NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
Episode 163. Gladiator (1)
In the dark room, only the sound of armor clashing against armor could be heard.
The atmosphere continued without a trace of laughter, filled with suffocating tension.
Before the match, the gladiators took off their everyday clothes and donned armor and weapons.
Since most of the gladiators were incapacitated from fighting, the only gladiators participating in these games were common criminals.
The match was only possible if there was a clear star player.
But even such a star player was rendered incapacitated by Jin Jae-hee, so the outcome of the match between the three warriors could not be considered positive.
The prison guard, who had to meet the conditions for victory, ended up sending in Jin Jae-hee.
Swish-. Swish-.
Jin Jae-hee began to tie up his entire body with bandages.
When I had to make dynamic movements, the flesh attached to my body was a huge obstacle.
That's why she had to tie her chest bandage so tightly that she could barely breathe.
Lee Ho-seung, who was standing next to him, was wearing sturdy armor and picked up a small hammer nearby.
Then Jin Jae-hee took off Ho-seung's armor again.
“Don’t wear it.”
"……why?"
“Listen. I know better. It’s more of a hindrance. Just carry a shield and sword. And only carry the lightest shields and swords possible.”
Clang! Clang!
The armor attached to Hosung's body fell to the ground with a dull sound.
“Armor is only useful when fighting humans. When fighting monsters, it’s suicidal.”
“Why, why? Everyone else is wearing armor?”
“He’s a beggar who’s trying to turn everything upside down.”
“… … .”
Ho-seung didn't understand what Jae-hee was saying, but he started taking off his clothes again.
The two didn't really reconcile.
It wasn't like we had a sharp relationship where we were gnashing our teeth at each other.
This is because the match started right away without any awkwardness or emotions settling down.
Ho-seung said while looking at Jae-hee who was silently checking his clothes again.
“You seem to have changed a lot.”
At those words, Jin Jae-hee answered while tearing at the bandage with his teeth.
“I was originally the same.”
“No. Originally, there was a lot of laughter.”
“You must be mistaken.”
Whew-!
Jin Jae-hee held the sharp blade of his sword and looked around to check the situation.
She was looking for a sword that was sleek like a fencing sword, but had elasticity.
Jin Jae-hee looked around and found a thin, slender sword that no one had chosen, and picked it up.
“Comrade… … is there? No. If he’s trapped here, does that mean there’s something wrong with him too?”
“It wasn’t anything wrong, and I’m not particularly worried about my colleagues. They won’t die.”
“Who is it?”
“What do you want to do now? I’ll introduce you later. For now, just focus on the battle.”
Jin Jae-hee swung his sword around appropriately and then put it back on his waist.
Ho-seung was wearing nothing and was holding only a hammer.
Jaehee pushed his back and headed in the other direction.
“I don’t know what this place is, but once you leave, stay right next to me. Don’t ever come out.”
“I can protect myself at least.”
“What a surprise. With your anchovy-like body.”
"anchovy……?"
While the two were talking, the guards stormed into the preparation room again.
They shouted at the gladiators.
“The match is about to start! Everyone, get ready and come outside.”
After saying that, the prison guard looked at Jin Jae-hee.
Jin Jae-hee frowned, but didn't act any differently.
The gladiators, who had finished preparing, left the room one by one with solemn expressions on their faces.
Jin Jae-hee also led Ho-seung and walked toward the hallway where light was streaming in.
* * *
The crowd's cheers began to grow louder.
The crowd, made up of citizens of Man-gyeong and Gang-nam, each shouted out the cheers of their favorite players.
The number Jin Jae-hee received was 3, and the number Lee Ho-seung received was 15.
The caretakers painted numbers on their backs with black paint.
The Colosseum's victory conditions were simple.
All I had to do was survive or win.
However, the details of the Colosseum games could not be known unless the gladiators themselves entered the arena.
Sometimes he fought monsters, and sometimes he fought gladiators from other factions.
The gladiators of the third division frowned, unable to adjust to the sunlight that had not been shining down for a long time.
“… … .”
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But soon, vision returned.
What awaited them was a huge pile of garbage.
It was a pile of all sorts of miscellaneous trash, but there was a white flag planted on top.
The gladiators looked silently at the flag.
Even without any specific explanation, everyone instinctively knew that they had to defend that flag.
Kukwang-! Drrrrrr!
At the same time, the iron bars on the opposite side opened and the gladiators of the first division entered the arena.
“… … .”
“… … .”
There was a suffocating tension between the two groups of gladiators.
At that moment, the announcer on the pitch shouted at the crowd.
“Hello-! Hello-! Citizens of Man-gyeong and Gangnam! We sincerely welcome all of you who have come to the nest! The theme of this Colosseum is flag-grabbing. It is a game based on the heroic myth of the great first hero of Man-gyeong, Kang Si-on, who survived the first round. The gladiators of each ward that you see now will fight for their lives to pull out the flag that you see at the top. But be careful. Man-gyeong’s skilled archers will be after the gladiators’ lives.”
At that moment, archers appeared at the barricade set up on the outskirts of the stadium.
Jin Jae-hee looked at the archers, then at the gladiators in the 1st division on the other side.
Not only the 1st Division, but also the 3rd Division gladiators held their weapons tightly with the aforementioned expressions.
'You have to climb the mountain to get the flag, but if you climb it without any protection, you'll be shot by archers.'
It couldn't have been a more vicious method.
Jin Jae-hee doesn't know much about Ha Yoon-ha, but he never thought she would do something like this.
There was something rotten about Man-gyeong.
It was clear that the country had become stronger than before Kang Shi-on came to power, but power, greed, and pleasure seemed to be slowly eating away at the citizens.
Jin Jae-hee grabbed Lee Ho-seung's wrist and stepped forward.
Jin Jae-hee wearing a Hahoe mask.
The deal between her and the guards was that she would never reveal her identity while in the Colosseum.
Originally, she had to win seven matches to qualify, but the deal was that if she could keep her identity secret for just three matches, she would be freed from prison.
From Jin Jae-hee's perspective, it was a deal that he had no reason to refuse.
She was confident that she would survive whatever it was.
Jin Jae-hee looked ahead and spoke to Ho-seung.
“Listen carefully. When the game starts, don’t look back and run, then hide in between those piles of trash.”
“Over there… … ?”
“Okay. Don’t ask why, just bury yourself in the trash and don’t breathe. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“But you… … ?!”
“Don't ask why.”
Jin Jae-hee glared at Lee Ho-seung, who quickly became discouraged and nodded.
“… … Okay. I’ll try. I don’t know if I can do it, though.”
"sun."
"huh?"
Jin Jae-hee shouted again.
“I said I would do it!”
“Oh, I understand! I will do it.”
Ho-seung answered without knowing it.
“That’s fine.”
Jin Jae-hee looked forward to focus again.
Now the crowd started to cheer even louder, and with the announcer's words, the match began.
“Waaa …
“Ewwh …
The gladiators charged forward, screaming in agony.
At the same time, Lee Ho-seung ran towards the garbage dump as Jin Jae-hee had said.
Swish!
An arrow flew in and grazed Lee Ho-seung's cheek.
They were the archers of Man-gyeong.
They pulled back their bows and shot at the gladiators without stopping.
Lee Ho-seung fell once in the middle, but got up again and walked forward.
If it were up to him, he would have given up and sat down right away, but now Jin Jae-hee was by his side.
It was thanks to Jin Jae-hee that I found the meaning of life again.
I want to live.
With that one emotion alone, Lee Ho-seung ran forward.
As Jin Jae-hee said, since I wasn't wearing armor, I was able to run faster than others.
At that moment, one of the gladiators from the 1st Division rushed fiercely toward Lee Ho-seung.
Lee Ho-seung ran forward without even sensing the danger.
The gladiator of the first division did not miss any opening.
He stabbed the spear he was holding into Lee Ho-seung's heart.
“?!”
Only then did Lee Ho-seung realize that he was being attacked, but it was too late.
But Jin Jae-hee came first.
Whirik-. Crunch!!!
Her sword blade cut through the gladiator's spear.
Then Jin Jae-hee raised his right foot and struck the gladiator's temple with his heel.
Phew!
In an instant the gladiator lost consciousness and fell forward,
Just before the gladiator fell, Jin Jae-hee finished him off by decapitating him with the sword he was holding.
Sigh!
Bright red blood spurted upward. Lee Ho-seung, who was watching the sight, could not help but feel astonished.
Jin Jae-hee, who landed on the floor, did not rest.
He charged like a beast at the first-grade gladiators climbing over the garbage heap.
The audience cheered at her splendid swordsmanship.
“Wow-!!!!!”
“Look at number 3!”
“Hahoe mask? It’s like a gladiator I’ve never seen before.”
“That’s awesome!”
Whether they cheered or not, Jin Jae-hee started swinging his sword again.
One, two, three.
The gladiators who were cut by her blade fell without exception.
The other three gladiators who were watching the scene were the same.
Everyone could not help but gape in amazement at her bravery in taking them down single-handedly.
The serial killer of the 3rd ward shouted.
“Follow the captain!”
“Kill them all!!!”
“Uryaaa!”
Led by Jin Jae-hee, the three divisions seized the opportunity to win.
The swishing blades were tireless, and the blood that spurted from the bodies of the dead gathered together to form a river.
Until the moment when the gladiator of the three divisions grabbed the flag, she was so merciless that even the arrows of the archers flying towards her were insignificant.
Jin Jae-hee, standing over the corpses of all the 1st Division gladiators, looked around.
A character who has achieved victory.
The audience went crazy for the character.
Whether it's sports, politics, or any other field, whenever I encounter an attractive character, I can't help but get excited.
Blood-stained black hair, a longsword and a dagger in his hand, and sharp eyes like those of a wild beast.
When the 3rd team raised the flag and won, the audience all cheered and applauded Jin Jae-hee.
“Wowaaa …
“Three times! Three times! Three times! Three times!”
“Wow! That was a great performance!”
“Honestly, it was the best! It was the best game of my life!”
Amidst all the cheers and applause, Lee Ho-seung crawled out of the garbage heap.
And I could only look at Jin Jae-hee.
Over the past seven years, she has grown.
He was just stagnant.
Jin Jae-hee was, after all, Jin Jae-hee.
* * *
That night, the winning team was given a special meal.
Fatty meat and some alcohol were served by the guards.
The prisoners in Squad 3 began to praise Jin Jae-hee before raising their glasses.
“Amazing! Captain!”
“It was truly amazing.”
“As expected of the captain!”
“Everything goes wrong.”
"yep."
"yes."
"yep."
Jaehee ignored all the attention and returned to his seat in one corner of the prison cell.
It was inside a prison, but it was a leader's room with makeshift partitions made of cloth and blankets.
Flutter-.
Jin Jae-hee lifted the blanket and went inside.
A makeshift bed made by stacking up blankets provided to prisoners.
There was a wooden box next to it, and boxes were laid out on the floor to keep the cold air from rising.
Round 2, the living conditions were more horrible than those at Manan Police Station, but Jin Jae-hee adapted to any space.
As soon as she entered, she immediately took off the pressure bandage.
“Phew-.”
Only then was she able to exhale evenly.
Whenever I made a violent movement, I felt like ripping this guy's chest off.
At that time, Lee Ho-seung came in hesitantly, but soon turned his head away at the sight of her naked body.
Jin Jae-hee sat down in a corner, dressed, without paying any attention to his gaze.
After some time had passed, Lee Ho-seung slowly came back in.
“Why… … Why did you tell me to come?”
“Why? Isn’t it cold? If you sleep outside.”
Jin Jae-hee picked up his own cup that was placed on the wooden box and wet his throat.
Lee Ho-seung shook his head.
“It’s not cold. I’m used to it.”
“I made it through the second round too.”
“Round 2 was hell. I wanted to die. No, actually, I still want to die.”
“If you ever say you want to die in front of me again, I’m going to beat you to death.”
At those words, Ho-seung opened his eyes slightly and looked at Jin Jae-hee.
Jin Jae-hee was frowning and growling.
“You, have you become a bit more aggressive? It seems like you’ve changed.”
“Anyone can see that you have changed.”
“Okay, okay.”
Lee Ho-seung did not sit close to her, but sat down on the floor quite a distance away.
Jin Jae-hee took out a slightly hard piece of bread from the wooden box and threw it at Lee Ho-seung.
Ho-seung tried to catch the bread floating in the air, but missed.
“Let’s go together. If I ask, my colleagues will accept you.”
“Your colleague? What do you do?”
Ho-seung asked again, wiping the dirt off the bread with his hand.
Jin Jae-hee thought for a moment about how to introduce Kang Si-on, then answered.
“The only one who can end this league.”
“The only one… who can finish the league?”
Lee Ho-seung chewed on her words.
It was strange.
How can you be sure about a person?
Since childhood, Jin Jae-hee did not trust others easily.
I figured there had to be something going on, and nine times out of ten, she was right.
The fact that Jin Jae-hee trusted someone so strongly meant that there was something there.
“You need to clear at least one round to win the league, but seeing as you’re stuck here as his teammate, I guess you’re not cruising along.”
“I’m not trying to win the league. I’m trying to finish the league.”
"what?"
Lee Ho-seung looked at Jin Jae-hee in surprise.
Because that was impossible.
But Jin Jae-hee was confident.
Kang Shi-on is the only one who can end this league.
The existence of Kang Si-on was the only reason she left her friends in Busan and came up to Anyang.
“I believe.”
(Continued in the next episode)