The Gladiator Hero

Long before the nation of Meraldia was founded, Rolmund was a republic, not an empire. At the time the nation’s capital was Ioro Lange, and within that capital’s coliseum lived an enslaved gladiator. His name was Draulight.

“I’m no slave. Hell, no human deserves to be a slave!”

That was something he often repeated, like a mantra. His sword style—which was self-taught—involved throwing away his shield at the beginning of every fight and wielding his blade with two hands. He subscribed to the belief that the best defense was a good offense. Fortunately, the strength of his blows was powerful enough that his opponents were always forced on the defensive, and never had a chance to fight back.

“KIYAAAAAAH!”

Draulight’s battle cry sounded like the cawing of a bird. To those who didn’t know him, it sounded funny; but to those who did, it struck terror into their hearts. For they knew it to be the war cry of the ruler of the coliseum. If they tried to block Draulight’s blows with their shield, their shield would shatter. If they tried to parry them with their swords, their swords would snap. If they tried to dodge, they wouldn’t make it in time. As far as his opponents were concerned, Draulight’s battle cry was the exultant crowing of a raven, ready to devour another corpse.

Today, like every other day, Draulight’s foe fell to the coliseum ruler’s onslaught. Blood spilled from the slain combatant’s head, dyeing the freshly fallen snow red.

“The battle is over! Draulight is the victor!” The referee shouted, and the audience started cheering. Today’s fighter had tried to block Draulight’s sword with his shield, and Draulight had cleaved right through it. Not only that, but he’d destroyed his opponent’s helmet in the same swing as well. Draulight’s strength was clearly superhuman.

He looked down at the corpse of his foe and silently bowed his head.

“There it is, Draulight’s famous Death Glare!” The ignorant spectators shouted, their breath fogging in the cold. All of them mistakenly believed Draulight looked down at his fallen foes to make sure they were dead, and to kill them with his stare if they weren’t. After a few seconds, Draulight raised his head and stalked out of the arena. He didn’t grace the spectators with a wave or even a glance. But the spectators weren’t put off by his cold treatment of them. If anything, it made them more excited.

“Don’t you love how brusque he is!?”

“Yeah, it’s like the only thing he cares about is slaughtering his enemies!”

“I heard he used to be a serf but then volunteered to be a gladiator. I can’t believe he’s that good even though he never had a martial arts teacher!”

“He must be a natural with the sword or something...it’s insane, the way he swings that thing.”

The crowd stuffed themselves full of mutton and mead and discussed the legends of Draulight while they waited for the next match to begin.

“Welcome back. I see you survived today as well.”

“Yeah.”

Draulight slipped out of his helmet as he replied to the gladiator who welcomed him back. Guards had confiscated his sword before they let him into the changing room, so he was unarmed right now. Once his helmet was off, the numerous scars that covered his cheeks became visible. In fact, his entire body was riddled with them, the consequences of a purely offensive fighting style.

Nursing the new wound he’d received today, Draulight muttered, “But my opponent wasn’t so lucky.”

His comrades in the changing room all exchanged glances, then smiled sadly.

“That’s just what happens when someone gets paired up against you. They all lose their nerve and start begging for mercy. If they’d just fight like men and surrender once they’re beat, the audience would be willing to spare them too.”

“Assuming they can survive long enough to surrender, that is...” Draulight shook his head unhappily. “Even if I lose, the audience always calls for my enemy to spare me. That’s why I’m still here even though I’ve lost before.”

“Well, no duh they’d want you alive. The crowds love seeing you fight.”

The only thing the audience was interested in was seeing an entertaining match. Nothing more. It wasn’t mercy that drove them to spare some gladiators over others, but rather how entertaining that gladiator happened to be.

Draulight lay down on the hard-packed earth. The cold dirt was the only bed the gladiators were given.

“How long am I going to have to keep up this moronic fighting style?” he muttered.

Though he’d mostly been talking to himself, his friends answered, “Forever, probably? I mean we’re slaves, after all.”

“But hey, in return for fighting here all our lives, they give us meat for every meal and make sure we don’t freeze to death in the winters. Plus if we win we get booze.”

“The rest of your life isn’t very long when you’re a gladiator though.”

“So what? What’s the point of living a long life when you’re a slave?”

“You said it, man.”

The other gladiators joked around as they lay down. They were already resigned to their fate. Strong and skilled as they were, they were still trapped in the cage that was this coliseum. But Draulight hadn’t given up yet. Quietly, he murmured, “But what if we weren’t slaves?”

Everyone jumped to their feet. A few of the gladiators ran over to the door to make sure no one was listening. It was only after they were absolutely certain guards weren’t about to come in and beat them that they let themselves relax.

“Dumbass, you can’t say shit like that! If they even suspect you’re gonna rebel, they’ll execute you!”

“Hell, they might execute all of us just for being in the same room as you! I don’t wanna hang!”

“I’m a gladiator, at least let me die fighting...”

But Draulight wasn’t dissuaded. “Exactly! We have the power to fight. If we’re doomed to die anyway, we may as well go down fighting. But we should at least go down fighting for our freedom, instead of for the crowd.”

“Seriously, stop saying things like that!”

“Someone go get the booze he won for this fight! The Senate probably gave him a ton again, right? Get him drunk so he stops talking about this shit!”

The other slaves started panicking, but Draulight remained calm.

“I’m no slave,” he said resolutely. “I’ve always chosen my path in life.”

“Whaddaya mean?” One of the gladiators asked, puzzled.

Slaves had no right to choose anything. Even the weapons and armor they used were picked for them by the coliseum managers. In fact, the gladiators were given subpar equipment precisely so the fights would be bloodier and more entertaining. The people who ran the coliseum were sick and twisted. But then, so were the people who came to watch. If someone’s weapon broke, the crowd cheered, because it meant the fight would get gorier.

Still lying on the ground, Draulight spat, “I’m sick of this. This country disgusts me.”

“Yeah, but what can you do about it? There’s nowhere to run. Even if we tried to escape, the army would just chase after us. Escaped slaves have an even shorter lifespan than gladiators.”

“They wouldn’t keep chasing us if we left the country entirely.”

“You serious?”

Given how cold Rolmund was, leaving the republic was basically a death sentence. Especially now, in the dead of winter.

“We’d just freeze to death!”

“Not if we ran south.”

One of the veteran gladiators snickered at that. He was a former soldier who’d been demoted to a slave for breaking the rules.

“There’s a huge mountain range to the south. I used to serve near those mountains back when I was a soldier. There’s no way you’re getting past them. They’re so tall they’re covered in snow year-round. The snow doesn’t melt even in summer.”

The other gladiators shrunk back when they heard that.

“Damn, that sounds scary...”

“I’d rather die here where I can get meat and booze rather than freeze at the top of a mountain.”

“Bah, a little snow won’t make a mountain impossible to scale,” Draulight harrumphed. “Besides, mountains exist to be climbed.”

“You say some really weird stuff from time to time, you know that, Draulight?”

The gladiators shot him curious looks, and Draulight got to his feet. “I’m escaping from this shithole. You guys coming?”

“Hey don’t just go on deciding that on your own!”

“Holy shit, he’s totally lost it!”

“Didn’t you hear me, moron!? If you escape, everyone living with you’s gonna get executed!”

Draulight smirked mischievously at them and said, “Then are you gonna report me to the guards?”

“No, I...”

The gladiators fell silent.

“You’ve always been nice to us, sharing your meat and alcohol whenever you won...”

“Plus you taught us a lot about sword fighting. Like how to use footwork and stuff.”

“People think we’re elite fighters just ’cause we share a room with you...and honestly, that’s saved our asses more times than I can count.”

Everyone here owed Draulight a debt. He swept his gaze over his comrades, his expression softening.

“Then come with me. I’ll take you guys south, to freedom. Where there’s no coliseum, no shackles to bind us.”

“Can you really do it? It sounds insane.”

“Of course I can. I’ve been planning this for ages. Ever since I was born, actually.”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said,” Draulight said confidently, lying back down. “Like you said, slaves don’t live long anyway. So if you’ve only got a short time to live either way, why not bet on me?”

The gladiators exchanged glances.

That night, long after all the coliseum’s torches had been extinguished. Draulight gathered his comrades. He explained his plan to them under the pale moonlight.

“We have to do this fast. If we take too long, people’ll get cold feet. And if anyone reports us, it’s over.”

“Yeah...fair,” one of the gladiators said with a nod, looking worried.

Draulight then added, “Which is why we’re escaping tonight.”

“H-Hang on a second!” another gladiator shouted, then hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Are you serious?” he muttered, more quietly.

“You bet. I haven’t told anyone my plan, so there’s no way it could have been leaked. This is the only time I can be sure the guards haven’t been tipped off.”

“I guess, but...”

As the gladiators gave each other nervous looks Draulight said, “As long as we can sneak out of the coliseum, we’ll be fine. Come on, we don’t have much time.”

“Fine.”

The gladiators resolutely got to their feet.

A few minutes later—

“That was surprisingly easy,” one of the gladiators muttered as he took the keyring off the belt of a guard he’d incapacitated. Draulight took the armory key from him and nodded.

“I figured they’d send a guard to mediate if they thought a fight had broken out between slaves. They only have a skeleton crew during the night, so as long as they open the door for us, the rest is easy.”

Draulight turned to the other guards—who were cowering in a corner of the room—and held up the armory key.

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you guys. It’s not you that I have a grudge against.”

As he said that, Draulight glanced over at a wooden plank lying in a corner of the room.

“Alright, let’s do this. Start by freeing all the gladiators in the other rooms. We’re all escaping tonight.”

“Aye aye!”

The next morning, Rolmund’s senate in Ioro Lange received a huge shock.

“The gladiators all escaped!? Were they armed!?”

“Y-Yes, Your Excellency.” The messenger bowed his head apologetically. “The seventy or so gladiators being held at the coliseum raided the armory and treasury, then escaped.”

“What insolence! Send soldiers after them at once. I want them all captured, dead or alive!”

“Unfortunately, we’re not sure which direction they’re headed...” As he trailed off, the messenger showed the senators a small plank of wood. “According to the guards’ testimony, a popular gladiator known as Draulight is the ringleader of this escape. Moreover, he carved these words into this plank before he left.”

The senators looked over letters, but they couldn’t make heads or tails of them. Confused, one of them mused, “Perhaps this is the craftsmen’s script that we’ve heard rumors about?”

“Ah, I’ve heard about that. Supposedly craftsmen and merchants have their own secret language they use to communicate with.”

“Arrogant little upstarts...”

Literacy was the privilege of the ruling class. Mere slaves were not allowed to learn how to read and write. However, that system had led the lower classes to create their own unique writing styles. Of course, the Senate had decreed that using any such writing system was an act of treason. The senators all simmered silently at Draulight’s insolence, but then one of the younger senators said, “It should be possible to decrypt a passage this long. Because he left us such a long message, there should be clues within the symbols themselves.”

“Are you certain, Senator Schwerin?”

“Yes.” The young senator known as Schwerin nodded. “For example, this message uses the same six-letter word quite frequently. Moreover, the second and fourth letter are identical. If we assume each of these letters represents a single sound, then this six-letter word is probably...”

The other senators all realized it at the same time.

“Draulight!?”

“Correct. While this alphabet may even encompass different sounds than ours, by matching them to our own alphabet, we can discern what each letter represents. With that, we can substitute in part of the message, then start deducing what the letters adjacent to the ones we know are...”

Schwerin took out a piece of parchment and started listing the letters.

“See, with just this limited information we can decipher sixteen other letters. It’ll get more difficult from here, but we can use context clues to help narrow down the possibilities.”

“I see...”

The senators exchanged glances, then turned back to the messenger.

“We’ll decipher this. You get the search for the slaves started. Mobilize the city garrison as well.”

“Y-Yes, Your Excellency!”

It took an entire day before the Senators decoded the message and discovered that it said the slaves were planning to flee across the Glacier Sea to the north.

Three days had passed since Draulight’s escape, and the Senate still hadn’t been able to pick up the slaves’ trail. The reason for that was because Draulight and the others were hiding within Ioro Lange’s sewers.

“Hey, you sure we shouldn’t be running?” One of the gladiators whispered in the darkness.

Draulight, who was keeping an eye on the surface from a nearby tunnel, whispered back, “The soldiers searched the sewers the first day of our escape. They didn’t find anything, so they don’t think there’s any chance we could be here. That’s why we returned.”

“I get that, but we can’t just sit here forever. Who knows when someone might think to check again?”

“No, I’m pretty sure we’ll be safe for a while. The longer we wait, the further out they’ll have to extend their search net, which means they’ll start stretching themselves pretty thin. Right now they’re still trying to figure out which direction we went. And thanks to the hint we left behind, they’ll assume north.”

“You sure about that...”

Draulight returned to the passageway where the other gladiators were waiting and said, “There’s a lot less soldiers patrolling the city streets. And I bet you none of them are searching for us. Tonight we’ll sneak out of the city via these sewers.”

“So it’s finally time?”

“However, we’re going to be heading west first.”

“Why west!?”

“I thought you said we were escaping to the south?”

Draulight nodded firmly and replied, “If we go south now, we’ll all die. First, we need to make preparations to cross the mountains.”

Around the same time, the Senate was in the middle of a heated argument.

“Those blasted heretics live near the Glacier Sea. If those escaped gladiators join forces with them, things are going to get a lot worse.”

“Indeed, each of those gladiators is worth a hundred men. We cannot let them teach those barbaric heretics how Rolmund soldiers fight. Those gladiators know too much. They might even be able to teach the heretics metallurgy.”

“Then we have to send a search party to North Rolmund immediately!”

Schwerin, the senator who’d figured out how to decode Draulight’s message, frowned.

“But are we sure they went north?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” another senator replied.

“Think about it. Why would they leave behind a vital clue like this for us to find? They’re risking their lives on this escape.”

“You mean, you think this cipher is a diversion?”

“It’s a possibility at least.”

After a few minutes of silent consideration, the senators came to a unanimous conclusion.

“We’ll send search parties south as well. No, we’ll send them in all directions.”

A few more days after that, Draulight and his companions set out for the southern mountains. Along the way, he’d picked up various supplies and freed many more slaves. Their party exceeded one hundred people now. They were avoiding the main roads and sticking to mountain trails as they wound their way south. As it was winter, they were all marching through snow.

“Hey, Draulight. Why’d you take all those serfs with you? Those guys don’t even know how to hold a sword,” One of the gladiators asked.

Draulight surveyed his surroundings, then replied, “Yes, and all we know is how to fight. Once we’re over the mountains, we’re going to need their help to learn how to farm and build houses.”

“But a huge group like this is gonna stand out...”

“Which is why we’re going through the mountains. In winter, neither serfs nor pilgrims travel through here. There’s nowhere to get firewood or wild berries, and wolves are everywhere. The only people who’d brave the mountains in this season are hunters and woodcutters.”

Draulight waved off his companion’s worries and started barking orders to the group.

“Raise your knees when you walk, guys! Think of it like climbing stairs. Keep your back straight, and always be aware of your center of gravity.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ll tire out slower when walking like this. It’s good practice for everyone before we start scaling the really big mountains. Everyone’s already got a bunch of stamina thanks to all the gladiator fights they’ve been through. All that’s left is using it efficiently.”

“You sure have a lot of energy...” The gladiator muttered sullenly. At this point, though, no one was going to disobey Draulight. He’d gotten them this far, after all. Suddenly, he turned around and said, “Also, it’s time we started making insulation gear for ourselves. We won’t survive in the mountains with these clothes.”

The gladiators exchanged glances.

“Why not?”

The gladiator who’d asked that question was wearing a thick fur cloak. It was crudely made, but it kept out the cold well. However, Draulight shook his head.

“These cloaks are too coarse, and they’re not waterproof. If they get wet they’ll be less than useless. Plus, as we get higher, the wind’ll start coming from below, and it’ll just blow your cloaks up. You’ll freeze to death in a heartbeat.”

The gladiators exchanged glances. One of them hesitantly asked, “You sure know a lot about mountain climbing. Have you done it before?”

Draulight resumed walking and looked off into the distance.

“Yeah...a very long time ago,” he replied.

Half a month had passed, and the Senate still hadn’t discovered Draulight’s whereabouts. They’d sent out teams to sweep all the major highways and set up checkpoints on every entrance to the Glacier Sea, but they’d seen neither hide nor hair of the escaped slaves. Word of the coliseum breakout had reached the common people, and rumors and speculation abounded. Moreover, pilgrims and merchants were spreading those rumors all across Rolmund.

Meanwhile, Senator Schwerin had gathered his personal troops to lead an expedition out of Ioro Lange. As he prepared to set off, another senator wearing traveling garb came up to him. He was another young senator, roughly the same age as Schwerin.

“Where might you be headed, Lord Schwerin?”

“I’m returning to my lands in West Rolmund. If the slaves are heading south, they may have passed through my territory.”

“I see. Well, I shall continue guarding the highways leading to the Glacier Sea. However, I’ve decided to take personal command of the border checkpoints.”

Smiling conspiratorially, the senator added, “But really, you’re doing all this to prepare for next time aren’t you?”

Schwerin nodded calmly.

“Over these past five years, we’ve had sixteen different incidents. Mass escapes, revolts, you name it. Considering the situation, it is only prudent that I prepare for next time.”

“Understandable, especially since we lost our gladiators this time. They were the most well-treated of all our slaves. If even they were unhappy with their lot in life, then...”

“Indeed. Their escape will embolden the remaining serfs. I cannot afford to sit idly by right now.”

Both of them knew exactly what they were referring to with “next time.” Hence, why they smiled.

“The next time we see each other might be on the battlefield, you know.”

“I pray that isn’t how things play out.”

Still smiling, the senator who controlled parts of North Rolmund grabbed his horse’s reins.

“Goodbye, Lord Schwerin. May we meet again,” he said.

Schwerin bowed his head in farewell.

“I’m sure we will, Lord Bolshevik,” he replied softly.

“I see the perceptive ones have already caught on. All that’s left is to see how we can escape this impending disaster.”

The cold winter wind whistled through Schwerin’s cloak as he spoke.

A few more days passed uneventfully. While a number of senators were catching on that the republic was on the verge of collapse, Draulight and his followers had reached the base of the mountains.

“Hmm...I see.”

Draulight nodded to himself as he looked up at the towering mountain before him. He’d already outfitted his party with waterproof jackets and insulating underclothes.

“According to the local serfs, the worst of the winter is behind us. The weather should be clear for a few days at least, too. We can do this.”

Many of the serfs living around the area had joined Draulight’s exodus. They were the ones who’d informed him of the local geography and weather patterns.

“I’ll consult with the locals and plot out our path. Meanwhile, you all rest. We’ll be starting our climb bright and early tomorrow.”

The gladiators nodded, their trust in Draulight now absolute. He’d somehow managed to avoid every single patrol while leading them here.

“Aye. I can’t believe we’re finally here...”

Draulight made to leave, but then turned back around as if he’d suddenly remembered something.

“Oh yeah. Once night falls light campfires and thoroughly cook all of our food. Then dry everything out, or it’ll freeze up in the mountains.”

“You sure we should light fires? What if the soldiers see them?”

When they’d been in the mountains, the slaves had been extremely careful about when and where they lit fires. Even on the coldest nights, they kept their fires small to make sure they wouldn’t be spotted. However, Draulight just responded, “We won’t have time to cook while we’re up there. And we absolutely need preserved food we can eat while we walk. Hunger will make your body colder.”

“In other words, we need the food more than we need to avoid detection. Gotcha.”

At daybreak, the nearly two hundred slaves began their ascent up the snowcapped mountains.

“Be very careful not to get wet. Don’t walk so fast that you start to sweat. Moisture will sap body heat like nothing else. Moreover, if you sweat, you’ll need more water.”

Draulight kept a watchful eye on everyone as he explained how to climb.

“Also, make sure you’ve all found sturdy walking sticks. The more you use your arms to climb, the more your legs will get to rest. And you’ll need your legs.”

Draulight led the climb, looking back often to make sure everyone was keeping up. The gladiators trailing behind him smiled in relief.

“I thought those serfs would slow us down, but they’re keeping pace. I’m surprised,” one of them mused.

Draulight nodded and replied, “They’ve all got pretty toned bodies too, thanks to all that farmwork. It’s just they’ve never had enough food to really make use of them.”

Just then, one of the serfs in the rear shouted, “They found us! There’s soldiers chasing us, Mr. Draulight!”

“There’s a hundred...no, two hundred of ’em!”

The gladiators turned around and drew their swords.

“Tch, so they came.”

But before they could charge the oncoming soldiers, Draulight held out a hand.

“Wait. With our numbers and equipment, we can’t win. Especially when we’re dressed to climb, not fight. Besides, if you guys get exhausted here, you won’t have energy left for the ascent.”

“We’ve kinda got bigger problems than mountain climbing right now!”

“Besides, isn’t our job as gladiators to protect the serfs?”

Everyone was raring to fight. Draulight sighed and said, “Right now we don’t have armor or shields. All we’ve got are our swords and our climbing sticks. Do you really think we can win?”

“Well...”

There was no way gladiators burdened down with blankets and provisions could fight trained soldiers armed with spears and bows.

“But it’s not like we can just run! Our packs are too heavy for that! And there’s women and children with us!”

“I know. Leave this fight to me.” Draulight paused before adding, “The rest of you climb. We’re going with the plan I told you yesterday.”

“Hey Draulight, don’t tell me you’re planning to...”

Draulight waved to the other slaves, interrupting his friend.

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning to sacrifice myself. It’s not like a suicidal rush would even help us. Anyway, make sure you follow the path I plotted out. Don’t go off-course.”

Draulight pointed to their destination to drive the point home, then started going down the path he’d come.

The pursuit party’s morale was low.

“Why’d those goddamn slaves have to show up here of all places...” One of the platoon captains muttered with a sigh. His fellow captains nodded in agreement.

“I heard they’d gone north, so I figured we’d be fine... Guess those fires that woodcutter saw really were from them.”

“Now that we’ve found them, we can’t let them go or we’ll be the ones punished. Still...”

The soldiers knew they were up against veteran gladiators. Unlike these troops who’d just received basic military training, the gladiators had fought life-and-death battles numerous times. Meanwhile, Rolmund’s soldiers had just been eliminating bandits and suppressing revolts. They were far from seasoned warriors.

“I heard some gladiator called Draulight’s leading them.”

“Oh, I’ve heard the rumors about him. Apparently he’s some kinda master fighter. They say he’s four Bashcals tall and has arms thicker than a tree trunk.”

“I heard he can split a man’s helm with one blow.”

“My friend told me he’s never lost a single battle, even though he’s fought hundreds of times.”

“Gladiators are monsters...”

As rumors of the escape had spread, stories of Draulight’s prowess had become highly exaggerated. Just then, one of the platoon captain’s soldiers shouted, “I’ve spotted the slaves, sir! They’re climbing up the mountain single-file!”

“Morons. They’re defenseless up there.”

“Sure, there might be gladiators mixed among them, but they’re still slaves. From the looks of it, they don’t even know how to organize a retreat.”

The captain had no experience with mountain climbing, and so was reading their formation from the perspective of a military commander.

“Alright, let’s wipe them out before they have a chance to get in formation. Chase them up the mountain.”

“Up the mountain, sir?” One of the junior captains asked the senior captain in command.

“It’ll be a pain if we lose them in the forest down below. But there’s only rocks and snow up above. They won’t have anywhere to hide there.”

“I see.”

Draulight’s party had already climbed above the tree line, so there was nowhere for them to hide. The soldiers caught up to the slaves before long. Before they could mount an attack, however, a lone swordsman jumped out from behind a nearby boulder and ran at them.

“KIYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“Gwah!”

The swordsman cut down all the Rolmund soldiers in his path as he charged down the slope.

“Wh-What the hell!?”

“Enemy attack!”

“That scream—is that Draulight!?”

The soldiers readied their spears, but their footing was unstable and they had a hard time getting into formation. On the other hand, Draulight moved swiftly across the uneven ground. He deftly dodged the soldiers’ spears as he dashed through the snow.

“He’s the leader of the escaped slaves, capture him!”

At their captain’s command, the soldiers started running up the steep mountain slope. But their heavy armor, shields, and pikes weighed them down, making it impossible for them to catch Draulight.

“Dammit! Shoot him, you fools!”

“We can’t, sir! It’s impossible to get our archers in formation on a slope like this! And the wind’s too strong to get a straight shot!”

Though they were struggling, Rolmund’s soldiers were slowly succeeding in cornering Draulight. There was a tiny dip in the mountain surface that they were driving him into. The slope there was extremely steep and covered in icy sleet. Even Draulight would have a hard time climbing out of that. Once they had Draulight where they wanted him, the soldiers crowded around the hollow’s rim, their spears held at the ready. Even now, they were wary of his exemplary swordsmanship.

“Good, we’ve got him! Advance, men!”

Draulight stood still, seemingly resigned to his fate. He held his stance, but made no move to try and escape. But then, just before the soldiers reached him, he raised his sword high and yelled, “Do it, now!”

A second later, a group of slaves with ropes tied to their waists appeared far above the battlefield. They thrust their walking poles into the snow and started shouting.

“Raaaaaaah!”

“Hyaaaaaaaah!”

The soldiers exchanged confused glances.

“The hell?”

“What’re they doing...”

“I thought they’d start shooting arrows at us, but they’re just shouting.”

Tactically, the slaves’ actions made no sense. After a few seconds of confusion, the captain in charge decided to ignore them.

“When all’s said and done, they’re just a bunch of ignorant slaves. Since they don’t know how to shoot bows, they’re just yelling to distract us. Forget about them, keep advancing!”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers readied their spears once more and bore down on Draulight. Draulight turned his back on the advancing soldiers and shouted up to his comrades, “Come on, is that all you’ve got!? Let these assholes know we’re not slaves! Show them our pride!”

The soldiers raised their eyebrows.

“What the heck’s that guy on about?”

“Slaves don’t have any pride. Hell, they’re not even worthy of being called human...”

But the slaves continued shouting and thrusting their sticks into the snow.

“Don’t let Draulight die!”

“Goddammiiiiiit!”

Even as the slaves shouted, the soldiers continued advancing on Draulight. Right before they reached him, he suddenly started running.

“He’s trying to get away!”

“Chase him!”

The soldiers focused their attention on Draulight, and only Draulight. Which was why they didn’t realize there was an avalanche heading toward them until it was right on top of them.

That evening, the few survivors of the ill-fated assault returned home.

“You got caught in an avalanche!?”

The commander who’d ordered the attack was speechless. He hadn’t expected only a fraction of the two hundred men he’d sent out to return. There weren’t enough of them left to form even a single platoon. The soldiers who’d returned were all unhurt, but that just meant they hadn’t been able to rescue their wounded. Moreover, they all told their commander the same story.

“Our captains went missing in the avalanche, and the slaves launched a fierce counterattack. We were too disorganized to rescue our injured. It was hard enough to save our own lives.”

The truth was that these soldiers had all fled the moment they’d seen the avalanche, which was why they’d been spared. But none of them were going to admit they deserted.

“Shit...this isn’t good.” The commander paled underneath his ornately decorated helm. “We’ve lost two hundred-man squads. And to a pack of slaves, no less...”

Just then, Schwerin entered the commander’s tent, flanked by his guards.

“Please explain what happened here, commander,” Schwerin said calmly.

“Y-Your Excellency Lord Schwerin!”

“I’ve brought four hundred cavalry with me as reinforcements, but it appears your advance party has been wiped out.”

“S-Sir! I humbly apologize for this failure! An avalanche happened to occur just as my pursuit squad reached the slaves, and...”

Schwerin thoughtfully interjected, “I wonder, was that avalanche really a coincidence?”

“What do you mean?” the commander asked timidly.

Schwerin shook his head and said, “It’s not important. What is important is that if word gets out, you’ll all be court-martialed. Not only did you lose two entire squads, but you let the slaves escape. At best, you’ll all be demoted to slaves; at worst, you might be exiled or executed.”

“You can’t be serious! P-Please, have mercy!”

Schwerin smiled at the despairing commander.

“Fear not. I’ll intercede on your behalf. I’ll tell the Senate that though you and your soldiers fought valiantly, the Hero Draulight was just too strong. He annihilated an entire hundred-man squad all by himself. No, let’s make it a thousand-man army...or actually, why not ten thousand?”

“Umm, where are you going with this, Your Excellency?”

Schwerin’s smile grew deeper as he watched the commander’s confusion.

“Essentially, we’ll spin the story so that you didn’t fail, but rather Draulight’s strength was abnormal. I’ll stand witness for you.”

“I-I see...”

Schwerin shot the commander a suggestive look.

“Since Draulight’s escaped, I doubt he’ll be coming back. In which case, no one will complain if we say I killed him, right?”

“Umm... I suppose not?”

“Exactly.” Schwerin drew closer to the commander and added, “This way, I will become a legend who killed a Hero, and you and your men will be saved from the executioner’s axe.”

“A-As you say.”

“Now all that’s left is for you all to become my retainers.” Schwerin grinned. “Swear fealty to me, and I promise no harm will come to you.”

“Wait, are you planning on starting a rebellion!? And you want us to join you!?”

“Are you that keen to face a military tribunal?”

“No, Your Excellency, definitely not. Hrm...”

The commander trailed off, his resolve wavering. His officers exchanged worried looks, unsure of what to do. But in the end, the commander and his officers were military men. They knew what the only strategically viable option was.

“Do you swear to protect us if we join you?”

“Of course. I’ll have you promoted to generals—no, to nobles. I’ll even grant you your own territory. Your descendants will live prosperous lives.”

Schwerin patted the commander’s shoulder.

“This republic is on its last legs. I plan to destroy the Senate and become emperor of Rolmund. And if you follow me, I’ll let you share in my glory.”

“As you say, my lord.”

The commander and his officers bowed reverently to their new sovereign.

Draulight trudged through the thickly-packed snow, the remnants of the avalanche behind him. Strong evening winds buffeted his jacket, but could not penetrate to the layers beneath. As he brushed snow off his clothes, Draulight looked behind him. The avalanche had been funneled into a dry creek bed, which was where the Rolmund soldiers had ostensibly cornered him. The geography they’d thought was helping them had ended up betraying them, and now all the soldiers had either fled or died.

“Looks like the mountain saved us this time,” Draulight muttered as his gladiator companions struggled to descend the mountain slope toward him.

“You okay, Draulight!?”

“Yeah. I can’t believe I made it, actually. Running perpendicular to the avalanche was the only way out, but I didn’t think I could run that fast...”

His comrades smiled in relief as they crowded around him.

“Anyway, thank God you’re safe. We’re all accounted for too.”

“But man, I can’t believe you came up with a plan like that. Who would have thought you could cause an avalanche?”

Draulight replied casually, “This is the season where new snowfall starts hardening the snow beneath into ice. I knew if you guys disturbed the upper layer of snow, it’d slide easily on the ice underneath. It was a pretty risky gamble, but it was the only way I could think of to keep us all alive.”

“I-I see...”

“You know, Draulight, sometimes I have no idea what you’re talking about...”

Draulight shook his head and replied, “My name’s not actually Draulight. Once we cross these mountains, I’ll tell you guys my real name.”

“Your real name?”

“Yeah. Not the slave name I was given, but the real name I’ve had since before I was born. That’s the name I’m gonna live by from now on.”

The man who’d once been Draulight gripped his walking pole and smiled triumphantly.

“Now come on, let’s go!”