At the back of the market, there was a duel arena that wasn't too big, but it wasn't too small either. Unlike other cities, the mercenaries here were a loose alliance made up of countless tightly-knit groups. Because no one was willing to submit to another, any conflict that arose between them would often lead to bloodshed. The Mercenary Association's power was limited, and they weren't in a superior and subordinate relationship with the mercenaries. At most, they were like referees. As for the mercenaries, if they could still control their emotions, they would treat you like a referee. If you really didn't care, the referee would still cut you down without hesitation!
In order to control the bloodshed to a certain extent, the Mercenary Association built this duel arena. It was normal for two people to challenge each other to a duel because they didn't like each other. Especially for mercenaries, it was a common occurrence. The Mercenary Association's public stance was that they wouldn't support or stop it, but in reality, they encouraged the mercenaries to resolve their conflicts in the arena. At least it was better than killing each other in secret. However, this also varied from person to person. For example, Gibran wouldn't stand in such a ridiculous duel arena.
There were quite a few people sitting around the duel arena. They were all there to watch the show. When they saw Dwightsteel, Winston, Gibran, and the others walking over together, they tactfully made way for them.
They were a bit late, and the show had just begun. The duel arena's platform wasn't small, at least a few hundred square meters. It was big enough for a magician and a warrior to have a fair duel. At this moment, twenty slaves slowly climbed onto the platform. They were divided into two groups. They wore very little clothing. Regardless of gender, they were all wearing short, coarse battle skirts that revealed their smooth or rough thighs. The men were naked on top, while the women had an extra section of tube top. The only decent thing on the slaves was the headband on their heads. The style of the headband was very beautiful, exuding a soft luster under the sun. It seemed to be inlaid with gemstones, but it was too far away, so it was hard to see clearly.
A magician in a white robe slowly walked onto the platform. He first cast a spell to amplify the sound, and then gave a speech. His main idea was to introduce the origin of the slaves, and he also used all kinds of beautiful words to praise the slaves' strength, beauty, and loyalty. At the end of the speech, a few attendants carried a batch of long swords and iron shields onto the platform. Under the command of the magician, the silent slaves walked forward and chose their own weapons.
"This is …" Winston was stunned as he exchanged glances with Dwightsteel and the others. They all thought of the same thing. It was a game that was loved by the nobles a long time ago, Live Gladiators!
Those attendants carried a few buckets of water to the platform and unceremoniously splashed the water on the slaves. The water had color. The slaves of one camp turned red, while the slaves of the other camp turned blue.
"Begin!" A voice filled with excitement echoed in the air above the dueling ground through the sound amplification spell.
The slaves still stood there silently and did not move.
The magician retreated to the side of the platform and took out an hourglass from his space ring. He placed it on the ground and loudly said, "Time's up. If there are any survivors on either side, it will be decided that both sides have lost!"
Hearing this, the slaves finally became a little more energetic. They looked at each other and also observed their opponents. No one knew who made the first move, but then the situation suddenly intensified. The slaves of the two camps shouted and collided with each other.
Without any dazzling Dou Qi, the slaves completely relied on their own physical strength to fight. They should be warriors who had been on the battlefield for a long time. Even the few women were the same. Their movements were simple, powerful, and swift. This made the battle very cruel. Blood blossomed one after another. Broken arms and legs flew everywhere. If they were stabbed by a long sword or chopped down, the scene would be better. However, some of the slaves were smashed by iron shields and their brains burst open. That scene was really horrifying!
In just a short time, the winner and loser had been decided. One camp only had one slave left, while the other camp had four. The slave waved his sword and iron shield, blocking left and right. There were many injuries on his body, and the situation was very critical. Suddenly, he let out a roar, and his body emitted the light of combat qi.
The four slaves who were besieging him were shocked and hurriedly retreated. The slave did not chase after them. His body suddenly stiffened, and then his roar turned into a scream. The long sword and iron shield fell down from his hands, and then he involuntarily fell to the ground. He held his head with both hands and desperately rolled, but after rolling a few times, he no longer moved.
Below the platform, there was silence. People came to watch the show, but they did not expect to see a bloody battle! Although the mercenaries did not dislike fighting, they should at least find a reason to fight. For example, in order to survive, in order to solve a threat. Even Gibran, who was criticized by others, would not kill for fun! To be precise, it was not that they did not like blood, but they could not stand this unreasonable cruelty.
The magician in the white robe stood up and announced the end of the first battle. More than a dozen attendants ran up the platform to clean up the corpses, and the four surviving slaves helped each other to walk down the platform. When they walked past the magician, he suddenly reached out and stopped them.
Among the remaining slaves, there were three men and a woman. The three men were only slightly injured, but the woman's injury was more serious. She had been stabbed in the leg, but she could barely walk with the help of her companions. However, her left arm had been smashed by the iron shield. The bone should have been shattered, and it was twisted in a very strange posture.
The magician knocked the female slave's left arm a few times with his magic staff, then took two steps back and waved his hand. One of the attendants pulled out a long sword and slashed at the female slave's neck.
The movement of the sword was not fast. Just now, Han Jin and the others had seen clearly that the female slave was very powerful. She had knocked down four opponents one after another and laid the foundation for the victory of the whole camp. Logically speaking, she should have been able to avoid the sword, but she just stood there blankly and let the blade cut through her neck. Blood splashed out, and a head flew up. The headless body swayed and fell to the ground.
The three male slaves were stunned for a moment, then slowly turned around and walked down the platform.
"These bastards! Do they still have any humanity?! "Morrisons said angrily.
"So cruel!" Sunier's mood also became very bad.
"Do you know what the totem of Cold Shadow City is?" Majordomo Gail said calmly. Only then did everyone see that Gail had already grabbed Yalina's arm. Yalina tried to shake him off, but it was as if Gail's hand had grown roots. She couldn't get rid of him at all.
"Yalina, stop messing around!" Han Jin said softly.
Yalina seemed a little discouraged. She rolled her eyes at Han Jin and gave up struggling.
"Majordomo Gail, what did you say the totem of Cold Shadow City is?" Han Jin asked.
"It's the snow wolf." Gail's eyes flashed, as if he was recalling something. "Only those who have been to the snowy highlands know how scary the snow wolf is, and understand what the people of Cold Shadow City believe in."
"I think they're doing this on purpose," Winston said with a frown.
While they were talking, the second batch of gladiators had already stepped onto the platform. This time, the people who stepped onto the stage were a little strange. On one side, they were all women wearing gauze dresses that barely covered their last bit of shame. The curves of their bodies and the two bright red spots on their chests were faintly discernible. They were all around sixteen or seventeen years old, and the weapons in their hands were even more outrageous. There were mops and fire sticks, all of which were commonly used at home. On the other side, there was only a giant man about two meters tall. He held a steel longsword in his hand, wore soft armor, and wore a helmet in addition to a headband. Was this a gladiator battle?!
"Begin!" The magician put the hourglass back in place.
The dozen or so girls huddled together. They didn't even have the courage to look at their opponent, let alone fight. The mops and fire sticks in their hands were shaking violently, and some of them were even crying.
Time slowly passed, and the giant man kept looking up at the sky, not moving or speaking.
The referee was a little impatient and had to repeat the rules loudly. However, the giant man still didn't move, as if he didn't hear anything.
Seeing that the situation was a little awkward, the magician felt very embarrassed. He whispered a spell, and the headband on the giant man's head suddenly shone brightly.
The giant man's body swayed slightly, and then he looked down with a sneer on his face. Then, he put the longsword across his neck and slashed it hard. A fountain of blood gushed out, and the giant man stumbled forward a few steps before falling down on the platform with a plop.
The audience was silent for a moment, and suddenly someone shouted, "Good! That's more like a man! "
The crowd had been holding back for a long time, and this shout lit the fuse. The unruly mercenaries all exploded, and wave after wave of shouts resounded through the sky. They were free, and they worshipped freedom. They would never allow anyone or any force to dictate their fate, not even the gods! Therefore, seeing the miserable end of the slaves made them angry from the bottom of their hearts. Of course, the mercenaries were also swayed by benefits, but they had their own principles. For example, they had to pay for their meals, and they had to pay for their women. No matter how strong they were, they couldn't kill people for no reason. These were the most basic rules of respect for the lives of their own kind.
Isolated Cliff City had never participated in any wars. This lord fell, and another lord rose, and it had nothing to do with them. Their relatively peaceful lives made them unwilling to bow down to power and violence. In other words, the more blatant the power, the more ferocious the violence, the fiercer their resistance.
The smarter mercenaries had already noticed that something was wrong. The magicians of Cold Shadow City seemed to have other intentions, and they were deliberately scaring the crowd. Most of the mercenaries just felt that the warriors had died unjustly, and the girls were pitiful. The giant man was unwilling to kill his own kind, and would rather end his own life. He was a good man. But no matter what, it was enough to make the mercenaries angry. The former was not a threat from outside forces, but the latter made them feel sympathy.
"You bastard of Cold Shadow City, I want to fight you!"
"Motherf * cker, you don't even treat us as human beings!"
The mercenaries' roars came one after another. Morrisons couldn't hold it in any longer, and he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Go! Brothers, kill those bastards!! "Han Jin didn't say anything, and he didn't dare to make any moves, but shouting a few times wasn't a problem.
The people nearby heard the yelling and turned around. When they saw that it was Morrisons, they became even more motivated. Morrisons was surrounded by important figures in the mercenary world, so if he dared to yell like that, he naturally had their support.
The magicians of Cold Shadow City near the platform immediately panicked. They never thought that it would cause a riot. In fact, when they passed by Depew City and Holy Crown City, they did the same thing, but in those two cities, they only received silence. Compared to Isolated Cliff City, the difference was too great.
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