Rome Must Fall

Doreen was unyielding and advanced step by step, slashing continuously with the wooden sword in her hand. Finally, Valles was unable to dodge and was hit in the shoulder by the wooden sword, which made him "ouch" in pain.

Doreen immediately stood up and asked with concern: "Are you okay?"

Valles rubbed his shoulders. Doreen had restrained her strength and there was no major damage. He felt the pain eased a little and said, "It's okay."

"Are we still fighting?" Doreen asked, blinking, with a hint of contempt on her face.

Valles didn't want to be looked down upon by the girl, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Of course I'll hit him!"

"Then come again." Doreen immediately put her posture back on.

"Stop!" Instructor Rufus was standing nearby at some point. He stepped forward and asked Valles, "Have you never practiced sword fighting before?"

"No...no." Valles answered truthfully, feeling a little ashamed.

Rufus was surprised and thought that since the child's grandfather was the chief centurion of the legion, why would he not allow the child to be trained from an early age? You must know that this is a Roman tradition. Little did he know that since the death of his son and daughter-in-law, Quintus was obsessed with revenge and greatly neglected the care and education of his grandson.

Rufus thought for a moment and said, "Doreen, go to Magus' side and take turns fighting the two of them."

"Yes." Doreen looked at Valles and turned to leave.

"Child, you are not going to fight today." Rufus said in a gentle tone: "Let's practice the basic postures of sword fighting first. Let's see how the wooden shield should be held... Yes, holding it this way saves effort and makes it easier to exert force. The arm is not easily injured... His left foot is forward, his right foot is pushed forward, his body is squatting slightly, the wooden shield is protected in front of his chest, and the wooden sword is hidden behind the shield, but he is ready to stab at any time... Yes, that's it. Yes, you must keep your eyes on the other person, even if there is blood splattered on your face, you must not blink, understand..."

Under the careful guidance of Rufus, Valles spent the rest of the time practicing sword fighting postures and movements alone. By the time Rufus announced that "the morning's military training was over," Valles was so tired that he could hardly lift his arms.

Then, Akguo directed everyone to rearrange themselves into columns and return to the backyard of the farm.

Aconis stood outside the "restaurant" and when she saw them arriving, she immediately shouted with a smile on her face: "Children, let's drink a can of milk first to quench your thirst!"

Among the shouts of "Thank you, Aunt Aknis", there was a tender voice of "Thank you, Mom". That was Nasuya's voice.

Valles held the jug, sat down at the wooden table, and took a sip. It was sour and sweet, tasted good, and was cool in the mouth, so he drank it all in one go, and then burped.

"It tastes good. This is a secret syrup made in the kitchen. There is also a little honey in it. It is difficult for ordinary people to drink it. Fortunately, we are in the supply camp and have Aunt Akonis taking care of us. We can still drink some occasionally. Otherwise, today You can only drink oil soup at noon, so you are pretty lucky today." A young man came over and said eloquently: "You shouldn't drink it all at once, you should save some and eat it with bread. good."

Valles remembered that the boy's name was Mainas, so he said with a grimace: "Mainus, but I have finished drinking, what should I do?"

Mainas hesitated for a moment and picked up his pitcher: "I'll pour you some more."

At this moment, Valles remembered what Maximus said to him alone when he attended the evening study for the first time two days ago: "My child, although you have just arrived, you don't have to worry about being excluded and bullied. They are all here." He is a child who has had a hard time growing up. He knows how to tolerate others and will take care of you like a real brother. I also hope that you can treat them as brothers and sisters, regard this place as your own home, and live a happy life here..."

Watching Mainas pour a small amount of milk water for himself, Valles was moved and a little ashamed.

Mainas came closer and whispered: "You practiced with Doreen today and got beaten badly, didn't you? That girl doesn't look like a girl at all. She acts like crazy when she moves her hands, neither lightly nor severely - —”

"Mainus, what are you saying bad things about me again? Your skin is itchy again, right?!" Doreen's voice suddenly sounded behind him. Mainas was startled and shook his head hurriedly: "I... how could I say anything about you? Bad words, I'm telling Valles how to drink milk best, right, Valles?"

Seeing Mainas blinking, Valles nodded and said, "Yes, that's right."

"Both of them are not good people." Doreen glared at the two of them and said angrily: "I heard it all, Nasuya can testify!"

But Nasuya persuaded softly: "It's definitely not right for Mainas to speak ill of people behind their backs! But you are so generous, so forgive him this time. Oh, my mother has brought out the bread, let's go and help distribute it. Bar."

Doreen snorted and turned to meet Arconis.

"It's so dangerous, thanks to Nasuya." Mainas stuck out his tongue with lingering fear.

Valles couldn't help but laugh.

When Valles first learned that the youth team and even the entire team had extra meals at noon, he was very surprised: Roman civilians usually had two meals in the morning and evening, but this team armed with slaves actually ate better than them!

But now, while he was eating warm bread, drinking sweet milk, and listening to Mainus and the others bragging and laughing, he felt indescribably comfortable, and all the fatigue from the morning seemed to be swept away.

The afternoon was working time. Since Valles had studied for a few years since he was a child, he followed Akago and the others to the warehouse in the afternoon to assist Cornelius in receiving the plundered supplies.

It is said to be assistance, but in fact it is mainly the responsibility of the youth team. According to Volenus's requirements, they also have to organize the warehouse, count inventory, and even make a rough budget for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. If there are possible deficiencies, they have to Report to him promptly.

Compared with military training in the morning, Valles preferred afternoon labor, which made him feel that he could do things like an adult and had a sense of accomplishment.

After dinner, Quintus came over.

"Valles, how do you feel about staying here these days?" Quintus asked.

"It's not bad." Valles replied calmly, which was his habit when talking to his grandfather.

"In this case, we will go back in a few days."

"Why go back? It's great here!" Vallers suddenly became anxious and said loudly: "I can have so many friends of the same age here. We can train together, do things together, and study together. It's more lively than at home. I’ve learned a lot, and I can still eat three meals here, and the food is delicious. Look, I’m getting stronger!”

Valles said, clenching his fists and stretching his arms in front of his grandfather.

Quintus looked at his excited grandson, listening to him rarely say so many words, and said calmly: "It sounds good, then we...continue to stay here?"

"Well, stay here all the time!" Valles nodded vigorously, and then said impatiently: "Grandpa, are you okay?! I'm going to study soon!"

"Child." Quintus looked at him and warned in a low voice: "If I don't come back, you must take good care of yourself here!"

"Grandpa, what are you—" Valles suddenly felt uneasy.

"Of course, the possibility of grandpa not coming back is very small." Quintus squeezed out a smile on his old face: "The greater possibility is that after I come back, we, grandpa and grandson, can live happily in this team. !”

After saying that, he turned around and left, leaving Valles, who had some suspicions in his mind, to stand there in silence for a long time.

……………………………………………………………………………………

Late at night, the bright moon is in the sky and the north wind blows from the south.

Carminus led 200 fully armed soldiers, carrying wooden ladders and wood, out of the convoy camp, and quietly walked westward under the moonlight, bypassing the first camp and the fifth camp one after another, and finally came to At the seaside, he ran straight towards the five single-masted merchant ships parked side by side on the beach.

The waves hit the beach with a "swish" sound, and the sea breeze kept blowing "swish"...

Carminus tried his best and spoke loudly so that everyone could hear: "Brothers, Chief Maximus and other brothers are waiting in front of the gate of Pompeii. Everything depends on us! Everyone is ready Yet?!"

"Captain, stop talking nonsense and get on the boat quickly, we can't wait!"

"Yes! After training hard these past few days, we can't wait to be heroes!"

…

The soldiers shouted, Carminus laughed and cursed a few times, and glanced at Aulus beside him.

Aulus said in a deep voice: "Give the order quickly."

Carminus waved his hand and shouted: "Push the ship into the sea!"

The soldiers worked together to push the ship into the waves, and then jumped into the ship one after another. The appointed sailmaster adjusted the angle of the sail. As soon as the sail was lowered, the north wind was immediately strong.

Driven by the strong wind, the other soldiers did not even need to paddle the wooden oars, and the ship quickly sailed away from the coast...

The soldiers drove the boats and flew south like arrows along the coastline. Although the night wind tonight is relatively strong, from Cape Misenum to Cape Athenium, including seaside towns such as Naples and Pompeii, it is a large circular bay (Napoli Bay), which weakened the wind and waves from the open sea, and most of the soldiers were experienced sailors. Even if they sailed at night, they encountered no risks along the way.

After more than ten minutes, the soldiers saw a dazzling light on the coastline ahead. It was the port lighthouse, but the soldiers who were familiar with the navigation here did not take any action because it was the city of Hlanikum.

After a while, when he saw the second beam of light, Carminus, who was standing on the bow ship, immediately ordered the sails to be furled, and the soldiers also began to row hard. The ship turned and quickly approached the coast...

Carminus widened his eyes and stared at the coast by the light of the lighthouse: "It's not this port, go further!... It's this port, it's it! Row hard for me and rush in!"

The soldiers paddled like flying, and the ship broke through the surging black waves and broke into the new port of Pompeii, which received foreign merchant ships. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th ships also followed, and soon a rushing bell sounded in the port area...

…………………………………………………………………………

Maximus led the main force of the convoy and some of the leaders of the supply camp to leave the camp at dusk, so that the entire convoy camp was completely empty.

In order to prevent being noticed by the First Brigade, the army first headed south to the abandoned hillside camp of the rebel army, and then turned west. After reaching the coast, it rushed south along the flat road along the seaside.

Due to the presence of the rebels, few people wandered around in the Vesuvius area during the day, and there were even fewer pedestrians at night.

The rebel headquarters was about 20 miles away from Pompeii. The army did not carry any heavy loads and marched very fast. After a few hours, they arrived to the north of Pompeii. When everything was quiet, the army lurked less than five miles away from Pompeii. A hundred meters away, this is the edge of the southern slope of Vesuvius. The terrain is undulating, with lush trees and overgrown weeds, making it difficult for the sentries at the head of the city to detect it.

The soldiers lay down to rest to recover their strength.

Maximus stared into the distance. Pompeii under the night was like a giant beast lying on the ground sleeping soundly. The Helenicum Gate illuminated by the dim light of the torch at the top of the city was like one of its eyes, always close. Closed.

He turned his gaze to the west, where it was so dark that it was difficult to distinguish between the sky and the sea. Only the sound of the waves kept echoing in his ears...

"It's still early, the raiding team probably hasn't set off yet." Quintus said from the side.

"How do you know?" Maximus did not question, but asked curiously. He basically walked in the night along the way. He did not carry a water clock with him and had no idea what time it was.

Quintus pointed forward and said: "Look at those sentries. People's bodies will naturally become tired late at night. Without supervision, the sentries will instinctively ignore military law and rest against the wall. Only after strict training and experience Only soldiers who have experienced hard battles will strictly abide by discipline, because they know that coveting temporary comfort may lead to disaster, but the Pompeii people are obviously not. Look at those few sentries walking back and forth, indicating that it is still early, so Maximus Chief, you don’t have to worry, you can take a good rest first.”

Maximus nodded and couldn't help but ask: "Quintus, aren't you worried?"

"If you are talking about a sea raid, I have nothing to worry about. I have made sufficient preparations in advance. If it still fails, it can only be the arrangement of the goddess of fate." Quintus said indifferently: "The only thing I am worried about is After the city was broken, Areius Vitius ran away."

Maximus looked at the weather-beaten veteran, then silently turned to look at Pompeii...

Maximus had dared to make the decision to attack Pompeii at night before because if it failed, he would lose only 200 soldiers. Although he would be criticized by leaders such as Spartacus, it would not shake his baggage. The position of battalion leader will be regained through hard work in the future.