The caravan carrying the slaves traveled for a full day and night, and on the morning of the second day, they arrived at Amar, the capital of the Kingdom of Ulster.
Todd, who had jumped down from the carriage, tightened his cloak and watched as the legion commander in charge of escorting the slaves led the large convoy across the drawbridge into the city. He whispered to Rachel, "The guards responsible for watching over the slaves along the way were heavily guarded, with sentries both overt and covert. I don't quite understand why Ulster is so concerned about escorting slaves, even going so far as to deploy a large number of regular troops."
The woman stepped down from the carriage and said in a low voice, "In the history of the Kingdom of Ulster, there was once a very serious slave rebellion. The leader of the rebellious slaves organized a powerful army, and at its peak, the army even besieged the kingdom's capital."
Todd nodded, then asked with interest, "What happened to those rebellious slaves afterward?"
Rachel didn't say anything, but gestured for him to follow her.
Upon reaching the city gate, Rachel spoke with the guard in fluent Northern Mandarin for a while, then handed over two silver coins, thus gaining passage.
Leading Todd into the bustling city, Rachel led the way, turning several corners and crossing a bridge. They arrived at a sparsely populated, uneven cobblestone street.
Rachel pointed to the road beneath their feet and said to Todd, "This road is called the Path of Sighs."
The latter was somewhat puzzled: "Why would you choose such a name?"
Rachel stomped on the cobblestones and gave Todd a look, signaling him to observe carefully.
Curious, Todd crouched down and examined the cracks between the bluestone slabs closely. Then, he brushed aside some soil with his fingers, picked up a small piece of white 'tile,' and said, 'This looks a bit like bone…'
“That’s right.” Rachel looked at the road that stretched for hundreds of meters and said softly, “Didn’t you just want to ask about the fate of those slaves? Their final destination is right beneath our feet.”
Todd's eyes widened as he used his 'clairvoyance' ability to look down at the ground, only to be startled by the sight before him.
Countless bones and hair filled the spaces between the stone slabs and beneath the soil. If you looked even deeper, you could even see the standing, buried remains beneath the earth.
“Thousands of captured slaves were thrown into pre-dug vertical pits and then buried alive here.” Rachel looked around to make sure no one was there, then turned to Todd: “Your Majesty, this is not the Kingdom of Muxi, this is the barbarian land of the North. Madness, bloodlust, promiscuity, and torture are as commonplace here as eating a meal.”
Todd stood up, looked at the ground beneath his feet, and sighed softly: "This is what they call the Northern 'tradition'?"
“That’s right. I’ve seen your world in your soul space. It’s beautiful, prosperous, and peaceful. It’s the place I long for the most.” Rachel said, turning back as she continued walking. “If I could stay there for even a day, I would gladly pay the price with my life.”
Todd placed the bone fragment on the ground, looked at Rachel, and said with a firm gaze, "Believe me, all of this will come true, I promise you!"
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After finding an inn in the city to stay temporarily, Todd and Rachel had lunch and then went to the most bustling and crowded place in Ammar – the arena 'Red Circle'.
The "Red Circle" is the most famous building on the entire Northern Continent. Located at the westernmost end of the city, it covers an area of over [square meters]. The origin of its name is rather simple. The soil within the site was originally brown, but it gradually turned red with blood splattered from long battles, hence the name "Red Circle."
This place is a daily stage for battles between gladiators, or between gladiators and powerful enemies, and corpses are the most common sight here.
The building is designed in a circular shape, with the central part being the arena and the surrounding stands. The entire venue can accommodate up to seven thousand people watching the competition at the same time.
The building structure is divided into four floors from bottom to top.
The second basement level (the lowest level) is the cleaning area, where the bodies of the losers after the gladiatorial combat, as well as scattered debris, will be transported to for centralized processing.
The basement level is the personnel area. The daily life of the gladiators, including their meals, training, and sleeping areas, are all concentrated here.
The ground floor is the arena, which includes a circular area serving as the battleground and surrounding spectator areas.
The second floor (top floor) is the viewing area. This includes the observation tower, guard passage, and VIP stands.
After paying some local currency used in the North (equivalent to about 16 copper stars in parish currency), Todd and Rachel successfully entered the Red Circle arena.
Before they even stepped onto the stands, the tsunami-like cheers from the audience startled them.
Without any shade, at 2 PM, the hottest time of day, thousands of people were sitting in the huge arena.
Most of them were from the Kingdom of Ulster, but there were also many travelers from other northern countries who had come to visit.
A duel is taking place in the arena.
A fully armed, heavily armored warrior faces off against five scantily clad slaves.
The latter had only a rusty, dull weapon in his hand, which struck the warrior's armor, leaving only white scratches.
The duel did not last long, ending in just fifteen minutes.
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