Chapter 9: 9

 ——Chapter 9: Spartacus (2)——

"Now, let the audience enter."

 

"The children of the senate and senate members can come here. We have prepared the best seats for you."

 

On the day of the competition, the Amphitheater was filled with people from all over the place.

 

It was such a huge crowd that Marcus wondered if all the residents of Capua had gathered.

 

Those who couldn't get inside the stadium camped nearby, to hear the sounds coming out.

 

Marcus and the senators from Rome were ushered to special seats with the best view of the game.

 

Marcus could see the whole game situation at a glance, and it was very easy to enjoy gambling because the staff went around and asked if he wanted to bet before each game started.

 

Everyone was excited about the bloody battle that was about to unfold.

 

"All the spectators who found their seats! You've waited a long time. Now, let's start the match!! "

 

The presenter standing at the podium roared the hall and drew the attention of the audience.

 

"The first match will see newcomers, who have just entered the path of gladiators, bravely face ferocious beasts! Let's see if some of them can survive and become true gladiators!"

 

"Waaaaaa! "

 

"Let them be eaten alive! "

 

"Shut up and send out Spartacus and Crixus! I'm not here for a trivial game!"

 

"I'll kill all the newbies if they lose! I bet on you, so fight straight! "

 

Gladiators appeared amid cheers echoing through the hall.

 

Those who fight beasts are called Bestiari and are not treated as ordinary gladiators. The Bestiari included many newcomers with little experience or dropouts who could not keep up with the rigorous training.

 

Of course, the interest of the audience was also on the other side.

 

So their role was to arouse the excitement of the audience as much as possible in the morning before the main game begins.

 

In other words, it was meant to lighten the mood.

 

As the Bestiari armed with bows, spears, and armor took their places, the host twirled his arms and drew cheers from the audience.

 

"The beast they will face is a ferocious beast brought in from Parthia! It's the Caspian tiger! It's twice the length of a human and weighs well over three times! Will they be able to withstand this beast or their bones will be ripped out with just one bite! Now the showdown is about to begin!"

 

Finally, after a moment of betting time was given, the beasts were put into the arena.

 

There were as many people who want to see Bestiari killed by wild beasts as much as there were people who expect to slaughter a beast hotly.

 

The win predictions were almost tight, not sloping to either side.

 

The children of the senators who had come with Marcus also talked noisily and wagered wildly.

 

"Marcus, why don't you bet? "

 

"Not yet."

 

"Aha, you don't even want to open your wallet for entertainment like this? Well, considering the games in the afternoon, it's a good idea to save some money now."

 

'It was just that, I didn't want to and didn't have the heart to pay money to watch people dying, but other people were convinced and moved on.'

 

Fortunately, the match ended with the Bestiari winning, and the enthusiastic cheers of those who won the stakes and the curses of those who lost their money were intertwined and boiled like a furnace.

 

The presenter raised his voice with a smile of repentance.

 

"Now! Thanks to everyone's support, we want to hold a special match this time. 10 prisoners who should have been executed! Only one of them survived and continued his life as a gladiator. Indeed, he killed the other 9 people and survived. Who will be the fighter who will carry on! Only one person will survive until the end! We will be waiting for your choice!"

 

"You're completely crazy..."

 

Unlike Marcus, who muttered bitterly, people's reactions were enthusiastic to the point of being on a different level.

 

Although gladiator fights had a high mortality rate, not all losers were killed. Out of 100 gladiators involved in a single fight, about 20 of them died.

 

Battle royale, in which everyone except the winner died, was a spectacle that was not easily seen even in this era.

 

"I'm betting on the guy with the twin swords! Hey! Fight to the death and bring me some money! "

 

"You bastard with a spear! If you lose, I'll kill you! "

 

"If you lose anyway, you will die!"

 

When the presenter gave a signal, ten gladiators entered the arena. They all were wearing different armaments.

 

Spectators started betting on the weapons they were using and predicting who would emerge victorious.

 

There was compatibility between these types of gladiators, and among them, there were types of gladiators with particularly high win rates.

 

Retiarius, who usually used nets and daggers, had the highest win rate.

 

Gladiators who wield such powerful weapons rarely give out armor.

 

Conversely, gladiators with a low win rate were allowed to wear thick armor.

 

It was kind of a balance patch.

 

However, this was a one-on-one duel and a confrontation in which ten people fight at the same time was different.

 

The spectators who bet on Retiarius, relying only on the odds of winning, started swearing at them from the start.

 

The gladiators paired up and started clearing out strong opponents first.

 

"For now, let's kill Retiarius and fight amongst ourselves."

 

"Okay. Let's cooperate until we are the last two."

 

"You cowardly bastards! You can't fight fair!"

 

"I will live."

 

"What bullshit!"

 

In an instant, the gladiators split into groups and began to attack each other in groups.

 

But only one could survive. 

 

In the midst of fighting together, when someone wielding a knife came out of a colleague's back, the sloppy alliance quickly disintegrated.

 

He stood on his own two feet until the end in the arena where it became a fight, and the winner was a gladiator with dual swords.

 

Even though they were mortally wounded, there were a couple of people who were still alive.

 

People cheered and danced, excited by betting money on the two-sword gladiator.

 

Feverish people who had lost money shouted, pointing their thumbs at their chests.

 

"Kill the losers! "

 

"Incompetent scum that aren't even worth the money! Kill them! "

 

"Kill them! Kill them!"

 

As the angry mob demanded an execution, the moderator signaled to the surviving gladiators.

 

The gladiator holding the twin swords cut off the breath of the wounded and let out a roar close to screaming.

 

It was a scene that clearly showed the heartlessness of the current time.

 

Since then, the match had been exciting. Gladiator fights were never haphazard fights.

 

Obviously, there were sponsors and promotions, and there were also those who planned the matches professionally.

 

They elaborately set the level in advance to prevent a one-sided game.

 

Marcus noticed that. 

 

Rather than the result of the bloody match, he calmly assessed the process and the level of the players.

 

'Compared to the veterans, the skills of the new recruits are obviously low. It is said that new recruits are attached to each other, but there are few people among them who grow up in a plausible way. '

 

'According to preliminary research, the vast majority of new gladiators die within a year. If you are lucky enough to survive a year, you usually die within 3 years.'

 

'If we give the gladiators time to develop their skills more stably than now, the level of the game will be much higher. But I don't think the audience will be satisfied with just that much...'

 

Marcus took his eyes off the arena and scanned the audience.

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The desire to see blood and the thirst for an even more stimulating fight were clearly felt.

 

'There must be a convincing reason to create an environment where they can watch the gladiators grow from a long-term perspective. At the same time, the organizers' income should not decrease.'

 

It was a difficult condition, but it seemed like a breakthrough could be seen by referring to modern sports games.

 

In Marcus's view, roman gladiatorial competitions lacked one thing.

 

It was a shortcoming that he could feel because he had seen sports leagues that were popular around the world in modern times.

 

'If I'm going to tweak the gladiator fights, I will have to do it in a way that makes the audience more interested than ever before.'

 

'If the game is reformed simply with a sense of justice or human rights consciousness, no one will respond.'

 

Citizens of ancient times were much more accustomed to seeing blood than modern people. Moreover, the majority of slave gladiators were losers in wars with Rome.

 

Marcus fully understood the hearts of the citizens who treated them brutally and were enthusiastic.

 

There could be no gladiator fights in which no one dies.

 

Gladiator fights are essentially a structure in which blood splatters and deaths occur.

 

'I didn't think I could completely change this, and I didn't have the heart to.'

 

'If the death rate of the gladiators could be slightly lowered and the level of dissatisfaction lowered by improving treatment, that will be enough.'

 

'Citizens will be enthusiastic about the more interesting system, the gladiators will be satisfied with the improved treatment, and the organizers will cheer for more and more money.'

 

'If I can't get this far, it's best to give up on improving and leave things as they are.'

 

Although the treatment of gladiators and slaves is pitiful, Marcus was not a human rights activist.

 

If the improvement of the system does not lead to an increase in overall utility, he did not feel the need to do anything.

 

Whether this trip to Capua will end as just a gladiator spectator or a meaningful commercial achievement will depend on the upcoming main game.

 

"It's starting soon."

 

As the afternoon game was almost over, the spectators were agitated with light excitement and anticipation.

 

The previous games had been great but compared to the game which was about to come, they were just a taster.

 

Many spectators were here to watch the games that will follow.

 

There was no way that the presenter could not have read the atmosphere of the audience.

 

He made exaggerated hand movements and raised his voice on the podium.

 

"You've waited so long! Finally! The turn you've been waiting for is back. Although he lost to Spartacus and came down as the second player, everyone still remembers his legendary move! Out of 19 matches, 17 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss! Capua's pride for the glorious 20th match! It's Crixus! "

 

"Whoaaaaaa!"

 

"Crixus! I bet on you!"

 

"Put a knife in the opponent's belly again today!"

 

The door to the waiting room opened, revealing a muscular Celtic man.

 

The atmosphere was different from other gladiators that appeared before.

 

Even Marcus, an outsider, could feel it.

 

Appearing overwhelming the crowd, he quietly pointed his sword to the ground and waited for his opponent.

 

"The fighter who opposes this has never been defeated in Gaul! Gambiorix! Will he be able to defeat Crixus in 3 minutes!"

 

"Ooooh! "

 

"I bet on you though! Let me win some money!"

 

Unlike Crixus, a magnificent giant strode out with a shout closer to booing than cheering.

 

Crixus was also on the large side, but Gambiorix was even bigger than him.

 

Just by looking at his swollen muscles and his spirit, it seemed that it was not a lie that he was an undefeated fighter in Gaul.

 

The audience showed agitation once. No matter how Crixus was.

 

Even among the nobles who came with Marcus, there were a few people who changed their bettors.

 

It didn't take long for that mood to reverse.

 

According to the information gathered in advance, Crixus was also a type of gladiator who valued strength. However, once the match started, people realized that wasn't the case.

 

He had become a completely different person from Crixus before.

 

It means that he was defeated by Spartacus and further strengthened.

 

Crixus' sword had not only strong momentum, but also the softness to use the opponent's power against him.

 

Gambiorix, who was trying to lead into an honest power confrontation, was helpless.

 

Still, Gambiorix lasted close to 10 minutes.

 

It wasn't because of swordsmanship or strength, it was purely the strength of pride and guts.

 

Gambiorix had no choice but to admit defeat at the sight of Crixus, who deflected the flying sword and thrust the sword into his throat.

 

Everyone knows that subduing an opponent without killing them is much more difficult than killing them.

 

The audience was furious to the point of being different.

 

A former champion who became stronger after suffering a defeat. It is an impossible narrative for a man not to boil over.

 

No demands were made for the execution of the defeated.

 

The audience only cheered and shouted the name of Crixus, who showed overwhelming strength.

 

Even before the crowd's enthusiastic cheers had subsided, the host announced the next match like pouring oil on a wildfire.

 

"This is the end of today's long tournament! The strongest match you've all been waiting for begins now! 15 wins out of 15! A flawless, flawless superman who doesn't know defeat! Will the day come when this man suffers defeat! Spartacus! "

 

"Oohhhh!"

 

"Spartacus!"

 

Thump, thump, thump!

 

A high-pitched roar erupted, incomparable to any shouts so far. The sound of the audience stomping their feet spread out like thunder.

 

"Those who oppose him are the elite 3 members of the Claudius gladiator training institute! Even the strongest gladiators won't be able to compete in a three-on-one showdown! Who will be the winner?! "

 

Three gladiators wearing- sword and shield, twin swords, and sword and armor, entered the arena first.

 

A man walked slowly behind them.

 

Jerk... Jerk.

 

The sound of footsteps that could be heard, buried in the shouts, spread like an illusion. That single footstep that comes out touches everyone's heart.

 

His physique was reminiscent of steel. It's not a gigantic body like Gambiorix, but it exudes a much bigger presence even with a shorter stature.

 

Even the opposing gladiators, who had numerical superiority, gulped their saliva with tension.

 

One of them let out a word like a moan.

 

"Spartacus..."

 

The man whose name was called glanced away.

 

The cloak he was wearing simply for visual effect fluttered like a commander-in-chief's cape.

 

"let's do it."

 

He opened his mouth

 

It was a simple word, but it came with tremendous pressure on the opposing gladiators.

 

An imminent situation.

 

The first to move was Spartacus.

 

His body burrowed into the opposing gladiators at breakneck speed.

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