48 Hours a Day

After Zhang Heng congratulated him, everyone fell into silence, and a burst of cheers broke out at the training ground entrance.

Bach’s companion, the five Germanic, were cheering loudly.

If someone told them before the competition that they would be excited over Bach’s victory, they probably wouldn’t have believed it. To them, Bach was supposed to win this battle.

But after witnessing this arduous battle with their own eyes, they would never have such a thought in their minds anymore, especially after seeing Bach enduring a “hard fight” and never gave up. He tenaciously chose to face his opponent’s intensive attacks again and again. In the end, they assumed that he had found Zhang Heng’s weakness and defeated him with a single blow.

There was nothing more exciting than how he claimed his victory. Bach was like a hero who could never be killed in a comic. Not only such a spirit had inspired him, but it also influenced the people around him. However, Bach was not as excited as his companions. He was still in a daze when the cheers burst out.

Seeing Bach’s expression, Zhang Heng had to say, “That was a good strike. You found my only weakness. Given the circumstances at the time, your attack was very bold. Coupled with impeccable timing, I didn’t expect I’d lose this battle. If you struck me too early or too late, you’d be the one to lose.”

“I found your flaw?” Bach was skeptical, mainly because he was suppressed by Zhang Heng earlier. He knew that there was no way he could have won the battle. The last strike that he performed was something that he did out of desperation. However, he still won the fight in the end. When he thought about Zhang Heng’s unremarkable performance in the training camp before, it was hard not to suspect that Zhang Heng might have lost the battle on purpose.

“Isn’t it?” Zhang Heng’s sincere rhetorics had Bach wondering if he hit the jackpot. After all, the situation was very critical, and his last strike might have had the blessings of Mars, granting him victory in this intense battle.

Seeing the ecstatic look of his companions, Bach could not say a single word.

“You should join them to celebrate your victory.” Zhang Heng stretched out his hand.

Bach hesitated and finally handed over the training sword and the small round shield in his hand. It also meant that he accepted the final result. After that, Zhang Heng picked up the wooden sword that fell to the ground and put them back where they belonged.

Bach promised that he would leave Varo alone whether he won or lost, so winning or losing did not matter to Zhang Heng. According to his original plan, he wanted to become a free man in this gladiator school without raising any attention. Hence, losing was a better outcome for him.

Although he lost the battle, Zhang Heng could also see from those Germanic eyes that there was no need to worry that the armistice between them would be voided. After all, those who possessed excellent skill and strength in this school would earn everyone’s respect.

Since Zhang Heng had shown a part of these skills, he knew that he had earned their respect.

…

In Zhang Heng’s opinion, Bach’s troubles were the easiest to solve. As for Varo, he had to get out of the darkness on his own.

Zhang Heng had a good impression of Varo, being the first person he encountered in this quest after all. Before getting sold as a slave, he was a Roman citizen, and since Zhang Heng knew nothing about Rome’s history, he had to ask Varo many questions and learn from him. Although most of the knowledge he had learned so far couldn’t be put to use yet, it would eventually come in handy, considering the 24 extra hours he had. In other words, Zhang Heng would have to stay here for the entire duration of a year and a half. It would be impossible for him to stay here for that long, and taking comfort in the fact that he would be leaving this place soon, everything he learned from Varo would come in handy.

As for Varo, he was pretty interesting. Perhaps it was because the family’s business had been handed down to from his father that he became quite the expert in buying and selling antiques. That said, he wasn’t nearly as treacherous as most businessmen were. According to him, his daily work was quite simple. All he needed to do was to go to the streets to collect antiques and sell them in his store. Most of his customers were regulars.

His innocent character also caused him to be deceived by others easily. All the wealth he accumulated so far was gone, and he was sold here to become a slave. After learning the truth, Varo looked even more devastated than before. He did not even notice the battle between Zhang Heng and Bach. When Zhang Heng returned, he had stopped crying, but he closed himself up completely this time. Whatever little hope he had was now completely lost, and only numbness remained in his eyes.

For the next two weeks, although he was still training, eating, and sleeping, as usual, every day, everyone could see that he had completely given up on the upcoming assessment. If this went on, he would be sold to the countryside sooner rather than later.

Gaby was thinking about letting Varo work in a mine. It made no sense for him to continue staying here. Bach, however, had talked to Gaby and asked him to give Varo three days to recover from the tragedy he went through.

Gaby was a little surprised. As far as he knew, Bach and Varo were not that close, and he completely didn’t expect Bach to actually intercede for Varo. And Gaby did not reject Bach’s request because Bach’s act of goodwill would eventually draw others closer to him. After all, he was expected to become the rightful leader of this class.

Although the gladiators were expected to fight with each other, it didn’t mean camaraderie and friendship didn’t exist between them. Sometimes they would partner up to fight other gladiators. Although a lone wolf was strong, it would be even stronger if other wolves helped it.

Gaby was a little curious about how a man like Bach could think of something like this, but he gave it no extra thought since he had something else to do now. After all, leaving Varo here another three days was a small matter.

More than twenty days passed. The deadline given by Mark Reuss was getting closer, and Bach’s training continued on smoothly as planned.

Now, however, Gaby realized that he had a bigger problem to deal with.

Gaby knew very well that Bach’s current training would never get him to Sethnets’s level. Even if he tried to bribe gladiators more famous than him to fight with him, the lie would be exposed one day. The higher he went, the more pain he would be in when he fell.

If he was unlucky, Bach might even lose his life. By that time, the gladiator school would have suffered a significant loss.

Gaby even thought about replacing him with a well-known gladiator, Habitus, for instance. He had always been popular and had a consistent winning rate as well. Other than that, his fighting style seemed very pleasing to the audience. Though he didnt have as much potential as Bach, he was of greater strength. Perhaps Habitus could be selected as Sethnets’s successor, so Bach would have more time to grow.

Gaby was so deep in his thought that he forgot Bach was still standing in front of him. When Gaby saw that Bach was getting impatient, he nodded, “Yes, he can have three more days.”