Cataphracts, surviving in a world full of mods

"You're still the same as always... Then I'll give this sword to you. It's a waste for it to stay with me; I only have a few opportunities to use it a year."

"Then I'll accept it without hesitation. It'll be perfect to put it to use today."

After putting on his weapons and nodding slightly to Clautina, Tersolius put on the flamboyant and ornate eagle helmet, adjusted his double-layered chainmail and scale armor neck guards, and then walked towards the passage.

"Tesorius!"

Clautina's voice suddenly came, and he immediately turned his head.

The tall emperor, dressed in purple robes, paused for a moment, then a smile appeared on his handsome face.

"All is well and safe."

His laughter came from under his helmet, carrying a metallic vibration:

"All is well and safe."

........................

Amidst a storm of cheers, Thesolius, clad in heavy armor, entered the arena, while his opponent emerged from the opposite passage. This time, however, there were no boos or rotten leaves offered to him; instead, the people treated this traitor about to meet his death with silence.

The obese Arius wore custom-made armor that fit his bulky frame, and in his hands were a sharp sword and a spear, the only things the little man who had once trapped him in enemy territory could rely on in the end.

Without any unnecessary words, and with no interest in speaking to the dead... the instant the horn sounded, he raised his spear and walked straight toward his opponent.

The clash occurred in an instant; the thrusting spears carried a fierce wind and a power capable of splitting stone tablets.

The opponent was clearly overwhelmed. He barely managed to lift the spear shaft to block one of his heavy blows, but the sharp spear tip still tore through the chainmail visor under the heavy force, severing the leather straps that held the helmet in place and lifting the entire helmet high to reveal the panicked face.

His opponent was ridiculously weak...

Thesolius felt this deeply, but his men showed no mercy or carelessness. Arius was forced to retreat under his attacks, and his spear quickly broke in two under the immense force. He tumbled and rolled on the ground, trying to escape from the spear amidst panicked cries.

Spears pierced through like raindrops, the sounds of armor being torn apart and shattered were incessant, leather straps were precisely severed, and fine chainmail was ripped off the upper body.

He swung his spear and struck the man hard in the waist with the shaft, sending the fat man flying like a ball.

The spear he had found at the last minute could not withstand such a great force and broke in two from the middle. He casually threw it away and then gripped the golden sword at his waist.

When the obese man in front of him shakily stood up from the ground, his disheveled appearance was enough to make any beggar feel proud...

The cold light reflected from the gleaming blade brought the dizzy man back to his senses, and he subconsciously drew the long sword from his waist.

"Face me! Coward!!"

The roar of Tersolius was like a thunderclap. In the blink of an eye, the longsword in his hand drew an arc, and with a light shift of his weight, a circle of blood traced a semicircle on the ground along the tip of the sword.

A bewildered Arius stared blankly at the empty arena until his gaze suddenly shifted, and his upper body crashed heavily to the ground. The intense pain caused him to scream in agony.

His lower body convulsed on the ground like a fish, while his upper body was a meter away, with slimy internal organs and yellow fat flowing out, and the oozing blood quickly staining the yellow soil.

The screams grew increasingly piercing, while Tersolius slowly wiped the blood from his blade, then walked off the field without looking back, leaving behind only the shrill screams and overwhelming cheers that drowned out his presence.

P.S.: I've finally gotten to this point...

Chapter 107 Shadow (1)

Swords are such peculiar things... simply by polishing hard metal to a thin thickness, they can neatly separate things softer than themselves.

If it could be given a more rational structure, a more comfortable center of gravity, and an optimal weight, this weapon would be incredibly lethal when swung. A skilled and strong user could even cleave a human body in two.

The human body is so fragile; any hard object—or even something that doesn't need to be hard, just flexible enough—can kill. These deadly organs are all over the body; severing a single large blood vessel is enough to achieve the desired effect.

Beheading is one of the quickest ways to die; cutting open an artery causes too little pain; under current conditions, dismemberment at the waist is the most painful and degrading way to die...

Thesolius thought this with a cold rationality, his sword dripping with viscous blood, perhaps even the mucus of his internal organs.

He thought so and did it.

The severed abdominal aorta meant certain death in a short time, but he had enough time to struggle for a few more minutes. His still intact heart and lungs would desperately try to prolong his life, but each heartbeat would cause more blood to gush out, and each breath from his lungs would prolong his suffering.

Such pain is enough to destroy rationality and is a devastating torment to the mind. Losing one's lower body is enough to drive a weak person insane.

"Kill me!! Quickly...kill me!..."

Like a frog thrown into the desert, Arius, now only half-dead, frantically crawled and rolled on the ground. His thick blood clung to the yellow dust on the ground, solidifying into blackish-red grime, and his messy hair was stuck together in a clump... Such a tragic and shocking scene left many of the originally cheering audience members speechless, like geese being choked.

"This is what you deserve, don't be shy."

Grabbing a handful of yellow soil from the ground and smearing it on the blade, Thesolius walked back through the passage he had come from without looking back, leaving behind only the increasingly faint screams behind him.

As he took his sixth step, an even more intense cheer and applause erupted, sending the yellow dust from the ground flying into the air.

"Tesolius! Tesolius!! Tesolius!..."

………………

"A brilliant strike."

Thesolius bowed to the emperor who came to greet him, and his servants immediately stepped forward to clean the bloodstains and dust from his armor, polishing the plates until they shone brightly again.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I've made a terrible scene..."

Tersolius felt somewhat ashamed, knowing that his actions would certainly cause some unnecessary trouble, but he did not regret it, just as he had said: he deserved it.

"He deserves it, doesn't he?" The emperor's eyes held a cold glint. "Just the fact that he put my most important general in such a desperate situation... is enough to make him suffer all kinds of torture."

Tersolius chuckled, realizing once again that his relationship with the emperor was indeed very good, and that the emperor understood him so well.

“This is an opportunity, Your Majesty.”

"Don't worry, I've already made preparations."

"The aftermath of this incident..."

"That's no problem either, it's even easier than you thought."

"Has my elder brother arrived yet? I sent him a messenger before I set off."

"It should be soon...maybe in a little while, Christina went to find him..."

"I already told him before, he shouldn't do anything stupid... I think so."

The emperor and her general walked side by side, slowly departing up the steps. Their voices faded into the distance, and only after they left did the chill and dampness return.

--------------------------------

The entire empire is destined to experience a storm, and the starting point of this storm is this magnificent city. Now, a raging storm has already begun to sweep through the streets and alleys.

Almost everyone described what they had seen with a fanatical excitement, even though they had never actually entered the arena. They spoke as if they were standing in the center of the arena, their faces splattered with blood.

Whether it's the main streets or alleyways, even the dark alleys where beggars gather, everyone is talking about this.

Regardless of status, gender, or age, every citizen of the Empire was gripped by a strange fervor—a heroic drama that perfectly matched their aspirations was unfolding before their eyes, without a trace of falsehood, and ending decisively in a bloody manner.

The framed general broke through the encirclement and made great achievements. He returned to the empire to accuse the villains who had committed despicable acts. The shameless framing person was exposed and became the object of everyone's contempt. In the end, he died in the arena in an extremely tragic way.

Such a plot might seem cliché to many in a drama, but if it actually happened in front of them, it would be enough to ignite the emotions of any imperial citizen and drive them crazy.

The customers buying bread were whispering amongst themselves, and what they were talking about quickly caught the owner's attention. He then realized that he had heard this topic hundreds of times that day, and that everyone who bought bread for him mentioned it.

The patrons in the tavern were drinking ale with their friends, but they soon discovered that everyone in the tavern was talking about the same thing, and so a much more lively discussion ensued.

The beggars on the street noticed that the citizens were unusually generous today, and the soldiers were chasing them away less often. As a result, they easily obtained enough food to last a day. Satisfied, they returned to their huddled corners and, for once, had a moment of leisure. While exchanging information about the city with other beggars, they inevitably mentioned this incident...

Every corner, every person, every mouth is saying the same thing, as if they are under some strange curse, unable to talk about anything else.

Some say that Arius was cut in two from head to toe, and that General Thesolius's sword was not stained with a drop of blood until he turned away, at which point his two bodies fell to the ground, scattering entrails and blood everywhere.

Some say that General Tersolius beheaded his opponent with a single sword stroke, and that the large head even slid off after taking a couple of steps.

Some even claim to have witnessed Arius turn and run away, only to be pierced through the chest by a sword…

Everyone has a different version of this story, and every detail is different, starting from the battle in the Bone Basin and ending with the duel in the Third Arena... All sorts of accounts fill the city, making those who are trying to find the truth dizzy.

The only thing that can be confirmed is that the once powerful consul Arios did indeed die in the arena, killed by the very person he wanted to frame.

The news spread at an astonishing speed, even faster than the military could transmit orders, with countless people spontaneously joining in, causing the message to spread like a virus.

………………

This is a dark attic. The skylight that was originally used to let in light has been completely sealed off, so it never sees sunlight. Green mold grows in the damp corners, and all sorts of small insects are scattered in every corner, always giving an unexpected surprise to the unsuspecting person.

This place is completely unsuitable for living; it's barely enough to store miscellaneous items. Without a thorough cleaning, anything placed here will eventually turn into garbage.

In this harsh, dark, and damp place, there are now five people. They don't care about the terrible environment at all. They are wearing heavy black robes that cover their entire bodies, and even their faces are covered by cloth. Only two sinister eyes are visible through the gaps in the cloth.

The only source of light was a small mutton tallow lamp among them, its wick, made of cotton thread, flickering with a flame the size of a bean, dispelling the darkness that surrounded them, which was less than five feet in size.

The smallest of the men in black reached out and swatted a bug that had landed on his shoulder, squeezing out its sticky green entrails and staining the black fabric.

His brows, hidden beneath his headscarf, furrowed tightly. He shook his hands violently twice, then rubbed them against the nearby stone wall. Clearly, he was quite disgusted.

"Why do we have to choose this place to meet? There are more bugs here than stones on the ground. I'll step on three of them with every step I take."

"Of course, it's because this is the most secluded and safest place."

The burly man beside him spoke; even the wide black robe couldn't conceal his muscles. Though not tall, he was as solid as a rock.

“You know that the city’s garrison is not easy to deal with… They have a general who is more cunning than a fox, and apart from this area that was burned down by fire six months ago, no other place is safe enough… This house in the corner is naturally the most secluded.”

You're right.

The small, thin figure nodded:

"The garrison in this city is really troublesome. I almost got caught by them when I went out to pick up some goods the other day... Damn it, are they really just ordinary city garrisons? They're even more troublesome than the elite scouts in the front-line legions!"

"Don't forget that this is the capital of the empire."

The tallest figure stretched out his slender hand and turned the wick, making the light, which was about to go out, shine brightly again, with black ash mixed in with the melted mutton fat.

"I don't need to emphasize the uniqueness of this country. Even the army that maintains order in the city undergoes more training in a year than the average mercenary in Waldos... not to mention the veterans who retire from the legion, many of whom choose to join the garrison legion to make a living."

"So don't forget what I've been emphasizing—maintain absolute caution. If it's not necessary, preserve your identity and don't do anything unnecessary... We're not the only ones operating in the shadows in this city; beware of the emperor's henchmen..."

"Alright, Number One, stop with the nonsense. We're here because we have important news, not to chat."

The man of medium height was huddled up in a cramped corner of the attic, where he couldn't squat up straight. The annoying insects kept trying to crawl into his robes, so he had to find them one by one and kill them.

The person called Number 1 wasn't angered by the rude interruption. He simply took out a parchment from his pocket and spread it out on the damp floor:

"New orders have arrived. Everyone has their own tasks. Listen carefully..."

………………

"Once you've figured everything out, find a chance to leave. Remember not to attract attention. The emperor's henchmen are searching the entire city. If this city weren't so big that they couldn't search it all in a short time, I would never have summoned you at this time."