"How is it?" Mark Reuss rubbed his hands and looked at Zhang Heng expectantly.
The latter tested the two Persian swords in his hand and nodded, "Not bad."
"I'm glad you like it. I'm counting on you this time," Mark Reuss said. Mark Reuss said, "For the honor of the Victor Arena, we must win this gladiatorial show."
"I will do my best," Zhang Heng said.
"Very well, I know you are the most reliable." Mark Reuss patted Zhang Heng's shoulder with satisfaction. "In addition to you, we also plan to send Bach, Habitus, Carneiro, Murkazan, Paral, and Milo to make up seven gladiators. But of course, I'm most optimistic about you. In addition, I asked Gaby to investigate the gladiators of several other arenas and marked out the key players that you need to pay attention to. The specific list will not be released until tomorrow. Oh, by the way, there is a dinner tonight. You need to attend. "
Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
"I know, I know. We have an agreement between us, but this time it's different. The dinner will be held in Senator Dior's house. He is one of the most powerful people in the Senate. The most powerful people in the empire will attend the dinner, including our new emperor. They want to see how the warriors who will fight tomorrow look like before the gladiatorial show begins. Not only you, but all the gladiators must attend the dinner. I will ask someone to send you a new set of clothes in the afternoon."
After speaking, Mark Reuss turned and walked out of the house. But when he reached the door, he stopped again, paused, and added, "You'd better use the remaining time to take a bath and spray some perfume on yourself. Believe me, it's never a bad thing to make yourself popular in front of these people. You are going to face the most powerful group of people in Rome."
…
Zhang Heng's slave girl was quite diligent. As soon as Mark Reuss left, she started preparing the things for Zhang Heng to take a bath. However, as soon as she opened the door with the wooden barrel in her arms, she could not help but yawn. The wooden barrel in her hand fell to the ground. The slave girl was a little flustered and wanted to bend down to pick up the barrel. But at this moment, a stronger sense of drowsiness overwhelmed her. She could not resist the drowsiness, and in the end, she fell asleep on the ground with the wooden barrel in her arms.
Zhang Heng was a little surprised when he saw Dadatis walking in from the door. "Why are you looking for me in broad daylight today?"
"Don't worry, I'm very careful. No one saw me." The old trainer said, "You have fulfilled our previous agreement and entered the gladiatorial performance list. I can tell you your next goal now."
"Hmm?"
"If I'm not mistaken, you should have received an invitation to tonight's banquet. This is a rare opportunity for you. We need you to get close to someone at the banquet. If possible, leave a deep impression on him."
"Who?"
"Our king, Commodus," Dadatis spat out a name.
"So, your target is the Roman Emperor?" Zhang Heng was not too shocked when he heard the name. Perhaps it was because Commodus died in an assassination in history. Besides, Dadatis's appearance in the gladiator school could explain a lot of things.
Commodus was probably the Roman emperor who loved gladiatorial performances the most. And he had a quirk. He would not be satisfied just watching from the stands. He would only be satisfied if he participated in the gladiatorial performance himself. In history, the way he died was quite unique. He was strangled to death in the bathtub by a gladiator.
"Maybe, maybe not." The old trainer's answer was ambiguous.
"We'd better be honest with each other. If it's really Commodus, I'm afraid I will have to withdraw from the test," Zhang Heng said.
"Why?" The old trainer asked seriously.
"I may be a foreigner, but I'm not stupid. I know the consequences of assassinating a Roman emperor," Zhang Heng said lightly. "The conditions you offered are not enough for me to take this risk."
Dadatis looked into Zhang Heng's eyes when he heard what Zhang Heng said. After a while, the old trainer gave in, "Well, I can assure you that your target this time is not Commodus."
"Then who is it?" Zhang Heng asked, "Are you still going to hide it from me at this point?"
The old trainer hesitated for a long time this time. In the end, he said, "Altrus, Commodus' most trusted advisor. He has some royal blood in him, but before he met Commodus, he was already down and out. He spent most of his time in the streets. But now, it seems that our friend has turned over a new leaf. He and another young man named Clint are now Commodus's right-hand men. They are inseparable from Commodus. If everything goes well, he is likely to become the second most powerful man in the empire in the future."
"Why do you want to assassinate him?"
"This is an oracle from Kreis. Our responsibility is only to execute it, not to ask why," the old trainer said. The old trainer said, "The plan is very simple. Altrus' whereabouts have always been very secretive. He knows that his current position is being envied by others, so he acts cautiously. He has always been on guard against assassinations, but he always has to work for Commodus. Only Commodus knows his whereabouts."
"So you want me to get close to Commodus and get Altrus's whereabouts from him?"
"Yes, that's right," the old trainer said. "Commodus is different from other emperors. He seems to like to interact with the people at the bottom, and he especially likes gladiators. You can use this to get close to him and gradually build a friendship with him."
Zhang Heng thought about it and asked, "If I help you solve this matter, I will pass the test. Will you stop bothering me after that?"
"Yes. After that, you will become my successor and become a core member of the Balance Blade. As I said before, our management is actually very loose and free. Until the next oracle arrives, the members of the organization can do whatever they want."
"Until the next oracle arrives?" Zhang Heng asked rhetorically.
The old trainer rolled his eyes, "I know what you are thinking. In fact, you don't have to worry so much. You are not the only member of the Balance Blade. They won't always catch you. Although there are no clear rules, under normal circumstances, the same member will not carry out two tasks in a row. However, I can't guarantee that in the future."
Zhang Heng was not too worried about the future. Anyway, he would no longer be around after the quest ended. Even if the Balance Blade was a hundred times more powerful, it would be impossible for them to rush out of the quest and travel across two thousand years to hunt him down. Besides, Zhang Heng felt that the old man had spent so much effort to teach him for so long. Even if he did not get any credit, he should at least be grateful for his hard work. Zhang Heng thought that he should repay the old man's kindness and help the Balance Blade find Altrus's whereabouts.
So Zhang Heng said, "Okay, leave it to me."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
