Life After Legend

Chapter 10: The Army of a Hundred Men

The harsh desert sun rained down upon the travelers. The caravan trudged through the sands. The camels moved slowly as their masters beat them onwards. Moans came from the prisoners who sat shackled in the back of several wagons. These people are being taken to coliseums. They were going to be forced to fight for their life.

A lookout sat next to a driver. He scanned the horizon with his telescope. He had to stay alert with constant vigilance. His job was to keep watch for bandits who roamed the deserts. It wasn't as if there was anything to steal anyways. All that this entire caravan had were some men who were going to be killed anyways.

The lookout jumped to attention. He had spotted a man in the desert. He was lying face down on the ground. He appeared unconscious. He could be sleeping. It was hard to tell from this distance. The lookout told the driver who was sitting next to him. The driver ordered a halt to water the animals. The lookout was told to go get the man. If he was alive, he would be thrown into the back with the rest of the prisoners. If he was dead, he would be given to the cook. It must this man's lucky day, he was alive.

Knil's Point of View

I don't know how long that I've been sitting here in this darkness. This place is a cold damp dungeon. It is just a holding cell for those who are going to be entered into the arena. We are all supposed to die. The big shots in charge keep talking about some big event. I've gathered that there are one hundred of us fighters, though I'm probably the only good one. We are going to fight three professionals. I like these odds.

Finally, we are being moved out. The arena feels warm. There are many people packed into this place. They enjoy the precious gift of life being wasted. They make me sick.

From what I can see of are three opponents is that they don't seem that hard. One man is in armor, his body covered with weapons. He must have at least two dozen blades on him. The second man I see is wearing light armor. He seems like the type that prefers speed to defense. He has two katanas, one on each side of his body. The third man is a giant. He is the size of about three men. He is heavily armored. He wields a giant ball and chain mace. He will be a challenge.

The battle begins. I block my mind for all distractions. I tune out the cries of battle. I block out the demeaning words of the announcer. I am ready to fight.

I, Knil, shall be victorious.

I hang back, not ready to be mowed down in the initial chaos. I first make my way toward the man with the katanas. I approach him swiftly and silently. He swings at me with a horizontal slice, but I jump into the air. I land upon his blade and knock him off balance. I slam him against the arena wall. I begin to beat him senseless. I must stop. I do not wish to kill him. Violence is not the answer.

The hilts of his blades feel warm in my hands. I move on towards the giant. He might prove to be trouble. He is massacring all that come near him. He swings his mace like a madman. He tries to crush me beneath his heavy mace as I approach. I jumped back to dodge. I jump on top of the mace, and wedge both katanas between the links of the chain that connects the mace together. With a quick pull the chain link snaps. Igrab the enormous ball and lift it above my head. I hurl the gigantic orb at the big man. He is caught off balance and falls upon his back. I sneakily remove one of his heavily armored gauntlets and his helm. The gauntlets crash down upon his bald head like thunder falling from the sky. Two down, one to go.

The third warrior has killed all his opposition. Many of his weapons are now no longer on his person, but are scattered throughout the arena.

"It is almost over. Just one more person to beat." he says.

"You killed more than your fair share of men. Each one of you was supposed to statistically kill thirty-three men leaving one man left over. I guess I took out your comrades before they could kill their number of men. Sorry to put extra work on you." I said.

"Don't lie you filth. I shall defeat you in the names of my friends you hath slain!"

The warrior charged at me, but he was fatigued. I could easily dodge his blows. I was even able to nick a sword off his belt. Without warning, I drove my blade into his knee. He still tried to keep fighting even with a sword protruding from his leg. With his right hand, he swung with a sword. I managed to intercept and grab his sword. He tried to punch me with his other hand. I grabbed his fist as he swung. Right as I caught his fist, spikes came forth from his gauntlet, slicing the webbing between my fingers. I fell back out of surprise. He charged again and I caught both of his arms as he attacked. Then he did something unexpected. He tried to head butt me. He had the total upper hand because he was wearing a helmet. His head swiftly descended down upon mine. I felt the pain. I staggered back. When I looked up, I saw that he had fallen to the ground. His helmet was in shatters.

I raised my hand triumphantly into the air. I was the winner. I had not yet died.

My head hurts.

Knil's personality changes alot. You can never know what to expect from him. He has a pretty hard head.

Thanks to all who reviewed. I would have updated sooner, but the server was overloaded when I last had a chance to try. Please Read and Review. Constructional criticism and flames are welcome.