My Life as A Death Guard (Warhammer 30K Male MC)

The duel bell rang, and both sides entered the arena, bare-handed. 

Was it a fight to the death?

No.

Under the dazzling white light, it appeared to be a duel between two people, but in reality, it was a clash of underlying motives from the crowd around them.

Among the spectators, some sneered, some were relieved, some were clueless, while others were secretly panicking.

On the seats, the Primarch sat still, his expression unreadable.

In the crowd, a medic was still providing emergency treatment to Calas.

In the corner, Fernando was holding Ugo, treating him, with faint white light flickering intermittently.

Outside the hall, Barasine's urgent footsteps echoed in the corridor.

The undercurrents surged, yet all converged onto one singular point.

Hades took a deep breath.

Buzz—

The duel began!

To conceal his intention of stalling for time, Branka launched the first charge, closing the distance between him and Hades in just a few moments.

Hades showed no fear. Since both were unarmed, the fight could only be a close-quarters brawl. He steadied himself, rooted his stance, and focused, adopting a defensive posture.

Branka bent low, charging straight at Hades' abdomen, intending to lift him off the ground for a throw!

Gripped by Branka, Hades leveraged the momentum, tightly grasping Branka's arms and using the force to leap over Branka's head.

As Hades landed heavily, he used the inertia to raise his hand, attempting to throw Branka over his shoulder.

But Branka was no ordinary opponent.

Although he was not as large or strong as Hades, the veteran adjusted his center of gravity with experience, skillfully diffusing the force Hades applied through his arms.

Seeing his move fail, Hades quickly broke free of Branka's hold, turned to face him, and Branka immediately responded to Hades' renewed attack.

Hades attempted to repeat his tactic of dragging Branka to the ground and using his size advantage to crush him.

However, Branka saw through Hades' plan. Instead of trying to escape as Hades expected, Branka used Hades' strength to bring the fight to the ground first.

This time, because Branka had the upper hand, their positions did not allow Hades to employ his grappling techniques again.

Hades tried to adjust his position to launch an attack, but Branka wouldn't let him. Branka continuously shifted his own position and posture, countering Hades while occasionally landing a blow of his own.

— The fight had reached a stalemate.

Yet, unnoticed by anyone, a figure approached the Primarch from the audience below.

Mortarion turned slightly as Barasine whispered something to the Legion Commander.

The Primarch stood up.

The finely crafted power armor creaked, the incense burners clanged softly, and the heavy footsteps echoed.

Inside the duel hall, everyone instantly ceased what they were doing, standing at attention and saluting the Primarch.

Hades, still locked in battle with Branka, was suddenly kicked by him. Confused, Hades looked at Branka, who abruptly stood up at attention.

Huh?

Hades glanced down at the audience. Only now, after being focused on the duel the whole time, did he realize that Mortarion was leaving.

Come to think of it, Branka's fighting style wasn't quite like what Hades had seen from him in previous duels, was it?

Hades had been bracing himself against Branka's killing moves several times, but strangely, on a few perfect occasions, Branka had let them slip by.

Hmm... so does he want me to win, or...

Is he stalling for time?!

Hades finally caught on.

Quickly, he scrambled up from the stage and saluted.

Mortarion casually raised his hand and lowered it again.

The warriors ended their salute and watched the towering Primarch's departure.

As the Primarch exited, over in the Barbarus section, someone moved first, and like a mighty flow of water, the Barbarus crowd followed in a slow procession out of the duel hall.

Mortarion did not stop them, allowing his people these small actions.

Soon, the only ones left in the duel hall were mostly Terran veterans.

And on stage, Hades remained, while the only one in the audience who refused to leave was Vorx, standing there with a dark, stubborn expression.

Branka raised an eyebrow and turned his head to look at Hades, who returned the gaze.

"You didn't go all out. You were holding back."

Branka burst into hearty laughter.

"You noticed, kid. I could tell you were on guard against me the whole time."

Branka had seen that Hades was being cautious of him, so he deliberately made a feint, tricking Hades into defending, which allowed him to take down the much larger man.

Hades looked at Branka, thought for a moment, and said,

"Now that the Primarch is gone, let's continue.'

"And don't hold back this time."

Branka raised an eyebrow and laughed loudly, glancing at the circle of Terran veterans below the stage as if to say—

"Look at this rookie, what is he saying?"

In the audience, those who had been silently watching burst into cheers and shouted some profanities, while others, who had seen Hades' fight with Ugo, seemed to be lost in thought.

Hades blinked.

He looked towards the audience.

"Vorx, you should go. I'll be fine."

Throughout the battle, Vorx had been gritting his teeth, watching Hades fight the veterans.

From the very beginning, he had sensed something was off. The conflict between the Barbarus-born and the Terrans felt strange, almost deliberate.

Vorx knew he couldn't make a decision, nor could he influence the situation. He had thought of Hades, assuming Hades could help, so he called him to the duel cage.

But now, it seemed...

He had brought trouble to Hades instead!

Now, besides him and Hades, only Terran veterans remained in the hall. Strangely, it seemed as though, hearing the commotion in the duel hall had died down, countless other veterans were now rushing over to find out what had happened.

If he left, Hades would be left alone—what if these Terrans tried something underhanded against Hades...

Vorx regretted bringing Hades here.

However, Hades looked at him again, as if knowing Vorx's concerns.

Under the spotlight, Hades' dark eyes sparkled.

"It's fine, Vorx. You should go and catch up with our Barbarus men."

"Don't wander off alone. It's not safe to be alone."

Hades, if I leave, you'll be the one left alone!

But feeling the sharp gazes of the Terran veterans cutting into him like knives, Vorx steeled himself and looked at Hades.

"Hades, please do your best."

Hades grinned broadly.

"No worries, I'll fight hard!"

Hearing that, Vorx turned and left.

Once Vorx was gone, Branka spread his arms wide, the white light glaring on his bare torso.

"Well, shall we begin now?"

"Yeah, let's."

Hades readied his stance.

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