Rome Must Fall

Cassinos' eyes widened, meeting Maximus's bright gaze, and quickly lowered his head.

To be honest, Cassinos was very excited by the beautiful prospects described by Maximus, but it also shocked him, because in Maximus' words he not only wanted to annex Segestica, but also wanted to To become the overlord of this vast river plain, he could feel the burning desire in the young leader's chest when he said these words. It definitely didn't seem like he was just talking big words...

The entire river plain! ...Cassinos has been living in the Segestica tribe since he was a child, living in a corner of the southwestern edge of the Great River Plain. He can only piece together the vastness and magnificence of the Great River Plain from a few words from other tribes and foreigners...

Seeing that Cassinos kept his head down and remained silent, Maximus began to feel a little impatient, but he suppressed his emotions and continued: "I pay attention to fairness in doing things. Since I have given Amlotas and his tribe a night, Time to discuss whether to surrender to me. I will also give you one night to consider this matter. If you still don't agree by tomorrow morning, humph, I will consider finding another Segestika leader to cooperate with you! I’m afraid I’ll have to work in the dark and gloomy mines of the Aldie people until I die of old age!”

Cassinos trembled subconsciously.

"By the way, your father's body has been found in the river by my soldiers." Maximus said calmly: "Whether you agree or not, I will bury him generously. This is my response to the enemy commander who died on the battlefield. of respect.”

"Thank you, Chief Maximus!" Cassinos looked sad and said excitedly: "I have a small request. I hope, Chief, you can agree to let me go and see my father!"

"If you agree to join the Knicks tomorrow morning, you can see your father for as long as you want. If you don't agree, you will be taken directly to Ardei and will never have the opportunity to see your father's body in the future."

"I agree! I agree to join the Nix tribe now and become your subordinate, the leader!" Cassinos said eagerly.

"you sure?"

"OK! OK!"

"Have you thought it through?"

"I...I have thought clearly! I want to follow you, Leader Maximus, to see how big this river plain is!" Cassinos mustered up the courage to face Maximus directly, with desire and fear on his face. Intertwined.

"Okay!" Maximus smiled and said back to the attendant: "Take him to take a good bath, change into clean clothes, have a good dinner, and then bring him to me."

"Yes, chief."

Maximus looked at Cassinos again, and this time his tone was quite gentle: "When you come again, I will tell you about some important decrees of our Nyx tribe and some things you may need to do next. You can also tell me about the situation in the Segostika territory, okay?"

"I will obey your orders, chief, and tell you everything I know!" Now that he has lowered his head, Cassinos tried his best to show obedience.

After Cassinos left, Maximus breathed a sigh of relief.

He just threatened Cassinos that "if he doesn't agree, he can always find another Segestica leader", which is nothing but a lie. You must know that he determined that if Cassinos surrendered, it would set the best example for other Segestica people based on the analysis of the information he had obtained from all parties before.

Because first of all, Cassinos is afraid of life and death, and is easier to be persuaded to surrender. As long as the Nyx tribe remains strong, he is less likely to betray;

Secondly, according to the prisoners' accounts, he was good at communication, eloquent, and had contacts with various tribal leaders in Segestika. The reason why his father Cadles was able to win the support of most of the leaders and become the big leader was that he contributed a lot. Young Master, Maximus also saw it just now. This man is indeed slippery-tongued and has a flexible mind. Letting him appease and convince the Segestica people should be of great use;

Finally, there is his identity. He is the son of the great leader Kabdus and a celebrity of the entire Segostika tribe. According to the tradition of the Pannoni people, he has a great chance of becoming the next great leader. Therefore, his joining the Nyx tribe will give a great shock to the Segestika people and make it easier for Nyx to conquer Segestika.

Although everything went as expected, Maximus did not relax his vigilance. He called the captain of the guard and told him: "Send someone to keep an eye on this person at all times, and never let him run away!"

"Yes, leader!"

…………………………………………………………………………

More than 6,000 prisoners were placed inside the military camp, with every 500 people living in one place, separated by a Knick regiment. They had no tents, but they were allowed to light bonfires to keep warm.

When it was getting dark, groups of Knick soldiers appeared outside these small divided prisoner camps. Most of the soldiers were fully armed. Only a few soldiers carried heavy barrels and sacks filled with cold bread. Enter the prisoner camp under the protection of teammates.

"Everyone, get up! Get in line! Get the food!..."

The team officer shouted loudly in Illyrian. The prisoners who had been lying around the campfire as if they had slept to death all got up and staggered over. Then, under the strong impact of the Nix soldiers with their square shields, These tired and hungry prisoners were completely unable to resist. After suffering, they obediently formed several lines.

"Why are you only given so much bread? Can you give me a little more?" The prisoner at the front of the line complained immediately as he looked at the quarter piece of bread in his hand.

"Don't talk nonsense. It's good to have some. If you keep yelling, I won't give you any bread!" A Knick soldier next to him impatiently reprimanded him and pushed him aside with a square shield: "Exit Come up one!"

The Nix soldier who was in charge of dividing the bread shouted loudly: "We came here too quickly and the baggage team couldn't keep up. These breads are all divided from the rations we carry. Let you fill your stomachs first and wait until tomorrow." When we enter that village, the food for you won’t be so little!”

The soldiers' words made the prisoners quiet down, but they obviously didn't realize that the soldiers' words were vague, which actually made the prisoners unable to eat enough. This was the experience gained by the Nix people, unless they had become very compliant.

"Hey, that guy, come over here!" The Knicks soldier squatting beside the barrel called the prisoners who were given bread, and then used a long wooden spoon to scoop a full spoonful of warm wheat porridge into the barrel: "Come on, drink."

The prisoner drank two spoonfuls quickly and eagerly, wanting to drink more.

The Nix soldier took back the wooden spoon and said, "Okay, you've finished your porridge, next one!"

"Give me another spoonful, please! Just one!"

The heavily armed Knicks soldier next to him immediately drew his dagger and pointed it at him, yelling: "Didn't you understand just now? This is the food. If you drink too much, you won't have to drink the rest! Get out of the way!"

Amidst the yelling and cursing, the prisoners all got bread and drank wheat porridge, and then they went back to lie down around the campfire.

The Nix soldiers still stood where they were and did not leave immediately. Instead, several soldiers walked out of the team and walked among the prisoners.

The status of these people is quite special. They were once Segestika people and are now the reserve people of the Nyx tribe.

Cythonus is one of them. If he was forced to join the Nyx tribe by the situation, he also had to join the war against the Pannoni coalition. He was not willing in his heart, but this time he responded to the call of the team officer. He came to the prisoner camp to perform the mission, but he took the initiative to apply.

He had just participated in the decisive battle with the main force of the Pannoni coalition a few days ago. Seeing the scene where the Pannoni coalition army, which was far more numerous than the Nix army, was defeated and fled in the wilderness in embarrassment, he felt in his heart Those who remained persisted. And these shaken persistence completely disappeared when he followed the Nyx army here, surrounded and captured so many compatriots of Segestica.

Both the Celts and the Illyrians have a tradition of respecting the strong. Cytonus felt that after this battle, the decline of his former tribe Segestika was inevitable and could be greatly It was natural that the Nix tribe, which defeated the Pannoni coalition, took over the Sava River plain.

Although most of the people in the Nyx tribe are not Pannonians and even accept Skodisci slaves, Cythonus, who has lived in Nyx for more than half a year, prefers to stay in Nyx and looks forward to it. As it develops and grows, not only because this new tribe is more powerful and energetic, but also because it gives people more hope.

After defeating the main force of the Pannonian coalition, Chief Maximus summoned the preparatory ethnic groups who participated in the battle and once again solemnly announced to them: when this war is over, they will all become official ethnic groups and will be based on the Their military exploits will be used to promote their tribal ranks and allocate corresponding land...

The happy life of the ordinary people of Nyx that Cythonus envied would soon be realized, so how could he not return to his heart?

At this moment, Cythonus glanced at these haggard, decadent and depressed compatriots, thinking of himself in the past, and there was no sentiment of sympathy in his heart, but an urge to help them escape from the sea of ​​suffering.

Cythonus stopped in front of a familiar face and shouted softly: "Uncle Onosis, Uncle Onosis!..."

Onosiss, who had just finished eating the bread and was about to lie down and sleep to reduce consumption, looked up and was stunned. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, looked carefully again, and then asked cautiously and uncertainly: "Are you ...Cythonus?"