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Chapter 8 – Horus Gladiator Troupe (1)
There were two types of gladiators.
The first was a free gladiator. They were free individuals who were contracted with a gladiator fight middleman. They received payment in various forms and had the right to refuse dangerous matches.
The other type was a slave gladiator. They spent their entire life fighting for the middleman. The majority of the slaves in the Empire were barbarians or foreigners.
The Horus Gladiator Troupe camped out. The bonfire was ablaze, and it was noisy all around.
“Hey, Urich. Eat over here. Only the slaves eat over there.”
The other gladiators called Urich over.
“Ah, I’m fine. I’m going to go watch them for a bit.”
Urich spoke back while waving his hands.
“He’s really weird. Why is he going to watch the slaves?”
“He’s also a foreigner. Did he say where he was from? His accent is so fucking weird.”
“Looking at his size, probably the North?”
“I wonder if he’s searching for his kin.”
The gladiators talked with each other a lot about Urich. Urich ignored what they were saying and went to where the slaves were gathered.
“What? It’s the newcomer?! What was your name again… Urich?”
It was the guard in charge of the slaves.
“Where did that guy come from?”
Urich asked the guard while pointing at a slave. The guard shrugged.
“He’s obviously from the South. If they’re small in size and have brownish skin, it’s safe to assume they’re from the South.”
“Really? Do the Southerners look that different from the Northerners?”
As Urich asked, the guard widened his eyes.
“How do you not know that? Where are you from?”
“I came from the remote countryside. This is payment for the stories. Take it.”
Urich tossed over a 10,000 cil coin. The guard caught it in the air and laughed.
“Well, it’s also better for me to have someone to talk to instead of doing nothing. As I was saying, people from the South typically have smaller frames. Occasionally, there are bigger ones, but  they’re usually smaller. Their combat ability is as small as their size, so the Empire easily conquered the South. The problem is the Northerners… You’re not from the North, are you?”
“I have no relation to that place. I’m bad at the Empire’s language because I lived in foreign countries, so don’t worry about it.”
“Really? I did hear that there are some kingdoms that still don’t use the Empire’s language… Anyways, the North is the real fucking problem. The Northern Expeditions took ten years. In contrast, it didn’t even take a single year to conquer the South. Even though the sizes of the lands are the same, it took ten times longer to conquer the North. There are still a lot of old people that grind their teeth in rage whenever they see a Northerner. It’s because we also took a lot of damage from their strong resistance.”
“Is that big guy over there a Northerner?”
Urich pointed at one of the slaves in a group.
“Oho, you have good eyes. You were able to recognize the only Northerner in our gladiator troupe. His name is Sven. He’s a slave gladiator who has lived as a slave for over three years. Contrary to the Southerners, the Northerners are huge, ferocious, and good at fighting. But more than anything, these guys aren’t afraid of death. They believe that they go to a place called the Hill of Swords when they die in battle. It’s their heaven. They also believe that they won’t be able to go there if they die from old age or a disease. It’s ridiculous.”
“I know a hag who would say ‘If you die as a warrior, they will treat you well in hell as well.’”
“You can’t trust old people. If they’re old, they should just go and drop dead.”
The two laughed.
Urich watched the slaves while leaning against a tree. They had chains on them, so even if they escaped, they wouldn’t be able to go far. It’s obvious what would happen to a slave that got caught escaping.
‘Slave.’
It wasn’t a new word for Urich. Sometimes, when the conflict between two tribes ran too deep, they would fight each other in an all-out war. They would kill all of the men and enslave all of the women. There were no exceptions to children either. If they were male, they could always grow up to hold a weapon.
“Hmm.”
Urich watched the slaves a bit more before leaving. He went to where the other gladiators were having their meals.
“Hey, newcomer.”
Someone called Urich.
“My name isn’t ‘newcomer’. It’s Urich.”
“Since it’s a name I’ve never heard before, you must be the newcomer.”
A group of gladiators laughed and cackled. One of them called out to Urich again.
“Come over here and introduce yourself. If you’re a newcomer, act like one.”
The gladiator was being territorial. Urich walked up to them with an expressionless face.
“My name is Donovan. It’s weird to say it myself, but I am this gladiator troupe’s main attraction.”
Donovan spoke to Urich. He was a man with tanned skin and bulging muscles. His statement about being the main attraction didn’t seem to be a lie as he was radiating an aura of experience. There were a number of gladiators next to him which meant that he had considerable influence in the gladiator troupe.
“My name is Urich. Alright, bye.”
“Hold it. Where are you from?” asked Donovan.
A gladiator stopped Urich in his path.
“If Donovan speaks to you, you should answer, newco—Fuc—! U-Ugyaah!”
Urich grabbed the gladiator’s arm and bent it back. The gladiator was screaming from the pain between his muscles and ligament.
“If I bend this just a bit more, you’ll never be able to use this arm again. I don’t think you can work as a gladiator then. What do you think?”
Urich coldly laughed. The gladiator turned pale. They are only gladiators by name. They were really no different from thugs who knew how to use the sword a little well. If he couldn’t use his arm anymore, he wouldn’t have a means of earning money.
“H-Hey. Y-You’re just joking, right?”
The gladiator had cold sweats.
“Of course, I’m joking, man.”
Urich laughed and tapped his back before shoving him. The gladiator’s breathing was uneven, as if he just died and came back to life.
Chomp.
Donovan bit into his grilled meat and tore it off with his teeth. He sucked the oils off of his fingers while glaring at Urich.
“You’re a barbarian, aren’t you? I can smell it. I used to go around killing barbarians a lot when I was younger, so I can smell it off you, newcomer.”
“Huh? What smell?”
Urich strolled up in front of Donovan.
“The smell of a beast trying to be a human. It’s the smell of an animal that’s only a human on the outside. Which barbarian tribe are you from, huh? North? South? How dare this fucking bumpkin crawl in here and pretend he’s human?”
Donovan laughed. The other gladiators quietly laughed next to him as well.
“Wow, you’re really good at smelling it out. If your nose is that good, you’re probably not a human either. Does that make you a bitch?”
The mood got quiet after Urich’s words. Donovan narrowed his eyes.
“If you’re a barbarian, act like a barbarian. Go put on a collar and clean up after us civilized people. Stop acting like you’re a human.”
Urich didn’t necessarily try to hide the fact that he was a barbarian, but he didn’t think anyone would realize it right away. Urich’s appearance was not that different from the people here. If he wore their clothing, it was hard to tell at a glance.
Donovan just read Urich’s aura. One that he knew was specific to barbarians.
“Ten years ago, I went out to subjugate the remnants of the barbarians in the South. It’s because, at that time, I was serving in the military. I met countless barbarians like you. All of you uncivilized people have the stench of beasts.”
Donovan oozed contempt in the way he spoke.
Urich lightly responded, “Ha!” and laughed.
“What? Are we doing self-introductions? ‘My nwame is Donowvwan~ I went out to subjwugwate bawbawians when I was in the miwitawy~ bawbawians awe unciviwized~’ Ahhh, was it my turn to introduce myself?”
Urich taunted with his body while he spoke to him. Donovan’s face turned red.
“Watch your back when you sleep, newcomer.”
Donovan spoke threateningly, but Urich thought the threat was a joke.
“From my experience as Urich the Barbarian, there’s a big issue with you guys.”
Urich opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue.
“You guys insult people with your tongues without worrying about the consequences. I thought for a long time about why you guys do that, and… it’s because, even if you do that, your tongues wouldn’t get cut off. Even if you say as much bullshit as you want, your heads would still be attached to your body. And because your tongues aren’t in danger, you guys have the confidence to say whatever you want.”
Urich pulled out a sword from his waist.
SWOOSH!
With the sound of his sword being unsheathed, the gladiators yelled and pulled out their own weapons.
“H-He pulled out a sword! Do you want to try something? Huh?!” the gladiators yelled.
Urich raised his sword and took a stance. His muscles were ready, and he finished preparing for a fight. His eyes looked like a murderer’s.
“If you insult a warrior, be prepared to do so with your life on the line. You bastards act tough even though the only thing you do is talk. I’ll crush all of your fucking skulls.”
There was no hint of joking in Urich’s voice. It was as tough as a piece of meat with all of its oil drained out. The aura of a murderer filled the air.
‘Does he really want to fight?!’
Donovan’s eyes widened. He had no intentions of actually fighting. If there was a newcomer, especially a barbarian, this much harassment was just normal.
There were low odds of winning against a group of gladiators. Even if he did win, the guards would step in.
‘Does he have confidence that he can win? Or is this just a barbarian’s senselessness?!’
Donovan pulled out a sword as well. If he had to fight, he would fight. He was a veteran at fighting who was a gladiator as well as a former soldier. He never avoided a fight just because he was scared.
A moment before the swords could clash with each other—
“Stop! Stop! Stop it, you idiots!”
Horus furiously ran out. Someone called over the troupe’s owner. Or Horus already had suspicions that something like this would happen and was wary of it.
“Don’t stop me, Horus! That bastard pulled out his sword first. How dare you bring in a barbarian as a gladiator? It would have been different if he was a slave.”
The gladiators spoke with a vengeful heart. Urich just silently prepared to receive their attacks.
‘I’ll parry that attack and cut his head off. I have to kill more than one person with my first move.’
Urich really was preparing to fight.
“Stop! You guys aren’t allowed to die before you pay me back! If you want to fight so much, do it in the arena! Urich! I gave you 100,000 cil. Donovan! You owe me over one million cil already! Put down your weapons. I’ll make the loser the winner’s slave.”
Horus fiercely spoke, and Donovan quietly sheathed his sword.
“If it’s you, the leader, saying so, I’ll have to help keep your face.”
Donovan glanced at the other gladiators. They also put away their swords.
“Hmph, you got lucky. Barbarian.”
The gladiators showed their backs.
“I wonder who’s the lucky one.”
Urich spoke while planting his sword into the ground. The light from the bonfire reflected off Urich’s sweat, creating a glowing aura around him.