The Syndicate's Arena

Two days later, a limousine pulled up outside of the apartment complex and waited for a minute, before Zhan stepped inside silently. Shia watched from the reception lobby and shook her head with a sigh. She had witnessed him getting into a limousine like this more than once, in fact, it seemed to be his primary mode of transport. She still had no idea where he went.

Waiting inside the limousine, there were two stocky men in black suits and an older gentleman with a kind face. The old man from before, the syndicate leader, was nowhere to be seen.

"Would sir like a meal or drink before his fight?" The older man in the limousine was a butler. He was often assigned to accommodate Zhan before his fights, so he understood that this young man had an appetite unlike any other competitor.

Most competitors would be unable to eat before a fight. They would always feel nervous, too anxious to eat, no matter how experienced they were.

"You know it. Steak, chicken, salmon…hmm, I'll have some bacon too." Zhan replied with a smile.

"As you wish, sir." The butler nodded and opened a compartment. Inside of this compartment was a heatproof tray, bolted down so that it didn't move about. The butler took out a large plate and carefully moved the meats that Zhan asked for from the compartment onto the plate.

The competitors were clearly well looked after. Since Zhan had a habit of eating meat before his battles, they actually fitted this insulated compartment into the limo, so that various pre-prepared meats and other foods could be stored before heading out.

The limousine drove smoothly through the city. It was impossible to see into the limo from outside, but Zhan could clearly see the surrounding streets. They were heading deeper into the city right now, he usually enjoyed the ordinary sights whilst eating as they made their way towards the death arena.

Now though, any sense of monotony was replaced by the stench of blood, devastated buildings, and morbid looks plastered across the faces of the masses.

The true extent of the first wave was only realised after another full day had passed by. There were over 200,000 lives lost in this city of 6 million, whilst over half of the city's population were injured in one way or another. Many people had lost loved ones, whilst businesses were in shambles after stores were demolished by the beasts.

There were also some smaller beasts being found even up until now, so many people were too scared to leave their homes.

However, none of this could ruin Zhan's mood. He even felt like smiling after he finished his meal. He wiped his mouth with a silk napkin and stared out into the clear blue sky.

No matter the chaos on the ground, the sky was the same sky he had always known.

The butler and two other men remained silent, but they were secretly speechless. Zhan was by far the most unusual competitor, even if he appeared to be an ordinary person to the public at large.

Instead of fear towards battles and death, he showed excitement. Instead of sorrow towards the devastation of the city, he felt his blood boiling as a desire to train and fight overcame him.

Whilst others were still gaining their wits after the first wave, Zhan was already looking to battle in the death arena. Given the current situation, it might seem strange that the syndicate was still hosting arena matches…

But it was exactly this situation that led to Zhan's current match! This match would be packed full with spectators, only the very richest, the most elite, could afford to watch! Not just from Blackwater City, but elites from across Europe were interested in this match and hurried across the continent to watch!

Why? Because Zhan was going to battle against a mutated beast!

The Blackwater Syndicate was one of the largest scale criminal organisations in Europe and Western Asia, they not only controlled the economy and politics within Blackwater City, but had many overseas dealings and businesses. Their power was not to be underestimated, their military power was greater than even the police within the city. Perhaps only the UN military stationed here could rival them.

Because the syndicate had access to so much firepower and because every member of the syndicate was trained to deal with violent and life threatening situations, they were able to handle the mutated beasts calmly and efficiently. The city centre was largely cleared of the beasts due to their efforts, something that the police and military turned a blind eye to, despite the excessive display of illegal firearms.

With this heavy firepower, they actually managed to capture a variety of mutated beasts. There were a few stations for the syndicate throughout the city, of which Zhan only knew of a couple, but the beasts were mostly transported to the arena for holding.

And where was the arena? Was it secluded in some forest? Was it hidden inside of a coastal cliff?

No, the syndicate's gladiatorial arena was right in the city centre, below the Blackwater City public library!

Entry into such a large public library would never attract attention, at least thousands of people entered and exited this library every day.

There were separate entrances into the underground arena for competitors, syndicate members, VIPs and so on. Zhan's entrance was located in a small noodle shop. The owner was a lazy looking middle aged man who ran the shop alone. After seeing the butler and two men along with Zhan, he nodded towards a door at the back of the room. The butler nodded back, then opened the door with his own golden key.

Beyond this room, there was a staircase descending down. The staircase went down for quite some way and ended with another door.

Beep!

The butler opened the door by scanning a key card at the same time as a scanner flashed across his eye. The simultaneous mechanism allowed the group to enter safely.

They were now deep underground, but the corridor was modern and made from stainless steel, it was spacious and well ventilated. LED lighting lit up the walkway and the group made their way onwards.

After arriving in the changing room, Zhan silently changed into a pair of loose fitting leg wear that was elasticated at the ankle, along with a vest. Both pieces of clothing were black and both were laced with carbon nanotubes for lightweight protection. This armour was lightweight and resistant to stabbing, cutting and piercing attacks, though a powerful and direct strike would still penetrate through it. Aside from this, Zhan also put on some forearm guards and a pair of sturdy shoes.

All off his clothing was black, all of it was lightweight armour, all of it was permitted by the arena. The official rules of the arena stated that any clothing could be worn, but the total clothing must weigh below one pound, and clothing must not be worn above the base of the neck. This prevented people from showing up in full plate armour to fight, and also from wearing helmets and neck guards that would provide too much protection.

Some people liked to fully cover their bodies in this sort of lightweight armour, but Zhan wasn't a fan. He had tried this a couple of times before but found that it largely restricted his movement and got in the way whilst he fought. Most of his body was covered, but his upper arms, neck and head were bare. He was well accustomed to fighting in this outfit and felt most comfortable whilst wearing this.

Zhan silently opened the case that he always carried with him, then bolted the three pieces of his spear together. The reason he chose to use this three-piece spear was so that he could always carry it with him…for someone who loved to throw himself into harms way, it was curious that he never left himself unprotected.

The material of the spear, combined with the locking technology, made this spear sturdy enough that he would never have to worry about it breaking. It helped that the spear weighed 15 pounds, far more than an ordinary spear that would have been used to battle in the fights and wars of the past.

Then again, Zhan's physical strength was far greater than any soldier of the past. Modern strength training practices and equipment allowed athletes to reach levels that would have previously been unthinkable. Even then, Zhan was a bit of a freak and was definitely far stronger physically than someone his size should be.

He held the spear in his two hands and stared forwards at the air, picturing his target. The butler and security guards who were watching him silently with respect nearby, suddenly felt chills pass through their bodies. Zhan's gaze when he was focussed was filled with killing intent, the pressure he released suddenly became a hundred times more formidable!

Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh!

Six flashes in quick succession, starting and finishing in under a second. Each strike of the spear aimed at a different point on his imaginary opponent, stabbing the head, neck, chest, stomach and two knees. Zhan was about to continue, but he paused for a moment.

He wouldn't be fighting humans, but mutated beasts. He didn't know what type of beasts he would be fighting, but they were certainly going to be large and powerful.

He only knew that prior to his own coming fight, there were two competitors fighting before him. The second competitor should be finishing right about now…unless he had already died.

Only these two and Zhan were willing to fight on such short notice against mutated beasts in the arena. The first two competitors were only warm-ups to show the crowd the strength of the beasts. Zhan was by far the strongest gladiator at this arena, he would battle against the strongest beasts of all to shock the crowd!

All he knew was that he would be fighting three rounds. He would get a single minute break between each round. He wasn't even sure if he would be fighting one or multiples beasts in each round…

But that didn't matter. Either way, he would fight. The stronger the beasts, the better!

In less than one month, the second wave would arrive. According to the system, the second wave would last for a full month, it would affect the entire world. This wave would be so devastating that it was unknown if humanity would be able to recover in time between the second and third waves…

Zhan's gaze became determined and he stabbed forwards again and again.

He needed to take the risk and fight now! He would continue to fight, he would survive this battle and grow strong enough to survive the second wave!

Soon enough, Zhan was called out to the arena.

The underground arena was quite similar to the roman colosseum. The audience stands surrounded the central dirt fighting arena, ascending like a circular staircase up from the battle ground. There were tall walls preventing the competitors from having any chance to escape, though today, additional safety measures were being taken to protect the audience from the beasts.

They didn't extend the walls or anything, as that would compromise the view of the arena. Instead, close to 100 heavily armed syndicate members were stations around the walls, watching carefully and ready to act in case a beast escaped into the crowd.

The wall was 12 feet tall and completely smooth, so it was unlikely that anything could rise above it, but they couldn't be too careful. A dead audience member would ruin their reputation.

As Zhan slowly walked out into the colosseum, he didn't even blink, continuing on past the surrounding marble walls, past the arena gate that allowed entry to the competitors, and onwards.

Clank!

The familiar sound of the gate closing behind him echoed out, but Zhan was more focussed on what lay ahead.

The arena was quite large, 400 feet from end to end, but he could see that in the centre of the dirt bloody arena, there were multiple security guards surrounding a large cage. Zhan's eyes narrowed and he tried to make out what lay within the cage. His eyesight was only average though so he couldn't quite see past the metal bars.

"Everyone, the previous battles have certainly been thrilling, but this is the bout that we have all been truly anticipating! Stepping into the ring, he's the reigning champion of the syndicate's gladiatorial arena, but we all know him by his honourable title, awarded after winning 15 consecutive ranked matches, in comes…Martial God!"

Hearing the announcer hyping him up so much, Zhan rolled his eyes. When he was first awarded the title 'Martial God', he honestly thought it was a joke. Who would have expected that they would start using this name to introduce him?

The fans of the arena loved all of this though, they cheered loudly as Zhan entered the stage. He glanced around at the crowd, though it was hard to make out their features from here. He knew that the audience were given binoculars to help them see him closely, whilst there were at least ten massive television screens projecting his image around the room. It was really like an official sporting event.

Zhan also glanced up at the VVIP boxes, wondering which important person would be watching him this time. Tickets into this match were not only extortionately expensive, but gaining access at all was only possible if you were in the know. It's not like everyone with money, fame or power would immediately be told about the syndicate's death match arena after all.

That said, this was the most notorious gladiator arena in the world. There weren't many such surviving arenas on this scale in the modern day and age, making this place the absolute holyland for those elites who loved to watch human bloodsports so much.

And thus, Zhan became somewhat of a secret celebrity. He wasn't known to many, but those who did know him were either notorious criminals, or famous figures known by people all around the world. It wasn't unknown for nation leaders to spectate on Zhan's matches, though it was of course difficult for such high profile people to come in person.

It wasn't just the match itself that attracted the elite, but the Blackwater Syndicate itself. The syndicate was a powerful, rich and influential organisation, they had dealings with corporations and even countries across the world. Leaders of these groups would visit Blackwater City to meet with the syndicate leader or other high elders.

Zhan stopped paying attention to the audience and turned forwards. He was now close enough to the cage to see inside of it. Once Zhan took his starting place, the security seemed to receive a message and retreated. Zhan already knew that the cage door was electronic and would be opened remotely.

The security guards exited the area and the gate slammed shut. Suddenly, silence enveloped the crowd. They all focussed with bated breath as they wondered just what mutated beast would be released this time. The announcer had already explained that Zhan would be fighting in three rounds, this was merely the first.

Would it be something weak for a warm up?

No. No it would not.

BEEP!

A high pitched sound echoed throughout the colosseum, alerting Zhan that the cage was about to open.