Chapter 227: Enemies of the Empire
The lord killed several gladiators around him with his left hand, and turned around to see Wendy standing upside down in the air and swinging a stunning sword.
This fancy gymnastics-like movement is actually a killing skill?
Li Ang suddenly had a new understanding of women's gymnastics... As expected, every sport was originally related to war.
Le Ang was of course very envious of Wendy's agile movements, but this kind of gymnastics moves is not something that most people can learn. It not only requires talent, but also needs to be cultivated from childhood.
In fact, what Leon envied more was Castro's strength - this gladiator did not sacrifice agility for his powerful strength, his movements were incredibly fast, and it seemed that there was nothing wrong with his brain.
In fact, Leon's martial arts are already top-notch among humans. It is difficult to find an opponent in a one-on-one situation. Even masters like Roland or Jocelyn are no match for the lord in a one-on-one fight.
For most people, with skills like Leon, they would most likely be able to walk safely on this continent.
Just like Sir Roland, who has been hunted by the Knights of the Dawn for several years, all the way from Barclay to Pendor, but he is still alive and well, and can still do good deeds along the way.
But for some reason, perhaps because the Lord has a different physique, Leon always encounters those inhuman monsters...
For example, Alaric the Noisy, the Three Prophets, and Castro who just fell.
Perhaps, we should also add Aldarian and Vendatil...
Each of these people possesses terrible power.
Li Ang didn't know his own strength attribute. His system couldn't see his own strength, and he couldn't add points to the basic attributes.
But he could roughly assess that he should generally be at a relatively high level among humans, on par with most of the great swordsmen of Mettenheim, and slightly inferior to a gifted macho like Klose.
After all, he has now upgraded Iron Bones and Power Strike to level 8, but cannot improve it any further.
Judging from this, if it is in the Mount & Blade game, Leon's strength attribute is probably between 24 and 26 - skills such as Power Strike and Iron Bone in the game have requirements for basic strength attributes, and every 3 points of strength corresponds to a skill such as level 1 Iron Bone Power Strike. Of course, there must be enough available skill points.
In fact, this is already considered very strong. The limit of human strength is probably only 33.
However, the enemies that Leon encountered were estimated to have a strength attribute of over 50, twice that of Leon - it was basically impossible to reach this level through training alone.
The three prophets were even more outrageous. They were able to repel a charging horse while stationary, and they were able to kick Klose, who weighed over 200 kilograms, several meters away. Their strength was probably over 100...
There is no need to mention the Noldor elves and the three prophets. They are not ordinary people and they possess some magical powers, so it is understandable that they surpass human limits.
Alaric was on drugs. Although he gained power beyond human limits, he was also forced to drink more alcohol than humans could drink. He was already half crazy...
But this Castro is obviously mentally normal and doesn't look like he has taken drugs, but why does he have such power?
Although we can always defeat these opponents with the help of outsiders, it seems too frequent to encounter so many terrible guys in a year.
My Lord now has a deep sense of crisis. The army is not very safe. There are too many monsters and demons in the continent of Pendor.
After Castro's body fell to the ground, the short battle came to an end.
The other gladiators did not have the strength and skills of Castro. After losing more than a dozen bodies, the remaining gladiators chose to surrender to save their lives.
"Brutus, what's going on with this Castro?"
Alina walked up and asked.
"He is the champion of the Siyuan City Arena and the strongest gladiator currently alive... I actually don't know if his real name is Castro. He has been to five gladiator training camps and changed his name five times..."
Brutus stood up with some difficulty: "He planned to make us independent warlords, but I always disagreed, so a few days ago he used the gladiator method to make others obey him..."
"Gladiator style? Do you mean jousting?"
Leon looked at the injuries on Brutus' body. They didn't look like the result of torture, but rather the result of a heavy punch with bare hands. They were not fatal, just a few broken ribs.
"Yes... In order to make the gladiators obey, we can only use the gladiator's way, and the winner has the final say. But I am no match for him..."
"Luckily you chose to fight with bare hands... It's good enough that you survived a fight with a man with such extraordinary strength. How could he have such strength?"
Leon wanted to know where Castro's power came from.
"According to him, he was made like this by some snake worshippers, but no one knows what happened exactly... Are you a subordinate of General Cleon? I haven't seen you..."
Brutus saw Cleon, who was cleaning up the battlefield with the plague exorcists. It was obvious that he did not know Leon.
"My name is Li Ang. Maybe you have heard of my name. It's probably not a good name..."
The lord pointed at Jocelyn, who was still circling the battlefield to drive away the remaining troops. The black steel fortress was still holding up the griffin flag.
"You are the devil lord of Sarleon Kingdom! Ah... Sorry, it seems that the rumors are not exaggerated. Your subordinates do look like demons, and they are indeed three meters tall... That guy won't eat children, right?"
Brutus looked at Jocelyn's current appearance, and then easily understood the reputation that Emperor Marius had deliberately spread about Leon...
"Well... that's a rumor! Never mind, it's not important... What did you say Castro was done to by the Snake Cult?"
The lord didn't want to explain anymore. Jocelyn's current appearance was indeed the legendary devil.
What Li Ang cared more about was what the heretics had done.
"You can tell by looking at his body. His chest, the part covered by the half-body armor..."
Brutus didn't worry too much about the devil lord. After all, he was a military officer of the Immortal Legion and was used to seeing generals who were rumored to be demons and monsters. He could also understand that such a deterrent image on the battlefield could make the enemy afraid.
In fact, the Shadow Legion of the Bacchus Empire was once called the Demon Legion.
Leon walked to Castro, whose neck was still bleeding, and cut the tie of the half armor with his sword.
When the tight iron armor was removed, everyone present, except Brutus, gasped.
There were two huge scars on Castro's chest, one horizontal and one vertical, running through his entire chest and abdomen. It was obvious that he had been cut open and then sewn up again. The seams were so dense that his whole body looked extremely terrifying.
Nowadays, being able to cut open a person's stomach and then sew up the wound and keep the person alive is probably the ceiling of surgical skills in the continent of Pandor. Even the doctors of the Knights of the Glorious Cross probably don't have this ability!
"Has he been cut open?"
Leon turned and asked Brutus.
"He said that he watched the snake priests cut open his body and used him to sacrifice to Aziz Dahaka. It is said that he saw all his internal organs with his own eyes... But he did not die until the end of the sacrifice, so the snake worshippers sewed up his skin and flesh and poured a lot of unknown potions into his wounds. In the end, he survived, but the snake worshippers said he was a failed sacrifice..."
Brutus seemed to be deeply impressed by these words. "He became a slave because an imperial noble threatened the lives of his entire family, forcing him to become the noble's cash cow. But in fact ... after we fought our way out of Siyuan City, we found that his entire family had already died."
"It seems that there are quite a few nobles who have been corrupted by the Snake Cult. However, what are those Snake Cult priests researching? Even a failure like Castro is so powerful... What would a successful one be like?"
"If someone succeeds, his soul and flesh will probably be devoured by Azi Dahaka and he will be controlled forever... But this person gained power but did not lose his soul, so he cannot be controlled by the Snake Cult... That's why he is said to have failed..."
General Creon said.
"Perhaps this is how the Snake Cult sees success and failure. But this method seems to be a very advanced medical technique..."
Li Ang frowned: "Why do these evil gods want to devour souls and flesh? The dark goddess Erida also does this, as does Azi Dahaka... Miss Alina, I heard that you have studied a lot of literature, do you know the reason?"
"Neither Erida nor Azi Dahaka are gods. The so-called Dark Goddess doesn't even have a real body, and the great snake Azi Dahaka is more like some kind of monster that was created... Maybe they are just demons summoned from the abyss, but people have given them the title of evil gods."
It seems that Alina has done some research: "Perhaps people's worship and sacrifice can make these demons have stronger magic power. Anyway... when the power is strong enough, anyone can be a god."
"That's right... Well, it seems that this way of gaining power is not reliable... Let's think about how to pacify this army. Brutus, can you still command them?"
The battlefield had gradually calmed down, and the lord shook his head and talked about business.
The power obtained by relying on these ghosts and gods is obviously not very reliable, so the lord will not worry about it. Since his personal ability cannot be effectively improved for the time being, he will manage the army well and change his style.
Considering that he often encountered monsters of such incredible power, the lord felt that he would no longer charge to the front in future battles. It would be easier to protect himself by commanding from the center of the army.
Now that my identity is different, my behavior should indeed change.
A commander who controls thousands of troops shouldn't risk his life in the front line - unless his power increases dramatically in the future to the point where he can easily kill all opponents, then he can try to become an unrivaled general...
"I can't command them anymore. I'm already a loser... All the troops are commanded by different gladiators, but the gladiators don't tolerate losers. And..."
Brutus shook his head and looked at Alina beside him: "Miss Alina, now they no longer believe in Governor Justus. I'm afraid they won't even believe His Majesty... They have fought two tragic wars with the First Legion of the Empire..."
This was obviously an open-minded and loyal military officer. He did not seem to have any attachment to controlling this army and was always thinking about the instructions of Emperor Marius.
"It is precisely because they no longer believe in the Bacchus Empire that I am here. Brutus, help me ask, are they willing to follow the greatest enemy of the Bacchus Empire? I think they should have heard of the name of the Devil Lord..."
The Lord said.
Leon's reputation in Bacchus was indeed very famous. The deliberate propaganda by Emperor Marius and Justus had indeed made most Bacchus people believe that Leon was the most terrifying lord in the Kingdom of the Fierce Lion.
Perhaps this is indeed the case now, but Emperor Marius probably didn't expect that his praise would come true so soon...
These gladiators have killed many imperial nobles and so many soldiers of the Empire's First Legion. It is indeed impossible for them to be recruited by the Bacchus Empire.
And they would not join the rebels - the rebels of Shira Yuzas had different ideas from those of the uprising army, and even Castro only intended to be an independent warlord and had never thought of joining the rebels.
At the moment, the Lord, as the great enemy that the Empire has always publicized, is of course the best person for them to turn to.
"I see... But, Lord Leon, if you want those gladiators to truly obey you, you have to defeat them in a fair fight - they only worship the winner, and status has no meaning to them."
It seems that Brutus is indeed very smart. When he heard Leon call himself "the enemy of the Bacchus Empire", he immediately understood the lord's intention.
"If that's the case...then we just need to defeat the strongest one, right?"
Li Ang looked at the gladiators who were still gathered together after surrendering : "There won't be another tough guy like Castro, right?"
The lord still valued his life very much. He knew that he was most likely unable to deal with Castro. The reason why Wendy was able to kill him with one sword was entirely because Castro was previously besieged by the guards.
"Castro is a special case... Well, you are the devil lord, so you must be quite skilled. But I still want to advise you to let your subordinates take action. It might be safer... Each of them was once a champion in another city's arena."
Brutus kindly reminded the lord.
The Siyuan City Arena is the highest level stage for gladiators. Each gladiator training camp must win the championship in other places before entering the arena to compete.
It is considered the club championship league of this era.
Li Ang looked at his subordinates...
After looking around, I found that it seems that I can only do it by myself.
Since Leon and Amy both left the White Hart Castle, Vendatil did not follow them. She had to stay in the White Hart Castle to avoid conflict between the Noldor and humans, and she was the only one who could persuade Aldarian to retreat.
Lisa Dilan might not be Li Ang's opponent in a one-on-one duel. This guy has been a killer for so many times that he has some sequelae and doesn't like to fight head-on...
Jocelyn couldn't beat Li Ang, he had tried it before during training.
As for Wendy... you can't let Wendy go to fight a shirtless hunk one-on-one, right?
Now it seems that the most suitable person in the team to fight alone is the Lord himself...
Moreover, it is better to defeat people yourself than to let your subordinates control them. After all, there is no need for a layer of command.
"Come on, champions, who is the best among you? Come out and challenge me! I once won the championship at the Fieldsvale National Arena!"
