Inside the arena.
A tall, muscular barbarian warrior stood, wearing a pitch-black bear-hide armor. In each hand, he held a vine-wrapped ironwood shield and a spear, his exposed, rough arms covered in scars, marking him as a battle-hardened fighter.
In contrast, the other figure appeared much slimmer—a young woman, barely twenty, wearing a tattered blood-red short armor. Her right wrist was bound to a long iron chain, which in turn was anchored to a wooden stake beside the arena. In her left hand, she wielded a wooden stick, her slender form and flowing hair clearly indicating her gender.
"What's wrong?" Kent noticed Water Stream's tense expression.
"That girl… she's one of my people," Water Stream said through clenched teeth.
Kent furrowed his brows, glancing at Splitting Blade before looking back into the center of the arena.
Splitting Blade nodded, giving a quick signal to his left and right, and the guards subtly spread out.
With a muffled shout, the barbarian warrior sprang forward, legs pushing off the ground, his spear already aiming straight at the woman in a lightning-fast move. The spear's black tip flashed, seeming to split into several afterimages in midair, each aimed precisely at her vitals.
In an instant, the woman effortlessly sidestepped, dodging what looked like a deadly blow from the spear.
As they passed, the barbarian warrior couldn't retract his movement in time and suddenly felt a heavy blow to the back of his head. The wooden stick in her hand came down like a hammer, smashing into his skull. Despite his ironclad body, the strike brought the warrior crashing to the ground.
The warrior quickly regained composure, striking the ground with his shield for support as he twisted in mid-air, his spear sweeping horizontally in an arc toward her wooden stick. However, the expected clash against her armor never came.
A cold chill ran through the warrior's heart as he swiftly raised his shield for protection. The whistle of her stick came from his left side as he dodged and rolled forward, quickly distancing himself from her range and ending up near the chain on the ground.
Ecstatic, the barbarian grabbed the chain, yanking it hard, causing the woman to be pulled toward him. He roared, thrusting his spear straight toward her.
Suddenly, pain exploded in his head, stars bursting across his vision.
The second blow to his head made him tear up involuntarily as he stumbled backward, rolling to the side to regain his footing. Years of training helped him reflexively shield himself as he blindly thrust his spear back to block any further attack. As he positioned his shield, the woman didn't give him any respite, charging low toward the warrior.
"You're done!" he thought triumphantly, gathering all his strength and unleashing a flurry of spear attacks that transformed into a rain of strikes, entirely covering the approaching woman's silhouette.
But at the last moment, before his assured victory, his grip loosened, and the spear clattered to the ground.
A wave of killing intent crashed into him like a wall.
Whoosh—
The tip of the stick barely grazed his forehead, followed by a sharp metallic clank from the iron chain.
The taut chain prevented the woman's final strike from hitting him.
The barbarian understood that if not for the chain binding her, that fatal blow would have turned his skull to mush.
A chorus of gasps erupted from the audience, followed by whistles and cheers.
"The slave girl wins! Blood Hammer claims victory!" bellowed the red-bearded dwarf announcer outside the ring.
She had won.
The woman, breathing heavily, was about to lower her weapon when a sudden force wrenched the stick from her grasp.
The barbarian's face twisted in rage as he gripped her stick, swinging his ironwood shield in a wide arc. Unable to dodge, the woman was sent flying backward.
Whizz—
Ahhh—
The crowd had barely registered what had happened when the barbarian warrior raised his arm in pain, a guttural roar escaping him as his ironwood shield clattered to the ground. Another figure had appeared in the arena, cradling the unconscious woman.
Another woman!
The audience surged forward, excitement and curses blending into a wave of sound. Beauty against the beastly figure—a rare sight in any arena.
But Kent noticed a burly, red-haired figure in the opposite stands. The man stood up sharply, his gaze hungry and fixed on Water Stream.
The de facto ruler of the Blood Hammer camp and second-in-command of the Bloodstone family, Blood Hammer himself.
Water Stream checked the woman in her arms, relieved to find she was merely unconscious and otherwise unharmed. Crouching like a wolf, she glared at the barbarian warrior across from her.
"Boss, that guy is done for," Splitting Blade muttered.
Those who had seen Water Stream's skills knew this was a prelude to her lethal strike. As the leader of Blood Rose, she'd already made up her mind to kill.
The barbarian warrior shook his head, his temper rising at the blows to his head and arm, which had caused him to lose his ironwood shield. Furious, he picked up his spear and lunged at Water Stream.
Boom, boom, boom—
The warrior's body was sent flying back, Water Stream sticking close to him. Her fists rained down on his chest and head in rapid succession like a downpour, reducing the warrior's upper body to a bloody pulp in an instant.
Silence fell over the stands before exploding into frenzied cheers.
Water Stream flicked the blood off her hands in disgust before turning to pick up the unconscious woman.
Clank, clank…
The chain shackling her wrist prevented her from taking the woman away.
"Stop! Who are you?" shouted the red-haired man from the stands. "Think you can take my slave? You'll have to pay for that."
"Slave?" Water Stream sneered. "How did a living person become your slave?"
"Are you here to cause trouble?" The red-haired man looked her up and down, evaluating the woman before him. Judging from her earlier moves, she was likely an assassin—probably part of a new adventurer party, unfamiliar with the northern lands and the rules. He sneered, "Trying to form a women's group like Blood Rose, are you? Well, if that's the case, you'll need to castrate all your male companions!"
Laughter broke out among the crowd.
"Yes, you got it exactly right."
Water Stream chuckled softly.
"I am Blood Rose."