Larra Cranmere held tightly to her father’s hand

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TOMB HUNTER

The Adventures of Larra Court

Episode 4

Larra and the Lost World

 

Chapter 19  The Arena

 

With a strong sense of despair Jia Li allowed herself to be led away from slave market, not that she had much choice, chained as she was.  Like Katie, she was led through the streets of the city, and like Katie she eventually found herself being led into an impressive palace.  She was awed by the magnificence of the Ullabomba, but not by their treatment of strangers.  She could only guess at what might be in store for her. 

Jia Li was led into a large well-furnished room.  There her chains were removed by several serving girls and she was brought food and drink.  Then she was led to a large comfortable bed.  Exhausted by her ordeal she fell asleep almost immediately.  Even as she dozed off the thought crossed her mind that whatever her fate, it was obvious that she had some value as a captive.  She wondered what her price had been at the slave market.


Jia Li awoke suddenly.  For a second she was confused by her surroundings.  She was alone in the luxurious room.  Something, however, had awakened her.  There was movement in the hallway outside.  A few seconds later the door opened and several huge Ullabomba warriors walked into the room.  They were taking no chances.  Each of the black giants was armed with a bow fitted with an arrow.  There was nothing that Jia Li could do against so many armed men.  Meekly she allowed her hands to be bound behind her back and her ankles tethered with a short rope.  A noose was fastened to her neck and she was led from the room. 

Her guards took her to a large arena-like room.  It was about the size of a tennis court with a high gallery about twenty feet from the floor.  Her bonds were removed and she found herself alone in the center of the room. 

Jia Li looked around her.  Lining the gallery were about a hundred Ullabomba men and women.  Jia Li felt like the main attraction at a zoo.  What was this all about?

The door behind her opened again.  Four Ullabomba warriors entered the arena.  These men were splendid specimens, each one standing almost seven feet tall and powerfully muscled.  Jia Li realized that she was facing the elite athletes of the Ullabomba nation. 

The four huge men encircled her.  Jia Li was reminded of the cruel game played by the Japanese when she had been taken prisoner in
China.  In that contest she had been forced to fight opponent after opponent until she had been overwhelmed and then repeatedly raped.  It appeared that the Ullabomba had the same sort of fate planned for her. 

Jia Li noticed that her huge opponents seemed almost casual as they approached her.  None of them had adopted any sort of fighting stance.  The fact that four men had been sent against her indicated that someone had been told of her fighting prowess, but it seemed obvious that the men encircling her had not taken the warning to heart. 

One of the giant warriors adopted a wrestling stance.  It was obvious that he did not expect much trouble from the diminutive woman facing him.  It was his first and only mistake.  Jia Li’s foot struck the bridge of his nose before he even realized that she had moved.  He fell like an ox that had been pole-axed. 

Stunned by the unexpected attack from an opponent that they had considered harmless, the other three warriors fell back.  From the gallery there was first an amazed gasp and then shouts and sporadic applause from the assembled spectators.  This is what they had come to see.  The report on this fierce female warrior appeared to be accurate.

The three remaining warriors approached cautiously.  At first contemptuous of Jia Li’s ability they were now somewhat in awe of her fighting skills.  They had never seen anyone, much less a female down one of their number before. 

Slowly they encircled her, intending to come at her from all sides, but Jia Li did not wait for them to attack.  She seized the initiative, moving suddenly against the warrior who had moved behind her.  She struck straight back with all the power of her left leg, catching the advancing black inside his right thigh.  The blow completely paralyzed the muscles of the warrior’s leg causing it to give out under him.  As he dropped to the floor Jia Li finished him off with a second kick to the head that knocked him senseless.  The entire action had happened so fast that none of the remaining two black warriors even had time to move. 

Jia Li turned to face the last two of her opponents.  If there had been any doubts about her martial abilities there were none now.  Both men realized that they were facing a lioness and they had only their bare hands to defend themselves.  Jia Li took full advantage of their hesitation.  She feinted an attack against the warrior on her left and then shifting suddenly, ducked under the flailing arms of the warrior on her right and delivered a brutal kick to his crotch.  Screaming loudly the black giant collapsed.  This final attack completely unnerved Jia Li’s remaining opponent and he turned tail and ran.  The jeering crowd was treated to the ridiculous spectacle of a seven-foot giant running from the five foot eight inch woman. 

Jia Li found herself alone in the center of the arena, triumphant.  From the gallery area came a smattering of applause.  Not very spectator was pleased to see their warriors routed by a mere woman. 

“What now?” she wondered.  Almost immediately, her thoughts were answered.  The door to the arena opened again and four more huge black warriors entered.   This time, however, there was a difference.  Each warrior carried a seven-foot bamboo stave, which he held out before him like a sword.  It would not be as easy for Jia Li to approach these opponents.  First she would have to find a way past their bamboo weapons. 

Deliberately the four warriors began to encircle Jia Li.  The Asian heroine tracked their every move.  Years of training had given her ability to follow the movements of several opponents even when she seemed to be ignoring them.  That was the case now.  Even as the black warriors moved into striking position Jia Li knew instinctively where each one was. 

As a result, it was really no surprise when the man directly behind her launched his attack.  Jia Li heard the swish as the bamboo sword swung through the air.  Had the blow connected, it would have caused serious injury.  It had been intended to strike her head, but when it arrived she was not there.  At the last millisecond Jia Li stepped to one side.  She whirled toward the warrior who had attacked her, seizing the bamboo sword in her right hand and striking toward his groin with her left foot.  Foolishly the black warrior attempted to hold onto his weapon instead of stepping out of range.  In a moment he was writhing on the floor holding his pelvic region. 

Jia Li now had the bamboo rod.  Instead of holding it like a sword, she held it in the middle and used it like a cross-staff.  It was a weapon she was very familiar with due to her years of training in
China.  By now the other three black warriors were lunging toward her simultaneously.  In an incredible demonstration of speed and coordination, Jia Li intercepted their multiple blows and counterattacked.  In her hands the staff became a blur as it struck, thrust, and parried with almost miraculous speed.  She rained blows on her adversaries without receiving a single one in return.  Within seconds all three of her opponents lay on the floor of the arena moaning piteously. 

Jia Li was hardly even breathing heavily.  So far she had experienced no more than a light workout.  She was glad of the rigid schedule of training that Larra had put her and the other girls through.  She was much stronger now than she had been a year before. 

“And,” she thought, “I’m going to need to be strong if this keeps up.  There is no telling how many more opponents I will have to face today.”

A number of attendants entered the arena and cleared away the bodies of her injured opponents.  The gallery was somewhat hushed.  Jia Li was disposing of her challenges too quickly. 

The door to the arena opened again.  This time only two blacks entered.  One was armed with a spear.  The other carried no weapons, but instead held a net.  Jia Li knew that these were the two most dangerous opponents she had yet faced. 

Warily she watched the two men approach.  She had to keep away from that net.  If she became entangled in its folds all of her martial skills would be useless. 

The man with the net edged closer in a crouch, the net at the ready.  He just needed one good throw to render Jia Li helpless. 

Jia Li backed away from his advance, attempting to keep herself out of accurate throwing range.  The three of them moved slowly around the arena in a sort of grim dance.  Jia Li still held the bamboo staff she had taken from her previous opponents.  She extended it in front of her so that she could intercept the net if it was tossed in her direction. 

The maneuvering continued for quite some time.  Neither Jia Li nor either of the two men was willing to make a commitment that might lead to their defeat.  The two black warriors were all too well aware of Jia Li’s prowess with the bamboo staff and Jia Li was all too well aware of the entangling danger of the net. 

The watching crowd, which by now had swollen to several hundred people, became impatient.  They cheered on the two black warriors, urging them to end the competition quickly. 

With a quick movement, the warrior with the net struck.  Tossing the net high in the air he watched it sail toward his intended victim.  But Jia Li had been waiting for just such an attack.  She stepped under the net and struck back at the black warrior with her staff.  Such a counter attack was potentially dangerous, as it exposed Jia Li to the falling net, but it also brought the black man within reach of her staff. 

She drove it straight at his chest like a spear.  If the blow had landed it would certainly have penetrated his solar plexus, but an unexpected turn of events spoiled Jia Li’s aim.  A rope flicked around her ankles, jerking her off balance.  As she fell Jia Li realized that the warrior armed with the spear had concealed a length of tough rope by wrapping it about his spear.  She had supposed it was intended to improve the warrior’s grip on the weapon, but it had really been intended to act as a snare and to be used when she was least expecting it.  He had whipped it toward her at exactly them moment she was distracted by the man with the net.  Now she was caught and jerked off her feet.

As Jia Li fell, she twisted and kicked her feet, casting off the entangling rope, but the distraction had been enough; the net fell around her.  Instantly the black warrior pulled the net tight ensnaring the heroine in its folds.  Jia Li struggled desperately, but immediately the two black men were on her, drawing the net ever tighter. 

Jia Li writhed in terrible desperation, but the more she struggled the more hopeless her situation became.  One of the huge blacks sat on top of her pinning her so that she could not move.  His weight was so great that she could barely breathe.  The second black reached between the spaces in the net and seized both her wrists.  Quickly he lashed them together behind her back.  Jia Li was now completely at the mercy of the two blacks.  After that it was a simple matter for the two warriors to remove the net and hog-tie her wrists to her ankles. 

Jia Li almost wept in frustration.  She had been beaten far too easily and now she faced her second rape in only a matter of days. 

Her two captors did not take long to get down to business.  They picked her up and carried her to a raised platform near the side of the arena.  Her rape was to be public.  The audience was to share in the victory of the Ullabomba warriors.

With her wrists tied to her ankles Jia Li’s body was arched most invitingly.  She was placed face up on the platform in preparation for her public defilement. 

The two warriors were in no hurry to consummate their victory.  They first explored Jia Li’s exquisite body, drawing out the experience as long as possible. 

As the two men fondled her body, Jia Li experienced total mortification.  Her downfall and degradation was witnessed by hundreds of jeering and  leering men and a few women.  She could not understand what they were saying, but the catcalls and hoots of derision plainly indicated the content of their jibes. 

After an hour of repeated fondling and squeezing, one of the blacks turned her over on her back.  Jia Li’s legs spread as her weight came to rest on her arms.  A slight moan of fear escaped her lips.  The black warrior sported a huge erection.  This was going to be painful, very painful.


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