Titan's Throne

Chapter 23- The Smiter Kneels

Chapter 23 -The Smiter Kneels

"The Battle may begin!"

As the announcement rang out across the arena, the expected screams and shouts did not sound out. Instead, only silence was there. As if no sound was allowed within the arena.

The contestants were far too baffled to even fight. After hearing what Bastian had just said, they were astonished to the point that a few weak minded people dropped their weapons.

After a few moments, when Bastian's words had finally sunk in into some of the competitors, a myriad of different expressions flashed upon the many faces in the arena.

"Who the heck do you think you are?"

"Boy you are courting death!"

"Haha a new-born lamb truly does not fear a tiger."

Many shouts of anger, humiliation and sometimes amusement came out of the mouths of the warriors. Bastian's words had aroused their ire and sometimes their humor.

All of the people within this arena had experienced countless life and death battles to the extent that many had already found pleasure in walking the line between life and death. They were not normal people, and they often took pride in their insanity.

Even though they were about to kill each other, no one held a grudge against the other. The general consensus amongst competitors in high class arenas such as this, was to give face to your opponent, even in victory, as long as they were warriors such as yourself.

Yet this teenage boy claimed it would be an honor for someone to die by his hands. Many had questioned in their minds why such a person had been included in that fight.

These men were battle hardened, so they were sensitive to bloodlust. They could tell at a glance that Bastian had never killed anyone before. Not to mention that he was unconscious at the time he was brought to the arena. Thus, his addition to this battle was an insult to the pride of many warriors in the arena. This, followed by his words, started a storm of rage that ran rampant across the hearts of these prideful warriors.

His tongue was like a lit matchstick thrown onto a ground, in a forest covered in petroleum, and as such, it sparked an inferno that turned the skin of many people pink. Eyes became bloodshot. Veins bulged. Fists clenched. Muscles tensed. Chests heaved up and down followed by breathing that was unusually audible.

Even the people, who were first amused, started having grave expressions on their faces once they saw the condescending look on Bastian's face.

Bastian knew full well what he had done. Although he just wanted to be cheeky and anger these walking corpses, he had his reasons.

Firstly he wanted them all to come at him. He wanted to test the limits of this body. A body with an awakened bloodline showed its value in moments like these, where foes were unable to use their cultivation.

The second reason was because Bastian wanted to kill as many people as possible. He knew that to survive, he had to kill many people. So, he wanted to get used to killing as soon as possible.

The third reason was to market himself. A person in such a situation is essentially a slave, thus your life is in the hands of another. Although these warriors were seasoned fighters, none of them were true gladiators, for a true gladiator had a Master who they serve and fight for.

Everyone here was owned by the establishment itself, thus they were not true gladiators. Bastian wanted to become a gladiator as soon as possible. That way, he would be able to acquire his freedom faster. Not to mention the fact that being a gladiator had many benefits.