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VS
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36% Dragolith
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31% Seth
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VS
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8% Kreenfist
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25% Balister
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CRY'S OF GLADIUS - THE FOUR WAY BATTLE
Two silvery blades flashed brightly in the sunlight as they came crashing together with tremendous force. The blades owners, an armor clad warrior and a bearded swordsman came close together for a moment, but the brief sword lock didn't last long. Seth breathed heavily within the plated armor, sweat dripping down his cheek and into the corner of his mouth. Summoning strength, he used all the power in his sword arm to shove Balister back, out of the deadly lock. His efforts succeeded, and Balister was flung back several feet.
Massive stone walls encompassed the dirt covered battle grounds. Sitting beyond these walls were thousands of Vastonians, observing with eagerness the glorious battle below from the comfort of their seats. The act of man and beast fighting to the death excited most people thoroughly, and they would pay money to see it. Thus, they travelled all across the land to reach this magnificent place in the world of entertainment; The Gladius.
Several dozen feet away from the raging swordsmen stood two more great warriors. Kreenfist, a giant of a man himself, was entirely dwarfed by the massive fighter leering before him. The barbarian was frightened by a very few select things, and death was not one of them. The appearance of this monster was.
Brought from the farthest reaches of Vastonia to compete in the Gladius, was Dragolith. Topping seven feet, he might have weighed over three-hundred fifty pounds, most of it dense muscle. A thick set of thick horns protruded from his bovine head, and his feet were sizeable and hoof like. Sharp teeth must have meant he had a mostly carnivorous diet. He gripped in his fists a dangerously sharp minotaur style, two-handed pole axe. The weapon was taller than a man. Here, in all it's glory, was a minotaur.
The minotaur snarled and growled quietly as it crouched low to the ground. Grunting viciously, Dragolith pumped his legs powerfully and charged head on with the barbarian.
Tearing through Kreenfist's pitiful defences, Dragolith ferociously jerked his head upward, piercing the soft flesh of the barbarian's stomach.
While dodging ill placed attacks, Seth managed to catch a glimpse of the other two Gladiators. The minotaur would probably haul the human in a one on one fight. He feared than when he fought the minotaur - if he lived that long - there was a great chance failure. The minotaur were damned war machines. How was one man supposed to defeat one... unless-
Too preoccupied with thinking ahead, Seth accidentally let one of Balister's attacks in. The sharp blade slashed through the light chain mail on the joint of his right arm. Recoiling in pain, Seth let his blade off guard. Balister used the hilt of his sword to smash Seth's face in. Even with the metal face guard, it broke his nose, and started to bleed like a bitch.
Balister was already placing another attack, powerfully slashing his sword upwards at the side of the armored mans torso. Seth, still dazed, managed to move his own weapon swiftly enough to block the attack, the metal blades clashing together, then he made a swift counter attack, punching Balister in the face with his metal gauntlet. Blood from Balister's nose streaked through the air, and the crowd went haywire with cheers.
Sliding the limp human off his horns to the ground, Dragolith cracked his neck. The top of his head and his massive horns were soaked in a deep crimson; the human's blood.
Struggling to get up, Kreenfist put his arm on the dusty ground, about to hoist himself up. Dragoliths hoof came crashing down on his elbow, bending it backwards, totally destroying the joint. There was a loud snap followed by the agonized screams of the barbarian. A sharp piece of bloodstained bone protruded from the man's fleshy wound.
Dragolith used the butt of his axe to smash the human in the face, sprawling him onto his back. Then, standing over top him, with one sweep of his mighty axe, the minotaur cleaved Kreenfist's head in two. The top portion of his skull lightly plopped to the earth next to the lifeless body. The crowd loved it.
Seth watched in horror as the minotaur slaughtered the man and began to move over towards him and Balister.
"Look you fool!" Seth rasped from his helm at the swordsman. "We stand not a chance against him alone. He's a blasted tank. Shall we team up until he's dead? That way, at least one of us might live another day!
"Right," came the simple reply. Balister ceased his attack on Seth, at least for the moment.
Dragolith noticed the warriors halt their attack. They were teaming up. What might have been a smile crossed the minotaurs lips. Snarling and snorting, the minotaur kicked a cloud of dirt in the air, then unleashed his worse on the two men
Balister panicked as the minotaur charged at full speed. He took a powerful swipe with his sword, aiming to take the blasted creatures head off. Instead, the blade sunk into the horn deep enough to wedge itself stuck.
Balister's death came silently. Dragolith's left horn buried into his head as far as it could possibly go, and a small portion stuck through the back of his skull. The minotaur snapped his neck upwards, tearing the human's head off at the neck. The body slumped to the ground, while Dragolith reached to pluck the human head off his horn.
Seth saw his window of opportunity at Balister's death. He ducked low and swept his sword across the ground, making contact with the minotaur's ankle. Had the bone not been so thick nor the muscle so dense, it might have severed the foot off, but to Seth's despair, it merely hacked into the bone. The crowd cheered Seth on, knowing he would be a true hero if he could best the minotaur. But all they really wanted was a gory finish.
The wound inflicted was plenty enough to aggravate minotaur off. Dragolith tossed Balister's head to the side, and stumbled toward Seth, his poleaxe ready.
Seth dodged the first mighty sweep of the axe, but by the skin on his teeth. It had forced him to drop to the ground, leaving him with a heavy disadvantage. Dragolith began to take short chops with his axe, but Seth began to roll, each time, evading the attack.
Sitting up quickly but still on the ground, Seth thrust his sword at the minotaur, piercing into his lower abdomen. With little more than a grunt, Dragolith snapped the sword with a swish of his gigantic arm. Part of the blade still stuck in him, while the other piece flew from Seth's grasp.
With a quick chop Dragolith hoped to finish this. Seth again withstood the attack. Bringing both his hands up, he caught the poleaxe in mid air. It was enough to slow the attack, but the Dragolith's strength exceeded his by much. The axe continued to press into the helm, slowly crushing it along with the head within.
Seth buried the shard of the sword in Dragolith's abdomen even deeper with a kick. The beast roared, and pulled the axe away from the Seth's head.
Rolling onto his stomach so he could get up quicker was Seth's last mistake. Dragolith acted quickly, bringing the pointy end of the axe down with a full swipe onto Seth's helm. The sharp point easily pierced the helm, and a shower of gore erupted through the cracks in the visor of the helm.
The crowd went wild. They had paid to see gore, and that was what the Gladiators had given them.
By: Calvin Cockell