I was still chained to the wall in the preparation pen when they dragged Lira out.
The roar of the crowd above us was deafening, but my focus narrowed to the iron bars separating the pens. Lira looked half-dead already, her fox ears drooped, fresh burns covered her side, and she moved with a limp. They shoved a crude spear into her hands and pushed her into the sand pit.
Grimgor’s voice boomed from his throne. "For the entertainment of the crowd! The beastkin whore who followed the Orc Slayer faces Gorzak the Maul!"
A massive orc stepped into the pit, wielding a spiked mace. The crowd howled for blood.
I gripped the chains until my knuckles turned white. I wanted to tear through the bars. Lira was in no condition to fight, but she raised the spear with grim determination. Even from one look, one could tell that she was heavily outmatched, there was no way she could possibly hope to win against someone like that.
As expected, the fight was brutal and completely not in her favor. Gorzak was faster and stronger. His mace smashed into her shoulder early, sending her tumbling across the sand. She rolled, barely avoiding a killing blow, and drove the spear into his thigh. The orc roared in pain but backhanded her hard enough to split her lip and send blood spraying.
I strained against the chains, every muscle screaming. "Lira!"
She was slower now, bleeding from multiple wounds, but she fought like a cornered animal. When Gorzak overcommitted on a swing, she ducked inside his guard and rammed the spear up under his jaw with everything she had left. The orc gurgled, eyes wide, and collapsed.
The arena erupted in a mix of cheers and boos. Lira stood over the body, swaying, barely conscious.
Grimgor laughed loudly from his throne, the sound carrying over the noise. "Well fought, little fox! As a reward, I’ll bed you myself tonight. Let the Slayer watch his whore broken."
Rage exploded through me. The chains bit into my wrists as I pulled with all my strength. "Touch her and I’ll rip your throat out with my teeth, you bastard!"
Grimgor only laughed harder. Guards dragged Lira away, bloodied and barely conscious. I was yanked back toward my cell, still shouting curses.
Back in the damp stone box, I slumped against the wall, breathing hard. Harlan and Thorne were waiting.
"Easy," Harlan said. "You can’t break the chains like that. Save your strength."
I forced myself to calm down. "We need to leave. Tonight or tomorrow. Grimgor is escalating. He’ll throw Lira and Garrick into the pits next, or worse."
Thorne nodded grimly. "There’s a major arena event in two days. Grimgor’s celebrating his upcoming southern campaign. Security will be distracted, extra guards pulled to the stands, more focus on the spectacle. That’s our window. The drainage tunnel Thorne mentioned earlier could work if we time it right."
Harlan added, "Some of the human guards are sympathetic. I can get a message to Garrick. Lira’s in bad shape, but she’ll fight if we give her the chance."
We spent the next hours whispering plans. Weak points in the schedule. Signals. Who would create distractions. It wasn’t perfect, but it was something.
The next fight came too soon.
They threw me into the pit for a two-versus-one match. My opponents were a pair of elite orc warriors, heavily armored and coordinated. The crowd chanted my name, but I could feel the bloodlust shifting. Grimgor wanted me broken.
The fight started badly. They worked together seamlessly. One distracted me while the other landed heavy blows. A sword cut across my thigh. A mace slammed into my back. I was faster, probably stronger than both of them individually. But together, I was outmatched, and they were wearing me down with every strike. They were both coordinated, each one covering the other’s weaknesses.
[Warning, host has taken damage. HP: 54%]
I was getting overwhelmed.
Then chaos erupted in the stands. Thorne, who had been taken to fight in a side match, suddenly started a riot among the prisoners, smashing a guard and yelling for rebellion. The distraction worked. My opponents glanced away for a split second.
I took the opening. Brutal Strike powered my sword into the first orc’s neck. The second I disarmed with a spinning kick, then drove the blade through his eye.
The crowd went wild, but guards were already rushing the pit.
I didn’t stop. I sprinted toward the edge where Lira and the others were being held. I smashed through a weak gate, grabbing Lira’s arm. She was barely conscious but gripped my hand, then I bolted for the escape route.
"Harlan! Thorne!" I shouted, signaling for them that it was time. We needed to get out of here, and as quickly as possible.
They broke free in the confusion. The four of us, me, Lira, Harlan, and Thorne — ran toward the drainage tunnel entrance.
We didn’t make it far when Thragor the Crusher stepped into our path, my enchanted axe in his hands. He had caught up to us, and I could guess he already suspected that we were planning to escape amongst the chaos. It was just him, but even that alone was terrifying. I wasn’t at full strength, and Harlan and Thorne weren’t powerful enough to face him alone.
"Running already, Slayer?" he growled before rushing forward.
Harlan struck from the left with a scavenged spear, Thorne came from the right with his bone shard dagger, and I went straight for the head with my sword. Lira, despite her weakness, threw a desperate spear that grazed Thragor’s shoulder, drawing first blood.
Thragor roared and swung my enchanted axe in a wide, devastating arc. The blue-glowing blade caught Harlan across the chest, sending him flying into the wall with a sickening crunch. Blood spilled from his mouth, and he lost consciousness almost immediately.
Thorne lunged low, stabbing at the orc’s thigh. Thragor kicked him hard, cracking ribs, but Thorne rolled away and came back swinging.
I used my superior speed, dodging inside the axe’s range and landing a deep cut across Thragor’s forearm. The mana edge burned the wound, but he barely slowed. He backhanded me, the blow lifting me off my feet and slamming me into the stone.
[ Host has taken damage. HP: 47%]
I was bleeding again, and it didn’t seem like the monster before us was going to go down anytime soon.
Lira, summoning the last of her strength, darted in and stabbed at Thragor’s knee. The spear tip sank in. Thragor howled in rage and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground.
That was the opening Thorne needed. He roared and drove his bone shard deep into Thragor’s side, right between the armor plates. Blood poured freely.
Thragor went into a fit of pure rage. He threw Lira aside like a rag doll and grabbed Thorne with both hands. With a sickening crack, he crushed the dwarf against the wall, crushing his spine and ribs upon contact. Thorne struggled for a second before finally breathing his last.
But the wound was deep. Thragor was slowing, blood loss taking its toll, and this wasn’t the time to mourn. I charged forward, activated Phantom Edge, and prepared to make this attack the last. My body flickered like a ghost as I charged. Thragor’s axe swing passed straight through me. In that split second, I drove my sword upward with Brutal Strike at full power, straight into his heart.
Thragor’s eyes widened in shock. He staggered, blood spraying from his mouth as he glared at me.
"You....b..bastard.." with that he slumped to his knees, and then fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
[You have slain Level 11 Thragor the Crusher. +220 XP]
[Level Up! You have reached Level 7.]
[HP and Stamina greatly increased. +5 Attribute Points available.]
[New Title Upgrade: Breaker of Chains (Intermediate) – Enhanced Intimidation and Morale Effects]
I breathed hard, doing everything to remain on my feet. Lira staggered forward, now in even worse condition. I rushed to her aid right before she could lose her strength. She collapsed against me, barely conscious. Harlan was injured but alive, but Thorne was dead. I hadn’t known him for long, but he had been a good friend.
Alarms sounded throughout the hold, Grimgor had probably just realized that his favorite pets were missing.
"We need to move," I said, voice hard. "Now."
We ran toward the drainage tunnel as chaos engulfed Blackfang Hold. Thragor was dead. Grimgor would be furious, and the worst that could happen was getting caught again, this time Grimgor would likely just kill us off immediately, and I wasn’t ready to die just yet.