From seizing the arena to using Viscount Timba to stage a feast for the Redemption Legion and then slaughtering the drunken soldiers, the entire operation took two days. In truth, those two days had been an agonizing ordeal for
To maintain secrecy, both messengers were silenced. When they entered the arena, they hadn't seen anyone familiar and had curiously asked a few questions. Although they were given the runaround, Fatty Shi had no choice but to kill them to be safe. Fortunately, Viscount Timba happened to have been ordered to stage the feast for the Redemption Legion, which had drawn the attention of everyone in the royal capital. The Imperial Guard Corps and the grain warehouse personnel hadn't grown suspicious over the two missing messengers — they simply assumed the two who hadn't returned had most likely slipped into the Redemption Legion's camp to enjoy some free food and drink.
At the first light of dawn, the slave gladiators who had completed their killing and looting operation withdrew to the arena. Now all they had to do was quietly wait for the storm that would erupt in Hamidas's royal capital once it was discovered that over twenty thousand soldiers of the Redemption Legion had been slaughtered to the last man — and hold the arena until the
Halfway through the killing, Elley slipped out of Hamidas's royal capital through a drainage outlet under the cover of darkness when the silver moon was obscured by clouds. He needed to find the scout light cavalry sweeping the royal capital's plains as quickly as possible, make contact with the main Norton family forces in the hilly terrain, and inform them of the Redemption Legion's destruction. Then he was to tell them not to delay — once they had annihilated the Imperial Guard Corps, they should march straight to the royal capital's gates.
It could be said that once the Redemption Legion fell into the trap and was slaughtered to the last man, the countdown to the Haneabada Kingdom's destruction had begun. Apart from the Imperial Guard Corps, the slave-hunting squad members and mercenaries who made up the Redemption Legion were the kingdom's most experienced and capable military personnel. The deaths of over twenty thousand men had drained the kingdom's last reserves of strength completely.
At nine o'clock the next morning, the two Imperial Guard Corps squads heading to the arena for their rotation passed by the former Imperial Guard camp and caught the overwhelming stench of blood. The squad leader in charge sensed something was wrong and ordered men to climb the camp wall to investigate. The two soldiers who climbed up took one look and were so terrified they fell back down, trembling as they reported: "De-dead... dead people... everyone... everyone's dead..."
After forcing open the camp gates, everyone was frozen in horror. The visual impact of over twenty thousand corpses left everyone who witnessed the scene filled with dread. Blood had dyed the camp a dark purple-black, and the smell of gore was enough to make one retch...
The capital's alarm bells began to toll. The silent annihilation of the Redemption Legion in a single night had caused tremendous panic throughout the royal capital. Luther III, wild with fury, yanked the trembling, soiling-himself Viscount Timba from his carriage, his eyes red as he demanded, "Is this what you call a feast?!" Then he drew his sword and beheaded Viscount Timba with a single stroke.
All the clues pointed to the arena with its gates wide open and its eerie silence. Two Imperial Guard Corps squads were ordered to enter the arena and search it, but once they went in, they never came out again — as if the arena had transformed into some enormous magical beast that had swallowed both squads clean off the face of the earth.
No one dared enter the arena again. The capital's garrison was now pitifully thin. Apart from the four city-defense battalions of a thousand men each stationed in the four districts, there was only the two-thousand-strong royal court guard and the Imperial Guard Corps garrison defending the western district's supply warehouse, whose numbers had fallen below twenty-five hundred. The situation was now crystal clear: the arena had been seized by the enemy, and the enemy was formidable. Consider — they had been able to annihilate two Great Swordmasters stationed at the arena and nearly ten Gold-tier gladiator instructors, and had slaughtered over twenty thousand Redemption Legion soldiers in a single night without making a sound. Clearly, the enemy had come prepared and had struck at the kingdom's vital weakness.
In his previous life, Lorist had once heard a saying — roughly: "How can one allow others to sleep soundly beside one's bed?" Now Luther III's behavior was exactly the same. After cutting off Viscount Timba's head, he stared at the fields of corpses, and his fury gradually gave way to fear, and his fear to utter panic. If the enemy could kill over twenty thousand in a single night, could they storm the inner palace the next night and take his head?
The more he thought about it, the more terrified Luther III became. He wanted to muster every available man and surround himself with them. At that point, the loss of contact with the two Imperial Guard Corps squads that had entered the arena to search became the final straw that broke his composure, and he issued a series of frantic orders.
First, Luther III was going to conscript troops. Every male in the capital between the ages of sixteen and fifty was to become a soldier of the kingdom, prepared to take the battlefield. They were to be immediately assembled and stationed on the main boulevard between the northern district and the inner palace, to guard against a night raid on the palace by the enemy in the arena.
Second, Luther III ordered the organization of slaves to clear the Imperial Guard Corps camp — removing all the corpses and tearing down all the camp walls, barracks, and other defensive structures to open up the field of fire. Nearly a hundred siege ballistae were to be brought from the four city walls and densely arranged atop the inner palace walls, all aimed at the arena. The only pity was that the spectator stand walls on both sides of the arena were considerably higher than the inner palace walls — the ballistae could only target the lower middle section.
At this critical moment, he contributed whatever fighting strength he still had on hand. After a full day of chaotic deliberation, Lorist and his people finally got ample time to rest...
While Luther III was issuing his series of orders, Lorist was chatting casually with Great Swordmaster Hughes and the three Gold-tier gladiators — Jedes, Mason, and Sendehank. They hadn't gone down to the underground cells but sat at the very top of the spectator stands, keeping watch on the surroundings while chatting and boasting.
Lorist asked what they planned to do after the Haneabada Kingdom was destroyed.
Great Swordmaster Hughes didn't answer, but it was clear he was lost. He had been sold to this slave kingdom as a gladiator nearly twenty years ago. The fellow slave-gladiators who had come with him had long since turned to dust. He had been extraordinarily fortunate — lucky as the war god's bastard son — not only surviving but also rising from a Silver-tier gladiator to a Great Swordmaster. He had never given thought to his own future; in the past, all he could think about was how to struggle and stay alive.
Jedes was originally from the Krisen Empire. In fact, he had been a knight of the Royal Guard Knights. But his luck had been terrible — he was injured in his very first battle and lost consciousness, then stripped bare by scavenging refugees on the battlefield. He was eventually saved by a kind soul, only to be captured by slave traders and sold to a copper mine where he spent four years digging. Just as he had quietly recovered from his wounds and was preparing to go on a killing spree for revenge, he had the misfortune of running into Luther III on an inspection tour, accompanied by Third-tier Great Swordmaster Rossi Gabia. The result was that he was captured without a fight and thrown into the arena.
Mason had been the leader of a mercenary company. However, his company had the misfortune of clashing with Duke Guffman's slave-hunting squad, which resulted in his entire company being wiped out. After his capture, he was sold to the arena and had been a slave-gladiator for five years. His greatest wish was to personally kill Duke Guffman. As for what to do afterward, he hadn't thought that far either.
Sendehank wanted to return to his homeland for revenge. His story was more of a tragedy. He had been a noble in the Himles Kingdom, but he was obsessed with martial arts. In his youth, he had been determined to advance to the Gold tier before settling down, so he was constantly traveling and adventuring, neglecting his fiancée's feelings. As a result, his fiancée had an affair with his younger brother. When he returned, a vial of power-dispersing potion was mixed into his wine and fed to him. When he came to, he discovered he had been sold to slave traders, and his younger brother had become the head of the family...
Lorist expressed that he would welcome them joining the Norton Family or coming to live on his family's fief. It was the first time Lorist had formally revealed his intention to recruit them.
Great Swordmaster Hughes agreed immediately and without hesitation. His attitude was one of indifference — he had nowhere else to go anyway. His only condition was to stay for a year or two to see how things went; if it suited him, he'd stay, and if not, he'd leave. Lorist agreed.
Both Jedes and Mason said they needed to think about it. They wanted to return to their homelands first to see if any relatives still survived. Once they found their families, they would come to the Norton family fief and join the Norton Family then.
Sendehank, however, declined Lorist's invitation. His homeland was far too distant from the former Krisen Empire — one was at the northern end of human habitation and the other at the southern end, with the Roman Empire lying between them. Moreover, he had always wanted to return home to reclaim his position as family head and take revenge on his fiancée and his brother. Lorist could only wish him success and a safe journey.
On October 3rd, the Haneabada Kingdom discovered that over twenty thousand soldiers of the Redemption Legion had been slaughtered in a single night and descended into chaos. Other than sending two small squads of Imperial Guard Corps soldiers to search the arena — which were also destroyed — they took no other action, allowing Lorist and the slave-gladiators to spend another peaceful day.
On October 4th, the Haneabada Kingdom finally reacted. They dispatched six Great Swordmasters — the only force in the royal capital that could pose a threat to Lorist. Leading them was Third-tier Great Swordmaster Rossi Gabia, who was both a court retainer and Luther III's swordsmanship teacher. Under the kingdom's dire circumstances, he led the commander of the royal court guard — First-tier Great Swordmaster Viscount Sakri — along with four Great Swordmasters who were retainers of the kingdom's nobles and had fled back to the royal capital from Nubite Port, and charged into the arena.
What Great Swordmaster Rossi Gabia hadn't expected was that he would face Lorist. The two were well-matched, fighting in a maelstrom of steel until even Viscount Sakri joined in to attack Lorist two-on-one, yet the battle remained deadlocked with neither side able to gain the upper hand. It ended in a draw.
On the other side was a result that no one had anticipated. The four Great Swordmasters retained by the noble slave-owners turned out to be somewhat overrated. Great Swordmaster Hughes took on the only Second-tier Great Swordmaster among them — the same one who had been chasing
Jedes, Mason, and Sendehank, resolved to fight to the death, took on the remaining three First-tier Great Swordmasters. After fighting for a while, the three were pleasantly surprised to discover that these Great Swordmasters were soft targets — pushovers, easily bullied. After about an hour of combat, those three Great Swordmasters were drenched in sweat, their faces pale, reduced to desperately parrying and blocking.
The three Gold-tier slave-gladiators fought with wild excitement, trading wounds for wounds and gambling their lives, pressing their attacks relentlessly. Eventually, the three First-tier Great Swordmasters could hold on no longer — two fled and one was wounded. The wounded First-tier Great Swordmaster was then torn apart by the three Gold-tier slave-gladiators.
With the outcome on that side decided, the Second-tier Great Swordmaster fighting Great Swordmaster Hughes could no longer hold out either. He seized an opening and fled. The remaining Third-tier Great Swordmaster Rossi Gabia had no choice but to provide cover for Viscount Sakri as they fought their way out, retreating from the arena.
This was the first assault on the arena. Six Great Swordmasters had entered, but one had been left behind. Lorist's side was victorious.
The Haneabada Kingdom launched a second assault on the arena. This time, it wasn't just five Great Swordmasters. Pouring in behind them were over a dozen Gold-tier knights and swordsmen, along with nearly a thousand noble private soldiers. This caught Lorist and his people completely off guard. Although Lorist went on a rampage, killing nearly a hundred — including four or five Gold-tier knights and swordsmen — he couldn't hold alone. After Great Swordmaster Hughes and the trio were forced to retreat to the first underground level, Lorist had no choice but to follow them into the underground cells to continue their defense.
This was the second assault on the arena. The Haneabada Kingdom, with casualties of over a hundred, had forced Lorist and his people to retreat to the underground cells. Among them, Mason and Sendehank were seriously wounded, Great Swordmaster Hughes suffered minor injuries, and Lorist was utterly exhausted. The Haneabada Kingdom had achieved a strategic victory, reclaiming the arena's upper structure.
On October 6th, the Haneabada Kingdom continued their assault on the first underground level. What they hadn't anticipated was that Fatty Shi had used burlap grain sacks filled with earth to construct barricades, turning the first underground level into a labyrinth. No matter how many people they sent in, none returned. To make matters worse, Lorist and Great Swordmaster Hughes moved through it like fish in water, landing a solid blow on Great Swordmaster Rossi Gabia and forcing him to withdraw.
This time, Lorist and his people won a complete victory, with the Haneabada Kingdom suffering approximately two hundred casualties.
On October 7th, the Haneabada Kingdom changed their strategy. They gathered nearly a thousand slave laborers and planned to dig downward from above, excavating the entire first underground level. At noon, the first report of defeat arrived: the Haneabada Kingdom's only cavalry unit had been ambushed by several thousand enemy light cavalry while en route to suppress a slave uprising at a royal estate. Of the eighteen hundred, the vast majority were killed, with only about seventy survivors. The enemy — the Norton family's scout light cavalry — had appeared within sight of the city wall sentries.
That afternoon, the Haneabada Kingdom launched a frenzied, ferocious assault on the arena's first underground level. They understood perfectly that if the enemy surrounded the city while the arena was still held by the enemy, conducting a siege defense would be nearly impossible. They had to uproot the arena like a poisonous tumor first before they could prepare for the defense of the royal capital.
The Haneabada Kingdom fought through the night by torchlight while Lorist and his people fought back desperately. Countless openings were torn in the ceiling of the first underground level, and enemy soldiers dropped through one after another. The first underground level was littered with corpses. By the time Lorist and his people were finally forced to retreat to the second underground level, it was already the following morning.
Both sides suffered grievous losses. Lorist's family soldiers had seventy to eighty casualties, while the slave-gladiators lost over three hundred. But the Haneabada Kingdom's losses were even greater — nearly a thousand killed in action alone, with over a thousand more wounded. It could be said that all the mobile fighting forces that Hamidas's royal capital could muster had been completely expended...
On October 8th, neither side engaged in battle.
On October 9th, another report of defeat arrived: the Haneabada Kingdom's Imperial Guard Corps had been lured into the hilly terrain by the Norton family's armed forces and then encircled. During their breakout attempt, they fell into a trap and were completely annihilated. The Imperial Guard Corps commander — Luther III's uncle — died on the spot. When the news spread, wailing erupted throughout the capital, and the entire city descended into chaos.
On October 10th, the Norton family's scout light cavalry had surrounded Hamidas's royal capital. Their silhouettes could be spotted everywhere along the city walls.
On October 11th, the main body of the Norton family's armed forces arrived at the royal capital's gates, accompanied by tens of thousands of freed slaves. They began constructing camps and defensive fortifications around the royal capital...
On October 12th, Luther III forced the capital's residents onto the walls to defend and dispatched envoys to sue for peace, but was rejected by the Norton family's armed forces commander, Ross the Fierce Tiger.
At around eight in the evening, Lorist led the slave-gladiators in a surprise attack on the northern city wall and successfully captured it. Large numbers of Norton family soldiers poured continuously into the capital through the northern district's drainage channels. Hamidas's royal capital had fallen...
On October 13th in the afternoon, after Third-tier Great Swordmaster Rossi Gabia was beheaded by Lorist with a single stroke, the despairing Luther III killed his three queens and the prince who had been born only a few months ago, then set fire to his bedchamber and burned himself to death. The Haneabada Kingdom, which had endured for nearly a century since its founding as a slave kingdom, was thus destroyed.
... (To be continued.)