On the outskirts of Rome, in a manor, a thousand slave gladiators stood in neat rows on the open ground of the manor.

These slave gladiators, who had long been trained as fighting machines, far surpassed ordinary people in both physical fitness and combat skills.

For these slave gladiators, with the change of contracts, they have now become slaves of the Taiping Church, and they must obey even if the Taiping Church wants them to die.

However, Zhang Bao did not believe in those so-called contracts. In his view, to make these slaves serve the Han Dynasty and the Taiping Sect, it was necessary to use some means to make them sincerely serve the government.

"Within the Taiping Sect, all beings are subjects of Taiyi. From now on, you will no longer be slaves, but defenders of the Taiping Sect."

I will give you freedom, status, position, power, and glory; and all you need to do is offer your loyalty!

Looking at the row of robust gladiators in front of him, Zhang Bao proclaimed, "From now on, all your actions must be in accordance with the will of the One God, and you must use everything you have to serve the One God and proclaim the glory and light of the One God!"

"Now, if you feel you can do it, take a step forward!"

Zhang Bao's sharp eyes swept over the various slave gladiators; what he needed were absolute and loyal warriors.

As Zhang Bao finished speaking, some of the neatly lined-up slave gladiators immediately stepped forward, while others hesitated for a moment before choosing to take a step forward.

In the end, only about fifty slave gladiators remained standing still.

A cold glint flashed in Zhang Bao's eyes as he looked at those who hadn't moved.

For these slave gladiators, whoever bought them was their master, both physically and mentally.

Therefore, Zhang Bao concluded that these motionless fellows must believe in another religion, which Zhang Bao absolutely could not tolerate.

"Very well, since you have all made your own choices, you must take responsibility for them!"

Zhang Bao looked at the fifty motionless gladiator slaves, his voice suddenly turning cold: "I'm giving you one last chance to choose!!"

For those gladiators, Zhang Bao's extremely cold voice was undoubtedly a terrifying omen.

Those slave gladiators who chose to believe in the Taiping Religion and follow Taiyi showed a hint of sympathy and reassurance in their eyes.

These people were originally elites and knights from various states in Zhoubang. They were captured after being defeated in a war against Rome and became slave gladiators. Compared to the slaves of Pu, they had much higher vision and knowledge.

They knew that the Taiping Church had spent at least tens of thousands of gold coins to buy them, and that they were only a small fraction of the slaves the Taiping Church had purchased.

Such a wealthy master is rare, and most importantly, this is a religion supported by Rome and the Eastern Empire. Zhang Bao had previously shouted the slogan of equality to them, which is what they care about most.

Serving a religion that is wealthy, powerful, and treats its people as human beings is far better than working for slave owners.

In their view, wasting such an opportunity is bound to be punished.

Of the remaining fifty slaves, after some struggle and deliberation, only twenty took a step forward, while the remaining thirty remained standing in place.

Looking at the last thirty slaves, Zhang Bao smiled.

Just when everyone thought Zhang Bao would order the execution of the thirty slaves, Zhang Bao stepped forward and said in a deep voice:

“I admire your persistence in making your choice, but the Taiping Cult has its own rules. If you can defeat them, I will not hesitate to grant you your freedom. If you lose, your lives will be spared!”

As he spoke, Zhang Bao beckoned to the ten disciples beside him. The ten Taoist disciples lined up and stood in front of the thirty slaves.

These disciples were all guardians of the Way brought by Zhang Bao from the Han Dynasty. They had been training under Zhang Bao since the founding of the Taiping Sect, and their martial arts skills were far beyond those of ordinary people.

Looking at the Taoist priest of the Taiping Sect standing in front of them, who was a head taller than them, the thirty gladiators all looked solemn and dared not be negligent in the slightest.

They were all experienced fighters and could naturally see the terrifying power hidden beneath the robes of those ten defenders of the faith.

Soon, the fight began. Although these thirty gladiators were all formidable figures in the arena, their fighting skills were mostly based on the most primitive brute force attacks and collisions.

Compared to the ten moral guardians who had honed their killing skills for years, the only commendable thing about these thirty gladiators was the power of their punches.

Unfortunately, this force was still insufficient in the face of these ten moral guardians. These moral guardians, when they did strike, would directly target their opponent's vital points.

Soon, the unequal fight ended. The ten defenders of the faith stood there unharmed, while the thirty gladiators lay on the ground with contorted expressions. Some had their throats crushed, some had their hearts pierced, and some had their skulls smashed.

Seeing the thirty gladiators killed with their bare hands, all the gladiators present were stunned.

They had killed their opponents with their bare hands more than once in the arena, but those were just punches and blows, relying on brute force. They had never seen such a fast and deadly method of killing.

After glancing indifferently at the thirty corpses, Zhang Bao turned to look at the remaining twenty slave gladiators who took the last step forward.

"Kill them!!"

As soon as Zhang Bao finished speaking, the ten defenders of the faith immediately drew a dagger and rushed forward.

The futile resistance was staged before everyone's eyes. As the last slave fell, he used all his remaining strength to question Zhang Bao.

"Why? We've already chosen to submit, why...?"

"As I've said before, I admire those with strong wills, and conversely, I despise those with wavering wills. You are capable of wavering in the face of threats, and you are equally capable of betraying me in the future...!"

Looking at the dead slave, Zhang Bao still answered his question, but Zhang Bao's answer was not for him, but for the living gladiators.

The surviving slaves glanced at the corpses on the ground without a shred of sympathy.

Just as Zhang Bao said, these guys are the most likely to betray. Nobody wants a comrade who is weak-willed and will betray them at any time.

"Welcome to the ranks of Taiyi, believers!" Zhang Bao looked at the remaining nine hundred and fifty gladiators with a smile, then turned to his disciple, "Go, bring those contracts!"