On the one-year anniversary of the Insect Squad's debut at the Bloodhorn Arena, a grand gdiatorial event is held. The announcement states that the Insect Squad can accept challenges from other arenas, but the challengers must not be adults.

  Here, "adult" is defined as anyone over sixteen years old.

  This loosening of the rules prompts other arenas to band together, assembling a team of five gdiators who are just a few months shy of turning sixteen. They form a group to challenge the Bloodhorn Arena.

  Bloodhorn accepts the challenge without hesitation and demands a wager of one hundred thousand gold coins. Though a hefty sum, the five arenas easily pool the money together.

  Of course, Bloodhorn is well-prepared. Through spies and bribes, they have acquired information on the five young gdiators. Henwell and his team review the information and assign opponents to each member.

  Unlike other gdiatorial matches, these young fighters are engaged in bloody battles where the only way to win is to kill the opponent.

  As the duel begins, just as pnned, Henwell faces his opponent.

  The adversary is another young fighter wielding a long weapon—a spear about one and a half meters long, paired with a rge round shield, offering both offensive and defensive capabilities. The shield, rge enough to cover most of the body, has a crescent-shaped notch at the top right for the spear.

  The spear is half a meter shorter than Henwell's custom-made battle nce, with a spearhead only about ten centimeters long, half the length of the nce's bde. The spearhead is conical with blood grooves, designed for vicious thrusts.

  Henwell's opponent, with dreadlocks tied up, stands at an impressive height of 1.8 meters and has a robust build, not at all resembling a girl nearing sixteen. Her rugged appearance is more akin to a boy's.

  Fortunately, Henwell's year of hearty eating has left him looking far older than his eleven years. Standing at 1.7 meters, he's only slightly shorter than his opponent, with no overwhelming difference in physique.

  As Henwell approaches, the dreadlocked girl immediately raises her shield defensively, positioning her spear through the shield's notch.

  She cautiously adjusts her stance to maintain a direct face-off with Henwell, her steps steady, her breathing calm, and her heartbeat regur. Her shield-bearing, spear-wielding stance is energy-efficient and a textbook example of battlefield combat readiness.

  If Henwell attacks first and is blocked by the shield, her spear will strike out like a viper, aiming straight for Henwell's vital spots.

  After circling his nce around for a while, Henwell finds himself frowning. He can see that his opponent has a strong foundation, pying a defensive counterattack style. Henwell has plenty of ways to defeat her, but finding one that satisfies him is not so easy.

  There are many ways to break a shield with a nce, but Henwell is familiar with techniques against sword and shield combinations. For this spear and shield setup, the simplest method is sheer force. Henwell has the strength to pierce through her shield with a single thrust.

  However, he can't do that, as it would reveal a level of power beyond what someone his age should possess.

  Henwell, who pns to y low until adulthood, is not keen on exposing his true combat abilities. Several unfortunate encounters have taught him that keeping some tricks up his sleeve is crucial in this unpredictable world.

  Thus, he has only one option: to use skill rather than brute force to defeat her without dispying excessive strength. As Henwell circles counterclockwise once more, the spectators from the five opposing arenas begin to jeer and taunt from the stands.

  However, Henwell has noticed a minor fw in his opponent's stance. It's not exactly a fw, but rather a slight disadvantage. The dreadlocked girl's left leg doesn't seem as agile as her right. It might be due to an old injury or perhaps a ck of coordination in her training.

  Regardless, even if her left foot simply has untrimmed toenails, the left leg could be a potential weak point.

  With his strategy set, Henwell suddenly steps forward, his left hand gripping the shaft of his nce while his right hand controls the tail. He flicks the nce bde in a circur arc around the round shield, swiftly feinting a strike. Then, catching his opponent off guard, he thrusts downward toward her left leg.

  His opponent shows fierce bravery, ignoring her left leg and instead raising her shield to smash down while her spear darts out like a viper, aiming straight for Henwell's chest. Henwell sidesteps the spear, and as she retracts it, he lunges forward, smming his shoulder into her rge shield.

  Her actions of lowering the shield and thrusting the spear cause a shift in her center of gravity. With Henwell's shoulder hit, the dreadlocked girl staggers back several steps. As she pulls back her spear, she attempts to sweep at Henwell's legs, trying to force him to retreat.

  But her sweep hits nothing but air, as Henwell leaps up, swinging the tail of his nce in a wide arc. Hearing the whistling wind of the impending strike, her expression changes. Before she can regain her bance, she raises her shield to block the downward blow.

  The massive force reverberates through her arms, pushing her back two more steps. Henwell slides his right hand along the nce shaft, surging forward, and as she struggles to regain her footing, he kicks her shield with force.

  This sends her stumbling back a few more steps, but Henwell isn’t finished. Using the momentum from his powerful kick, he jumps again, gripping where the bde meets the shaft, and swings the nce down, smashing the shield with its tail.

  The dreadlocked girl's shield takes another heavy hit, forcing her back three steps before she suddenly feels a sharp pain in her left foot. This distraction is minor compared to the main issue: her bance is thrown off, and her shield slips, leaving an opening.

  Henwell waits for this exact opening. This time, instead of kicking the shield, he leaps high into the air. Releasing his tight grip on the nce, he lets the recoil lift the tail end, sliding his hand along the shaft. In mid-air, Henwell grips the middle of the nce with both hands.

  Descending like a hawk, Henwell drives the nce bde through the crescent notch of the dreadlocked girl's shield, precisely piercing her neck. Henwell nds with his feet on her fallen shield, the nce standing upright with its bde embedded in her throat.

  Crimson blood spreads like paint beneath her, and from the very first strike, Henwell has calcuted this outcome. Each subsequent move ensures that her left foot bears the most pressure during her counterattacks. As the pain intensifies, her left foot instinctively eases up, causing her left hand to shift the shield slightly to the left. This exposes her vital spot through the crescent notch.

  Henwell seizes this opportunity for a fatal strike. Her wide eyes lose their light, understanding too te why she has failed. Henwell steps down from her shield, gently closing her eyes. He then lifts the shield to cover her face, either out of respect for the fallen or simply to avoid looking at her still-youthful features again.