Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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"ARRRRG!"

/BAM!/

Fueled by rage and pain, the burly man swung his large hammer down, hitting the ground with great intensity, raising dust into the air!

/Swoosh/

But due to the man's lack of ability and clear telegraphed movement, Dale sidestepped through his swing, moving to his back before kicking the back of his knee, causing him to fall.

/GRUNT!/

His massive pain caused him to almost fall, he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

/Hustle…/

Meanwhile, the man with the net threw it towards Dale, not caring if it fell atop his companion or not.

The only thing that mattered here was his survival, the others could die for all he knew.

As long as Dale was restrained by the rope, everything would be fine.

"..."

'A flimsy rope bound by metal weights...'

With his current abilities, Dale couldn't push the net away without causing some suspicions, at least not without a long weapon such as his spear.

Regardless, with his great reaction speed, jumping out of harm's way was easy.

However, due to the limited strength he could employ, his legs still ended up caught.

/Thud…/

Dale jumped to the side, falling onto the ground as he evaded most of the net.

/PIERCE!/

But it was at that moment the other man swung his morning star at Dale's head, wishing to deal the finishing blow as it drew a wide arc in the air!

Even with Dale's hidden abilities, being hit by one of those spikes would leave behind quite considerable injuries, especially if it hit his head dead center.

The helmet would do little to protect him against it.

It would be best avoided, which was exactly what he did.

He rolled on the ground, unfortunately causing the net to tangle even further, not completely restraining his legs but still getting in his way.

Taking this chance, the man with the spear pushed it forth against Dale's chest, but what he did after surprised him.

With extreme precision, Dale evaded the spear thrust, causing the spear to brush against his left pauldron, grabbing onto its shaft before jumping forward, carrying the weight of the net behind him as he invaded the man's space.

/SLAM!/

He brutally slammed his metal helmet against his face, dealing heavy blunt damage and forcibly robbing his spear as the man fell back.

/SWING!/

But he had no time to breath as the air whistled behind him, another strike was coming!

/Swush!/

/PIERCE!/

"GHA!..."

In a movement that left the entire arena baffled in surprise and awe, Dale evaded the morning star's clumsy blow, raising his spear diagonally backward, as if he were lifting a pole.

By predicting where his opponent's body would be based on the sound and the size of the morning star, Dale accurately managed to pierce his throat by doing nothing but moving his spear slightly.

/Thud!/

The man whose throat now bled heavily fell to the side, clutching onto the spear as shock and disbelief plastered across his face.

But Dale saw nothing of that as he took his chance to untangle his legs from the net, it wasn't difficult, given he only rolled around a little.

/Thud…/

"Urg… Huff…"

At that moment, something incredible happened. The big guy who had been stabbed in the stomach got up from his kneeling position, his hammer still in hand.

/Step…/

Behind him, the man with no weapons rose from the ground. He momentarily touched his face before spitting some blood on the ground.

It was now a 2v1… Kind of…

The big dude with the hammer had a spear lodged in his stomach while the other one had no weapons… His now being deep inside his companion's throat.

/Grab…/

Before anything could happen, Dale crouched and grabbed the morning star.

/Dash!/

With the morning star now in hand, Dale dashed… Backward!

He knew the burly man was running on fumes, so why fight him?!

Instead, he went after the man with no weapons, causing him to take a step back in fear and shock, almost stumbling back due to how sudden Dale's movements were.

In the stone benches, the audience screamed at the man, telling him to run away and fetch a weapon, amidst other nonsensical tips.

Right now, the man had only one thing in mind.

/Turn around… Run!/

The man tried to run, but Dale knew that a pursuit across the arena wouldn't appease the audience, which may cause the Sovereigns to pull some strings and make things difficult…

So he needed to do something quickly…

/BAM!/

But before he could do such a thing, the man fell, tripping on an old, ripped net buried underneath the sand.

'What an unfortunate fool' Dale thought in silence as he went after him.

The entire arena was full of old and dirty pieces like that, it was cleaned daily but it was already quite far in the day, and dozens of fights had already gone by, leaving behind who knew how many things on the sand.

There were also many fragments scattered underneath the sand, some of them dating years already…

"N-No… P-Please I…"

The man gagged violently as he tried to crawl away from Dale, begging for mercy.

This sight was something that made his blood cold. Dale had killed people before, but not this coldly…

Not that it changed anything, the circumstances may be different but the goal was the same, they wanted to kill him, they had to, and he needed to execute them also, otherwise, he wouldn't live either.

He raised his morning star towards the man, with him raising his hand as if it was going to stop his blow…

Mumbling a dozen things in an incomprehensive tone, Dale swung it down, singing a prayer deep inside his mind as he kept his eyes open wide.

There was no point in trying to flee from the weight of his actions, this wasn't the first, nor would it be the last.

Many more would be butchered on his path, he couldn't falter now.

/SPLAT!/

Not taking another glance at the man, he turned around, looking at the armored man with the hammer and shield… He had not taken a single step forward.

Unfortunately, Dale was right, with a spear so deep in his stomach, even being able to stand was a miracle.

Driven purely by rage and a faint, dying glimpse of hope for his life, the man remained in place, but unable to follow after Dale and help his companion live.

Had he been able to, he wouldn't done everything in his power to help him as that would've increased his chances considerably, but now… He had a grim expression on his face.

/Step…/

/Silence…/

As Dale approached the man with his bloodied morning star, the man saw what would likely be the last moments of his life.

He thought about many things but voiced nothing, he knew what he had done to be here, he was only saddened that he wouldn't be able to make up for it.

"Huff… Death…"

If there was a messenger of Death, then would it look like Dale? The man did not know…

He tossed his shield aside, it now possessed him little to no value.

Unable to move his feet, his shield was essentially useless against the morning star.

/Raise…/

His vision somewhat blurred as his adrenaline spike came to an end, the man raised his hammer, ready to swing it one last time.

He still had energy to swing down, but maybe that was the adrenaline talking...

/Step/

The moment Dale stepped within his range, the man swung his hammer down with everything he had, screaming loudly as he poured every ounce of his remaining strength onto the strike.

/SWOOSH!/

"HORRAAAA!!!"

/Shaa…/

But he hit nothing…

/Thud/

He collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily as his vision darkened due to his face now being in the sand.

The man had miscalculated, Dale wasn't within his range, he hadn't even tried to evade his attack.

He just remained there, standing still… That was what the audience saw.

/Raise…/

Dale prepared his own finishing blow as well.

/SWOOSH!/

/SPLAT!/

""...""

/Silence…/

The arena was in complete silence.

Complete destruction.

What began as a somewhat equal fight where Dale was pushed around, being even tangled with ropes and thrown on the ground at the mercy of his enemies... All led to their deaths and no damage to him whatsoever.

The audience didn't quite know how to react, it had been quite a long time since they had seen such a slaughter where the gladiators didn't even clash their weapons once.

While some felt disgusted, others exclaimed in anger, dissatisfied and disgruntled at their massive losses.

This was meant to be a sure win! How come they lost?!

Yet, a singular few sighed in relief... Those that liked to bet against the Odds, weren't they quite pleased today? They made quite the sum!

They clapped at Dale from afar, it was an excellent fight, a tactical one, but still a fight.

There was a lot of Skill in the places beyond the eyes of the common folk.

Anyhow, Dale could tell, even from afar, that things were escalating badly… The difference between the pleased and displeased people was far too great.

He knew, given he made a Death Challenge, that if this went on for too long, someone else would make the decision for him.

So if he wanted to act, it had to be now.

He walked to the center of the arena, raising his head to face the Sovereign's seat, saying:

"I WOULD LIKE TO DECLARE A BEAST HUNT FOR MY FINAL CHALLENGE!!"

Dale dropped his head and touched his chest, this was the procedure for showing respect in these lands, it meant something along the lines of "surrendering their necks" and "showing one's trust" to those above them.

"..."

His expression changing a little, the Sovereign seemed to smile, even if momentarily.

The more he saw him, the more he liked this particular fighter, he would do well as a gladiator.

Unfortunately… He had to declare a beast hunt…

Now there was nothing he could do.

"I permit it." The man declared, his voice ringing out throughout the arena

It was almost ethereal, a supernatural form of power seemed to unnaturally extend the reach of his speech...

"Prepare the warriors, bring the beasts!"

"IT'S TIME FOR A BEAST HUNT!" The Sovereign said out loud as he raised his hands

/CHEERS!/

The crowd exploded with energy, drowning the displeased audience in screams and claps.

This was what he wanted to see, to have the people move on from a loss to the next one.

Distracting them was the best to suck their pockets out of gold.

And besides that, this time, everyone would be able to win, or would they?

The Sovereign was thinking if it was sensible to open a betting round for a match that was all too obvious… But in the end, he did.

Because he wished and believed that true champions were those who defied what others thought impossible.

…

/Later…/

A few minutes passed, but Dale did not waste any time, there was little to say, little to think.

He only moved forward, his thoughts in the moment rather then in the future.

He walked around the arena, picking up the pieces of equipment he could find, and putting them up in a pile for him to use.

A group of people entered the arena, they beelined to the corpses of the warriors, pulling them back into the darkness behind the gates.

They left their equipment behind, maybe as a gift to Dale. Who knows?

Whatever it was, Dale was happy to have his items.

/Crunk…/

At this moment, the gates began to rise, and two people stepped from within.

The beginning of the end of his time as a slave.

It was time to Hunt a monster.

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Notes