them. On the other side there was only a wall. There were thirty steps to the first row of spectators. The Emperor was not visible among those sitting. Lacius figured that, given the opportunity, it would be easy to throw a dart or spear there.
The Romans were lined up along the wall and began to distribute long bamboo sticks. Lacius looked longingly at his comrades, realising that he would not be able to use the knife and help them now. He was afraid that he would not be able to help even himself. The chains turned them into living targets for beatings. At that moment, a large stretcher with a fringed roof appeared in the distance. All the courtiers fell to their knees. The Romans were also forced to bury their faces in the ground. It was the Emperor. His stretcher was placed right in the center, moving apart the places, where important dignitaries sat. After this, the Romans were ordered to rise.
– Don’t get too close! Two steps! Follow me! Hit only in the groin! As you were taught! – Lacius shouted to Marcus and Zeno, when the drums began to sound. The officials became agitated, began to discuss something and point to the Romans. Some nodded to the side – there, from behind small buildings, on the steps of which there were also spectators, people in black robes began to emerge. Lacius immediately saw among them the servant of whom Goju had spoken. His name was Yu Lai, he remembered. Kneeling before the Emperor, the black warriors touched their foreheads to the ground three times and greeted him. Then they crawled back and stood up. Several servants with sticks ran up to them. Lacius could see that these sticks were different from theirs – they looked like thick nuts.
– Listen, my stick is broken! – Lucro suddenly exclaimed in fear. He leaned on it and the wood cracked in the middle. Lacius pressed his and saw the same thing. Zeno and Mark also pressed sticks to the ground and saw cracks.
– Break it in the middle! – Lacius ordered briefly, finding the membrane and pressing on it with his foot. Throwing away the broken part with a crack, he tossed the other half in his hand and sighed with relief – it was much more convenient, because. when shortened. they looked more like swords. Soon all the Romans followed his example, and they had short bamboo sticks in their hands.
– Now it’s easier. It’s good that there is no one from behind. We’ll fight back, – Lucro remarked joyfully, feeling more confident. There was a dissatisfied noise from the spectators, but Lacius could not see what was happening there. However, from the angry faces ten steps away from him, he guessed that the black coats did not expect such a turn of events.
The beating of the drums sounded again, and the Han warriors began to approach the Romans, holding sticks outstretched like spears in front of them. They were longer and more dangerous than their bamboo counterparts. Lacius quickly looked around. It looked like they weren’t going to be herded into a bunch or forced to run around holding a chain with a ball in one hand and a stick in the other. This was much better. And besides, there was no one behind either, nothing but high walls.
The first blows fell like hail, but they could still be repelled, because the attackers were clearly playing around and did not take them seriously. Therefore, the Romans were able to evade and repel their blows without difficulty. It was more difficult when they hit my legs – it was impossible to dodge with chains on their ankles. But here it was possible to at least put the bamboo in the way of blow and reduce the force of it.
So far, as far as Lacius could see, no one had been hit in the head. Yu Lai, who was standing in front of him, was clearly playing around and hitting half – heartedly, grinning and showing that he was having fun. For him everything was already clear. After some time, the black – robed warriors stepped back and stopped. From the audience, the loud voice of the Empress’s brother, to whom they obeyed, was heard, and now his servants had to show something different.
Lacius almost missed the first blow, although he managed to lean back with his whole body. Yu Lai struck it a little earlier than he expected, and the sharp end stopped three fingers away from his forehead. Then the warrior began to make lunges one after another. Just like everyone else. The attackers tried to hit the Romans only in the head or chest. Several times Lacius heard dull sharp blows and groans, and he realised that these were accurate hits from soldiers in black robes. But no one of the Romans was lying on the ground yet.
The strong Yu Lai, oddly enough, began to get tired. His strong blows lost their speed, he tried to put all his strength in each of them as if he was hitting for the last time in his life, so soon the first drops of sweat appeared on his face, his eyes narrowed, and his mouth opened slightly. He began to breathe heavily. The short beard shook funny as it moved, and Lacius wanted to grab it and pull it with all his might. However, it was impossible to reach Yu Lai.
A sharp scream from the left made him look in that direction for a moment. Mark received a strong blow to the head and was now sitting on the ground, holding his chin. The satisfied Chinese raised his stick to finish him off from above, but collided with Lucro, who had come from nowhere. Now the boy managed to repel the attacks of two attackers. It was incredible.
Lacius jerked towards him to help, and he himself received a blow to the chest of such force that he immediately fell on his back, dropping his stick. Everything swam in his head; he felt nauseous in his throat and had an unpleasant taste in his mouth. Yu Lai, without hiding his pleasure, leaned over him, but, not seeing the blood, he frowned sharply. Tugging at the hem of his robe, he saw a leather breastplate and froze for a moment.
– A – ah – ah! – there was a hoarse cry. – Protection! You are protected! – fury flashed in the warrior’s narrow eyes. Turning his head to the side, he shouted to his comrades: – Hit them in the head! They have bibs! – at the same time, he looked in surprise at the sharp end of his stick. It had to break through even such skin. The enemy must be dead! And then he noticed the medallion. Only this piece of wood could stop such a blow. Yu Lai pulled it from Lacius’s neck and shook it above his head. – This is his defense! – he shouted loudly. – Now he has no protection! – I’ll kill you, – he added angrily, putting a leather strap around his neck. Lacius did not have the strength to answer. Feeling for his stick, he stood up and hit the man with all his might on the leg just above the knee. The warrior screamed in pain and jumped back. This gave Lacius time to get up.
The omnipresent Lucro was nearby again. He had just fought off two warriors attacking him, hitting them exactly in the groin, and while they were crawling back under the dissatisfied cries of the spectators, he barely reached Lacius, dragging his chain behind him. Swinging, he wanted to hit Yu Lai on the head, but Yu Lai was an experienced fighter and managed to substitute a stick. The second blow, a little weaker, landed between his legs. Gasping, Yu Lai doubled over and stepped back.
– Hit between the legs! Weak point! – Lucro shouted to Lacius and hurried to the aid of Mark, who had come to his senses. Out of the corner of his eye, Lacius managed to notice several white coats on the ground. This meant that the long sticks of the Han people got to the Romans. Not everyone had time to dodge their attacks. Strange, but many continued to fight as before. No one stopped the battle, the Emperor and his servants kept silence and did not order to remove the leather breastplates from the Romans.
– Drop the medallion! – he shouted loudly to Yu Lai, who, holding his crotch, apparently was not yet ready to attack. – You can’t wear it. You will die! Trust me! – the man stopped, smiled wryly and stepped back. Instead, two other warriors attacked Lacius. They were not so fast and experienced, and he managed to snatch the sticks from them with his bare hands, and then deal two blows to their heads.
Yu Lai stepped over the bodies of his comrades writhing on the ground and raised the medallion to his eyes. His lips stretched into a predatory smile, and hatred froze in his narrowed eyes. Pressing his chin to his chest, he rushed forward. However, his attacks now no longer seemed to Lacius as fast and terrible as before. He saw all the movements and dodged before he could throw out his stick for defense. The rest of the black-robed warriors were also tired, but most of the Romans still continued to stand in front of them like invulnerable shadows.
Finally,