Chapter 8: Rebirth in a Different Place
Four huge stone statues stood around the hall, all of them in armor with giant swords in hand, and the cloaks behind them intersected to form four high walls.
In the middle of the hall stands a monument on a stone platform, surrounded by delicate wings, where everything is carved out of white forbidden stone, sacred and solemn, and I know this place: the Hall of Valor of Demacia.
It is a place to commemorate those who died in the war, and people come here every day to mourn their loved ones or friends, and even those who have nothing to do with it come here are infected by the atmosphere of sadness.
Fiona and I have been here to commemorate an uncle who died on the northern border.
But how did I end up here?
I saw two people standing in front of the monument, dressed in white dresses and holding flowers, bowing their heads in mourning their loved ones.
I thought their backs were familiar, so I should have gone over to express my sorrow out of politeness, but I couldn't laugh or cry when I heard their conversation.
Because the person they mourned was Levo Laurent, and these two people were Fiona and Lux, two fools who must have thought that I had died in the war, and they were just in time to surprise them!
"Ahem, you two are so sad, it seems that they are a very important person to you, right?"
They didn't look back, they didn't answer me, and I wondered: shouldn't they be thrilled to hear my voice at such a time? Or even hugged me with tears streaming down your face? Or are you angry because of my playful tone?
"It's me, Levo, I'm back!"
Still no response, I panicked and tried to go over and hold their hands, but found that I couldn't lift my feet, as if they were glued to the ground, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't lift them.
What's going on? I felt a little panicked.
When they had finished mourning and turned to leave, I finally saw their faces, and the red circles under their eyes had obviously been sad for a long time, but they walked past me as if they hadn't seen me, and no matter how much I screamed and struggled, it seemed that I could not hear them.
"Fiona, Lux......" I suddenly woke up, it turned out to be a dream, and the reality of this dream made me wake up for a long time and still have palpitations.
I didn't think I would wake up one day, it was dark and full of rotten and moldy smells, surrounded by solid stone walls, and the only door was made of steel as thick as a small arm, and the doorway flickered with a faint light.
Hell? No, how can it be just me in hell? Am I back to my original world?
I was a little happy to think of this, after all, I was still alive, but thinking about the previous situation, it seemed that there was no possibility of survival, and just as I was thinking nonsense, the door was opened, and a dark and dim light came in, and I was taken away by someone with a hood.
It took me a while to get used to the fact that I couldn't open my eyes from the sunlight when I took off my hood, and then I felt dizzy when I saw people standing on the high circular platforms around me, like upside-down funnels, and the deafening shouts made me feel dizzy.
Yes, it was a gladiatorial arena.
I knew that Noxus was prevalent in gladiatorial arenas, but I didn't expect to see this kind of scene with my own eyes, and as gladiators, in this place where there is no end to death, few people can leave alive, and even if they do, they will become monsters.
The gladiatorial arena was set up by the ancient rulers of Noxus to make the people more bloodthirsty, and in order to keep the people in this temperament, the Noxian army would bring back a large number of prisoners of war every time they returned from an expedition.
Sold as slaves to the Colosseum or slave owners to watch duels, it has become a landmark venue in Noxus over the years.
What happened to that war? Who is that huge figure in the dark?
The thought of Quinn and Warlot dying for me made me feel a sharp pain in my heart.
Could Fiona still be sad? I really want to write a letter to her, but if you want to know all this, you have to get out of here first.
At this time, I suddenly found that I had no injuries on my body, and I was stronger than before, my hair had turned black, and it was scattered behind my head, and my clothes were tattered, and my feet were shackled.
It seems that I did not survive, but became a different person, unfortunately, my identity is very different from before.
My opponent was a naked man, armed with a spear and his master's name engraved on his face, and I don't know which tribe was captured as a slave.
"In this gladiatorial battle, Zhao Xin of the Dock Arena is challenged by the slaves of the Wuqi family, and if Lord Wuqi wins, he will get twenty gold coins! Come, slaves, and sprinkle your blood for your masters! Open the shackles! After one person in the gladiatorial arena finished shouting, the audience shouted even more frantically.
Wait, he said Zhao Xin? Then I am Zhao Xin in the gladiatorial arena?
If the setting is correct, I'll be rescued by the Demacians! No wonder I didn't see him in the palace, he was still fighting in the gladiatorial arena, this is interesting, the two Zhao Xin have become one!
I have hope in my heart that I can get out as long as I don't die here!
The slave came at me and stabbed me in the throat and chest with a spear, why didn't I have a weapon? I kept dodging, trying to calm my messy thoughts, but I heard the chatter and laughter of the people on the high platform.
In dodging, I found that the body was not only unusually strong, but also agile and agile, so there was nothing to be afraid of without weapons, and I seized the opportunity to dodge his attack again, and snatched the spear and stabbed him in the throat.
In the past, I didn't want to say killing people, I had to tremble for a while when I started beating people, and after experiencing that big war, such a battle could not stir up waves in my heart in the slightest.
I heard the people cheering for me, as if the man on the field was not a slave but a hero, and the Noxians worshipped power above all else.
I was shackled back to the stone prison again, and the benefit of winning was a full meal in the evening and a silver coin.
I didn't know what the silver coins were for, so I threw them on the ground, but I heard the sound of metal clashing, and when I touched the corner, there were two more.
"You'd better keep them, they'll be of great use." A rough voice came from across from me, but it was too dim for me to see his face.
"Usefulness? What's the use of asking for coins here? ”
"Idiot, coins can be exchanged for food, and you can also bribe the guards, you think this hellish place is always full of food?"
As we spoke, the stone prison door opened, and a man came in with two guards.
He was round and like a ball, but he was very noblely dressed, covered with gold, silver and jewelry, and his ten fingers were not idle, and he was the one who shouted in the stands during the day, and it seemed that his status was very noble.
"He's the boss here, Kenchi." The person across from me whispered to me.
Kenchi came up to me with a comical step, looked up and down, and grinned:
"Zhao Xin, your performance today is very good, although there are many people who buy you to win, but we still make a profit, you will have many opportunities to play in the future, take advantage of it, I will not treat you badly."
"Thank you Boss Kenchi yet!" The guard next to him seized the opportunity to slap his horse.
"Kenchi?"
I said it unconsciously, looking at his greedy little eyes and round body, I suddenly thought of Tam Kenchi, but I was not sure, after all, Tam was a catfish called "Toad", and the one standing in front of me was clearly a human.
"Oh? Do you know me? There was an ominous glint in Kenchi's eyes, which I was keenly aware of.
"You're the boss here, who doesn't know you." I made up an excuse.
"Oh haha, yes, my name is Kenchi, Tam Kenchi, you can call me Boss or Master Kenchi."
Sure enough, it was him! This catfish monster actually ran to Noxus to do the gladiatorial arena, it's really you, although I don't know what means he used to become like this, but for safety reasons, I can only pretend that I don't know him.
After Tamm went out with the guards, I chatted with the guy on the other side, and he was very talkative, and thanks to this, I also got to know the place in more detail.
This is a town in the northeastern part of Noxus called Doko, and the most famous thing in the whole town is this gladiatorial arena, and even people from nearby towns come to watch the gladiatorial fights and take the opportunity to gamble.
There are two kinds of gladiators, one belongs to the gladiatorial arena, and the other is brought by private individuals, and there are not many cases where they lead people to fight each other, and most of them have personal grudges.
There are many people who bring people to challenge the gladiatorial arena, because there is an advantage, that is, you can get a rich bounty for victory, so most people choose to bring people to tackle key problems.
Because the gladiatorial arena takes a cut of the spectators' bets, the more people who watch and bet as much as possible, and it doesn't matter if the gladiators' lives are left, their mission is to give a good fight.
"By the way, I still don't know your name after talking for so long, my name is Zhao Xin, what about you?"
"My name is Jeram."
After exchanging names, we went to rest.
In this black, rumbling stone prison, I couldn't tell the time, and I was taken out again shortly after I woke up, while Jerram was still snoring.
Because I won the last battle easily, today I will challenge three people at the same time, and the owner of these people is still Uchi, who has no stronger slaves and can only rely on increasing the number to win.
It seems that he is determined to win in the gladiatorial arena, and Tamu has learned that my bounty has been increased from twenty to fifty.
There were more spectators in the stands than yesterday, and they were more boiling, and Tamu was smiling all over his face, and it was obvious that this was a lot of money.
These three people are not stronger than the last time, but they have more cooperation, but they are far worse than the soldiers of the dreadnought vanguard, not to mention that I have become Zhao Xin, who is many times stronger than before, although he is bare-handed, he still pulls out a thousand pounds.
Yesterday I didn't devote myself to the fight because of my confused mind, but today is different, I focused on this battle and knocked three people to the ground in a shorter time than yesterday.
Because they surrendered, I didn't make a killer, and everyone cheered for me except for Uri who gritted his teeth.
This time I was given five silver coins, and when I got back Jerah was taken out, I found that he was unusually tall, at least two heads taller than me, and his waist was more than a circle thicker, good fellow, almost like a giant.
It was a long time before he returned, with a silver coin in his hand, but it was much more difficult to look at him, for when the guards brought him back, I saw by the light of the torches that he was covered in blood.
"How are you, Jerram? With your size, you shouldn't be hurt so badly. ”
"It's not just my blood, it's the blood of the beast."
He was still panting, and there was great hatred in his words, I don't know what kind of person he called a beast, it should be a big holiday, but seeing that he was very tired, he didn't ask again.
To my surprise, I didn't hear him snoring tonight.