This time, Thirteen was about to fight a teenage Barbarian boy who was around fifteen years old.
He wasn't a slave. On the contrary, he was one of the young Barbarians who enjoyed fighting against them.
For them, fighting slaves was a good way to train themselves and was more effective than looking for Monsters to fight in the wild.
In fact, many young Barbarians do this, and this gained the approval of the adults.
Since killing wasn't allowed, and he was a Barbarian, Brakka was able to get special treatment, allowing him to fight opponents who were weaker than him.
He was the Duel Arena's 'Cleaner', whom they'd call up in order to deal with the troublesome slaves who had offended many people.
Since the Barbarians wanted to see Thirteen suffer and bleed, they pressured Raldo to make Brakka the boy's opponent if Jubei wished for him to fight again.
Now, all of these people were sitting calmly in their seats as they looked at the hateful boy, who made them lose their money.
The referee looked at the seven-year-old with pity. He knew how violent Brakka could be, and he could already see the sorry state the boy would be in by the time the match ended.
Thirteen had been told by the man who dragged him to the waiting room to say his prayers because he was guaranteed to be a cripple by the time his match ended.
Out of curiosity, Thirteen asked the man whom he was fighting against, and the Barbarian was more than happy to scare him out of his wits.
Because of this, Thirteen had a good idea of what kind of person he was going to face.
"And now, we present to you, Brakka!" Raldo announced as he pointed at the young Barbarian who was walking towards the arena with a wild grin on his face.
""Brakka!""
""Brakka!""
""Brakka!""
""Brakka!""
""Brakka!""
The audience chanted his name, making the Barbarian raise both of his hands like a professional wrestler about to fight a championship match.
The moment Brakka stepped into the arena, he shouted a warcry, making the Barbarians cheer.
"Boy, I don't know how you managed to piss these people off, but I'm glad you did," Brakka stated. "I was already getting bored and wanted to play with a new toy. Don't worry, I won't break you easily."
Thirteen looked visibly shaken. A moment later, he tried to run towards the edge of the arena, intending to jump to end the match in Brakka's favor.
However, the Referee was faster than him, so he caught the seven-year-old firmly in his hands.
"Use the cage!" one of the Barbarians shouted.
"That's right! We want the cage!"
"Cage match!"
"Cage match!"
"Cage match!"
The Referee glanced in Raldo's direction as if asking him if they should listen to the audience.
The Manager shook his head because he believed that this was a very cruel thing to do.
He still had his principles despite being the Manager of the Dueling Arena.
For him, giving Thirteen a chance to jump off the arena was the only mercy that he could give him as a Human.
"Don't worry, everyone," Brakka declared. "Even if he jumps off the Arena during our match, I will still break his limbs. So just sit back and enjoy the show."
"Nice!"
"Good!"
"Hahaha! Break his legs! Break his arms!"
"Make him suffer!"
The Referee, who was holding onto Thirteen, crouched down to look the boy in the eye.
"If you jump off the Arena, I will catch you and personally hand you over to Brakka," the Referee stated. "Give it up. There is no escape for you. Just do your best to land a hit or two against Brakka because that might be the last thing you'll ever be able to do before you are crippled."
After saying those words, the Referee released Thirteen and walked back to the center of the arena.
"Killing is not allowed," the Referee shouted. "Everything else is allowed. If you fall from the arena, lose consciousness, or surrender, you lose. Now fight!"
Brakka laughed as he walked towards the boy with confidence.
Just like what he did earlier, Thirteen ran toward the edge of the arena, making the audience start booing.
"You won't get away with the same trick twice!"
"Just accept your fate and get your limbs broken!"
"Time to pay for your sins, boy!"
Brakka, who was casually walking toward Thirteen sneered.
"You aren't the first and the last slave who has used this strategy on me," Brakka said. "It's no use, boy. Your petty tricks will not work on me."
Seeing that the fish wasn't biting the bait, Thirteen ran along the sides of the arena, remaining at its edges.
Brakka only laughed and followed his opponent in a leisurely manner.
Everyone understood that the Barbarian was just playing with his prey, so they just cheered him on.
Finally, ten minutes later, Brakka seemed to have gotten a little impatient because the only thing that Thirteen did was to run away.
Because of this, he increased his speed and cornered him.
"Where are you going to run now, boy?" Brakka asked with his arms spread wide, as he walked towards the seven-year-old, who was standing in one of the corners of the arena. "Playtime's over."
The Barbarian reached out and grabbed Thirteen's shirt with the intention of raising him high up in the air.
Brakka enjoyed watching the helplessness of his victims when they were in his grasp, making them feel despair.
However, he had just raised Thirteen's body up to his chest level when the younger boy's scared-looking eyes suddenly sharpened as if waiting for that exact moment.
A few seconds later, a grunt escaped Brakka's lips before his grip on the boy's clothes loosened.
Thirteen had timed his attack perfectly, giving Brakka a well-
aimed kick on his balls, making him temporarily lose his strength.
The Barbarian curled his body like a shrimp while holding onto his family jewels with a pale expression on his face.
Even if he were stronger than Thirteen, he was still a man, and getting kicked in that place hurt like hell.
"You're right," Thirteen said as he raised his hand. "Playtime's over."
Using a palm strike, the seven-year-old accurately broke the Barbarian's nose, making Brakka grunt in pain,
However, this was just the beginning of his suffering.
The boy then grabbed the back of Brakka's head and forcibly brought it down.
Thirteen's knee rose up to meet the Barbarian's jaw, making Brakka see white as his brain was shaken due to the impact.
But even if he was in a daze, he still managed to hear the boy's words in his ears like a Devil telling Brakka that his soul now belonged to him.
"You have crippled countless people, haven't you?" Thirteen smiled evilly. "Don't worry. Your fate will be worse than theirs. I will cripple you in a way that you will remember for the rest of your life."
After saying those words, the younger boy slapped the Barbarian's ears with his hands at the same time, making one of Brakka's eardrums burst, disorienting him.
This was followed up by an uppercut, making the Barbarian fall on his back.
Thirteen, who wasn't done with his combination attack, raised his foot and stomped on Brakka's balls a second time, making sure to crush them completely.
The Barbarian started to foam in the mouth after Thirteen's deadly combos, forcing the Referee to interfere and stop the match.
"Winner, Zion!"
As soon as he declared the boy's victory, two Barbarians ran up into the arena to carry Brakka away.
The Audience was speechless because they didn't expect Brakka would actually lose to the seven-year-old, who was walking down from the arena with confidence.
His earlier display of cowardice and fear was nowhere to be seen, making Raldo, who watched the battle from start to finish, subconsciously clench his fist.
'This brat…' Raldo thought. 'He played us all in the palm of his hands.'
As if sensing his gaze, Thirteen glanced in Raldo's direction and gave him a faint smile.
The Manager of the Arena felt a cold chill run down his spine the moment he met the boy's gaze.
Something was telling him that this incident was not over yet, and he would be seeing the seven-year-old again in the not-
so-distant future.
