Chương 335: Impossible odds

Vale drew a slow, measured breath beneath the obsidian mask as he stood before the towering gates of the colosseum. The cheers beyond the stone echoed through the ancient corridors, a thunderous roar muffled only by the immense slabs separating him from the arena. His fingers rested against the weathered stone, and for a brief moment he remained perfectly still, his thoughts drifting far from the coming battle.

'Will I see them here?' The question lingered in his mind. Would Drago be watching? Would Ares? Korin? Perhaps even Nym... Or would every familiar face simply become another spectator waiting to witness his execution? Vale exhaled slowly. Whatever awaited him beyond those gates, there was no turning back now. Planting both hands firmly against the colossal doors, he pushed. Every muscle in his body tightened beneath the leather and steel of his armor.

Veins stood out along his forearms as the enormous slabs resisted him before finally giving way with a deafening groan. hinges screamed in protest while stone scraped against stone, sending vibrations through the corridor. Dust rained from the archway overhead as the gates slowly parted. Sunlight flooded through the widening gap. Golden rays washed over Vale's armor, causing the polished steel to shimmer brilliantly. Yet despite the brilliant light... No shadow stretched behind him.

The instant he stepped into the arena, the silence lasted only a heartbeat. Then the entire colosseum exploded.

"LIONHEART!!"

"LIONHEART!"

"LIONHEART!!" The deafening chant rolled through the stadium like crashing waves. Tens of thousands of spectators leapt to their feet, fists raised high into the air as they welcomed the masked gladiator they had admired for so long. To them, he was no prisoner. He was no criminal. He wasn't even Vale. He was Lionheart. Nothing more. Nothing less. A faint smile formed beneath the obsidian mask.

He slowly turned his head, taking in the immense circular arena and the sea of cheering faces surrounding him from every direction. Their excitement was genuine. Their admiration loyal.

'They all want me to win...' The thought almost made him laugh. If only they knew who stood beneath the mask they celebrated so passionately. The irony was almost amusing. His smile lingered only a moment before fading completely. His attention shifted forward. Three opponents waited for him. The largest stood at the center, a mountain of a man whose broad shoulders nearly rivaled the size of the hammer resting casually across one shoulder.

His muscles bulged beneath the pristine blue uniform of an Enforcer Commander, and every movement suggested crushing physical strength. He looked less like a soldier and more like a siege weapon given human form. Standing several paces to his right was a scarred woman only slightly shorter than Vale himself. Her dark hair had been tied into a long ponytail that reached halfway down her back, while countless faded scars crossed her face and exposed arms like reminders of battles survived.

A longspear rested across her back, though twin swords already hung at her waist. She carried herself with confidence. The third was the smallest. A young blonde woman with calm blue eyes stood several paces behind the other two, an elegant bow already resting comfortably in her hands. Unlike her companions, there was no aggression in her expression. She simply watched Vale with quiet patience, her posture perfectly relaxed, like a hunter who had already accepted that her prey would eventually expose a weakness.

Her composure unsettled him more than the giant's fury or the swordswoman's confidence. Vale studied each of them in silence, carefully memorizing their stance, posture, breathing, and the subtle way they positioned themselves around one another. They weren't simply three powerful fighters, they moved like people who had fought together for years. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"I assume..." he said at last, his voice echoing calmly through the arena, "... you are the opponents I have to defeat today." The giant commander answered with a contemptuous snort. The moment Vale finished speaking, he leveled his enormous war hammer directly at him, fury already burning across his broad face.

"If you think we're showing mercy to a criminal like you, you're dead wrong!" His voice thundered across the colosseum.

"You're nothing but filth! Don't forget that!" Vale merely tilted his head. Instead of answering, he looked past the three commanders toward the elevated platforms reserved for Irea's highest-ranking officials. His eyes swept across the rows until they found the two men he had been searching for. Siegfried and Lucias. Both watched from the royal viewing platform, as though the battle about to unfold were little more than entertainment. Neither spoke. Siegfried simply gave the faintest shake of his head.

The signal had been given. Vale slowly turned away from the platform, letting his gaze drift across the arena until it settled upon another familiar figure. Wolf. The king sat comfortably among the honored spectators, his scarred face stretched into the same infuriating grin Vale had come to despise. Even from this distance, Vale could feel those golden eyes studying him, waiting to see whether he would break. When he finally looked back toward the commanders, every trace of amusement had vanished.

"No," he said, his voice colder than steel.

"You are the filth." The arena fell silent.

"You serve those who abuse the very people you swore to protect." One hand settled loosely around the hilt of his sword.

"You call me a criminal..." His gaze sharpened beneath the mask.

"... yet you obey monsters without ever questioning them." The giant commander exploded with rage. A thick vein bulged across his forehead as his grip tightened around the massive hammer.

"I'll take center!" he growled.

"You two stay back." Without another word, he began advancing. Every heavy step shook the arena floor, stone cracking beneath his boots as clouds of dust rose around him. By the time he stopped only a few meters away, the spectators had fallen almost completely silent. Towering over Vale, he rested the head of his hammer beside him and looked down with open contempt.

"Ready to be crushed, insect?" Vale looked up at him only once before a nervous grin slowly appeared beneath his mask.

"No." The match began. The hammer didn't swing so much as it fell like a collapsing mountain. It came crashing toward Vale with terrifying speed, carrying enough force to flatten the arena beneath it. Vale reacted, his body blurring sideways just as the weapon slammed into the stone. The explosion shook the entire colosseum. Dust erupted in every direction while fractures raced across the arena floor, and even spectators high in the stands felt the violent tremor beneath their feet.

'Can't let that touch me...' Vale landed lightly several meters away, but instinct immediately screamed at him. Someone was already behind him. He spun just as steel flashed toward his ribs.

"You're open." The scarred commander had already closed the distance. Her blade swept toward his side, and Vale barely managed to draw his own sword in time. Steel collided with steel, sparks bursting between them as the sheer force behind her strike sent him skidding backward across the arena. He hadn't even recovered when another sound reached him. Twang. An arrow.

'Not good.' Still sliding across the stone, Vale twisted his body. The arrow passed so close to his mask that he felt the wind brushing across the side of his face before it disappeared into the wall behind him. His boots dug into the arena floor, finally stopping his momentum. Only for another threat to appear. The spear tore through the air like a bolt of lightning. Vale barely saw it in time.

Pure instinct launched him upward as the weapon screamed beneath him and buried itself deep inside the arena wall with enough force to shake the surrounding stone. He hadn't even landed before a massive shadow engulfed him.

"Disappointingly slow." The giant was already there. A colossal kick slammed directly into Vale's abdomen. Air exploded from his lungs as agony ripped through his body, launching him across the arena. He skipped violently across the stone before bouncing back into the air. Gritting his teeth, Vale stopped fighting the momentum and used it instead. Twisting mid-flight, his hands darted toward the daggers at his abdomen. Two blades flew. The scarred commander reacted instantly.

Her swords crossed once in two blinding flashes, shattering both daggers into fragments before they could reach her. Vale hadn't been aiming for her. He only needed time. His second sword slid free the instant his feet touched the ground. Without hesitation, he rushed forward, but another arrow was already racing toward him from behind. Perfect. At the last possible moment, Vale planted one foot and pivoted sharply. The arrow whistled past his shoulder and continued directly toward the advancing swordswoman.

She clicked her tongue and abandoned her attack to evade her own ally's shot. Vale lunged. Their swords collided in a shower of sparks, steel ringing across the arena as they exchanged blows with astonishing speed. Every strike she made flowed seamlessly into the next without wasting even the smallest movement, forcing Vale to match her rhythm blow for blow. Then her stance shifted. A wide horizontal slash swept toward him. At the same instant, the sky darkened.

Vale glanced upward just in time to see an entire volley of arrows descending overhead.

"Damn it..." He threw himself backward, narrowly escaping both the sweeping blade and the rain of arrows that peppered the ground where he had stood moments before. His mind raced.

'Their teamwork is incredible.' The giant forced him into predictable movement. The swordswoman punished every opening he created, while the archer eliminated every safe avenue of escape. Each perfectly compensated for the weaknesses of the others, creating constant pressure that never gave him time to recover. Individually, none of them would have been an unbeatable opponent. Together... They were. Instinct screamed again.

'Behind you' Vale barely had time to turn before the giant's hoarse laughter boomed above him.

"Oh? Forgetting someone?" The hammer descended once more. Panic surged through his body. He abandoned any thought of counterattacking and threw himself sideways with every ounce of strength he possessed just before the weapon struck. The impact shattered the arena floor, and the shockwave alone hurled him several more meters across the stone. Vale slid to a stop, breathing heavily as sweat rolled beneath his mask.

His heartbeat thundered in his ears while, across the arena, the three commanders calmly regrouped without exchanging a single word, effortlessly reforming their flawless formation. Vale tightened his grip around both swords and steadied his breathing, never taking his eyes off them.

'This is bad...'