Quintus and Furius were exhausted and were trying to catch their breath when they bumped into Maegius, who had rushed over.
“What did you say?! Rome has fallen?!!” It's as if something had struck the two generals' heads, making them stagger and almost fall.
“How could that be possible?! Rome with its high wall! With its many populations! Yet they didn't even manage to last for even a day?!!” Furius couldn't believe what he had heard.
Quintus even stepped forward to grab Maegius by his clothes and angrily questioned him, “What did the Senate do?! What did you do?! Didn't you do anything?! Did you just watch the enemy attack our city?!!…”
“We didn’t sit around! Of course, we didn’t just sit around! We had done our best, even gathering reinforcements to attack the enemy desperately to alleviate the pressure on the defenders… For this reason, not only our army was defeated…even Paulus died in battle…”
Maegius argued with a pained expression, and he, who was in his fifties, cried helplessly like a child, “…But the Theonians have made many siege equipment that we have never seen before, they…they have even assembled pontoon bridges with their warships on the Tiber…and their soldiers were full of elites! But what about us?! Not…not…only have you brought the elite citizens of Rome to Hernici, but even the elite citizens of our surrounding allied city-states! So how do you expect us to fight back?!!”
Maegius' questioning back left Quintus and Furius speechless and deeply felt guilty.
“Let's go! We'll go and recapture Rome immediately!” Quintus left angrily after suddenly shouting.
Furius stood still in a daze for a moment before following closely behind.
Maegius tried to stop them and advised loudly, “I understand your feelings. However, attacking the Theonians with an army of less than ten thousand is suicidal! It's better to wait for dictator Camillus to arrive with his massive army!”
“Although we only have six thousand men, the enemy has just occupied Rome. In addition, they must suffer heavy losses, and the order in the city must also be chaotic. So they must have no precaution against us, allowing us to succeed just like when Camillus raided Praeneste!”
But Maegius continued advising, “The Theonians aren't like the Volscians and Marsians. They are more disciplined and will not make such mistakes! Moreover, there are still dozens of kilometres from here to Rome. With you already exhausted from your long journey, do you still have the strength to fight once you reach Rome?!!”
Despite Maegius' persuasion, Quintus refuses to listen and even calls Maegius a coward afraid of death. And with his insistence, the already shaken Furius naturally followed behind.
“Damn pigheaded Claudius!” Maegius stomped his foot and cursed at experiencing the Claudius clan's hardheadedness and recklessness.
Maegius watched helplessly as the two figures disappeared into the distance while squatting on the ground, dejected. After a while, he regained his senses and suddenly remembered something, prompting him to turn around and run towards the Senate of Praeneste.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
And at this time, the Roman masses, who had been living in the villages outside Rome and had fled before the war, hurried towards where the army was camping. After arriving in groups, they beg the soldiers for help, their voices filled with sadness.
With the news of Rome's fall spreading across the whole army like a sudden storm, the soldiers began shouting after feeling shocked, ‘Defeat the Theonians and recapture Rome’, which turned the place chaotic.
So even if Quintus and Furius wanted to act cautiously, it was already impossible as they had almost lost control of the whole army.
Fortunately, it was just what Quintus wanted. Standing in a high place, he swung his fist and shouted at the soldiers, “Citizens of Rome, our enemies are now ravaging our homes and abusing our loved ones! Do you hear their shout for help? Remember, you are the only one who can save them now! So take up your weapons, march on, chase away the enemy and save Rome to be the people's heroes!”
As soon as he said that, the soldiers waved their spears and shouted angrily, “Save Rome! Save Rome!! Save Rome!!!…”
Their thunderous roar shook and rang throughout the city of Praeneste, boosting the soldiers' morale. Then under the leadership of Quintus and Furius, they rushed towards the city of Rome while forgetting their fatigue.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
After visiting the medical camp, Crotokatax no longer had an excited smile but felt a somewhat heavy mood.
On the other hand, Davos didn’t say anything as he thought it was a good thing. After all, Crotokatax must experience and learn everything by himself.
Then Davos immediately summoned Tapirus after returning to the Roman Senate, which had temporarily become the command base of the Theonian army.
Due to his previous mission to Rome, Davos didn't make him stay at Ostia. Instead, he had him follow the army to Rome so he could consult with him at any time.
“Your Majesty, congratulations on capturing the great city of Rome!” Tapirus immediately congratulated Davos as soon as he saw him.
“It is indeed worth celebrating our capture of Rome. However, don't indulge in this victory too much, as it may put our army in trouble.” Davos said indifferently. Then he pointed to the chair beside him and said, “Sit down quickly. Tapirus, can you tell me what enemies we will face next?”
Although Tapirus didn't understand the wise king's intention in suddenly asking this question, it was obviously related to him getting called here. So after a moment’s thought, he said, “The Roman army that is returning, the surrounding Latin city-states, and…uh, the Etruscan allies of Rome…?”
Instead of replying immediately, Davos continued asking, “How much do you know about Etruria?”
Etruria?! Tapirus immediately understood what Davos wanted him to do. As someone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, his department held much information about the surrounding areas of Rome, some of which were even confidential. Most of them are collected by the intelligence department led by Aristias for envoys to learn and understand, allowing them to have a clear objective when travelling to foreign places.
Tapirus modestly said, “Your Majesty, I have some knowledge of them. The Etruscans were a great force in central and northern Italia, consisting of twelve important city-states that formed the Etruscan League that had long been enemies of the Romans. Unfortunately, the Celt invasion a dozen years ago weakened the Etruscans considerably, allowing the Romans to conquer the Etruscan city-states north of the Tiber one after another over the years…”
Davos nodded, leaned back and said, “Although we have captured the city of Rome, Rome's elite army is about to arrive, and we must do our best to deal with them. But if the Etruscans on the north bank of the Tiber were to respond to the Romans' demand and attack again, we would be caught fighting on two fronts.
However…the Etruscans, once a glorious civilisation, had a long influence over Rome. Now, the Romans turned it around and aspired to be their masters, even urging the conquered Etruscan city-states to heed Rome's call and obey its orders. So it is unlikely that these city-states will be happy with this reversal of fortune. Therefore, I need an envoy to go to Caisra, Vulci, and Tarchuna, bringing them our friendly wishes by willingly allying with them and helping them regain the lands the Romans had taken.
It's just that I don't know what attitude they would adopt towards the envoys we send since we haven't gotten in contact with the Etruscan before. Thus this mission carries a greater risk…”
Tapirus immediately stood up and volunteered, “Your Majesty, I knew that an envoy would need to take risks since the first day I entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For this mission's success and Your Majesty's sake, I am willing to go to the city-state of Etruria and do my best complete it!”
Davos gazed at him with approval and said aloud with relief, “I was fortunate to buy you and give you your freedom. I am sure you will be an example to all the liberated slaves of Theonia!”
Tapirus became so excited that he immediately responded sincerely, “Your Majesty, it was my greatest fortune to be your slave!”
“Good! Good!…” Davos smiled. Then he said, “We managed to capture some Etruscans in this battle, so choose some of them and release them when you go to the Etruscan city-states to show our sincerity.”
Tapirus' eyes brightened, and said, “Your Majesty, can I see the captives now? I want to ask more about the situations of the Etruscan city-states.”
“Of course,” Davos was pleased with his subordinates' diligence.
After Tapirus left, Henipolis smiled and said, “Your Majesty, your liberated slave's ability is exceptional. I think this Tapirus won't be inferior to Aristocrates.”
“Aristocrates is now a newly promoted statesman.” Davis looked at Henipolis and said, “Hurry up and bring that Roman senator.”
Then they brought Publilius Manlius to the Roman Senate.
Publilius Manlius' face twitched a few times when he saw Rome's centre of authority become the enemy's office, where enemy soldiers in shining armour were sitting on the tables and chairs in the centre of the hall. He then walked straight over and pulled a chair to sit down.
When he saw Davos looking at him, he stared back without backing down.
“This is King Davos of the mighty Kingdom of Theonia! Roman, immediately show your respect!” Henipolis said loudly.
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