thought for a few minutes, then continued, ”If
that is the case, I’ll prepare a porch filled with chicken blood.
When you strike my armor, the chicken blood under the armor will
Gladiators
split. I will then lie on the ground, pretend to be killed. When they
abandon me at the disposer chamber, I will be a free man again.”
“Good idea”,said Zing.
Amighty creak sounded and their friendly squire, Durum, appeared.
He unlocked the doors and brought them breakfast. They
ate in silence.
After they were done, Durum strapped Eric’s large breastplate
onto his broad back. It seemed light. Then he strapped on Eric’s
leg plate and gave Eric his helmet. Durum handed Eric his
huge shield and arm guard, then left for Zing. While the squire
helped Zing, Eric stretched.
At 9:10, the gladiators started to warm up at the yard. They
marched, trotted or ran, all decided by Roan and his whip.
At 10:00, Roan taught the gladiators armed with halberds and
polearms deadly slicing moves. He taught the halberdiers that their
arms were long and therefore, took that advantage and tried to be
agile. These gladiators were given little armors and must dance
around, cracking at their opponents’leak in armors. They practiced
how to pierce the toughest armors. Then, Roan asked them to
practice hand to hand fighting.
Eric watched in amazement as the halberds and polearms
sliced at each other, seemingly everywhere at once, forming a
shield around the gladiators.
Roan moved to gladiators armed with club and ax and taught
them the ways of the heavy weapons. He told them, “You have
heavy armors like castles. Try to wield your heavy weapons to protect
your few weak spots. Your weapons are deadly and will crack
your enemy’s armor if you can hit him. ”The students practiced,
wielding their clumsy weapons in rage.
Then Roan taught the ranged gladiators their weapons, ”
Bows and arrows are deadly, but ranged gladiators wear no armors.
Against halberdiers, you just have to stay out of their way；against
axmen, try to shoot at their weak spots；against swordsmen,
stay away the best you can and shoot at their weak spots.“ Then
the ranged gladiators started practicing.
Finally, he came to Zing and Eric’s group. Swordsmen were
halfway between axmen and halberdiers. Unlike the halberdiers,
they had armors. But their armors were medium heavy, therefore
more agile than that of the axmen. Their swords could be waved
around at super fast speed. Roan told them, ”Against axmen, wait
and dodge their first blow. Before your enemy is getting ready for
the second blow, strike at him and try to penetrate his armor. Against
ranged gladiators, use your shield until your enemy is out of
arrows, then move in for the kill. Against halberdiers, use your
sword to parry the enemy’s blows, or use your shield to block the
enemy and try to get close to them, because you will have the advantage
at close range.”
At lunch, Eric and Zing met a boy named Jan Windgall, a
Carthaginian captured two month ago in Macedonian. He was also
a swordsman. The three became quick friends.
Jan gave them a few tips,“Don’t mess with that guy, ”he
pointed at a huge man named Acul,“He is a big bull, and try to
make everyone’s life as bad as possible.
When Zing was getting more olives, Acul decided to show
the newcomers his power. He yelled at Zing to move aside. Zing
refused. Acul yanked his plate and dumped all the olives onto
Zing. Caucus, the bully’s follower, laughed loudly.
Watching this, Eric and Jan ran up to the bullies and surrounded
Acul and Caucus. The five gladiators started to fight.
After about twenty minutes with no obvious side winning,
Roan, who had been watching the whole time, broke them up, told
themnot to fight like that.
“You could kill someone, ”he patted their backs,“You could
First battle
do that. Just don’t hurt each other. ”
At the daily skirmish, Eric and his friends dressed in blue.
They have 23 swordsmen, 21 heavy weapon men, 15 marksmen
and 26 halberdiers. Their enemy, the red team had Acul and 19
other swordsmen, a full 26 marksmen, Caucus and other 17 axmen
and 23 halberdiers.
ZinggatheredEric andJan,“Let’s
kill them.”Thetrionodded.
The skirmish began. Men on both sides fell when they
were hit. The trio mobbed Acul. Eric and Jan pinned him down
and Zing brought down a killing blow. Acul screamed in agony
and died.
They finished Caucus the same way.
The red side still won because their marksmen rained arrows
at them. The mock battle was done. Two dead bodies lay on the
battle field.
The trio were scolded but not punished at all. Roan claimed
that they had to be cruel to be good gladiators.
At four, all the gladiators started running toward a run down
shack. Jan was rushing to the shack too. Eric caught up and asked
what was going on. Jan said,“Just run as fast as you can.”
When Eric’s turn in the long line came, he got massaged. It
felt good.
After dinner, Jan told his friends his cabin number, 121, right
next door to Zing. They chatted and practiced. Then, they went to
Zing’s chamber.
At 7:00, Roan prepared them for a 10 mile long march around
the city. People laughed and jeered at them while they continued
their hard march.
Just in front of the gladiator school entrance, Eric heard his
name called. It was familiar, but he couldn’t think of whom it belonged to.
Roan herded him into the school before he could find out.
That night, when he was about to go to bed, his door was
opened by Durum. A girl was standing there, smiling at him. It was
Searching for the Lover
Siri! Her black hair over her pretty eyes, she rushed forwards and
fell into Eric’s arms.
“Eric,” She cried with joy,“I can’t believe you are still alive.”
Eric fumbled her soft hair and asked,“How did you find me here？”
Siri said, “My bother saw you in front of the gladiator school.”
She continued, “After the war, I went to Carthage to see you
but they told me you had died. I went to the battle field of Zama in
hope that you were only captured. They told me you had died too.
I was so sad and sailed back to Rome...
“My brother told me that you are a gladiator here in Rome.
It’s hard to believe. I persuade the nice squire to let me in, and
here you are, safe and sound. ”
This girl was giving her heart to a gladiator who might die any
day. Eric kissed her eyes and said,“But Imaydie tomorrow...”
Siri stopped himand hold himtighter.
Not long after Siri moved to Rome with her family, she had
heard the news of Hannibal’s great defeat.
Roman soldiers paraded in front of her house, but Siri’s mind
was not on the parade. Her world fell down on top of her and her
 
; heart screamed Eric.
She asked everybody coming back from Carthage and inquired
every details about the battle. Eric was in the junior elites,
one of the major participants of the battle!
The battle was intense and complicated. At first, Hannibal’s
Gauls and barbarians defeated the Roman green hands and push
forward. Then, the Roman cavalry defeated Hannibal’s Nubian
horsemen and war elephants, chasing them for miles and miles. As
the Roman veterans defeated the Gauls and battled Hannibal’s
veterans, the Roman cavalry started to massacre the Nubian horsemen.
As the Carthaginian veterans defeated the Roman veterans
and battled the Roman elites, the Roman cavalry started to head
back to aid their ally. As the Roman elites defeated the Carthaginian
veterans but was pushed by Hannibal’s elites to a breaking
point, the Roman cavalry attacked fromboth flanks.
Hannibal’s elites and junior elites were completely surrounded
and almost completely wiped out, since many refused to surrender.
There were plenty of veteran and Gaul prisoners but little
elites or junior elites prisoner.
Ten to one Eric got killed. Siri packed her belongings with
tears in her eyes. She decided to head for Africa to check the prisoner
in war camps.
She arrived on the coast of Africa, and landed right next to
the battle field. To her horror, thousands of bodies lay dead on the
ground. She could see wolves feasting on the decaying flesh of the
casualties, and hear the hooting of owls.
She headed north all day, and reached a Roman controlled
port. A stupid soldier guarded the gate. He wasn’t supposed to let
anyone who couldn’t prove to be a Roman step in.
Siri, who left home in a hurry, did not bring her proof. But a
light peck on the man’s cheek did its job, and he let her in. She
consulted the governor on the prisoner of war list.
“And what did you say the name of your boyfriend was？”
“Eric, Eric Aldon. ”
“Sorry, Madam, no Aldon here. I should say, General Scipio
Killed so many of them, there isn’t any Carthaginian junior elite left.”
About a month after Siri’s visit, the gladiatorial contest began.
At 9:00, the gladiators marched into the sunny center of the
mighty arena.
The editor of the games was sitting in the front row seat. He was known
As ”Bloody Heracles“ because he never let go of any