The day after meeting Eddie, the Assyrian gladiatorial contest opened.
In the Assyrian territory, both nobles and free people were very keen on gladiatorial contests - not only did they watch and talk about them, but they would also take the opportunity to gamble, so every large-scale competition would see some people happy and some sad.
For these nobles and free people, the more brutal, violent and bloody the fights between slaves and beasts or the contests between slaves, the more it stimulates and stirs their emotions.
The Assyrian gladiatorial games were originally just a religious commemorative ceremony, but later gradually evolved into an extremely cruel entertainment activity. Most of the participants were slaves and prisoners of war, as well as prisoners and bankrupt free people. Regardless of their original identities, they were all called gladiators in the competition venue.
Vulture told Woolley that gladiators had to undergo strict gladiatorial training every day, because once they were on the field, they would have to fight their opponents to death with knives, swords or daggers under the crazy shouting and encouragement of thousands or even tens of thousands of spectators, until they killed the opponent or were seriously injured and unable to fight again...
In Woolley's mind, the earth-shaking screams, the bloody scenes, and the crazy shouts and shouts of the audience in the arena were all trampling on flesh and blood and digging their own graves, because extreme barbarism and madness would often lead to destruction, complete destruction.
But Woolley also knew that gladiatorial contests were not just pure entertainment, they also had political significance - the Senate, the Supreme Council and even the temple created such cruel scenes to stimulate and win over the nobles, infect the free people, publicize and display the powerful political and military power of the Assyrian territory, and increase cohesion and centripetal force.
"One day, I will ban gladiatorial contests," Woolley once said to Guru during a casual chat.
"Why?" Guru was very surprised, because gladiatorial contests had become a part of Assyrian life many generations ago, and even an indispensable part.
"Because it is barbaric, absurd, and stupid," Woolley replied, not wanting to explain too much because his guru might not understand.
Although his foot was still injured, although the sun was already getting hotter, and although he would leave Assyria the day after tomorrow to return to Salt Marsh Town to continue working, Wu Lai still chose to go to watch the opening match of the Gladiator King Contest, because there were too many people who invited him, including Wei Huo, Wright, Eddie...
In the end, Wu Lai chose to watch the opening game with Eddie, because this would not only make the Shuman family happy, but also what Qi Yuan and Connor would be happy to see. Of course, Loli would definitely be unhappy.
When he walked into the Assyrian Hippodrome where the opening match was held, Woolley's mood did not become cheerful with the bustling crowd and the smiles on their faces. He even felt a little heavy.
The Hippodrome was built to commemorate the great victory of the Assyrian territory - that victory not only made the Assyrian territory emerge, but also made the Hurrians and Kimites dare not approach the Assyrian territory for nearly a hundred years.
In order to build the Colosseum, the victorious Assyrians forced 50,000 Hurlit and Kimo captives to serve nine years of hard labor. The Colosseum could accommodate 3,000 pairs of gladiators at the same time. It is said that within 60 days after the Colosseum was built, nearly 20,000 livestock were killed here, and half of the 50,000 captives who built the Colosseum became twisted corpses in the Colosseum within 100 days...
Addie had been waiting at the end of the noble passage, with the same affectionate smile as yesterday. If she had dressed up for the sake of her family when they met yesterday, then she had dressed up seriously today because Wu Lai had suddenly held her hand and tenderly kissed the back of her hand when he said goodbye yesterday - this move instantly softened her heart...
"You're here." Eddie came forward with a hint of shyness in his joyful smile.
"I can't wait to see you." Wu Lai said with a smile. Half of what he said was true. When Addie put aside her domineering attitude as a young lady and put on ladylike makeup, she was really pleasing to the eye.
Eddie was delighted again, and naturally took Wu Lai's arm and said, "Where should we sit?"
"Will you take my seat?" Wu Lai asked with a smile. Eddie nodded his head with a smile and moved a little closer to Wu Lai...
The Colosseum was oval in shape, with the center being the area for gladiatorial combat, with a long axis of 344 cubits and a short axis of 216 cubits. It was surrounded by a high wall that separated it from the audience seats to protect the safety of the audience. The audience seats were located around the gladiatorial combat area, which were actually steps that rose gradually, with a total of 60 rows of seats, divided into several areas according to the level of status:
The first zone, which is closest to the gladiatorial area, is where the seats for the temple, the Senate, senior members of the Supreme Council, and the top six large families are placed. These VIP seats are carved from a whole piece of marble. It is not easy to sit in such a seat, at least Wu Lai cannot do it now.
The second district is the seats for big families, big nobles and city governors, and Wu Lai's seat is in the third district. Because the seating arrangement for the opening game is very strict, the third district is defined as "small nobles with titles and ordinary middle nobles". The fourth district is the seat for small nobles, and above are the seats for ordinary free people.
In Woolley's words, the seating arrangement in the Assyrian arena was a class ranking list.
After Wu Lai and Eddie sat down at their seats, they attracted some people's attention. Although the combination of handsome men and beautiful women is not uncommon, the people who noticed them were naturally those who knew them. Think about it, one is a newly rising talent, and the other is the daughter of the Shuman family. The way they behaved seems to explain something.
"Chief, Wuleglindo has hooked up with Eddie from the Shuman family." Connor's personal attendant reminded Connor in a low voice.
Connor turned around and took a quick look. He saw that Wu Lai was indeed sitting side by side with Eddie, chatting and laughing. They looked very intimate. He put on a stern face and waved his hand at his personal attendant: "Let him go."
Connor's face was for Wei Huo to see. Now he was sitting in the seat where Qi Yuan was supposed to be, and Connor was separated from him by the seat of Saint Lean, the high priest of the temple.
When Connor looked stern, Wei Huo was happy. He saw Wu Lai and Eddie earlier than Connor, and he could tell from Eddie's affectionate attitude that she had feelings for Wu Lai. This was a good thing for the Duncan family, because Eddie and Wu Lai were a good match in terms of family background and appearance. If Wu Lai could successfully "capture" Eddie, he would have a certain say in the Heuman family in the future, and perhaps even influence the Heuman family's position.
Well done, Wulai Grindo. Wei Huo said to Wulai in his heart.
"Wu Lai, I heard that the winner of the first game today will be auctioned off. How about it? Are you interested?" Addie found that she was enjoying being with Wu Lai more and more, especially when she realized that the smile in his eyes always seemed to be releasing warmth towards her. This kind of look was very fresh to Addie, and she was even willing to be intoxicated by it, because no other peers had ever treated her like this. They either had a look of awe on their faces, or flashed with hidden possessiveness. The former might make her feel proud, but the latter would only make her feel disgusted.
"Let's see first..." Wu Lai was just saying this when he saw four young nobles in luxurious clothes walking towards him quickly. The leader was staring at him viciously.
Wu Lai glanced around casually. He didn't recognize any of the four people who came, but the other party's eyes were too unfriendly, which made him confused and a little alert.
"Eddie, Eddie Shuman, what do you mean?" Four young nobles walked up to Wu Lai and Eddie. The leader simply sat down on Eddie's right side and questioned.
Eddie glanced at the man, his brows full of impatience: "Rainmondo, I think you don't have to be so rude, right?"
Reinmondo? Is he from the Mondo family? Wu Lai's brows slightly frowned. He and Gesmondo had already formed an irreconcilable feud. If this Reinmondo in front of him really came from the Mondo fertile land, then his appearance in front of him would be worth savoring.
Wu Lai's guess was correct. This boy, Reinmondo, who was just in his early twenties, really came from Mondowoye. Gesmondo was his uncle. When Rein was two years old, his father died of illness. Gesmondo had a deep relationship with his younger brother, so he naturally took over the responsibility of raising Rein. Then, his uncle's doting and the private environment of Mondowoye made Rein into a selfish and arrogant playboy.
Ten days ago, Rein, who had never left the fertile plains of Mondo since he was a child, came to Ashur City because Cosmondo wanted this nephew who had no other strengths except his handsome appearance to play a role, such as marrying into a big family. In Cosmondo's mind, the first choice was naturally the Shuman family, but he went there twice and did not get a clear reply from the Shuman family.
While Gosmondo's progress in the Shuman family was slow, Rainmondo's pace was faster than his uncle's - the boy fell in love with Eddie the first time he saw her, and that very evening he found an opportunity to spend some time with Eddie, because Eddie had many friends, and he could always get her out by using roundabout ways.
However, Addie was somewhat disgusted with Ryan, because she found that when Ryan looked at her, his eyes would always glance at certain parts of her body.
"Excuse me? Eddie, we'll talk about this later." Rein laughed, tilted his head, and looked at Wu Lai. "My name is Reinmondo, from Mondo Woye. You should know what this means. If you don't mind, I'll invite you to the Mondo family's seat. Here, lend it to me first."
Wu Lai laughed, thinking that Khufu was already weird enough, but this Reinmondo was even weirder than Khufu. How dare he play with the style of Yanei so arrogantly? It was really impossible not to admit defeat.
"It seems you don't mind..."
"No." Wu Lai interrupted Laing and said word by word, "I really mind, and I have to tell you that this is my seat, so please leave."
"You little brat, don't be so shameless." Rein stood up angrily, "The Mondo family is in the first district. If you miss this opportunity, you may never have the chance to know how glorious it is to sit in the first district."
"Really?" Wu Lai smiled and shook his head. "I don't think that's very glorious. It still needs a cloth pad, otherwise it would be very uncomfortable."
Addie couldn't help but cover her mouth, otherwise she would have laughed out loud.
Lain sneered. If Eddie hadn't been there, he wouldn't have minded beating up Wu Lai. "Good boy, you're really arrogant. Who are you?"
"Who do you care who I am?" Wu Lai's face darkened. "Please leave my seat immediately."
"What? You actually chased me away? What's wrong with Assyria now? A small..." Before Rein finished his words, two lieutenants in bright armor had already walked up to him quickly.
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"Who are you?" Laing asked subconsciously.
The two lieutenants ignored him, but bowed to Wu Lai who was sitting upright, and said respectfully: "Sir, General Wei Huo wants you to sit in the front row. He said he brought two bottles of good wine and hopes to have a drink with you."
Rhine was startled, thinking, did I hear it right? Weihuo Duncan invited this guy to drink, and his attitude was so respectful? This Weihuo really knows how to deal with things. Wu Lai smiled and nodded, "Please tell General Weihuo that I will stay here with Miss Addison to watch the game for a while, and I will come back when the third game starts."
The three who followed Rhine were stunned, wondering what kind of person he was. How many people dreamed of being invited to drink by the great Kuihuo Duncan, but he actually asked Kuihuo Duncan to wait. Looking around Assyria, no one has ever heard of such a person?
"Yes, sir." The two lieutenants bowed again, and then left to report without even looking at Rein and the others. At the same time, Yin'er, who was sitting at the seat of the Xuman family, withdrew his gaze with a smile.
This Weihuo really doesn't want to miss any opportunity to strike at Gosmondo, Yin'er thought to himself.
After Wei Huo's action, Rhine's arrogance was suppressed a lot, but he was still not happy to see Eddie and Wu Lai together. He rolled his eyes and had a new idea.
"Hey, if you have the guts, let's make a bet." Rhine said to Wu Lai provocatively.
"What are you betting on?" Wu Lai and Eddie looked at each other and smiled, then asked.
"Humph, in the arena, you naturally bet on the outcome of the game. Do you dare?" Rein asked, raising his head.
"Okay, but I don't play with small amounts of money," said Wu Lai.
"Humph, who wants to play with small amounts of money? I'm not short of money. How about 10,000 gold coins?" Rein deliberately raised his voice when he stated the bet, which attracted some envious or surprised glances. He liked this kind of glance the most.
"Ten thousand gold coins?" Wu Lai frowned.
"Yes, 10,000 gold coins a handful." Rein grinned, "How about it? Do you think it's too much? I can let you choose first."
"I think you misunderstood." Wu Lai smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Ten thousand gold coins a handful is just small change to me."
As soon as Wu Lai finished speaking, there was a sudden booing from the surroundings. Laing's face immediately turned red, and he suddenly raised his voice in anger: "Okay, you are really brave. Then tell me, how many gold coins are there?"
Eddie, who was standing by, reminded Wu Lai with a smile, "The first match of the opening match is between the Masked Assassin of Mondowoye and the Dual Sword Fighter Hekru. It's a one-to-one match. I heard the odds are out. Both are evenly matched."
"So everyone thinks they are evenly matched and the outcome is hard to predict?" Wu Lai asked with a smile.
"That's true. That means there are risks no matter who you buy," said Eddie.
"Eddie, there's no need to be so intimate in front of me." Ryan was very annoyed by Eddie's selective ignoring, and he felt so sour in his heart at this moment.
"Rainmondo, if you were asked to choose, who would you support?" Eddie asked with a smile.
"Then it must be the Masked Assassin. It's true that the dual-sword fighter Hekru is strong, but he has been on the decline, while the Masked Assassin is on the rise. His agility and experience are not inferior to Hekru, and he even has better physical strength." Reinmondo laughed and said.
Eddie also laughed, and the fingers that were holding Wu Lai's arm scratched and scratched again.
"Okay, Reinmondo, I'll bet you 100,000 gold coins." Wu Lai knew what Eddie meant. "I bet the Masked Assassin will win."
"That's impossible!" Reinmondo almost jumped up, "The Masked Assassin belongs to Mondowoye, how can you choose?!"
"Why can't I choose? Didn't you just say that you could let me choose first? Don't you mean that?" Wu Lai's words immediately left Rhine speechless.
Seeing the changes in the looks around him, Reinmondo gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! One hundred thousand is one hundred thousand. It's fine if you choose first. However, we can't just bet on one bet. We have to bet on three bets, one hundred thousand each. You choose first this time, and then the next one. And whoever loses the third one goes first. How do you think?"
"I have no problem, just don't regret it." Wu Lai raised a smile...