Chương 269: Arena of Beasts

The crowd roared with savage excitement as the masked warrior danced between the beasts like a shadow born for slaughter. Thousands of voices crashed together into one deafening wave that shook the colossal arena walls, nobles and beggars alike rising from their seats as blood painted the sand below. To them, this was entertainment. A spectacle. Another desperate struggle thrown into the pit for coin and amusement. But to Vale, the world had narrowed into movement, instinct, and battle.

His onyx mask, marked with the golden sun, reflected the chaos around him in fractured glimmers. Beneath it, his pale eyes remained sharp and focused as four massive wolves circled him through the crimson-stained arena. They were enormous creatures, each over two meters tall at the shoulder, their black fur matted with dirt and blood, jaws large enough to tear a man in half with a single bite. Yet Vale did not retreat. One of the wolves lunged first.

Its enormous body tore through the air with terrifying speed, claws digging trenches into the earth as it leaped directly toward his throat. Vale twisted at the last possible moment, ducking beneath the beast as wind exploded over his head from the force of its movement. Simultaneously, he drove one of his black blades upward. The edge pierced deep into the creature's underside.

Vale gritted his teeth, gripping the weapon tightly as the wolf's own momentum dragged the blade across its stomach, carving open flesh in a violent spray of blood. But the resistance of the hide immediately told him the truth.

'Too shallow,' he thought bitterly. The wolf shrieked in pain but did not die. Vale ripped the blade free just as another presence surged toward him from the left. His mask-enhanced senses screamed at him before his eyes fully registered the movement. He spun sharply, body pivoting into a half-turn as massive jaws snapped shut where his neck had been a fraction of a second earlier. The sound of teeth colliding echoed like breaking stone. Vale's eyes narrowed beneath the mask. His blade flashed downward instantly.

Steel tore across the wolf's face, opening a deep wound over one of its eyes. Blood spiraled through the air as the beast recoiled with a furious howl, nearly blinded. Another wolf came immediately after. Its fangs descended from above. Vale ducked again, feeling the rush of hot breath pass over him as he thrust his sword upward with brutal precision. The blade pierced directly through the beast's lower jaw and burst through the roof of its mouth. The creature screamed violently, shaking its head in panic.

Still, none of them fell. That was the problem. There were too many. Even injured, the beasts remained lethal, and every second forced Vale to spend more stamina dodging, repositioning, reacting. Against four creatures attacking together, a single mistake would be enough to get him killed. And that mistake nearly came. A wolf surged toward him from below his blind spot. Vale sensed movement and instinctively turned, but it was too late. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen.

Please report the infringement. The enormous jaws were already closing less than a meter from his body. Panic flared violently in his chest.

"Shit-!"

"KEEP FIGHTING!" Lucias slammed into the beast from the side before it could bite down. His spear crashed into the wolf's ribs with enough force to knock the creature sideways into the dirt. Vale's eyes grew wide. For a single instant, he stared at the older gladiator in surprise. Then instinct reclaimed control. He tore his blade free from the jaw of the wounded wolf, blood splattering across his armor and mask in bright crimson streaks. His breathing grew heavier now. Faster.

Without hesitation, he sheathed one of his swords. Dual blades gave versatility. But against beasts this large, one blade wielded with both hands carried far more killing power. Vale exploded forward. The wolf Lucias had tackled rose again, jaws opening wide toward the one-armed gladiator while Lucias desperately drove his spear deeper into its abdomen to hold it back. Before the creature could bite, Vale's blade descended.

The black sword pierced directly through the top of the wolf's skull and buried itself deep into its brain. The beast let out one final broken cry before collapsing lifelessly into the dirt with a thunderous boom. Vale exhaled sharply and stepped back. For a moment, only the sounds of his heavy breathing remained. Lucias yanked his spear free from the corpse, red blood dripping from the weapon's tip. Then he looked toward the masked warrior beside him and laughed quietly.

"To be honest," he admitted, "I thought I died there." Vale glanced at him briefly.

"But now that you're here…" Lucias continued with a wild grin, "I think I can still hold out." He shifted his stance before glancing sideways at Vale again.

"What about you, strange warrior?" he asked.

"Can you hold out?" Vale slowly looked toward the remaining beasts. The three wolves growled deeply, circling them with murderous intent. Their massive bodies prowled through the sand carefully now, no longer reckless after losing two of their own. Oddly enough… Vale felt calmer now. A strange confidence settled in his chest.

"Yeah," he answered quietly beneath the mask.

"I think I can." He raised his blade slightly.

"You take the one on the right," he said calmly.

"I'll handle center and left." Lucias blinked in surprise for only a moment before grinning wildly.

"COME ON THEN!" he roared like a madman. The wolf on the right exploded forward immediately, charging Lucias with savage fury. The older gladiator sprinted sideways across the arena, deliberately drawing the beast away. Vale immediately understood.

"Giving me more room to work with, huh?" he muttered quietly beneath the mask.

"How considerate." The remaining two wolves roared and charged him together, fast. Far too fast for ordinary humans to react to. Vale inhaled deeply and steadied his footing. A memory surfaced. A voice.

"If you truly wish to dominate a battle," the unfamiliar voice said calmly within his mind, "you must learn to stop relying solely on sight." Vale's eyes widened slightly.

"In impossible battles, your eyes become the easiest sense to deceive. Trust instead the senses least likely to betray you." The voice grew clearer.

"Only then can you call yourself a true combatant." Vale slowly exhaled. Then he closed his eyes everything vanished as he focused. Everything disappeared except sensation. Wind shifted around the charging wolves. Tiny vibrations traveled through the earth beneath their paws. The subtle displacement of air revealed the exact path of their attacks before they even struck. Suddenly, the battlefield became perfectly clear. Vale grinned beneath the mask.

"What a useful memory…" The first wolf leaped. Vale stepped back and twisted sharply, his blade flashing upward in a brutal arc that carved directly through the beast's lower jaw. He felt resistance from thick bone and hide, but the momentum of the strike carried through regardless. The wolf screamed. The second beast arrived instantly after. Its jaws opened wide enough to swallow his head whole. Vale did not look at it. Instead, he adjusted his blade vertically and thrust directly into the creature's mouth.

Its jaws snapped shut violently, Only for the sword to pierce through its upper palate. Blood erupted upward in a spiraling fountain as the beast panicked, thrashing wildly. At that exact moment, the first wolf recovered and lunged again. Vale moved instantly. He planted one foot atop the wounded wolf's skull and launched himself upward, using the beast itself as a stepping stone. Midair, he drew his second blade in one fluid motion before landing atop the other creature's back.

For the briefest moment, he hesitated. His eyes opened beneath the mask. The wolf looked upward in a panic. Then Vale made his decision.

"Goodbye." His blade plunged downward through the creature's eye and deep into its skull. The body collapsed. Vale landed lightly beside the corpse as dust and blood drifted around him.

"One more," he muttered quietly. He straightened slowly and turned toward the final remaining beast. The wolf stared back at him warily now. Not with rage alone anymore, instead with fear. Vale raised one of his black blades and pointed it directly toward the creature.

"Are you ready, beast?"