"There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare.”

-Sun Tzu

Three figures with a party of 40 men cut through the landscape like silhouettes against calm water. The road laid before them, maneuvering through hills. A carpet of greenery lined the sides of the road, with a soft rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze. The sky above was a vast expanse of blue, filled with white clouds that followed the party. The more they traveled south the warmer it got, Mengus led they way, in his tunics and leather boots, his armor making weird noises in the back.

Beron was beside him, a mischievous glint in his eye. A quiver of arrows hung at his side, and a bow on his back. White feather on his hat played with the breeze.

Reyon Blacktooth followed closely, a boulder riding a horse, something you won't see that often. The heat didn't bother him, darkened armor on him seemed to absorb the sunlight. A broadsword rested on his back, and a mace on his side. There was no armor on his left arm, instead there was an external splint that held his arm in place.

Small pebbles crunched beneath the horses, making a pleasant sound. They were headed to Regeta, a town of the Western Empire, the lowest town on the border with The Asarei. It was infamously won by the Empire by an act of treachery. They killed their own ruler Ezkim, who was the Sultan of The Asarei at the time, and they let in the enemies inside the town.

"This will be your 22nd victory, if you manage to win again of course." Beron said.

"Yeah, I'm lucky so far." Mengus said without any worries.

"That's no luck," Beron hissed at him, "you are a very skilled fighter!"

Mengus looked at Reyon with his arm in a splint, a grin in the corner of his mouth formed.

"Look what you did to Reyon," Beron continued, "and he is a great fighter as well, but you have beaten him with such an ease!"

If he wasn't injured, Mengus was pretty sure that Reyon would choke Beron to death right now.

Mengus looked at his stats, he improved a lot during the 6 months since the first arena debut.

Mengus

Level: 10

One-Handed: 85

Two-Handed: 32

Polearm: 57

Bow: 13

Crossbow: 9

Throwing: 14

Riding: 67

Athletics: 82

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Smithing: 0

Scouting: 75

Tactics: 22

Roguery: 12

Charm: 1

Leadership: 18

Trade: 0

Steward: 17

Medicine: 13

Engineering: 0

"Reyon," Mengus broke the silence, "we know almost nothing about you. We've been traveling for so long and the most you talk is after I beat you in the arena." It was stronger than him, he had to tease him a bit. "Tell us something about yourself, your life before this one, if you had one."

They were met with a silent response, no one really expected him to say anything more.

"Aye...Once I made a fine living in the Empire, stopping merchants on the roads. But there was a lass there, fuck she was beautiful as the moon and just as cold, and she was my undoing. She had a man, but I did not give up. Brought her gifts and rings and asked her to spend the night with me. To my surprise she agreed. There was wine and talk, but too much wine and I slept off. In the morning when I woke up, hooves were clattering outside and her man with some other horsemen came, they took me to the town to be hanged. Blessed be the Gods, my old friend Eed was the guard. He let me go that same night, and I went to visit the woman who betrayed my trust. I would love to say that I was the bigger person and just left, but I can't because I'm not. I butchered them both, not in their sleep, but while they were begging for mercy. That night she begged me to fuck her, still get hard while thinking about it even after all these years. But fuck me I would do it again."

His life story was shocking to them all. Mengus knew this guy was sick but this sick? He had no idea.

"So...did you? You know. Fuck her?" Beron looked the least surprised.

Reyon didn't say a word anymore, he just smiled.

"Look, it's her again." someone from the party pointed at the hill next to them. "She's following us again."

The woman who followed them bore the name Lysa. Beaten in the arena by Mengus each time, she started following them to every town they went. It seemed like she wanted revenge. Perhaps it was a desire for redemption, a thirst for knowledge, or an unfinished challenge that bound her to Mengus.

"Well, this time maybe she'll have more luck." Mengus didn't pay any attention to her, that's what she wanted after all.

Like every other big city, the streets and the atmosphere was wild. People doing people stuff, thieves doing all the rest. Tavern awaited for them. In there Mengus spotted Lysa, sitting alone and drinking. Because she was moving alone she was much faster than they were.

She seemed lost in thought, her gaze fixed on the liquid in her mug.

"Hey there! Fancy seeing you here," Mengus jumped into the stool next to her.

"Oh, hello." she murmured.

"So what brings you here? Another tournament? You are very good."

"Maybe, for now just taking a break I supposed. Traveling gets tiring."

Mengus nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it."

A moment of awkward silence hung between them, before Mengus blurted out, "You know, you can join us, we could train together or have a rematch any time you want."

She raised her eyebrow, a small smile playing on her lips. "A rematch? That sounds good. But I plan on beating you this time, so it won't be necessary."

Mengus chuckled, scratching his head. "Well, you know, just for fun. And who knows, maybe you'll surprise me this time."

Lysandra's smile grew, and she leaned in slightly. "How about a little wager, then? If you win again, you can have... me."

Mengus, caught off guard, blinked a few times before responding with his trademark grin, "Have you? Like, have you as in... carry you around or something?"

Lysa chuckled, finding his innocence oddly funny. "No, silly. I mean, you can consider it a reward for your victory."

"Oh, great! I could use another good travel companion." Mengus nodded.

"Well then, see you in the arena." She stood up and left leaving Mengus alone.

"What the fuck did just happened? Am I getting a slave if I win?"

No wonder his Charm was only level 1, he had no idea what just happened.