Emotionless Swordsmanship Genius

Chapter 11: Awakened Ability (2)

At the same time.

In the capital of the Rob Empire, Pontania. Inside the imperial palace.

“Is he alive?”

A smile spread across the face of Prince Merka. General Eugenia, who was calmly reporting the intelligence, nodded lightly and replied.

“Yes. We’ve received two reports. One indicated that he passed the test, and the other confirmed that he has passed the promotion exam.”

“That’s impressive. How did he survive in such a place?”

Prince Merka expressed genuine admiration. Even at his age, he was only a few years older than the subject of discussion.

He had managed to survive until the end in the gladiator training facility of Palemon, known as the “Ant Hell.”

“What will you do? Should we wait a bit longer before sending my subordinates…?”

“No. We need to go immediately.”

“Excuse me? Then I will prepare my subordinates right away.”

As Eugenia was about to step back, Prince Merka called him to a halt.

“Eugenia!”

When he turned to look, Prince Merka continued with a playful smile.

“Not my subordinates. I will go myself.”

“Your Highness! That is too dangerous.”

“What’s the problem with going with Eugenia? Gather a few trustworthy subordinates. I’ll leave as soon as we’re ready.”

“What will you do if His Majesty finds out about this?”

When Eugenia voiced his frustration, Prince Merka calmly smiled and patted Eugenia’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much. Right now, my father is too preoccupied with the northern campaign to care about me. I’ll get ready, so prepare as quickly as possible.”

“Your Highness!”

As Prince Merka quickly tried to return to his room, he paused, wearing a serious expression, and slowly turned back to Eugenia. Emphasizing his words, he said:

“This is not a request; it’s an order. General Eugenia.”

With that level of insistence, Eugenia had no choice. He knelt on one knee in submission.

“I will obey the order.”

* * *

Karon and Gletch, covered in the blood of their subordinates.

“You crazy bastard! What the hell did you do…?”

Swish!

As Gletch’s face twisted in disbelief, Karon threw the blood-soaked sword at him.

Instinctively, Gletch grabbed the hilt.

At the same time, Karon slipped back.

“Huh? What is this?”

Gletch looked at the sword and Karon, alternating in confusion.

At that moment, soldiers chatting as they descended the underground stairs spotted Gletch holding the sword.

Then they noticed the two bloodied subordinates sprawled on the floor.

“T-This crazy bastard! B-Betrayal! Gletch killed the subordinates!”

The soldiers turned and shouted as they rushed back up the stairs in a panic.

Karon, who had been hiding, quickly chased after them. The speed was on a different level compared to what he had shown before.

He was rushing for a reason.

There were two iron doors that needed to be passed through at the underground entrance. If even one of them was locked, the gladiators inside would be trapped.

Then everything would be over.

“Damn it! Gletch! Get a grip! We have to hurry and get out of here!”

The first gladiator to realize the urgency was Utallo. He drew the sword from the subordinate’s head and shouted while following Karon.

Only then did the other gladiators snap to attention and start following Utallo one by one.

“Damn it!”

Gletch gritted his teeth and followed. Even if he hadn’t killed them, they wouldn’t believe his words.

Even if they did, they might have to brace themselves for death.

The water had already spilled. It was now a matter of either fighting for survival or succumbing to death.

Meanwhile,

Karon, who had chased up to the soldiers, cleverly concealed himself behind their shadows.

Despite his quick movements, he was completely silent, giving no indication of his presence.

Moreover, the soldiers were too busy in a panic to notice Karon at all.

“The gladiators have revolted! Gletch killed a subordinate! Quickly, close the doors and ring the alarm!”

As two soldiers passed through the iron door, the doorkeeper prepared to shut it.

At that moment, Karon’s gaze met the doorkeeper’s for an instant, as if time slowed down.

“What…?”

The doorkeeper, stunned in disbelief, saw Karon’s foot approaching rapidly.

Whack!

“Ugh!”

Karon, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick, seized the fainted doorkeeper’s short sword.

To escape, he still had to pass through one more iron door.

Only then did the two soldiers, realizing Karon’s presence, draw their weapons.

Bolstered by Karon’s small stature, they turned to block the exit.

But Karon did not slow down. The moment he hesitated, it was clear he would be trapped.

“Die! You bastard!”

As the two blades aimed for Karon’s body, he was already dashing along the corridor wall.

Thwack!

Defying gravity, he soared over the soldiers’ heads and swung the short sword.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Blood spurted from both their necks and backs. Karon landed without a moment’s hesitation, shooting forward.

Ding ding ding ding!!

The sound of the alarm echoed through the underground passage.

Time was of the essence. Soon, he spotted the next iron door. But it was already almost closed.

However, Karon did not panic. He gripped the short sword, spinning it like a spear, and threw it.

Clang!

The short sword flew in a near-straight line and wedged perfectly between the iron door and the wall. Had he been even a second late, the door would have slammed shut.

Reaching the iron door quickly, Karon focused all his strength into his hands. He grasped the iron door and pushed it open with all his might.

It was a true display of strength.

Bang!

The door swung wide open, revealing a multitude of soldiers on the opposite side.

About ten subordinates and soldiers stared at Karon with blank expressions, unable to believe that such strength came from his small frame.

But soon, they began to approach him, exuding a murderous intent. They were emboldened by their numbers.

Karon picked up the short sword, never taking his eyes off them.

“Uwaah!”

“Kill him!”

In an instant, more than ten soldiers charged at Karon.

But this time, Karon retreated without hesitation. The corridor was narrow enough for about three people to stand side by side.

Suddenly, Karon stopped moving back. A thunderous shout came from behind him.

“Kill them all!”

“Clear them out!”

More than twenty gladiators, led by Gletch and Utallo, rushed in.

This time, it was not Karon who was stepping back but the soldiers, who were overwhelmed.

“F-Fall back for now!”

As the soldiers fled, Karon started running again. Utallo, who had just arrived, gaped at the scene unfolding at the exit.

It had only taken seconds for him to rejoin Karon. However, both iron doors were wide open, and several soldiers lay on the ground.

Watching Karon’s rapid advance, Utallo felt a vague hope that they might actually escape this place.

Just then,

Karon, who was about to head outside, suddenly stopped and shouted, pointing to the training supply room.

“Everyone, grab your shields!”

At his command, the gladiators rushed into the supply room and emerged with training wooden swords and shields.

They might not be real weapons, but for gladiators, they were enough to kill a person.

“We’re going out!”

As expected, Karon led the way once more.

The moment he stepped out onto the training ground, arrows flew from the second-floor terrace toward his back.

Karon felt it. He could sense the energy of the arrows reversing through the flow of air.

Karon pushed off with his toes, twisting his body as he leaped. Three arrows narrowly grazed past him.

On the second-floor terrace, three or four archers were just getting ready. If they were given more time, their numbers would double.

There were no stairs leading up from the first floor of the training facility to the second, designed to prevent gladiators from reaching the upper level.

Thus, the only way to reach the second floor was to pass through the heavily barred main entrance.

But Karon thought differently. He sheathed his short sword at his waist and dashed straight toward the training logs.

The gladiators who had emerged were mercilessly beating back the fleeing soldiers, using their shields to block the archers’ arrows.

Karon picked up the longest log and ran back toward the terrace.

“Stop that guy!”

The archers shot arrows at him, but Karon, hiding behind the log, felt no threat.

Thud!

Karon hoisted the log high and balanced it precariously against the railing on the second floor.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he lightly stepped onto the log as if performing acrobatics and jumped.

Thwack!

This was impossible without exceptional balance and decisiveness.

Once on the second-floor terrace, Karon quickly dispatched the archers with his short sword and dashed inside.

His movements, reminiscent of a butterfly, left the gladiators merely in awe.

No one dared to attempt climbing to the second floor by stepping on the log.

Boom—

At that moment, the heavy iron door at the training facility swung open, and elite soldiers in gray armor began to file in.

The sharp blades of swords and spears glinted menacingly in the light.

The gladiators who had taken control of the training ground swallowed hard as they watched.

“Half of you, block the entrance to prevent them from entering, and the other half, stack up the logs!”

At Utallo’s shout, the gladiators snapped back to attention, retrieving the weapons from the fallen soldiers to re-establish their formation.

Some began to set down their weapons and work hard to stack logs in front of the second-floor railing.

“Let’s show them the true power of a gladiator! Prepare to fight to the death! Urah!”

“Uwaah!”

With Gletch’s roar, the gladiators’ morale soared.

* * *

At the same time.

Ding ding ding ding!

Awakened by the alarm, Altanic hurriedly opened the door to see the supervisor rushing in.

His body was covered in scars like tattoos, and he wore light armor, with twin swords strapped to his back.

“What’s all this commotion about?”

With a frustrated expression, Altanic sat up on his bed. A female servant lay unconscious on the bed beside him.

“Master! You need to escape right now.”

“Escape? Where? Why are we escaping?”

“There’s been a rebellion among the gladiators, led by Gletch.”

As the supervisor spoke, Altanic’s expression turned incredulous, and he tilted his head in confusion.

“Gletch? He wouldn’t do something like that…”

He stood up, chugged the water from the bottle on his desk, and suddenly shouted as if he had just remembered something.

“And we can just close the underground exit, right?!”

“That’s… already been breached up to the first floor.”

As the supervisor hesitated, Altanic’s face contorted with anger.

“Goddamn it! What were the soldiers doing?”

“The guards are all dead, and we just sent in the elite soldiers from the separate unit. Still, just in case, you should—”

Bang!

Unable to contain himself any longer, Altanic slammed his hand on the desk. What mattered to him now was not safety.

He was angrier about the humiliation of being a city official.

“Escape my ass! Hmph! I’ll go out to the podium! These worthless bastards! After feeding and housing them, they dare betray me? I need to witness their end myself. Those bastards! Do you have any idea how I raised you?!”

“It’s dangerous. They might have already reached the second floor.”

“Hmph! How could they?!”

Though he said that, a slight unease crept over Altanic.

Listening to the supervisor’s words, he had a vague thought that they might have reached the second floor.

If they could breach the first floor, how could they not get to the second?

But fleeing in shame was out of the question. Suddenly, he thought of Tripolas, who was currently in the annex.

“By the way, where’s Captain Batiah?”

“I’ve sent word to the annex, so he should arrive soon.”

At that, Altanic sighed in relief internally. He then confidently stepped forward and opened the door.

“Then there’s nothing to worry about! Lead the way!”

“You should still escape first…”

As the supervisor tried to block him, Altanic pushed him roughly aside in irritation.

“Ugh! Get out of my way, you fool! A man shouldn’t be so cowardly!”

As soon as he stepped outside, what awaited him was an astonishing sight: a boy covered in blood, standing with a short sword.

“Ugh! What the hell is that? How did he get up here?”

Altanic flinched and took a step back. Only then did the supervisor notice Karon and grimace as he stepped outside.

“Step back. Master.”

He stepped in front of Altanic, drawing the twin swords from his back and glaring at Karon.

His expression and vacant eyes gave no indication of his thoughts.

Though he looked weak, strangely enough, he seemed to have no glaring weaknesses.

“Could it be… that you orchestrated this?”

Marcus’s tone had grown icy.

The panic he had shown moments before had vanished, replaced by a ferocious bloodlust that began to engulf the space around them.

His muscles bulged, and the scars covering his body writhed as if alive.

Yet Karon remained indifferent, alternating his gaze between the two. He then slowly opened his mouth towards the supervisor.

“Move aside… if you don’t want to die.”

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