Chương 21: Unbreakable
Kit sat on the side of the arena, his gaze fixed on the unfolding spectacle before him. The arena itself was a testament to the Spartan spirit, with its grand but simple architecture embodying strength and discipline. The seats were carved from stone, rising like tiers of a coliseum, overlooking the battleground below. At the top of the tiered stone chairs near the balcony reserved for high-ranking Spartans, stood the emblem of Sparta, an imposing statue of a warrior in his prime, shield in one hand and spear in the other, a symbol of their unwavering prowess.
A battle was ongoing, one of Kit's Spartan brothers was fighting a lightly armed Athenian. The Athenian wore a white tunic and a sheathed dagger on his waist. The battle was one-sided, the Athenian had the attribute of Earth that would enable him to create and control the land near him.
On the other hand, the Spartan wore light bronze armor and is equipped with the spartan essentials, spear, shield, and shortsword. He still hadn't properly learned how to use the enhancements. He was relying solely on his raw skills and strength.
The difference in skill between the two combatants seemed as vast as the expanse between heaven and earth. Each powerful charge executed by the Spartan was swiftly thwarted by the annoying conjuration of an earthy barrier, preventing him from successfully landing even a solitary strike on the Athenian. With relentless determination, the Spartan pushed himself to the limit, expending every ounce of his energy in an attempt to overcome the overwhelming opposition.
The Athenian seized the moment to execute the final, decisive maneuver. Extending his palm towards the Spartan, a cascade of luminous stones materialized, hurtling towards their target with unerring precision. The barrage of rocks struck the Spartan's body, their impact resonating with an unforgiving force that brought him crashing to the ground.
The battle was over, with little effort, the Athenian triumphed.
"Do we always lose the yearly duels with the Athenians this badly?" Kit asked Agis.
"Of course, there are a few who were strong and talented enough to win but the rest mostly loses." Agis said nonchalantly. "But I have high hopes for the four of you."
On the opposite side, a famous Athenian, Themistocles, looked and nodded at Agis. In return, Agis nodded back with a smile.
Inside the arena, the Athenian who had triumphed over the Spartan walked towards the Spartan side and shouted.
"The Spartans, home of the greatest warriors? All of you are a disgrace." The Athenian shouted with a condescending look on his face.
The other Athenians shouted too, talking trash. This infuriated a lot of the Spartans but remained quiet. The two high-ranking officers of both sides remained quiet as well, allowing their students to do as they pleased.
"Are they usually this rowdy too?' Kit asked Agis.
"You aren't infuriated?" Agis asked in a surprised manner.
"No, I'm used to it." Kit replies to Agis as he recalls his time working as a courier for Gruber eats.
Unlike Kit, the trio of Damon, Theron, and Damaris was looking calm and collected. However, beneath that facade was a raging storm—a volcanic eruption, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake, an intense and blood-boiling rage. Yet they held themselves back from wiping the smug look off the Athenian's face out of respect for their defeated brother. They understood that if someone were to take the Athenian down, it was their fallen brother who fought till the end.
"Agis, when will it be our turn? I can't wait to eradicate the smiles on those Athenians." Damon asked Agis as Theron nodded in agreement.
"You all will be fighting near the end, battling the best and brightest student of Athens."
"We'll beat them so bad that they won't ever talk back to us again." Theron said with a determined look on his face.
Multiple hours had passed, the battles were nearing the end. The Athenian maintained their flawless victories and their arrogance in the battles while the Spartans were all defeated, clenching their teeth hard and bowing their heads, ashamed in silence.
It was finally time for the best students to fight, Agis casts his gaze upon Damon. With a single nod, Damon understood that it was finally his time. His impatient expression changed to that of excitement.
As he stood up, he picked up his equipment and noticed his body went stiff. To warm his body up, he jumped from his seat as high as he could and landed on the arena below as dust envelops the entire area, hiding himself in the clouds of dust and sand. But as soon as it dissipated, he was seen performing a variety of movements with the spear to warm himself up.
The Athenians were flabbergasted, a loud laugh resonated through the area prompting the others to do the same. To their eyes, the Spartan in front of them was no more than a swine performing party tricks before getting butchered.
"I'll put an apple in your mouth after you lose the battle."
"I can use my fire magic to slow roast you later, you swine." The Athenian said as he conjured a small flame in his hand.
Veins appeared not only on Damon's forehead but also on the other remaining Spartans who were watching. Agis felt Kit's demeanor change. It was written on his entire face that he was incredibly annoyed at the Athenians.
Damon's opponent was one of Athens' top students, Nikos. He enters the arena with a proud posture, he brought no weapons, only his bare hands. Signifying his unwavering confidence and belief in himself.
Once he walked near towards Damon, he felt uneasy. Once he gazes upon Damon's eyes, he subconsciously stepped away from him. The look Damon had was of no swine, it was of a lion waiting to devour its prey. Sweats dropped from his forehead as Nikos was overwhelmed by the presence.
Steeling himself, Nikos announced to everyone in the arena that he'll slaughter the swine in front of him. The Athenians roared in excitement and mockery, while the Spartans remained silent. Damon's silence was loud, and the Spartans understood it as a promise to bring victory against a formidable adversary.
As the battle starts, either of the two began to move. They both stood still preparing for an offensive from the opponent. The Athenians grew tired of the wait and prompted Nikos to attack first.
Giving in, Nikos raised his hand in the air. Several spears of water formed around him. As he brought down his hand, all of the water spears launched towards Damon. But Damon was unfazed, using his shield, he blocked every projectile beautifully and slowly walked towards Nikos with a murderous look in his eyes.
Not expecting the speed, Nikos felt a sense of panic surge through him. He quickly set up a water barrier to prevent Damon from rushing at him. But it was for naught, the momentum that Damon built up was enough for him to pass through the barrier.
Using his shield, he bashed it to Nikos body sending him flying in one of the Arena walls as dust enveloped the area. This left the loud and arrogant Athenians silent while the Spartans erupted in cheer. Before Damon could follow up, a small water ball directly hit him. Upon impact, the water ball expanded and exploded leaving Damon damaged and stunned.
Nikos came out of the wall undamaged; he covered his point of impact with water at the last second to smother the impact. Seizing the moment, Nikos formed dozens of water spears, longer than the last, and proceeds to bombard Damon nonstop.
"Damn, is Damon gonna be okay after that?" Theron said out loud.
"An attack of that caliber won't do much to him." Agis said as he recalled a memory of Damon's training.
As Agis watched Nikos' relentless assault on Damon, his mind drifted back to the memory of a rigorous training session in the past. The memory played out vividly in his mind, taking him back to the time when Damon was strengthening his body secretly at night.
It was each and every night in the past two weeks, Damon would ask me to come out with him nearby the woods to train. At first, I wasn't sure what he wanted to do but when he asked me, I understood. It was about making his body durable without the help of an enhancement.
Every night, he asked me to throw objects at his body like rocks, wood, or anything that I can find nearby. Of course, I only used an adequate amount of strength, but never did he once scream in pain nor asked me to stop. After a session was done, he asked me to heal him, and I thought that it was the end of the training but no, he wanted to do it again.
He still has a long way to go but his making quick work of it due to his work ethic. One day, in the future, I believe that he'll become an unbreakable shield for Sparta.
Back in the arena, the barrage of water spears stopped after a few minutes. The surrounding area was devastated with varied size of craters. Feeling that he had already won, Nikos declared himself in front of everyone as the victor. As soon as he turned his back on Damon, a spear shot past him, a few more inches to the left and he'd be dead.
Looking back, he saw Damon. Emerging from the barrage, he endured, showing resilience that was nothing short of astounding. Despite the onslaught, he emerged with mere scratches, displaying a level of endurance that defied expectations.
"A Spartan Woman hits harder than you." Damon said in a tone of mockery.
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