from it.
Of course, understanding was one thing, and training was another. Take the stealth technique that Dadatis taught him now, for example. From understanding to mastering it, to being able to use it skillfully, there was a long way to go.
Fortunately, Zhang Heng had plenty of time.
After the lesson on techniques, the old trainer was not in a hurry to leave. He said, "With your skills and brains, I don't know how you ended up in this gladiator school. Judging from your previous performance, I can probably guess what you are thinking. You want to rely on the gladiator performance to gain the status of a free man quietly and then leave this place. You know it's not easy to get away from Mark Reuss if your performance is too bad or too good. Very smart. But what if I ask you to show me your strength?"
"Huh?" Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
"Don't worry about escaping. Once this is over, we can immediately help you and your friend leave this place."
"You want me to become more famous?"
"Yes, because I want to send you to the gladiatorial show in the Amphitheatrum Flavium two months later."
"The Flavian Amphitheatre has a show in two months? How did you know? "
"As I said before, the Balance Blade has its own intelligence network. Besides, this matter is no longer a secret. The Senate has been discussing this matter some time ago. They have received accurate news that the war between the Empire and the Germanic has ended. The new emperor is returning to Rome with his army. In a month and a half at the earliest, the vanguard should arrive. And the coronation ceremony should be held after that. At that time, the Amphitheatrum Flavium will host a grand gladiatorial show. Not only the royal gladiators, but other gladiator schools will also send their representatives to participate."
The old trainer paused and then continued, "Although the subsidies will probably not be very satisfactory, this matter concerns the honor of each school. In order to show respect to the Senate and the new emperor, everyone will send their best gladiators. The best gladiators in Rome will gather together to compete in front of 90,000 spectators. The winner will not only bring honor to himself and his gladiator school, but he will also be rewarded by the emperor."
"I'm just a newcomer. I don't think the Victor Arena will choose me. Even if Gaby doesn't want Bach to appear so early, there are still Habitus and other famous gladiators."
Zhang Heng had just consulted other gladiators in the afternoon, and he knew a lot more about this field than before. He knew that new gladiators might have to wait for several months before they would have the opportunity to perform on the stage for the first time. Of course, new potential gladiators like Bach were a different story.
In order to quickly reap benefits from them, the gladiator schools would push them out early and treat them as cash cows. The frequency of their performances would also be much higher than ordinary gladiators.
"Don't worry about this. If you don't have any objections, we will arrange the rest for you," said the old trainer.
"I have no objections. You teach me combat skills, and I will help you. It's fair," said Zhang Heng.
Dadatis sighed when he heard this. Of course, he hoped that Zhang Heng would have a sense of belonging to the Balance Blade, instead of looking at things from the perspective of a transaction. However, he knew that this kind of thing could not be rushed. In the end, he just said, "Get ready. Your first battle will come soon."
…
Zhang Heng slipped back to his residence before Varo and the other two gladiators woke up. Except for Dadatis and himself, no one knew what happened last night. After that, he devoted himself to daily training like the other newcomers.
In addition to the basic training that every gladiator needed to complete, Zhang Heng mainly practiced the things that Dadatis taught him during the targeted training.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
Zhang Heng had basically started to learn how to move stealthily. Now, if he wanted to, he could reduce the sound of his footsteps by half. He tried to sneak into the kitchen with what he learned and stole some bread. Fortunately, he was not discovered by the chef who was cooking with his back to him.
On the other hand, the first batch of battle arrangements had finally been made. In the end, Gaby still failed to convince Mark Reuss, who was eager to make money. He had no choice but to hastily send out Bach, who had not been fully trained yet. However, he still managed to gain some initiative in the selection of gladiators. He persuaded Mark Reuss not to arrange a quasi-ace gladiator to fight against Bach. This would certainly sacrifice some of the audience's attention on Bach, but in exchange, he would have a higher chance of winning. In addition, according to the usual practice, Gaby also needed to select some cannon fodder from the newcomers.
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