Fountain Of Blood [1]

The next morning, a rare scene was taking place at Altanic's training ground.

Gladiators, adjutants, and private soldiers lined up around the training ground, and on the second floor of the main building, which had a panoramic view of the training ground, Altanic's wife and daughter, who did not often show their faces, also attended.

Next to him were deputy commanders Bhatia and Tripolas.

As the atmosphere warmed up, Altanic stood up, spread both hands, and shouted, "The gladiator promotion battle will begin now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the gladiators' cheers filled the training hall.

Being born again from a slave to a gladiator was like joining a new family.

Most gladiators welcomed this because the more companions they had, the less often they had to compete and they could help each other in joint competitions.

Therefore, the promotion match was an important event for both the owner and the gladiator.

Challengers and gladiators lined up on both sides of the training ground.

The challengers had their bodies painted black here and there, and the gladiators had their own patterns drawn on their upper bodies.

Each of them held a wooden sword in their hands.

It was made from a strong tree that only grows in Palemon and does not break easily.

The cheering that filled the training ground stopped, and the promotion battle progressed quickly.

As time passed, two challengers passed the final exam and one did not.

Finally, Eren's turn came.

Eren walked to the center of the training ground with his wooden sword hanging down.

A moment later, Gletch appeared with both hands raised, and the training ground was once again filled with cheers.

However, Eren still raised his wooden sword with a calm expression.

Altanic and Bhatia, who were looking down from the second floor, watched Eren's movements closely unlike before.

"Start!" With Altanic's signal, the final promotion match began.

As soon as it started, Gletch jumped in and struck Eren's head with his wooden sword.

It was an attack that put all its weight on the attack without paying any attention to defense. Gletch planned to push hard from the beginning.

The wooden sword struck towards Eren's head in an instant, drawing a straight path.

If it had hit like that, his head could have been blown off.

Altanic and Bhatia, who were watching the unexpected blow, were momentarily taken aback, but Eren himself was still staring at Gletch's wooden sword with an expressionless gaze.

Eren held the wooden sword in the opposite direction, blocked Gletch's attack, and quickly tilted the wooden sword to block the attack.

However, because it was such a heavy slam, Eren rolled backwards two times before barely able to get up and regain his balance.

Eren gritted his teeth.

The hand that was holding his wooden sword was trembling. With just one collision, he keenly felt the gap between his imagination and reality.

Gletch's attacks continued without stopping after that.

His gaze and breathing, foot movements and arm movements, and the trajectory of the wooden sword.

All of this came into Eren's eyes clearly, but his body's significantly reduced abilities could not keep up with his senses.

He rolled his body as best as he could to narrowly avoid the sword's trajectory and at the same time predicted the next move.

It would have been impossible if he hadn't seen Gletch spar.

All of Gletch's movements were already established in Eren's mind.

Meanwhile, Gletch, who was on the other side, was confused by an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

Judging by his muscles and movements, he was clearly a young kid who had never fought.

However, as if reading his thoughts, Eren kept rolling his body and deviating from the sword's trajectory.

Every time that happened, Gletch strangely lost strength and the flow of his attack was interrupted.

The gladiators watching around shouted as if it was fun. In their eyes, it just looked like a threat to a kid rolling on the ground with a wooden sword.

But there was one person who really understood the situation.

Bhatia was lost in thought and did not take his eyes off Eren.

At that moment, Bhatia's eyes widened. An unbelievable sight unfolded again.

Eren was in a hurry to avoid Gletch's attack by rolling around on the ground.

As Gletch's movements grew larger, gaps began to appear.

It was a move that completely excluded the possibility that Eren would counterattack.

It was at that moment that Eren's movements suddenly changed.

The moment Gletch lowered his wooden sword to the ground, Eren recoiled his body as if a live fish was jumping, instantly occupying Gletch's rear.

And with a wooden sword that had never been wielded even once, he used his body's recoil to forcefully strike Gletch in the neck.

However, the neck, which was covered with strong muscles, was not hit at all.

Gletch rotated his body and swung his wooden sword.

Thwack—!

Eren, who was struck in the side while floating in the air, bounced several times on the ground and then fell.

The destructive power of the wooden sword was truly enormous.

He was in so much pain that he couldn't breathe and couldn't lift a finger.

Aside from the pain, Eren lamented his own foolishness.

But he didn't think that for long.

This is because Gletch's merciless beatings began.

Eren curled up to reduce the pain as much as possible.

Blood burst out here and there on his body, and bright red marks began to appear clearly.

Even though the winner was clearly decided, Altanic and Bhatia, who were sitting alone, did not stop the duel and just watched.

This was also a process to train slaves into gladiators.

Eren, crouching down and covering his face, secretly glared at the two people who were looking down indifferently.

Some time passed. Then someone shouted, "Stop!"

Gletch stopped his movements and looked up above him.

There, Bhatia stood up and came forward.

"You should feel ashamed. If it had been a real sword, your head wouldn't have been attached to your neck."

Gletch could not help but be taken aback by his sharp criticism.

"Have you ever thought that one mistake could cost you your life? Stand back!"

Bhatia, who made Gletch step back as if it were a planned script, glanced at Altanik and gave him a notice.

Then Altanic stood up and shouted in a solemn voice, "Support the child."

At his command, the soldiers raised Eren to his feet.

His face and body were hideously mangled. But Altanic continued speaking without any concern.

"Eren, I acknowledge that you struggled against the champion. I inform you that you have become a worthy gladiator as of now. This concludes all promotion matches. Take Eren to the treatment room. That's it!"

After finishing speaking, Altanic went inside with Bhatia.

His family and Tripolas members also followed them.

Even though the promotion battle was over, the training ground was buzzing.

It was because of Gletch's faded victory.

He was standing in the middle of the training ground, his hands shaking, glaring at Eren who was being taken to the first floor.

'I will definitely kill him.'

His face was sinewy, and his jaw muscles twitched.