COLOSSEUM EMPIRE WAS THE LARGEST territory in the continent of Aria.

It was one of many independent nations that do not rely on the United Alliance. With its large army, the empire could protect itself from any treasure hunters or invaders.

On the borders of the Colosseum Empire were twelve villages called Traeux, each in the position of an analog clock, and each named with numbers—Traeux I to XII—in clockwise order. The Traeux villages served as the "first line of defense" of the Colosseum Empire. They were to hold the enemies as long as they can and wait for the reinforcements.

The reinforcements were in the larger villages called Lagaian. Like the Traeux villages, twelve Lagaian villages were in the same position, and named with the same numbers—Lagaian I to XII. Unlike Traeux villages though, Lagaian settlements have a larger allocation of an army, each having a legion, enough to invade a smaller nation. And having eighteen legions in total, the Colosseum Empire was a nation that no other countries dared to invade, except for a few barbaric communities that try to steal land, women, cattle, and anything valuable.

At the center of the Colosseum Empire was the Capital where the six other legions aside from the twelve legions in Lagaian settlements were stationed, where the important families reside, and important structures were built. It was where the senates were, the emperor, the nobles, and the most well-known arena in Aria, the Colosseum Arena. There were many commoners in the Capital as well, but most were there as servants and laborers.

“This is where the arena is located. It’s at the center of the Capital. That’s where you can see the gladiators fight,” said Faustus while pointing at a map. “So whether you join or not, that’s up to you guys.”

“Faustus, I still don’t understand why the border of this empire is lightly guarded. Is there a reason for that?” asked Jack.

“It’s not that it is lightly guarded. The Lagaian army comes here from time to time. Since the Colosseum Empire is quite large, there’s a vast land that the army has to patrol and defend.”

“Are you worried about us?” Quintus asked amusingly. “There’s nothing to worry about. Yesterday was just because we were short-handed. And if ever we could not defend this village, we could travel back to Lagaian XII to retreat.”

“And if we ever lose this village, we could still rebuild it right afterward.”

“Hey, guys. Here are your imperial passes,” Julius handed Riku four papers. “This proves that you have been screened here in Traeux XII and that you are all allowed to stay in Colosseum Empire for fourteen days.”

“Thank you, Julius,” said Riku. She handed Daisuke, Jack, and Raijin theirs. “Fourteen days are more than enough for us to keep our supplies topped and continue our journey.”

“Be sure to always show that whenever you’re asked and surrender it before leaving the empire,” Faustus reminded.

“Thank you, guys. We’ll be on our way then,” said Raijin.

“We should be the one thanking you,” Faustus said. “If ever, please do visit us again.”

The group bid farewell as they continued to travel to Colosseum Arena.

Faustus then looked around. “Hey, has anyone seen Emilia?”

* * * * *

At the Capital’s market, the people were talking about the upcoming fight of the gladiator that came six months ago. A barbarian was caught, managing to defeat at least three cohorts all by himself. It was said that he came from Dragonheim, a continent at the south pole of Laniagaea, land of unforgiving ice.

“Come on! The fight is about to start!” said one kid.

The other kid tried to run faster. “I’m trying *huff* *huff* I’m trying,” he responded strugglingly.

The kids managed to pass through the crowded street, then went to a certain alley and opened a manhole. As they went down the sewers, they navigated with a torch to light up their way. And when they finally reached a certain ladder, they went up discretely and got inside the Colosseum Arena’s old, mens' comfort room.

The kids walked outside the room and blended with the crowd as if they have paid to get inside. Soon, they were at the viewing deck for the commoners and were just in time to watch the main event.

“Ladies and gentlemen! For today’s main event! Our challenger is a long-time gladiator! A veteran from Lagaian II! Once a great soldier, now a gladiator to serve his sentence! I give you, Silvanus!”

The audience cheered Silvanus’s name. Many made a bet that Silvanus would win the bout.

Silvanus raised his spear and shield as the audience cheered.

“And now, on the opposite side of the arena! The undefeated barbarian! The man who defeated three cohorts! The man claimed to be a personal bodyguard of a crown princess! I give you, Siegfried!”

The audience had a mixed reaction; many people cheered but some booed him.

Siegfried was quite shorter compared to Silvanus. Unlike Silvanus, his armor was made of leather and fur. His helmet covered his eyes, nose, and ears but revealed his lower face. He’s got an armguard, on his left arm, which had neck protection. His body had some sort of chain mail and wears boots made of fur and leather.

Today marked his ninety-eighth fight. The emperor, Augustus Vitellius Tiberius, promised him his freedom if he managed to win one hundred consecutive times. Not only him but also the young woman he was with.

“I am sorry, Siegfried, but today, you shall perish!” Silvanus taunted.

Siegfried unsheathed his swords. Just like what the people at Traeux XII said, he wielded the sword reversely. The sword was double-edged and the hilt resembled a head of ravens.

On the mark of the emperor, the bout began.

Silvanus was the first to charge. He ran towards Siegfried with full speed and threw his spear. Before the spear could hit Siegfried though, Siegfried jumped and somersaulted.

As Siegfried landed, Silvanus greeted Siegfried with a gladius, which Siegfried deflected with his own weapon.

As they exchanged blows, Silvanus taunted Siegfried even more. “Hey! Why don’t you just escape from here? Didn’t you defeat three cohorts?”

“You speak too much,” Siegfried lunged towards Silvanus and tried to slit his throat, but Silvanus managed to dodge.

“Your style of fighting is full of openings!” Silvanus taunted once more.

Silvanus attacked again with his gladius. Siegfried blocked Silvanus’s first slash, but it exposed his side, which Silvanus tried to take advantage of. With a dagger, Silvanus stabbed the side of Siegfried. But to his surprise, Siegfried actually managed to quickly deflect the dagger.

“You were saying?” Siegfried taunted.

Silvanus continued to attack. Siegfried simply parried every slash that Silvanus delivered while stepping back. Silvanus kept on charging until he was near the spear he threw. He grabbed the spear and tried to stab Siegfried with it, but Siegfried countered by jumping and rotating midair.

Siegfried cut the spear several times until he landed behind Silvanus. Then, he slashed his back in a cross pattern.

The crowd cheered after seeing Silvanus dropped to the ground.

Silvanus was no longer able to stand and the match was announced over with Siegfried, for the ninety-eighth time, the winner.

* * * * *

Daisuke and his friends have now reached Lagaian XII. They were met by Optio Vitus, the optio of the century that went to Traeux XII.

“Welcome to Lagaian XII, travelers. We received a crow from Traeux XII saying that the group who helped them were passing through here,” welcomed Vitus.

“Thank you, Vitus. We’re just here to rest for a while then continue to the Capital at the soonest,” Riku explained.

“Well, it is still early. Have you guys eaten lunch yet?”

The group shook their head.

Vitus laughed. “Our legatus would like to meet you. So please, eat lunch with us,” he invited.

The group followed Vitus to the camp of Lagaian XII's Cohort II. The eyes of the soldiers followed them as they walked to the main camp, could be from seeing civilians inside their camp, or maybe because of the elves, or probably because of the news that already reached them about three travelers easily overwhelming five hundred barbarians.

As they reached the main camp, they were greeted by the legatus.

“Ah, Vitus. So these people must be the travelers you were talking about,” said Aurelius, the legatus of Lagaian XII.

“Yes, Legatus Aurelius. These are Daisuke, Riku, and Jack, the elves. And this is Raijin, their guide here in Aria.”

“It is an honor to meet the outsiders that saved Traeux XII. I am Aurelius, the legatus of Lagaian XII and centurion of Lagaian XII's Cohort I.”

“Nice to meet you, legatus,” greeted Raijin respectfully.

“Thank you for having us,” Jack added.

“Well, I hope you are all hungry. We have a lot of food today. Consider this as our way of saying thanks to you. We would have lost many innocent lives in Trauex XII if not for you four. Having a feast is the least that we could do.”

The group was led by Aurelius as they walked to the dining camp of Cohort I. On their way, they saw hundreds, maybe thousands of soldiers already eating their lunch.

“Wow...I have never seen this many soldiers before,” said Raijin in awe. “Even the United Alliance in Port Royale only has a few hundred enough for three warships.”

Aurelius laughed. “Well, the empire’s land is wide. Too wide, even. Having all the soldiers we have counts. Patrolling this vast empire spreads our men too thin, however.”

The remaining soldiers of Cohort I assembled at the dining camp. There, the quartet was introduced by Aurelius. It was not every day that Colossans have elven guests, so they all had many questions for them.

Daisuke and his friends happily entertained the human soldiers. They were glad that even though they were different, humans openly accepted them on their land.

Daisuke remembered Cobalt and their conversation. It seemed that the world was truly changing. A dwarf living with humans on Port Royale. Humans accept elves as their guests. He was glad and wondered where Cobalt could be. Maybe they should detour to Pit Valley, he thought.

After the meal, Cohort I assembled outside as it was their turn to patrol the nearby lands.

“Well, we have to accompany our men in patrolling. Feel free to go around the village,” said Aurelius as he bid farewell.

“Thank you again for the meal,” said Daisuke.

As soon as Aurelius and his cohort left, the group went around the village to see what Lagaian XII have.

Most of the outskirts of the village were the camps for the soldiers. Cattle and farms were also found on the outskirts, much like the Traeux XII. What sets Traeux and Lagaian apart was that the latter has a middle and inner zone.

The family of the soldiers lived inside the middle zone of the village. This was where the commoners lived as well. The market, plaza, and other buildings were also located there.

In the inner zone of the village was where some of the wealthy families were located. They mostly own most of the land and employ the commoners.

And at the center of the village was a tall tower: the famed Eagle Tower. It was the tallest structure in the village and has a giant golden eagle statue on top. Only the royalties and select nobles, senators, and soldiers may enter the towers. Every Lagaian settlement has one and the Capital itself have dozens. As the quartet got close to the tower, Daisuke sad a familiar face.

“Hey, isn’t that Emilia?” Daisuke was pointing at a hooded figure.

“Where?” asked Riku.

“Over there, the one with the robe near the tower.”

“Emilia!” shouted Raijin.

* * * * *

Indeed, the hooded person was Emilia, and she was surprised to see Daisuke and his friends.

“H-Hey...H-How’s it going?” asked the surprised Emilia.

“Great! The legatus asked us to join him for lunch earlier,” replied Daisuke.

“What are you doing here, Emilia?” asked Jack.

“Oh, Umm…I-I’m just...here for...official business.”

“I think I’ve read about these towers before,” said Daisuke.

“Really?” asked Emilia, eager to change the subject.

“The eagle is the symbol of the Colosseum Empire,“ said Raijin. “It symbolizes military strength and protection. And on the event that a catastrophe occurs, an event that not even the greatest military could stop, those towers will protect the empire.”

“Yeah. I remember now. And the Eagle Towers all have something at the top that can be used to call giant eagles.“

Emilia stared at Daisuke, surprised that he, despite being an elf, knows something about the Eagle Towers. “Huh. I see you've done you're homework. Ever heard of the Lost Aquila?”

Daisuke smiled and nodded excitedly. “There was a legend about a winged golden armor that was said would allow the wearer to command the giant eagles without using the Eagle Towers. But it was said that that armor was hidden and requires all sixteen Aquilas, the golden eagle standard of each legion, to be uncovered.”

“And since the Twelfth Legion's Aquila was lost centuries ago, the golden armor became nothing but a legend,” Emilia continued.

Jack was intrigued by the tower. He looked up to examine the tower when several eagles flew past the sky. “Woah! Those are real giant eagles!” he exclaimed.

Emilia looked up. “And people are riding those eagles,” she stated matter-of-factly as more eagle riders flew past the village.

“Must be really thrilling to ride those eagles,” commented Raijin.

They saw even more eagles, three of which headed towards them. The eagles got closer and eventually landed near them, revealing just how huge they were. The eagle's wingspan could be around two hundred feet and each eagle could give a ride to three average humans. One of the eagles had golden plumage while the other two had a combination of black, brown, and red.

On the golden-feathered eagle that came down, a man with golden armor and a cape dismounted. Two other men who were wearing black armors dismounted as well from their respective eagles and accompanied the caped one.

The people around the area who saw the caped man kneeled.

“Emilia,” said the caped man from the golden eagle.

Emilia kneeled. “Emperor.”

“You four! Kneel!” said one of the black-armored riders. “You are before the great emperor of the Colosseum Empire!”

The quartet did as the soldier said.

The emperor laughed. “Please, do not scare them. I heard they helped our people at Traeux XII.” The emperor then addressed the group. “Please, rise.”

“T-Thank you...ah...Your Grace?” said Riku, unsure how to address an emperor.

Soldiers arrived in the area with Aurelius.

“Emperor. To what do we owe your visit here in Lagaian XII,” asked Aurelius courteously. His facial expression may show respect, but his eyes seemed to be wary.

“Ah, Aurelius. It’s nice to see you again. I am just here to invite these four brave travelers to the Capital. After all, the reports I received said that we would have lost hundreds of men if not for them.”

“Very well. We will prepare a carriage to escort them to the Capital.”

“That won’t be necessary, Aurelius. We will give them a ride. Including Emilia.”

“Pardon me, my lord, but these are elves. Are we really taking them to the Capital?” said one of the black-armored riders.

Daisuke's ears twitched, his gaze went towards that particular black-armored rider.

“I wanted to thank them personally, Aries,” said the emperor.

“There’s really no need for that, Sir,” said Raijin. “We just so happened to be there.”

“Other people would have taken advantage of that situation. Besides, not only you four save the people of Traeux XII. You saved my sister: Emilia.”