Chapter 31
It took Maro a couple days of rest and healing to wake up.
When he woke up, he felt amazing… He had been sacrificing sleep to partake in his night time shenanigans. And a couple days of coma sleep made him feel a lot better.
He sat up and looked around… Alleria and Valleria were not there… in fact no one was.
"Too stupid to die, I see" Gnarlo surprised him
"God fucking damnit it Gnarlo, wear a god damn bell on your head or something" Maro almost had a heart attack.
HAHAHA Gnarlo was laughing and then he threw a wineskin at him, "here, you're probably thirsty"
Maro gulped and gulped till the wineskin was done… Ahhhh that hit the spot.
"Thank you Captain…"
"Shut it" Gnarlo threw another wineskin at him… it worked it shut Maro up.
"How'd everything go downstairs" he asked
"We work so much better when you aren't there… 2 weeks with you to get to sub level 5… we got to sub level 16 in the couple days you were out."
"How, we were going so slow, what changed"
"You being almost dead changed it, your last warcry immediately cause a rout… the rout did not stop and we kept chasing them until a couple hours ago. Turns out your spear line strategy was too conservative… The Dwarves took no damage in their fancy armour… they just went all out with their axes…"
Maro raised his eyebrows in surprise
"In fact we have a bunch of class unlocks, a couple more gnomes got the rogue class… couple more humans and dwarves unlocked their warrior class… we have a pretty strong group now… in fact some of the same ratios of Class unlock as some of the royal units in the capital. Heck the dwarves are better armoured than the personal guards of the stewards…"
"Cool" Maro replied as he sipped on the second wine sack.
He was actually most excited that they had more gnome Rogues… they could scout and spy anywhere they pleased now.
Maro got out of the bed… he was completely naked.
Gnarlo, having no mercy swung a third wine sack straight into his nuts and sprinted away.
"Fucking piece of sneaky troll shit…. Commander Ass eater of the Trolls"
Maro grabbed some clothes set aside for him, found his twin swords and took the remaining wine skins with him and stepped outside.
Everyone was happy to see him walking around, some people even cried trying to touch him, people were thanking him for everything he did. It was nice to be appreciated, in his past life everything he did was classified and most people looked upon his career with disdain.
Maro parted the crowd and got to work, he checked in on Valleria and Alleria, snuck in a quickie and then made the long trek down 16 flights of giant stone staircases.
On the 16th floor, as soon as they saw him, they cheered out loud. They chanted his name and raised him in the air. Kadrin presented him with the heads of 12 Hobgoblin classes, including the two mages they encountered.
Wow were his boys strong now, 10 elite class kills without his help… he was impressed. And only 1 death amongst his men… a bunch of casualties but nothing Alleria and Valleria couldn't heal.
Maro wanted to stop the descent down, regroup and recruit or liberate more camps to fill out the forces in the fortress so they were not spread thin…If there was an attack upstairs now, it would take a while for news to reach them and a couple more hours for them to get up there.
He knew though the dwarves would never give up cleansing their ancestral home of all goblin filth… There were at least a couple more floors to clear out and that wasn't including any of the underground mines that went on for who knows how long.
"Kadrin… we're stretched thin and short on men… if we were attacked upstairs right now we wouldn't be able to help for hours…"
Kadrin nodded but looked uncomfortable…
"Don't worry, you and your dwarves are in complete charge… I will leave the gnomes with you as well… I plan on taking the swordsmen and Gnarlo to find a place to liberate"
"Let me stop you right there, the province bordering us up north is really into gladiatorial sports, they have an arena that matches the splendor of anything the Capital might have… Its where disgusting rich nobles across all races watch people die for their amusement"
Kadrin continued "they have hundreds of gladiators in the pits, strong too… if you can stage a breakout and get a couple hundred of them to join us, we'll be able to handle most things thrown our way…"
An adventure… just what Maro was looking for… he was getting bored here anyways… no sun for weeks on end. He would go to his first big city in this new world… Brothel First!
"Gnarlo, you shit where are you, we're heading out, meet me in the courtyard tomorrow morning!."
He looked at his swordsmen "you guys too, we're going on an adventure!"
But he had to do his goodbye ritual with his Elf lady friends first…
Alleria was in her half cat form while Valeria was still full elf… Alleria like how her senses were heightened…
They were laying in bed together, mid way through their romp session, when Maro went "listen… I'm going to be traveling for a bit and you both will need to stay here to help the Dwarves and the farmers… I plan on fulfilling my needs on the road…"
Hahaha they both started laughing, "Oh please, we always knew you had a thing for Gnarlo, I can only imagine his small hands and how it would look"
"No I'm being serious, I may or may not possibly theoretically, hypothetically be going to a brothel when I get to the city"
Both ladies started laughing even harder…
"We may have bonded ourselves to you, but that was for protection… Elves live for thousands of years… monogamy is not a permanent concept to us. We'll move on once you age and die haha"
Alleria took one of her claws and ran it by his jugular, she leaned in and whispered "don't get in too much trouble"
Valleria leaned in on the other side and whispered "bring us back a friend" she bit his ear lightly
She grabbed his junk with her hand while biting his ear… "this better be in perfect condition when you get back"
Maro's blood was pumping, he activated warcry, fully knowing he may lose some fingers and an eye in the process.
Chapter 32
Next morning, they took 4 wagons, loaded up supplies and some silver just in case. Maro waved goodbye to Rolf and off they went.
"Gnarlo, how long till we get there again?"
"A week… a full week of us sitting side by side… please don't make this journey more difficult than it has too… I barely tolerate you as is" He said looking straight ahead.
Maro rubbed the hair on his head like he was a toddle, Gnarlo slapped him across the face with the wine skin
They both laughed and then continued grumbling in annoyance of each other.
An eventless week later, they had arrived at the gates of the entertainment city of Gloriana
No hi, no hello, no pleasantries
"We've been on the road too long, cursed by each other's company, where is the best brothel in the city!"
That broke the Ice, the guards laughed.
"Patience weary traveler, you can have all the access you want to the brothels once procedure has been followed"
Gnarlo couldn't wait and just walked in unnoticed while holding up a new obscene gesture that Maro taught him… 2 little middle fingers in the air…
"Please do, we are hungry, tired, thirsty and horny!"
He got another laugh with that one.
"Purpose of visit" the guard asked
Maro and Gnarlo spent a week making up fantasy backstories out of boredom, all that ended up with Gnarlo somehow being the boss.
Maro blanked for a second, he blanked for a couple more seconds… "we're here to enter the arena as challengers"
… "how are you going to enjoy the brothel if you are dead"
"Easily, before and after every match" Maro responded with a blank stare
"Ok… Arena registration is by the arena, you can't miss it, you'll be able to see it as soon as you pass the gates… and the brothels are coincidentally near the arena… filled with people as confident as you… On you go"
Maro paid the toll for his wagons and men and drove the carriage inside…
The arena was sitting at the city centre, it was vast… it looked like a brand new Roman colosseum… Maro looked around
Holy hell it was large, it must be a 100k person city atleast… All the architecture was completely random… Human houses, Beastmen shops, Dwarf Inns, Orc fight pits in the centre of most squares… every street was unique… this city proves the Unity Kingdom can function somewhat… He was impressed until he realized there were 2-4 guards at the corner of every street. They had more guards patrolling the inside than manning the walls. Guess not as peaceful as it initially looked.
Maro made the painful decision to register at the Arena first… he needed to scope things out… What better way to scope it out than to be a participant.
Pretty pissed that Gnarlo was enjoying the brothels before he did… Maro looked at his men
Pointed out his 4 men who had a warrior class now… "lets make some money"
Everyone registered independently, in the off chance people would target them.
At the Gloriana Arena, everyone was judged by your wins. If you lost once you would most likely die, in the off chance you lived your stats would be completely reset.
Due to the nature of the Orcs and some Beastmen tribes most of the willing participants were from those two races. A good chunk were also involuntary participants, who had broke one law or another. Those people Maro would target for liberation!
After a cohort of people finished registering, the officiant gave them a breakdown of the rules. A human with glasses…race traitor…
"New fighters with zero wins to five, exclusively fight before noon. No one wants to see losers at prime time"
"Fights have no rules, if someone gives up, you could honour their request or kill them, or with some Orcs take their bodies in conquest in the middle of the arena, the city doesn't care"
What the fuck, these people watched Orcs rape people to the death. What a moronic fucking place, who the hell enjoyed watching that.
"No cheating of any kind if you are found to do so, you will become a prisoner participant"
"With all that said folks, get a good night's sleep, the lot of you fight in the morning… good luck to you humans…" as their fellow humans gave them sorrowful glances.
"One question sir, should we expect to encounter people with Classes?"
"Only if you are unlucky and meet up a new participant who is trying to grind 25 wins to be part of top tier of fighters in the arena"
Kadrin couldn't help but grin, easy betting… we're gonna be rich.
Fuck this shit, time for the brothels.
They headed to the brothels in groups of 4-6, each warrior with a class led their own group.
Maro immediately went to the nicest looking brothel, kicked in the door.
"I'm fighting tomorrow, I need two women for the night, good wine and a third woman!" He roared, disrupting the fellow Brothel goers. His men laughed with him.
A laugh came from the back
A tall, beautiful blonde with blue eyes walked up to him. She was wearing a silk pink dress that exposed one beautiful breast and the opposite thigh completely… guess to show off the goods before purchase.
Maro's internal dialogue was completely distracted and not composed, however on the outside he was cold, charismatic and making eye contact with her.
He leaned in "what happens if you can't handle me by yourself"
She smiled "arrogance or confidence… which is it?"
"Only one way to find out…" Without breaking eye contact, "Barkeep, if my wine runs out tonight… I'll fight you in the arena tomorrow" and with that he picked up the unnamed brothel worker and headed upstairs.
No one could challenge his ego as a sex god, he was up for the challenge.
After an hour or so, the blonde lady walked to the top of the steps, with her legs shaking… "Jaina, Victoria!, take over for me!" as she tried going down the stairs with a death grip on the railing and silver coins clinking in her purse
A brunette and a redhead came up to her and asked if she was okay…
With her hair in a mess and her dress barely back on, "He broke my spirit… but I am fine"
A little startled the ladies, went on up… after 5 min of contemplating what kind of transcendent experience she just went through… she caught herself drooling and the blonde lady limped her way back upstairs to the room.
Chapter 33
In the 0 to 5 win category there was not any structure, there was a pool of candidates… pick anyone and fight… You were unable to refuse a challenge from someone in your cohort.
Maro gave the task of betting the house on him and his swordsmen up to the 20 win mark at least. They had no desire to be arena champs, they were here for the easy money… they all remembered their main goal… scouting out the arena to find out a way to break out the prisoners.
The announcer tried to calm down the roaring crowd, Maro had beheaded his fifth Orc in less than an hour. The morning crowd wasn't having it, they rarely saw real excitement… Tickets to the morning show were extremely cheap… Tickets to primetime shows were more than a regular person would make in a lifetime.
The betting pool in the morning wasn't large so their winnings for each fight weren't extreme. But Gnarlo's Gnome side came out, he had borderline gone crazy after betting and winning 25 fights in a row in one morning.
He couldn't continue as they had to re-register him for the 5-10 bracket. His next set of fights still would not be scheduled. However this time, people with 9 wins challenged first, then the 8s etc and you could not refuse a challenge.
They had tripled the silver they came here with. Gnarlo took his portion and went big city shopping, bought the finest tailored gnomish clothes, bought gaudy jewelry, and threw money wherever he went…
Not that Maro could judge, as soon as his men were done fighting, he went right away to another brothel and stayed right up until it was time to fight… not that he had any other motives, but a fighter going to a brothel definitely allowed him to blend into the city.
The 5 to 10 win cohort went by just as fast… 5 absolutely spectacular beheadings against 2 orcs and 3 beastmen of the Owl, Coyote and Hawk tribes.
His men also won all of their fights in a seamless fashion… The betting pool was a lot larger for the early afternoon fights. After spending as much money as possible they still ended up quadrupling what they had yesterday.
Gnarlo absolutely lost his mind, he started a commission with a jeweler for a Gnomish crown to symbolize his kinghood, he bought a walking stick scepter with a giant figure on top in the shape of a Troll and he commissioned a leather worker to make a new harness for Rolf that protected him from the elements and provided a lot more comfort.
Maro wasn't aware of this at the time, but Gnarlo was actually putting in work… He had been shmoozing all night with rich nobles… he had found out where the prisoners were held as well.
Fights 10 - 20 were spread out over the course of a couple days, there weren't enough people around to challenge them and when they went to challenge people.. For some reason the officials gave them a pass on refusing, on grounds that they were doing work for the Arena…
The only people available were some prisoners, but Maro refused to fight them, he needed as many of them on his side as possible for when the time came.
By the end of it, they lost access to a full cart… They came with one medium sized chest of silver. In fight 20, his swordsmen drew straws on who would lose and the losers would throw the fight…
Their one medium sized chest of silver became multiple chests of silver stacked on top of each other… They bought new carts and horses to go with them for a total of 10 transport wagons. The human swordsmen bowed out of the rest of the fights, the real risk of death started after 20 wins, winning the arena wasn't the goal here. They made enough money to field a ten thousand man mercenary army…
On fight 21, it got hard…er…ish
He was challenged by a large orc who dual wielded axes and actually wore full leather armour. Dual swords vs Dual Axes… it drew a large crowd.
The Orc warrior threw 100% blows with both of his axes non stop. He even used multiple warrior based abilities like [Leap] where he would jump and land with a bang destroying the ground and blowing everything away.
The Orc even had [Axe Throw] which he only used once, thankfully. When the Orc threw his axe it blew out a portion of the granite wall…
But now he only had one weapon, Maro slipped the aggressive swing of the other axe and sliced his head off with one smooth movement… and in a very cool manner walked off without looking back. The crowd went bananas at the showmanship. It had been a while since a human had made it past 20… there were currently 2 other humans in his cohort. Some random warrior of renown and an Ice mage… both people he didn't care about since he assumed they were race traitors.
The combatants in his cohort were fearless, he was challenged right away and with no other high tier fights scheduled that day, it was allowed.
Maro gulped at who he was looking at…
A bearman, 2 and half meters tall, wielding a 2 handed maul… He stared at the maul and all he could think was 'instant death'... Maybe the deity would reincarnate him a third time…
When the match started it was almost over just as quick. All the bearman did was one swing of the maul when Maro dodged and did [Vanguard charge] from point blank range. His swords impaled the bearman to the hilt and the momentum kept going. He launched the bear onto the spikes of the Arena wall unintentionally.
Boom the crowd Roared, this was new, they were tired of Orc and Beastmen fights… no strategy just bashing each other to see who lasted the longest. Rumours of Maro were spreading, his reputation was growing not only in the Arena… every night he would wear out multiple brothel workers… they wouldn't be able to work for a couple days after the workout he put them through but he paid extremely well so all the brothel owners were happy when he visited.
People started inquiring about him…
Betting the house on Maro for the last two high tier fights was almost 50% of the earnings they received from the last 20 fights across 5 fighters each.
Maro loitered in the arena a little bit to see if someone else would challenge him… but no one did. He started to walk off when an official approached him…
"Sir Maro, as a high tier combatant we have special quarters and a lounge for you prepared"
"Not interested, if there's no women there, I'm going to a brothel" and started to walk away again
"We have contracts with the a lot of the high end brothels in town, name it and it will be delivered to the privacy of your quarters" the young official beamed
"Lead the way" Maro smirked
Chapter 34
Wow the lounge was nice, marble everywhere… a wine fountain… and other competitors… He had made enough money, he had to focus on breaking the prisoners free somehow.
He didn't see a need to talk to these 'Champions' they were all orcs and beastmen, they all looked incredibly intimidating… to little boys that is… they were all 1 dimensional fighters and a lot more dumb than he was… he didn't expect a single issue with any one of them if they challenged him.
He was going to go off to his private room with any escorts that were up for the challenge when he spotted her… A human female in this room… no… he was not going to be sexist… It's too much. She must be really strong… and beautiful
Without thinking he had already crossed half the lobby walking straight to her, ignoring the dangerous opponents who were all staring at him…
Suddenly he slipped on something slippery, boom he fell to the floor with all his weight… The dumb gladiators erupted in laughter. He kept trying to get up and kept slipping, there was ice all over the floor, where did that come from.
Must have been her, she was exotic. Silver hair, pale grey eyes, fair face, sultry lips… he was smitten. He could tell she had an athletic figure under her beautifully embroidered Ice blue mage robes.
After slipping for a couple more seconds, he activated [Consecrated Ground], the ripple of holy fire allowed him to melt the ice with each step.
Maro never gave up, he kept slowly walking over to her.
She immediately said "I'm not interested in being challenged right now"
One of the Orcs piped up "She strong mage, you gonna die."
He ignored him
"I'm not interested in challenging you. I want to court you"
This time the laughter erupted for him, not at him. The gladiators thought he was ballsy.
Her silver white skin immediately blushed red, she coughed "excuse me?!" She was caught off guard.
Maro simply rephrased himself
"You are extremely attractive, probably the most beautiful woman in this city, I wish to pursue you… shall I be more explicit?" he winked
Suddenly an ice wall came up between them. She's god damn fast at conjuring magic… fastest he'd seen so far and in the winner's circle lounge…
Maro punched through the ice wall and stepped forward like a terminator.
Maro felt like causing trouble.
"My lady, I apologize… I have not even brought forth the most basic of courtesy… My name is Maro the Warrior, liberator of the Order races, slayer of Orcs and I shit in Goblin skulls… I also drink out of them sometimes too but different skulls obviously…"
As he rambled everyone froze. All the Orcs gripped their weapons a bit tighter…but no one moved… City Orcs were definitely smarter by a bit.
"Was it something I said?"
The mage's face had dropped at his audicity… she didn't look at him in anger… she wasn't a race traitor, he had to recruit her, she was his main focus now.
He stepped forward again… all the orcs stood up.
He leaned in and whispered
"What would it take, for you to be mine"
She snapped out of it. The Orcs stood up with weapons in hand.
She blew him away with a cold wind, he slammed into the wall and then she encased him in a meter of clear ice.
The tension broke and everyone laughed at him again. Only being able to move his eyelids, he saw about 10 orcs approach him, all of them issued challenges for him tomorrow… This is going to suck hard, he thought.
Then the Ice Mage approached him. Staring at him curiously, who was he to be so fearless to announce himself like that… even in the block of ice, his eyes looked colder. He was calm even after basically having his death declared tomorrow. These weren't normal Gladiators that challenged him, each one completely feared on the streets, absolutely brutal in and out of the arena…
It was a shame he would die…
She finally met someone who was brave enough to declare that he was the "liberator of the order races. She rationalized that he was just an egotistical meat head, but he had never once broken his gaze at her. So she touched the ice and teased back, assuming he was a dead man tomorrow.
"My name is Katarina, survive tomorrow and then challenge the Master of the Arena" and then she kissed the Ice… gave him a sad look and left the lobby. Maro could just stare at her as she walked away… she was cool… She knew how to make an exit.
Maro didn't even use consecrated ground, his bloodrush activated by itself and his body sweated through the block of ice… He needed to be cooled down.
Now, left alone with masters in the art of combat who wanted to kill him… He laughed out loud "A deal is a deal" he yelled in case the mage could hear him… he filled up a couple skins in the wine fountain… Looked at all the Orcs… "All those who challenged me shall die tomorrow" His demeanor had gone 180, cold and serious.
Then immediately went to find Gnarlo before the collective brain cells of the Orcs could form a response… It had been a while since he met with him… only speaking through messengers and notes so far.
It was evening… the Swordsmen had snitched on Gnarlo… he happened to frequent a specific brothel which tailored their staff to the tastes of men who liked the bigger ladies. Preferences aside, Maro enjoyed himself a thicker woman every once in a while.
Chapter 35
Maro stepped inside… none of his swordsmen escort followed… red flag number one, Maro thought.
His eyes adjusted to the light and his brain had trouble processing what he saw.
The guards assigned to keep watch on Gnarlo… were traumatised in the corner drinking beer in silence… they didn't even notice as he stepped in.
Gnarlo had blown a bunch of cash to reserve the entire brothel for tonight… he kept the most obese woman on site…
It felt like none of this was real…
There were incredibly obese and naked Gnomish, Dwarvish and Human women walking around. They all had custom made saddles on their backs and feed buckets strapped to their chests filled with pastries…
Just as he thought about how much money Gnarlo was blowing, coming through the back doors was a fancy palanquin, with silk green drapes to match his hair and golden embroidery… four obese dwarf women carried him… they were adorned in a shit ton of silver jewelery… How much fucking money was this guy spending. They put the palanquin down in the centre of the room.
Maro, still speechless, let the show go on… all the obese women with saddles had lined up from short to tall on both sides of the palanquin.
The silver adorned obese Dwarf women announced in unison…
"All kneel before the King of Gnomes, Troll Tamer, The avaricious and magnanimous Gnarlo"
The women in saddles got down on all fours. If Maro had his composure back, he would be laughing his ass off… but he was still in shock.
The curtains on the palanquin were pulled apart by the Dwarves…
What stood there… was not meant for human eyes to see.
Gnarlo was standing naked, his crown was finished… it was gold and had intricate details on how he tamed his Troll. In one hand was his fancy Troll head sceptre and in the other he was holding a plate of cake…
"You may rise" he squeaked in an extra nasally tone
All the obese women lined up, as if practiced. They all took turns dipping Gnarlo's penis into the cake and then took a lick off of his… penis.
Gnarlo spoke after the first Gnome woman was done… "you have been blessed by the king, next subject"
His brain was fried, he had enough. "Gnarlo!!! What the fuck!"
Gnarlo jumped up, scared as shit…hiding in his palanquin… "Maro… is that you?" he peeped through the curtain.
"Two things… what the fuck is this and how much silver have you blown through"
Gnarlo put on a robe and stepped out, his confidence back.
"One, none of your fucking business and Two, I've only spend a fraction of my personal share… we are absolutely rich… Three… don't tell Kadrin"
Maro yelled back "Three, I'm telling Kadrin. Two, that's good to know and Four, I got challenged by like 10 plus Orcs for tomorrow and I found an Ice Mage that we could possibly recruit"
It was Gnarlo's turn to be shocked
"Katarina the Ice Queen… are you even more stupid than you were yesterday? She holds the number 4 Gladiator spot… One of only Three mages, in the kingdom, that have renown as duelists… you are going to die if you speak to her" Gnarlo exaggerated how outrageous this was to get the attention off of his shenanigans.
Maro gestured to a table. "Ladies you are excused for an hour, we have to discuss business"
The whole room was relieved, the ladies all went upstairs to their rooms immediately… tired of this Gnome. One of the Dwarven ladies took the cake Gnarlo was putting his dick into, licked off some of the icing and winked at Gnarlo and went off.
At least one of them was into it.
They sat down, the two of them. They poured themselves some beer and continued.
Maro recounted what had just happened to Gnarlo…
Gnarlo's eyes physically changed colour into gold and silver… "After those Orc fights… once you are past 30 wins in a row… you gain the right to challenge the Arena master… rumoured to be at 83 wins… Every new Arena Master gets to ask a boon from the Mayor… It's been years since a new one, even the Arena Master has not fought in at least 2 years… You are going to die"
"Thats why I am here, how close are you to finding a way to break out the prisoners"
…Gnarlo stuttered "umm ummm they are under the arena, held in cages until they are called upon."
"So have you come up with any ideas?"
Gnarlo had a stroke of genius… yes a stroke of genius, Half of Gnarlo's face started drooping in concentration… "Yes thats it… beat the arena master and your boon can be to have all the prisoners released… they are just slaves after all… shouldn't be too hard to fill their pits with new prisoners."
"You did fuck all this entire time, while our men and I had been fighting and earning us money while you blew it all away on this extravaganza"
"Not fair, I structured all the bets to avoid suspicion…" Gnarlo looked into his beer
"You are so lucky that the Ice Queen's condition was to beat the Arena Master… I swear to fuck Gnarlo… If I die… I will possess Rolf and crush you under his nutsack until you die"
Gnarlo sadly laughed… "Speaking of Trolls… apparently the Arena master is one… a female troll… that has unlocked a class"
Maro's frown turned into a disgusting smile… Gnarlo caught on immediately.
"Hell no, hell no, hell no, hell no"
"Gnarlo my dear useless friend, if you do not back up your title as Troll tamer… I will tell your escorts that you are lying… besides after seeing what you are into… Aren't you a little curious… don't you wanna try fucking the Arena master?
Maro was covered in beer "How dare you! Bismirch my honour as the King of Gnomes…" A long pause followed… "I agree".
Their plan was simple… If Maro made it to challenge the Arena Master… Gnarlo would sneak into the basement again and try to tame the Troll in advance.
Chapter 36
The eighth Orc's head was pierced onto one of the spikes protruding from the walls of the Arena… matching the other seven Orc heads.
Maro was running on empty… two more left… just two more… The crowd was ecstatic… It had been years since such an active and exciting challenger was present. He fought everyday multiple times a day… The crowd thought all he cared about was blood and glory.
But all Maro could think about was how Katarina the Ice Queen most likely wore no clothes under her long mage robes…and a small portion of his mind went towards racist disdain for the orcs… because he really didn't want to be raped in the middle of the Arena…
Maro healed himself and sat down trying to catch a bit of rest before the next Orc came down.
The announcer projected his voice "Our next Gladiator needs no introduction… Graktha the Rapist"
The crowd had a mixed reaction, some people hushed… meanwhile immediate concern swept across Maro… I'm so tired… I really don't want to be used like that…
He barely had stamina to maintain Bloodrush, he could at most use Vanguard Charge only twice… War cry didn't intimidate Gladiators of this level and consecrated ground was useless in this scenario… he really needed to get a new ability. He had leveled up considerably… but no new abilities.
Just then Graktha stepped into the ring. He was absolutely covered in scars all over his body… How did Maro know? Because Graktha was completely naked. His weird Orc penis and balls were smacking around with every step.
Graktha stood on his side of the Arena and roared… It was absolutely scary… his penis flapping around with the roar… He had to kill him before he was raped.
Gnarlo, on the sidelines, was dying of laughter as soon as the Orc's name was announced… He ran down to the betting area and put a couple silver down on 'Death by Rape'
Maro gave him a death stare… Gnarlo thought it was even more funny
Graktha wielded dual chipped and jagged swords… swords were rare for an Orc…Maro took a defensive stance
The announcer looked at both ends of the Arena, seeing that they were ready… "BEGIN"
Graktha sprinted full force to Maro and put him on the back foot.
Maro was too tired for any fancy maneouvers… he would wait until Graktha made a mistake and strike then…
Blow after blow… the mistake did not come. Maro hadn't even struck back once yet, he was so exhausted.
The crowd was on the edge of their seats watching metal clash and sparks fly… Finally it looked like Maro would be close to dying.
Seeing that Maro was close to his end… Graktha got more excited with each strike until he was fully erect.
Fuck this shit!!!!, how is this… how is rape allowed… I will kill all those green fucks. Maro's internal alarms were all red and flashing.
Maro immediately broke off from the fighting and started to run away… being chased by a horny orc whose nickname was the Rapist had Gnarlo purple… he couldn't stop crying… he couldn't start breathing…
Even the swordsmen were laughing… some even had followed Gnarlo to put a bet down on Maro getting raped to death.
Maro was so over it… he really did not want to get raped… he was way too tired… until he got a stupid and lazy idea.
After running in circles for a long time he finally tripped and fell over exhausted. The entire crowd went quiet… so did Gnarlo… he didn't anticipate for Maro to actually get raped to death… He was more worried about the astronomical amount of coin he put down for Maro to win… Only the goblins in the audience were cheering now.
Just as Graktha slowed down to stand over Maro… Maro spun, slashed his sword and lopped off Graktha's penis and balls in one swing. Liters of blood were spilling out of his groin fast, he took an angry step toward Maro and collapsed.
He grabbed the dick and balls in his gloved hand and stabbed it onto the spikes against the Arena wall in victory.
The crowd exploded, people were throwing stuff into the Arena, cheering "Maro! Maro! Maro!" over and over again. They had never been entertained so much before.
Maro couldn't even hear the crowd at this point… he was almost done… just one more. After 9 fights in a row, even the officials felt bad for him… they stalled a bit to get him some extra rest.
The announcer piped up again "Congratulations to Maro on his 31st win… our next challenger is only second to the Arena Master and had actually survived a bout with the great Troll before re-starting from 0 to get all the way back here. Please welcome "Lorkna, the Rapist and Graktha's wife"
Maro had it, he yelled out "FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT ORCS, TRY NOT RAPING FOR ONCE"
His men on the sidelines, couldn't be seen because they were convulsing on the floor in laughter induced seizures… Gnarlo was unable to even get up to place another joke bet.
Maro couldn't even register that Lorkna was a female orc… she looked exactly like her husband…at least she wore clothes. She was wearing light leather armour with a studded leather war skirt.
As they stood staring at each other from opposite ends of the arena…
Lorkna spoke finally, "You owe me new husband!" and then she flashed what was under her skirt… Maro wanted to cut his own head off and gouge out his eyes and then light his head on fire.
He saw a new thing today… Lorkna had a large… clitoris that was pierced with rows of studs… It was large enough to resemble… a large man's penis… the studs had spikes protruding on the ends.
He really wanted to just die right now…
"You will be my toy, until new husband" She smiled… her sharp orc teeth glaring…
At least Lorkna fought with a large axe… He could dodge and save some energy from having to parry over and over again.
He got into a defensive stance. The announcer spoke "Begin!"
Lorkna also had a warrior charge-like ability and she was in front of him in a split second.
No way he could block that, he quickly stepped off to the side and tried to cut her sides but before he could she backhanded him with enough force that he lost one of his swords and was pushed back 5 meters.
Maro spat blood, he wasn't going to waste his limited energy on a heal for a minor injury. He jumped back to re-organize himself and she immediately did her charge ability again.
He managed to dodge but lost his balance as he wasn't expecting a second charge and he backed up again to be charged a third time.
This time she shoulder checked him and blasted him into the Arena wall… one of the spikes piercing his side completely.
He used his last stores of energy to heal his wound closed…
Enough was enough… His leather armour was dirty, sweaty, bloody and torn in multiple places. He ripped it off.
His sweat covered muscles glistened in the Arena
Even Lorkna said "you be very good toy" while smirking
Maro was fuming… "KATARINA, YOU WILL BE MINE" he yelled for the entire arena to hear. Everyone cheered, assuming he would challenge her next.
But only Katarina knew what he really meant… she blushed, and got over it just as quick… he was never going to beat the Arena champ.
Lorkna charged again, but you could only use the same move a couple times against a professional.
Maro did not go for a killing blow or a dodge, he changed strategies and struck her lead hand as she swung her axe.
Her axe flew and smashed into the wall, her right hand was bleeding heavily.
She was unarmed… he threw his sword into the ground… Now so was he.
The crowd erupted and then Maro used [Vanguard Charge]
He caught her off guard and slammed an elbow into her face at full speed, knocking her back 20 meters.
His soul cried out from being so tired, he had one last use of charge left. He ran to her as she was getting up, he grabbed her in a bear hug… With one working hand she couldn't pry him off.
He used Vanguard Charge again. Boom he blasted off and penetrated her back with one of the wall spikes… He was done… 8 Orc heads a penis and the number 2 challenger were all impaled on the walls as decoration.
He immediately fell asleep in exhaustion as the crowds were booming.
Chapter 37
They had turned one medium sized chest of silver into two entire Merchant wagons stacked with chests of Silver. They had the funds of a small kingdom… They needed to leave soon; it was too much money for even 25 swordsmen to guard at this point.
Off their shifts, Gnarlo and the guards were blowing as much cash as they could at the brothels… they were spending so much money, they caused an inflationary spike in the Brothel district.
A lot of regular workers were priced out even some nobles were starting to get pissed… They all chopped it up to the excitement of the new Gladiator bringing in a boat load of business to the city, as merchants and nobles started pouring in, in anticipation of the Arena champion fighting again.
Maro woke up in his private quarters in the Winner's lobby, no expense was spared in treating and helping Maro recover… He was given stamina, mana and health recovery potions. There was a lot of money and excitement involved whenever the Champion fought and barely anyone was willing to challenge the mighty Troll.
After all the arena staff left, surprisingly Katarina walked in… even her walk was intoxicating.
She took off her hood and sat down on the edge of his bed. His body had been extremely relaxed after laying down for so long, he immediately got an erection under the covers… his young body betrayed him…Katarina saw.
"Are you really that into me?" she raised her eyebrows.
Maro already over trying to be bashful and trying to hide it, just looked at her and responded "Yes"
"I want you, I've made that clear… our deal still stands"
She laughed "hahaha, you're still gooing to die this coming weekend… they slotted your fight against the champ for prime time"
"As long as you understand, a deal is a deal" Maro put on his most devilish grin, making Katarina feel a bit nervous for half a second.
"Do you mind if I ask you something" she asked
"Go ahead" Maro laid back down
"What did you mean when you said you were the 'Liberator of the Order races'..." She asked bluntly
"Well where do I begin, I liberated a Re-education facility on the edge of the country, that somehow only imprisoned Order races… I freed a bunch of people from an Orc camp, including two elf ladies, whom I will introduce to you later… I also broke up a work camp that locked Dwarves in the mines 24/7…"
He paused for a second "Oh and we are starting our own kingdom-country-city-club thing, whatever you wanna call it, in an ancient Dwarf Fortress, large enough to house tens of thousands of people… but only currently has a couple hundred."
Katarina was calculating everything he said… how do you just decide to start another country…
She didn't know if she could trust him… but he was going to die tomorrow anyways so she confessed everything to him.
Her parents were basic mages, but instilled in her their curiosity for all things arcane, so she was younger than most when she initially got her mage class…
On their way to the Main Academy for mages in the capital, they were set upon by a group of bandits. Mainly Orcs, goblins and even some hobgoblins… a strong force.
Her parents tried to stop them but were caught, tortured and eventually killed… She had been tied up and left in one piece to watch what they did to her parents for their entertainment. Eventually a local militia of Humans bartered for her life, not willing to chase and kill them for fear of reprisal from the Unity Kingdom… her trauma after witnessing what happened to her parents, left her so angry for such a long time. Anger towards the Orcs and Goblins and anger towards the Kingdom for allowing this to happen and not pursuing justice.
That was the reason she geared her magic towards direct fighting as opposed to research and artillery. Her combat experience let her unlock a class specialization and that is how she became the Ice Queen.
She joined the Arena so she could kill Green skinned bastards without getting in trouble for it… So when Maro made his grand announcement, it made her remember that she hated the Kingdom too for allowing all of this to keep going on…
It's a shame Maro was going to die… he was strong and would understand her anger.
Maro grabbed her hand "Everything I have said is true… I liberated those camps… I did start a new city… I promised I would kill those orcs and I will beat the champion tomorrow… and the most truthful thing I have said… I want you."
She teared up… he was just another asshole playing at her emotions… There is no way anyone would be able to overcome the champion. She desperately wanted to believe his vision for a new place to live.
The troll was old and well versed in combat, having been champion here for two decades, its tough skin could deflect crossbow bolts and had serious anti magic properties… anyone that could cut it would quickly find out how strong its regeneration was… It carried two large war mauls… nothing could escape its reach.
Maro gulped … if he was actually going to fight it he would die, but he planned on cheating… his life was in Gnarlo's hands now.
"If you still don't trust me, let's have some wine… If I was going to die, knowing I had a night with you even once… I would die happy"
"You do realize how much of a dirtbag you are" as she grabbed a wineskin for him.
Maro sat up to drink the wine. "Want some" he offered
She took it from him and took a swig, giving it back, she winked at him teasingly
Maro's heart was already pounding at max… was this going to happen?
He would be so happy.
She slipped her hand underneath his blanket, leaned in and said… "a deal is a deal" and froze his penis in a block of Ice.
She took the wine skin, took a sip, got up, threw it back at him and left.
A sensation of cold and calm washed over him, his heart beat slowed down again… She was good with her exits, she was cool as hell, he thought.
Even her walk out was extra seductive…
He was sipping his wine for a while, before his penis started to really feel like burning from the Ice… he started panicking a little bit, he couldn't crush ice without hurting the head he used the most.
A couple seconds later, Gnarlo walked into Maro's room and saw he was bashing his frozen penis on the corner of the table while casting healing spells on his penis.
He just stood at the door, watching… Eventually Maro put his penis over a couple of lit candles until the ice completely melted.
"Maro, time to debrief" Gnarlo coughed
They weren't even phased anymore at the crazy stuff that happened to them anymore, they just continued as Maro was dressing himself.
"Whats the status on the Troll" he inquired
"Almost, we should be good by fight night... Bellina is nice enough… she's just lonely… I told her I was also the brain of another Troll named Rolf… she is actually interested in coming with us… she is interested in meeting the Troll that shares her brain… but once she does come back, no one will ever be able to say I am not a Tamer of Trolls, my title of Gnome King will be solidified"
"Well you already have the crown and sceptre, Just make sure she surrenders to me after a short scuffle".
"Dont worry cash-cow, I will be hidden in the shadows of her neck folds. No one from up in the arena will be able to see me. I can whisper to her whatever I want…" he smiled
Maro didn't want to know what the gnome was thinking about… but based on what he saw in the brothel… he really didn't want to picture Gnarlo trying to have sex with a troll.
They were ready to make a shit ton of money… with Maro as the underdog the odds were looking good.
Chapter 38
"Welcome our newest and brightest challenger, Maro the Great!"
Maro walked in to the cheers of the audience, waving and looking confident.
"And now for the moment you all have been waiting years for.."
A large section of the Arena floor started to open… Thud… Thud…Thud
Each step shook the entire arena floor… Thud… Thud…
And out Bellina emerged… Maro's jaw dislocated from dropping to the floor… She was a meter taller than Rolf… Her two great mauls were the length of trees. A giant steel ball with spikes was on the end of each one. He was sweating balls… Please Gnarlo, I'm sorry for making fun of you…
Not only was Bellina massive… she was the only Troll known in existence to ever get a class… no wonder she was bigger than Rolf.
Suddenly he saw a small little hand from under her chin wave… whew… Gnarlo was in position.
Maro started up his showmanship
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Arena… I hope you bet everything you had on me!" he roared and the crowd jeered as 99% of people bet on Bellina
He pointed one of his swords at Bellina "You great Troll, are you ready!"
Bellina let out a roar so large and loud, Maro had to brace himself to not get blown back… His warcry sounded like a bird chirping in comparison.
While covered in Troll spit the announcer said "Begin!"
Immediately Bellina smashed the floor underneath him and blew apart the Arena floor, exposing the first basement.
"What the fuck Gnarlo" he said just loud enough for Gnarlo to hear.
Gnarlo gave a frantic thumbs down, indicating he was losing control of her. Shit shit shit shit shit shit… he was so close to closing the deal with Katarina.
He started running…
No effort on Bellina's part was spared… She whipped one of the Mauls at him… It missed but blew apart the wall and killed a bunch of spectators. The lower levels immediately started evacuating.
She ran after him and swiped the air above his head, the force of which blew him away… She picked up her one maul over her head to smash down at him.
Maro used Vanguard Charge, he targeted her but just blew past underneath her. He took a shot at her inner thigh with his sword, but he didn't even pierce the layer of fat…
She exploded the floor of where he stood half a second before,debris and shrapnel raining into the crowd of spectators.
Yeah… Maro gave up and was planning to escape by jumping down one of the holes she made… until Gnaro waved a thumbs up again
Still standing by the hole, he closed his eyes and spread his arms out, swords in hand.
Boom… Boom… Boom the Troll was full-force charging at him… He didn't open his eyes.
And then he heard a huge crash…
His eyes still closed… was this a once in a lifetime Three birds, one stone situation. He was going to be incredibly rich, he would have the prisoners and Katarina… actually 4 birds… Bellina would join us.
His heart was still pounding, the last thing he saw was the massive beast charging at him.
The crowd erupted… he opened his eyes.
Bellina had fallen into the hall, pretending to be unconscious as Gnarlo gave him the all okay.
Almost 50 spectators died, but that just added to the allure. Everyone will be talking about this fight for years to come.
With the amount of money they won, they would need 10 wagons to carry it all back home…
Maro laid down, while the Officials were trying to navigate the damage to the arena floor. The whole crowd was jubilant, just a roar of cheering going on non stop.
Until the announcer projected his voice again.
He pulled Maro up by the hand, raised it and announced "Our New Champion!!!" the crowd erupted again, such a fun spectacle.
Watching from the fighter's section, Katarina was shocked at the sight of what happened, completely forgetting her deal until a Beastman laughed and crudely said "Get your human hole ready" and he slapped her on the back in laughter.
The Announcer continued "Silence!! For the Mayor!"
A gaudy looking human stepped up to the edge of the VIP viewing platform. With a huge smile on his face "It has been years since someone challenged Bellina and decades since we knew another champion… Maro the Victor, what boon can I provide to you?"
"I wish for only the Order race prisoners below to be released to me"
The mayor was confused… those were all bottom of the barrel citizens, who had dared speak up against the Kingdom, they had no use for such unruly slaves and despite some of them being good fighters, none of them had any prestige… It was such an easy boon to keep the champion happy.
"Granted, I look forward to your fights in the future" and all the money and attention that champion fights bring to my city he thought. Not knowing that this was Maro's last night in the city.
He let Gnarlo handle the situation with Bellina as she was still pretending to be unconscious.
Maro went straight to the fighter's viewing section and jumped up in their stands… again ignoring all the super dangerous combatants near her.
He grabbed her by the hand and led her down.
Still in shock… all she could meekly say was "a deals a deal"
Maro stopped and looked at her "damn right"
But for once he actually wanted to talk first.
Chapter 39
Gnarlo had managed to convince the arena staff that Bellina wanted to leave to go train to get stronger. Besides starting over at 0 wins… no newcomer in a million years would challenge her.
The prisoners were ordered to be released to him, he just had to collect them but first…
Maro had organized a group meeting at a regular inn, going over everything and their entire purpose of visiting. Gnarlo and his Warrior swordsmen all backed up everything he had to say.
Katarina was just happy that someone was doing something for the people. No more mistreatment…no more chaos… Maro was a great person… He fought in the arena just to free the prisoners. She was happy to go with them and looked forward to a fresh start.
They thoughtfully planned out the logistics of the trip back home… the procurement of enough food and water to feed everyone for months until steady food sources can be supplied domestically.
They bought even more wagons but this time along with horses to pull them… They had gotten the prisoner count and almost 600, mostly males with fight experience would be released to them at their request…
They bought a bunch of heads of cattle, so they could set up a milk farm and a meat ranch. They even planned on how to use the cow manure to fertilize fields.
Maro also loaded up a couple wagons with standard one handed weapons… swords, maces and axes. He filled another wagon with shields, bows and arrows.
They even took Katarina's advice in the decision making as well, despite just joining.
Katarina was sufficiently surprised at how much Maro thought over everything… The first impression he set, was not a good one… But now it was different.
"Okay folks… we have our plans and orders in place… we head out tomorrow at noon… the night is still young. Lets have some fun" everyone cheersed and went off to their own activity… Maro looked in disgust as he knew where Gnarlo was going.
Left at the table just themselves… "So…" Katarina said bashfully.
Maro looked at her deeply in her Ice grey eyes… took her hand and led her to their room for the night.
Katarina turned around to close the door behind them and as she turned around Maro was completely naked with Bloodrush active. Like the Elves would say… it was never not impressive.
Katarina approached him… conjured ice in her hands and ran it down his chest.
He asked her to disrobe, and when she did… jackpot… Muscle Mommy… her years of combat experience showed… and she wore no underwear… he fucking knew it.
When he grabbed her by the hips, her smooth skin was cold to the touch in contrast to his.
He was so excited he crushed the metal ornament on the bed post without noticing.
His blood was running hot, when she went to put the icecube on him again, it sizzled and melted immediately.
He picked her up and went to work.
Chapter 40
Their trek back to the fortress was a weird sight to behold… Roughly 50 merchant caravans, horses to pull them… 10 caravans solely filled with silver… about a 100 cows bringing up the rear and an extra giant troll leading the pack.
What the hell are they doing everything for… he hadn't even gone to the adventuring guild yet. He had originally wanted to start a party and go adventuring… but he never got the chance… nor did he really want to anymore.
Even though the journey back took almost 2 weeks, double the time it took to get there… he was coming back as an Arena champion, with 600 warriors, the treasury of a small nation, 100 cows, an ice mage and a giant troll.
He wondered what everyone back at home would think of this… it amused him…
It didn't amuse him as much as Katarina did… she nearly froze his dick off every night. When Katarina was 'enjoying' herself with Maro, she kind of lost some control regarding temperature regulation… so her most aroused parts would get really cold to the touch… hence why his dick almost froze off every night… but it was a lot of fun… He couldn't wait to introduce the Elves and Katarina to each other. He was imagining his Ice Cat sex parties.
He definitely needed a new combat ability that he could repurpose towards sex…
As they peaked over the hill before they saw the plains leading up to the fortress… Maro was stunned… Greenery right up to the walls… They had been gone over a month but this was ridiculous… the Elves put in work… They would soon be able to harvest and be self-sufficient in brewing beer.
"Oh oh…" Gnarlo moaned "Rolf and Bellina just spotted each other, Katarina do you know if Trolls are hostile to one another".
Before she could respond. "Should have asked that question before they met" she muttered
Boom Boom Boom Boom… Bellina took off running… Rolf came running at her Boom Boom Boom Boom.
Oh fuck… everyone just assumed Trolls wouldn't kill eachother on sight…
The giants smashed into each other… Everyone was alarmed… hopefully Gnarlo got squished and died…
Oh… the giant trolls started weirdly embracing each other…
Oh no… they were having sex… as the larger, more dominant one Bellina was on top of Rolf.
They heard a small gnome yelling something about brains and help…
The caravan left the Trolls to their privacy and continued on shaky, rumbling ground.
Kadrin was on top of the walls, staring at the Trolls… not a common sight.
"Guess what Kadrin" Maro yelled from below
Kadrin without looking away said "What"
"Gnarlo is still on one of the Trolls"
That got his attention "HAHAHA that dirty gnome" he spat off the wall… Luckily nowhere near Maro.
Kadrin came down and embraced Maro…
"We brought back 10 carts of silver, 100 cows, 600 more warriors, 1 powerful Ice mage and as you can see… Gnarlo tamed another Troll"...
"Im not even going to ask how you came across such wealth, business later, lets feast and drink… Maro… we brewed a small batch of beer. You have to taste it"
Maro was almost excited as he was to introduce the ladies to each other.
"Lets get everyone here settled and we can discuss everything after dinner over our homemade brew" He slapped him on the back "Get on going, some Elves have been really restless without you, as you can see by the jungle they made out front"
Maro embraced Kadrin one more time and then led Katarina to meet Alleria and Valleria in his large house…
Maro expecting to get attacked, opened the door and yelled "I have a friend to introduce you to Ladies"
Alleria and Valleria sprinted to the front door and embraced him… kissing him all over while Katarina was just standing there…it was a little awkward .
"Ladies… ladies… this is the friend I promised…"
Alleria, Valleria and Katarina got along… so well in fact they took their chat to the next room completely ignoring Maro.
Maro drank and drank in sadness… he planned such a great time… as he went to grab another wine skin.
He was blasted to the wall by a cold wind… hands and legs were frozen up against the walls.
Oh oh…
A claw was at his neck…
"Have you been a bad boy Maro?" Asked Valleria
What did he do… could have been anything
Alleria put a claw to his groin "we heard some things from our new friend"…
What, he was 50/50 on whether he was going to get laid or killed… he lived this life to the fullest… his only regret was not having a foursome with them.
"Ladies…" he coughed
"Oh you have something to say…" Katarina flashed a dagger made of ice
She put the dagger to his lips before he could speak.
"We only want one thing from you"… "use war cry"…
Maro shook his head no… he was going to get fucked up
His neck drew blood, the other claw cut a very delicate hole in his pants…
He gulped and nodded okay… she took the knife back
He reluctantly used War Cry. His mouth was immediately frozen shut after.
The worst thing that could happen possibly happened.
All three of them stepped back away from him and started intensely making out with each other. Ripping at each other's clothes…
The Ice Queen got disrobed first, Alleria and Valleria were both partial cats… their clothes fell off next.
He would have licked his lips but his mouth was frozen solid.
In between making out, Katarina quickly froze his dick. And then she went back to making out with the Elves… It was an Elf Ice mage sandwich. The three of them started to have a little sexy wrestling match on the bed…
Maro couldn't handle it. He wasn't a cuck in his last life and he wouldn't be one now. He activated blood rush, he strained and shattered the ice.
Within a flash his clothes were gone… he stared at them and used warcry at maximum energy.
The whole house shook, things fell off shelves, glasses broke and the whole fortress knew Maro would be late to the feast…
Gnarlo was also late to the feast… the trolls took a while.