Rome Must Fall

***

Crixus’ furious appearance resembled that of a ferocious wolf ready to devour its prey, making Maximus feel a bit apprehensive. However, with dozens of eyes from the medical team watching behind him, as their leader, he couldn’t back down! So, after swiftly dodging the incoming punch, he retaliated with a punch of his own.

How dare this traitor fight back?! Crixus grew angrier, shifting his body to the side, pushing off with his right foot, and charging forward with great force.

Maximus couldn’t evade in time and was knocked down by Crixus. The two of them started wrestling on the ground…

Soon, a pair of powerful hands forcefully held Crixus back, while Hamilcar helped Maximus, who had taken two punches, to his feet.

Spartacus released Crixus and yelled angrily, “Both of you are leaders of your respective teams. Why can’t you discuss things properly instead of fighting like ruffians here? Is this how you set an example for our brothers!”

“This traitor dared to detain our brothers from my Second Cohort. Why shouldn’t I punch him?” Crixus remained furious but refrained from attacking again. He glared at Hamilcar and Artorix, saying, “And you two, you actually sided with him to bully my Second Cohort!”

Hamilcar replied sternly, “The reason the guards detained several soldiers from the Second Cohort is that they intruded into the medical team’s camp, harassed the women who were tending to the wounded, and caused chaos within the medical team. It is the duty of the guards to detain them to protect the entire logistics team.

“Not only did these soldiers from the Second Cohort attack our own comrades and disrupt the medical team, but one of them escaped the pursuit of the guards and returned to spread rumors within the Second Cohort, instigating them to brawl with the guards. If it weren’t for the timely arrival of the Third Cohort to intervene, it could have led to internal conflict. That’s why I request strict punishment for these soldiers,” Hamilcar explained firmly.

Crixus was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected the situation to be like this, but then he dissatisfiedly said, “Hamilcar, you’re exaggerating too much. These brothers just wanted to relax a bit amidst the tense military training. They used to do this quite often, not just them, haven’t the members of your own team do the same?”

Crixus mockingly looked at them, then at Spartacus, and finally locked his gaze on Maximus, saying, “It was merely a way for the soldiers to relax under the pressure of the imminent Roman attack. It used to be no big deal. But today, Maximus, you specifically targeted my team and detained them, which sparked the anger of the Second Cohort. So, the ones truly responsible for this are Maximus and the guards!”

Maximus chuckled in anger, not even bothering to look at Crixus. He turned his head towards Spartacus and said seriously, “We formed this army to resist the Romans and grant freedom to all those who have suffered. Our brothers and sisters of the logistics team believed in us and joined our ranks. They worked tirelessly day and night, preparing delicious meals for our fellow brothers. They saw so many injured comrades and felt their pain, so they volunteered to take care of them. Our brothers and sisters of the logistics team genuinely consider everyone in the entire rebel army as a family!

“But certain soldiers from different teams, and even some leaders, fail to see the efforts of the logistics team, and did not even regard the women of the logistics team as their family. They have barely escaped from the Roman nobles’ farming estates themselves, yet they shamelessly harass our sisters in the logistics team who have also suffered. What’s the difference between their behavior and that of the Roman nobles or farm overseers? Are we risking our lives and started a rebellion only to become the people we despise?!” Maximus passionately questioned, each word piercing into the hearts of everyone present.

His voice was loud and clear, audible to the countless soldiers who had been gossiping and watching the scene unfold. They suddenly fell silent, even some unconsciously lowering their heads.

“The humiliation of the women in the logistics team must be stopped. Otherwise, it will only disappoint those who genuinely care for our cause and fight wholeheartedly for our goals! This time, we must severely punish these soldiers who have committed wrongdoings and restore our discipline!” Maximus concluded with a resounding call.

“This is absolutely not possible!” Crixus instinctively voiced his opposition.

Spartacus, who was not particularly concerned about the soldiers harassing the women of the logistics team, was deeply moved by Maximus’ words. He also noticed the strong reactions of the soldiers outside the medical camp upon hearing these words. So, after giving it some thought, he asked earnestly, “How do you propose to punish them?”

“Public flogging!”

“This is absolutely unacceptable!” Crixus strongly objected again. “It would be a great humiliation to our brothers!”

“Isn’t it a great humiliation to harass the members of the logistics team?!” Maximus retorted loudly, pointing towards the wooden sign in the camp. “There is a sign clearly stating, ‘Anyone who intrudes into the medical camp without permission will be punished.’ Your soldiers knowingly violated this rule and should face severe punishment!”

“Who can understand what you’ve written on that sign?!” Crixus shouted. “Besides, you are arbitrarily setting rules without our permission!”

“Alright, everyone, stop arguing!” Spartacus said in a deep voice. “How about this? Let’s hold a soldiers’ assembly and let our brothers decide whether or not to punish them.”

Hearing this, Maximus pretended to hesitate.

Crixus, without any hesitation, said, “Fine, I agree!” Because he believed that the soldiers of the Second Cohort, who accounted for a quarter of the entire army, would definitely support their comrades, and soldiers from other cohorts had also gone to the logistics team to do this kind of thing in the past, so of course, they would not agree either. Maximus’ proposal could not possibly be approved by the majority of soldiers.

“Alright,” Maximus said, sounding somewhat helpless.

Soon, the soldiers were gathered together, sitting in a circle with the members of the logistics team. Spartacus stood in the center of the camp and impartially recounted the events of the conflict that had occurred earlier this day.

Then, it was Crixus who walked to the center of the camp, strongly demanding to go first. He escorted the four soldiers who had caused trouble, and they no longer displayed the nervousness they had when they were detained. Upon hearing their names shouted by the soldiers of the Second Cohort, they even arrogantly waved back.

Crixus then briefly introduced their names to the entire rebel group, and then described in detail their brave performances in two battles against the Roman army—how many enemies they killed, how many comrades they rescued, and so on—he deliberately omitted their intrusion into the medical camp.

As the soldiers around them occasionally expressed admiration, the four individuals held their heads high.

“Brothers, you are all warriors because you dare to fight against the mighty Romans! As warriors, we should be respected and taken care of, shouldn’t we?!”

“Yes!!!” the soldiers shouted in unison.

Seeing the enthusiastic response from the soldiers, Crixus excitedly shouted again, “Brothers, I believe you would never want to see your comrades, who fought side by side with you, subjected to such disgusting humiliation over such a trivial matter, right?!”

“Right!!” The response was slightly quieter, but it still appeared to be more than half, which satisfied Crixus. When he left the stage, he glanced at Maximus with disdain.

“What now? It seems these bastards won’t be punished!” Agnes felt nervous.

“Our leader hasn’t appeared yet; he should have a solution, right?” Nessia felt equally anxious.

“If these soldiers dare to let these bastards go unpunished, then our logistics team won’t cook for them anymore!” Agnes angrily exclaimed.

“If you do that, Maximus won’t be able to remain as our leader!” Pigres reminded her.

“You—Pigres, whose side are you on?!” Agnes angrily exclaimed.

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