Augustus Road

As a result, the eunuchs' words were ridiculed and insulted by the soldiers. They shouted into the palace, obviously speaking to Mithridates, saying that he, a man who was about to die, still had such unkind intentions. The practical fantasy is to transcend the world of the Romans and seek help from distant barbarian kingdoms. After saying that, these soldiers took their swords, pinned the tax collectors and eunuchs on the steps, killed them one by one, and cut off their heads. On weekdays, the soldiers hated these people the most, and always thought that their rewards and eunuchs were All the military pay was embezzled by these people, and the correct decision-making of the officers was also vetoed by Mithridates under the influence of these people. The rebellion continued until blood filled the ground and streets in front of the palace.

Subsequently, a group of officers found Archelaus and Achilles, two highly respected generals in Pontus. They had been blocked by soldiers on a tower and were not allowed to move independently. Now the officers held up a The crown loudly "requests" any one of them to succeed as the ruler of Pontus to negotiate with the Romans.

The two generals were so frightened that they neither dared to openly betray Mithridates nor disobey the rebel army. They just stood on the tower and kept begging, saying that they would wait for the king of Pontus. He will also actively send people to negotiate peace with Pompeo.

The soldiers were impatient. They first broke into the houses and plundered the residents' furniture and trees. They carried the residents' furniture and trees to various window sills and doorways of the Maltza Palace, claiming that if Mithridates did not reply, they would set fire to the house. An old guy who was almost seventy years old was blocked inside and burned to death.

A few relatively loyal eunuchs and servants panicked and blocked the doors and windows with wooden boards and sandbags, and nailed them with iron nails, so that when the soldiers on horseback set the fire, they could try to prevent the spread of the fire. The temperature in spring had already risen. High, the weather has become very dry after the heavy rain some time ago. In short, all these actions are in vain.

In the main hall of the palace with four rows of caryatids, Mithridates' fat and tall body was lying under the throne studded with gems. He was counting the letters of his life one by one, some with his sister and some with his daughter. Some were with his son, some were with the princess. Around his feet were the corpses of concubines and eunuchs who had been given the poison he had prepared. Before drinking the poison, these people thanked the king one by one for his kindness. It can give them the opportunity to be buried. Farther away, Malcha's body, which has begun to [***], is still lying on the same place. Flies and maggots have occupied most of the corners of the body.

"Bidoita, you don't need to take these things. My sword Autolicus will also be entrusted to you for safekeeping... Just leave these letters to Pompey or other Romans. Anyway, they Those who will write my biography in the future will be a thief who has fought against Rome for decades. Even if he ends up like this, there are still a few things worth writing about, right?" Mithridates stood up and sent the letters to the bookcase one by one. They arranged them neatly, then took off several long-waisted bottles on top, then held the edge of the bookcase with one hand and poured the poison in the bottles into his mouth one after another.

"Also, my friend Biduita, I have entrusted you with Adiana's affairs. It would be best for her to be an ordinary person in the future. The empire has perished with my death, and there is no need for her to shoulder any extra responsibilities. , I hope that the guy named Calabis who was almost castrated by me can live up to her trust and find something. You, too, take my sword back to Catara. I don’t have any other gifts to give. for you."

Soon, the poison broke out, but although Mithridates turned blue and twitched in pain, his strong and poison-resistant body still instinctively prevented the poison from spreading to his heart and brain. He shouted: "Why did I train my body to such an extent in my previous career? I could ride twelve horses in one night and gallop a thousand stadias. When I was a teenager, I devoured many enemies in the jungle. For the poisonous food brought to me, I will make my own antidote, which will make my body's anti-toxic ability stronger and stronger. Now these are hurting me!" He said, in order to speed up the onset of the poison, I made myself as fast as possible. After his death, Mithridates began to run limping around the pile of corpses in the main hall of the palace, hoping that the boiling blood would make him die of poison quickly, but round after round, the old man still died. Don't fall off.

Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore. The soldiers were already making noises outside and wanted to set fire. He could only ask Biduita, who was holding the Autolicus sword, "Oh my God, Abona's right hand, I once ruled like this." A vast country, from Silesia to Bosphorus, I look so stupid now. I took so many anti-venom pills in the past, and now I can't even die happily. I'd better ask you to do it now, please do me a favor , Let me avoid the shame of appearing in Rome in chains." After he finished speaking, he looked at Biduita who was slowly approaching him with his sword, looking up at the magnificent dome of the palace, listening to the shouts outside. Said to himself: "I have avoided all poisons from food to mouth, but I have also ignored one of the most deadly poisons, which can be found in every room of the palace, that is, children, friends, The treachery of my concubines and soldiers.”

Then, Bituita's sword pierced his neck like lightning. He didn't feel any pain, and he fell down and died while his blood surged.

Adiana woke up from a nightmare, her eyes still moving rapidly, her face covered with cold sweat, her long hair wet, and then she jumped down from the small couch barefoot. Several eunuchs who were thrown in the Acropolis at that time, now her attendants (appointed by Carapis to take care of the princess), hurriedly followed the princess with shoes and coats.

In the temple corridor, Adiana ran barefoot until she held the column at the door. She saw a group of soldiers and officers who had just returned to the city, including Hebrida, in the small square opposite, bragging about their gains to Carapis. The centurion, who was always low-ranking, held a golden eagle with a golden leaf ring on his feet, saying that this was the trophy he got from fighting with the remnants of the Bronze Shield Army - more than three years ago, the Eighth "Unicorn" Legion abandoned it to Mithridates after a disastrous defeat in the Lycdanian snowfield, and now it was finally returned to him by his brother.

"Well, this must be worth 5,000 grand drachmas, right?" Although he was boasting, Hebridas's tone of reward was not as arrogant as before. After Arminius was gone, he understood a truth: surviving and getting a proper reward is better than anything else.

Before Carapis could answer, Adiana rushed down the stairs and hugged Carapis amid the boos of the surrounding officers and soldiers, "My father is dead! My father is dead! Now we have to use this captured eagle flag of the Eighth Legion." (To be continued.)