Sparta: Many childrens, Many Blessings, Starting from the Gladiator Chapter 18 18

Mira looked at Lynx, her eyes complex. In the end, she said nothing, turned around and walked back under the eaves.

Lynx stood in place, looking at her back.

He knew that the question he asked just now was too sudden and too abrupt.

But he didn't regret it.

The bonfire continued to burn.

The night grew deeper.

Most of the gladiators were drunk, lying scattered around the bonfire, snoring loudly.

Lynx wasn't drunk.

He sat in the corner, looking at the jumping flas,梳理 everything that happened tonight in his mind.

Crixus's temporary compromise.

The sudden visit of the nobles.

Mira's stepping forward.

And… that poisoned sword hidden under the straw mat.

The performance match was getting closer, and the undercurrents under the water were also getting more urgent.

He could feel that Batiatus was laying out a plan, Nodis was calculating, Crixus was waiting for an opportunity, and even those nobles might beco variables.

And he must tear open a path of survival in this increasingly tightening net.

Just as he was thinking, a figure staggered over and sat down beside him.

It was Gisco.

This guy was flushed from drinking, but his eyes were still relatively clear.

"Just now… thanks."

Gisco burped. "If not for you, that bastard Crixus would have caused trouble again tonight."

"Small matter."

Gisco was silent for a while, then suddenly lowered his voice: "Lynx, the performance match… do you really think we can win?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't know."

Gisco shook his head. "The four people from Nodis are not easy to deal with, and… I always feel that Batiatus didn't tell us the truth."

Lynx looked at him.

Gisco continued: "I have been mixing here for five years and have seen too many bosses. Batiatus is one of the most cunning. He never does unprofitable business. This performance match, the bet he placed is too big, abnormally big."

"You think he is plotting sothing?"

"I don't know."

Gisco shook his head again. "But I have a feeling that the performance match might… be just the beginning. If we win, more trouble. If we lose, dead end."

Lynx didn't speak.

What Gisco said was exactly what he was worried about.

"But,"

Gisco suddenly smiled and patted Lynx's shoulder. "Who cares! Anyway, we are already on the pirate ship. There is no way to get off. Brother, in the performance match, I will do my best to help you. Not for Batiatus, but for… we are all poor people struggling in this hellhole."

After saying that, he staggered to his feet and went to get more wine.

Lynx looked at his back, feeling a bit warm in his heart.

At least, in this cold place, there were still a few people worth trusting.

The night grew deeper.

The bonfire gradually went out, the embers glowing with dark red light.

The gladiators lay drunk all over the place, snoring like thunder.

Lynx got up, preparing to return to his cell.

When passing under the eaves, he saw Mira still sitting there, not leaving.

"Why haven't you rested yet?"

He walked over.

Mira looked up at him. The moonlight shone on her face, very soft.

"I was thinking…"

She said softly. "The words you asked just now."

Lynx sat down beside her.

"Have you thought about it?"

"Not yet."

Mira shook her head. "I don't know. Leave this place… where can I go? I only know how to treat illnesses. Outside… outside is too scary."

"There are also good people outside."

Lynx looked into her eyes. "And, you are not alone."

Mira also looked at him. Her eyes were bright under the moonlight.

"Lynx, why do you want to help ? We… have only known each other for a short ti."

Lynx thought for a mont and said: "Maybe because you are the cleanest person I have seen in this world."

Mira's face reddened again. She shyly lowered her head.

The two were silent for a while.

In the distance ca the footsteps of the night patrol.

"I should go back."

Mira stood up.

"I'll send you."

"No need, it's right in front."

But she didn't move.

Lynx looked at her, suddenly reached out and gently touched her cheek.

Mira's body trembled, but she didn't dodge.

"After the performance match,"

Lynx paused before saying, "Wait for ."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Mira stood in place, looking at his back disappearing into the darkness, her hand slowly touching the place he had just touched, her face burning hot.

This night, so people were drunk and dreaming, so people tossed and turned.

The day after the revelry, a decadent atmosphere filled the training ground.

Most of the gladiators were still hungover, yawning during training, their movents soft and weak.

Lynx was one of the few who remained sober.

And since that night's conversation, the atmosphere in the training ground had beco sowhat subtle.

When Mira saw Lynx, her eyes always dodged, her cheeks slightly red. Her fingers would inadvertently tremble slightly when bandaging wounds.

Lynx saw it, but didn't point it out.

So things needed ti to fernt.

The performance match was still two days away.

The intensity of training was pushed to the limit.

The instructor broke three rattan whips. The curses were the sa few sentences repeated, but his voice grew louder day by day.

The gladiators had more and more bruises and scrapes. The sll of herbs in the dical room was so thick it couldn't be dispersed.

Lynx's training focus was on that refined steel short sword.

He didn't dare to hold it for long. Before each practice, he would wrap his palm tightly with cloth strips to minimize skin contact with the hilt.

After practice, he imdiately rinsed it repeatedly with clean water, carefully wiped the sword dry, and put it back in the wooden box.

But even so, he could still feel so subtle changes.

Easy fatigue.

Not physical, but a kind of ntal exhaustion.

During sword practice, his attention occasionally scattered, and his reaction speed was half a beat slower than usual.

Although the degree was very light and almost imperceptible, Lynx knew that the thing in the hilt had already started to take effect.

"System,"

He asked in his heart, "Can you detect or neutralize accumulated toxins in my body?"

[Detecting…]

[Detected trace neuro-inhibitor components, accumulation level: mild.]

[Current effects: Reaction speed decreased by about 3%, concentration decreased by about 5%.]

[Suggestion: Stop contact with the toxin source, or exchange for "Beginner Toxin Resistance".]

As expected.

Lynx looked at the cold-gleaming short sword in his hand, his eyes ice-cold.

3% and 5% sound like not much.

But in the arena, it could be the difference between life and death.

The old fox Batiatus calculated it perfectly.

The dose was controlled just right — it wouldn't make him collapse imdiately, but would slowly erode his condition, ensuring that in the performance match… he was just enough to win, but win with difficulty, win "spectacularly".

Then what?

Win the performance match, beco a star, go to Ro with the accumulated poison, fight a few more matches, and finally "accidentally" retire due to injury or illness, or die directly in the arena.

Perfect.

Lynx put the sword back in the wooden box and placed it under the straw mat.

He now had 500 points, still 300 short of exchanging for "Beginner Toxin Resistance".

Before the performance match, he must gather enough.

How to gather?

He opened the system panel and his gaze fell on that "Establish Prestige" task.

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