<h4>Chapter 12</h4>


    Horus was in the middle of organizing the matchups for the next diatorial tournament.


    “Looks like we’re going to need some death row prisoners this time. I can’t believe the Varacal diators only gave us three matches, stingy bastards,” Horus said as he read the list of the diators up for the tournament from the Varacal diators.


    “Then how about we give Wallen, Asval, and Kartan the matches with the death rowers? They’ve been pretty out of formtely, and I think it’ll be a good turning point for them,” Donovan suggested to Horus as he sipped on his wine. Whenever it was time to organize the matchups for the next tournament, Donovan sat right next to Horus, offering him his advice. It was his unspoken authority as the face of the squad.


    “Wallen, Asval, and Kartan...” Horus scribbled the names of the diators to be matched up with the death row prisoners to fight them one-on-one.


    <i>‘A fight against these prisoners is basically free wins.’</i>


    It was practically an execution match. The diators yed the role of executioner, brutally killing the condemned men to entertain and satisfy the blood-thirsty public. The diators seldom lost in these matches. Many diators sucked up to Donovan, and in return, they received good matches like this.


    “I’ll book you in for thest fight. You’ll go against one of the ve diators of the Varacal squad.”


    “Leave that to me, Horus. I’ll ughter him with so much blood that it will make the crowd pass out.”


    Donovan was known for his gruesome battles. Even when it was clear that he had won, he toyed with his opponent, slowly cutting the life out of them. He was well aware of the fact that the goal of these fights was ‘entertainment,’ rather than winning or losing.


    <i>m!</i>


    Suddenly, the door burst open. Donovan and Horus turned around. Urich was standing in the doorway.


    “Urich?” Horus questioned as he slightly frowned at the unexpected visit, while Donovan openly showed his hostility.


    “You shouldn’t be here, rookie.”


    “Why not? I’m a free diator, just like you, Donovan,” Urich said slyly as he approached the two men at the table.


    “No, we’re not the same. I’m the face of the squad while you’re just a nameless diator.”


    “Hah, then I’ll just be the new face of our squad! Problem solved.”


    Urich pulled up a chair and sat across the table from Horus.


    “If you two are going to fight, take it outside. I’ll let one slide if you promise to only use your hands,” Horus sighed as he shook his head.


    Urich drank the wine on the table andughed.


    “Hey, Leader Horus, I’m not here to fight with this guy! I was just interested in the matchups, that’s all.”


    As soon as Urich’s words left his mouth, Donovan mmed his fist against the wall. The loud bang<i> </i>startled the diators that were outside the room.


    “Don’t even think about sticking your nose in the match arrangements. Now, get lost before I kill you,” Donovan said in anger as the veins in his face started to rise. Urich put his foot up on the table with his arms crossed.


    “Was I talking to you, Donovan? I don’t think so. I was talking to Horus.”


    Horus considered the situation for a moment, then looked at Donovan.


    “Rx, Donovan. Let’s see what he has to say.”


    Horus was a clever man. He had been feeling more and more unsettled by the growing influence that Donovan had over his diators.


    “Put me in for thest match,” Urich said to Horus. Donovan immediately threw a chair right past Urich.


    <i>Crash!</i>


    The chair shattered against the wall, spraying its broken pieces in all directions.


    “Horus, are you just gonna sit there listening to this bullshit?”


    Horus approached Urich.


    “Urich, thest match is Donovan’s, not yours. It’s the most important match of the day.”


    “I know thest match is supposed to be the most mboyant and interesting. It’s supposed to be the hook that makes people want toe back for more, right?” Urich responded.


    “That’s right. Now, if there’s nothing else, go. Be on your way,” Horus said to Urich as he patted his shoulder.


    “Five of them,” Urich said as he put up all five of his fingers. Horus slowly turned his head.


    “By five, you mean...”


    “I’ll fight five of them; diators or prisoners.”


    “That’s enough nonsense.”


    “If you make a big deal out of a single diator going against five opponents at once, more people wille to see the fight, even if it’s just out of curiosity. And let’s say I win. Even the people who don’t usually watch these fights will dly pay their money to watch a diator who won against five men.”


    “It would be our embarrassment if they kill you with ease.”


    “You think I’m gonna die? Who do you think I am? I will win. I’m Urich. Urich. I’ve never lost a fight. Not against one man, not against ten men.”


    “It’s one thing to fight multiple opponents outside the arena, it’s quite another to fight the same fight inside it. You have no structures to use to your advantage—nowhere to hide. It’s a small and open space, and you have to deal with several weaponsing at you simultaneously. You have the makings of a popr diator. You don’t have to take such big risks like this. This is almost suicide.”


    Horus thought highly of Urich. After all, he had won two consecutive two-on-one matches. He was a diamond in the roughs.


    <i>‘You’ll take Donovan’s spot in no time. There’s no need for you to rush anything.’</i>


    Horus already had Urich in mind for the next face of his squad. Donovan was getting old, and he was bing more and more difficult to control. Him sticking his nose in the match arrangements didn’t sit quite right with him either.


    <i>‘I can’t let him do a five-on-one. Maybe he’d won a few of that outdoors where he had a lot of coverage and structures to use to his advantage and that’s why he’s so confident, but he doesn’t understand that things are not the same inside the arena.’</i>


    Horus shook his head.


    “You know what, Horus, I’ll concede this time. Put him in for thest match and make it five-on-one like he asked.”


    “Donovan!” Horus rapidly turned his head to Donovan.


    Donovanughed, revealing his teeth. Urich red at him with a cold gaze.


    “Wow, I didn’t know that our number one diator was so generous, thanks! Now, Horus, there are no more problems, right? Get me a decent matchup! Advertise the hell out of it, too.”


    Horus frowned.


    <i>‘God dammit, I’ve been too soft of these diators. They’re starting to forget their ce.’</i>


    It was toote for Horus to intervene.


    <i>‘I mean, if you think about it, it really is a marketable strategy, given that Urichsts a decent amount of time. I don’t see him winning, but it’s what he asked for, so...’</i>


    Horus waved Urich over.


    “Urich, I’ll give you thest match like you asked.”


    “I’m d I came here. I don’t have a singleint yet!” Urich said as he patted Horus’ beer belly. Horus let out a long sigh.


    * * *


    In the backyard of the tavern where the Horus diators were staying, the diators were busy with their individual training. Everyone knew that neglecting the duty of training would cost them their lives in the arena. diators who don’t take care of themselves properly died off quickly.


    “One more drop of sweat, one less drop of blood.”


    This was a saying that resonated throughout all fighters—diators, soldiers, and warriors alike.


    “Urich, it’s good to get yourself a high-profile match, but that was a bit much,” Bachman said to Urich in the middle of his spear training. He was a fisherman who hunted whales with a spear back home.


    “What do you mean?” Urich asked as he did his calisthenics. With every repetition of a push-up, every muscle fiber throughout his entire body rippled.


    “I’m talking about your five-on-one match. Everyone’s already talking about it. Doing that in the arena is practically suicide. Back out of it now, before it’s toote. I feel bad because it feels like I drove you into this.”


    Bachman’s n was to get Urich to take on more spectacr fights than Donovan. Urich then would be the new face of their squad, taking over Donovan’s influence. Thanks to Bachman’s connections, more and more diators supported Urich as each day went by.


    “You guys have no idea who I am and where I’m from. Well, how could you?”


    Urich leaped to his feet, kicking the ground at the end of his single-armed push-up. He spun in the air using the momentum from his superior strength. His flexibility and agility belied his size.


    “I love the confidence, Urich, but you have to be able to differentiate your confidence from recklessness.”


    “The people in the civilization live with a lot of fear. They’re scared out of their minds before they even try.”


    “No, it’s just that we don’t have to actually try something to know what’s going to happen. Look at the northern barbarians. Their futile resistance of ten years left theirnds in ruins. The south surrendered in just one year and now they’re thriving, prospering in civilization.”


    “What if I beat all the odds, and win?” Urich spun his axe around in his hand. He was loving his new axe.


    “Then I won’t ever question your decisions again and just follow you.”


    “Hah, you’re going to regret saying that. Keeping up with me is not going to be easy,” Urich said as he chuckled. He then threw his axe hard at the tree in the backyard. The de sank deep inside the tree.


    “Hey, asshole! Watch it! You almost hit me,” the startled diator who was doing his pull-ups by the branch yelled at Urich.


    “Ah, sorry, my bad. I didn’t hit you so we’re good, no?” Urich said nonchntly as he waved off the angry diator.


    * * *


    “A five-on-one? We’ll be lucky if hests more than a minute.”


    “Did you not see hisst fight? He won two two-on-ones back-to-back. He’s no ordinary guy.”


    “Urich, was it?”


    The arena was a good entertainment venue. No one wanted to bleed themselves, but they absolutely enjoyed watching other people’s blood spouting out of them. They sat above the walls, watching the diators struggle for their lives in thefort of their spectator seats with pleasure.


    <i>Chatter, chatter.</i>


    The crowd streamed into the arena after paying for their admission. Among them were wealthy merchants and nobles of the city. The dignitaries sat in the reserved seats above the regr crowd, looking down on both the diators andmoners.


    “Mr. Horus, Mr. Varacal, I’m looking forward to some great matches today,” the governor of the city said to the two heads of the diator squads. The two leaders bowed to show their respect.


    The governor weed the visits of diator squads, as their tournaments were a great way to vent the public’s frustration. The more gruesome and bloodier the matches were, the happier their people left the arena.


    “Although, I don’t really understand the final match. A five-on-one? If it ends too quickly, you will be disappointing a lot of people,” the governor said with a slight concern in his voice, and Varacal red at Horus.


    “It was Horus’ idea. He was very confident that it would be a killer match,” Varacal answered as he tossed the majority of the question over to Horus.


    Horus hesitated for a moment, then said to the governor, “Urich is an exceptionally skilled diator. Whether he wins or loses today, it certainly will not be a boring match.”


    “You’ll have to keep that word, Mr. Horus. The marketces are empty today because everyone came to the arena, probably to see that five-on-one match to see how one man can take on so many alone.”


    Horus bowed his head as he spread his hands.


    “You can look forward to it, Governor.”


    The governor then finally nodded and poured the wine for Horus and Varacal.


    <i>‘My eyes for talent have never deceived me,’</i> Horus muttered as he sipped on his wine. He saw great potential in Urich. <i>‘I’m good at gambles like these.’</i>


    Horus looked down at the deste arena.


    The sand was burning from the hot rays of the sun, the crowds were getting rowdy, and the diators were readying themselves for another day of fighting for their lives.