It was the emperor of the Roman Empire, Commodus, who spoke. Hence, Sartonilos could not disobey the order. He then glared at Zhang Heng with his murderous stare and returned to where he stood helplessly.
Sartonilos felt that although Commodus stopped the battle, it seemed he was leaning a little more towards Zhang Heng. However, he was not an idiot. He quickly figured out why Commodus stopped the battle. At the last moment of the fight between the two, Zhang Heng transformed his hand into a hand knife. And he slit his neck with it. If he held a knife or a sword in his hand, Sartonilos would have been dead by now.
Sartonilos suspected that Zhang Heng used a dirty trick on him just now. After all, the two were only fighting with their bare hands. Naturally, Sartonilos would not guard against any bladed weapons. Although Zhang Heng might inflict more severe injuries on him if he did not use that trick on him when he was not paying attention, it was still difficult to cause any lethal attacks. In other words, the two would have to fight for a long time before someone would claim the victory.
And he could not say anything about it. On the contrary, Zhang Heng succeeded in changing Commodus’s first impression of him. Earlier, he provoked Sartonilos recklessly, but he fought well during the battle. While he had the upper hand, Zhang Heng stopped the battle decisively. This was indeed a rare quality for a gladiator.
After the battle, Commodus patted Zhang Heng’s shoulder and said, “Your name is Zhang Heng, right? I heard that you are from the Far East, the ancient empire that produces good quality silk. You fought well. I’ll be remembering your name. I look forward to your performance in the arena during the upcoming gladiatorial performance.”
“As you wish, your majesty,” Zhang Heng said.
Commodus seemed to want to say something, but he hesitated and decided not to say it in the end. After witnessing such an exciting battle, he felt satisfied. Afterward, he was a little absent-minded and lacking in interest when he heard the introduction of other the new gladiators. Dior noticed his reaction and waved his hand to signal all the gladiator schools’ owners to retreat.
“I asked someone to prepare desserts and fruits, and a group of outstanding dancers is readied to perform for us…”
“Oh,” Commodus raised his eyebrows, “I have been out for a while. Thank you for your generous hospitality, and Christina is not feeling too well tonight. I think we should make a move first.”
“Of course,” Dior said, “It’s important for the queen to get well soon.” Upon that, he personally sent Commodus and Christina out of the door. After that, he stood at the door and chatted privately with the young emperor for a short while.
Zhang Heng tried to eavesdrop, but he could not hear what they said because he was standing quite far away. In the next moment, he heard a slightly hoarse and lazy voice, “Heh. So, you are the Easterner who gained fame in the Victor Arena some time ago?”
When Zhang Heng looked up, he saw a woman who looked like she was in her thirties. However, her skin was well maintained, like a teenage girl in this era. She had slightly cherub cheeks, which made her looked like an innocent teenage girl. From time to time, she had this ruthless aura exuding out from her eyes. And her slightly curved lips showed that she was of extraordinary status. It could be seen from the way other female guests treated her.
While watching the game earlier, the other female guests were standing beside her and Queen Christina. She wore a skinny metal mesh on top of her head. It helped to lift up her hair. Apart from the metal mesh cover and the wedding ring on her right hand, she had no other body accessories.
Zhang Heng had figured out the identity of this lady. It was not the best idea to get involved with her. However, the thing did not go as Zhang Heng wished. The lady did not leave Zhang Heng alone even after seeing that Zhang Heng had no intention to talk to her. She then moved closer to Zhang Heng. Immediately, Zhang Heng could smell the scent of rose petals on her body, and the heat exhaled from her mouth landed on Zhang Heng’s ears.
“Hehe… do you really think that all of us here are idiots? I can see through your thoughts. Tell me, easterner, what is your purpose of approaching my brother? Be careful, don’t lie. Or I will ask the guards to drag you out and behead you. You should know who I am, right? Then you should also know that I am not trying to scare you.”
Zhang Heng was helpless, and at this point, he could only answer, “Yes, dear Augusta.”
The woman that stood in front of Zhang Heng was the noblest in the entire Roman Empire. She was the eldest daughter of Aurelius, and the sister of Commodus, Lucilla. She was also the only woman given the title “Augusta” after her mother’s death.
The title Augusta was related to Augustus. Its meaning was roughly similar to a queen. And it was also the highest title that a woman in the entire Roman Empire could get. Lucilla was the wife of Lucius when she got this title. During that time, Rome was ruled by Lucius and Aurelius. Lucius, however, died of illness not long after that, and Aurelius arranged for Lucilla to marry Pompeo.
However, rumors were saying that Lucilla was not very satisfied with the second marriage. Although her current husband was an influential figure in the military, her status was still incomparable when she was married to Lucius. Lucilla’s current status was downgraded from a queen to the governor’s wife. Fortunately, she got to keep her Augusta title.
And she seemed to value this title very much. When she heard Zhang Heng calling her Augustus, her face finally showed a smile, and her tone was eased. “You haven’t answered my question yet, gladiator.”
“What do you think a gladiator wants most?” Zhang Heng asked rhetorically.
“Freedom?” Lucilla raised her eyebrows, “All gladiators want freedom, but no, I don’t think this is your purpose in approaching my brother.”
Zhang Heng’s eyelids twitched. He almost thought that something must have gone wrong with Dadatis, and it caused his identity to be exposed. But Lucilla quickly continued, “People who come here tonight, rich or poor, only have one goal,” she paused and slowly spat out the two words, “Power. Admit it.
“You want more than freedom. You must have heard about my brother’s story. Hmph! He always has some unrealistic expectations for the people at the bottom, and now the two most trusted advisors around him are not even nobles.”
“You have a pair of sharp eyes,” Zhang Heng admitted.
“No, I just have a good nose, and I can sniff out the scent of people who want more power.” Lucilla exhaled, “But, there are a lot of people around my brother now. If you want power and freedom, you might need to change your plan.”
