Rome Must Fall

Tiribazus didn’t do what he was told at first, but instead said with a hint of excitement, “I’ve had enough of war and death. I don’t want to be a soldier anymore!”

The smile on Tolerugo’s face instantly turned into dissatisfaction. “You don’t want to be a soldier?! You’re neither a woman nor an old person or a child. The fact that Vorenus brought you here means you’re not the special talent Maximus needs. It means you’re only suitable to be a soldier here! Since you’ve joined us, you should follow our rules. If you don’t comply, we’ll have to ask you to leave. You better think it through!”

Tolerugo’s threatening words calmed Tiribazus down. After a brief consideration, he understood that without the protection of the rebels, he couldn’t escape on this Roman-controlled land. And once caught by the Romans, he, a fugitive, would undoubtedly face the harshest punishment…

Thinking about this, he quickly took the small wooden tag and reluctantly said, “I was confused for a moment. I’ve figured it out now. I want to be a soldier and fight against the Romans in the future!”

“That’s more like it!” Tolerugo turned his anger into joy and patted his shoulder. “Our team is growing rapidly. If you work hard, there’s no problem becoming a decanus or a centurion in the future.”

“Yes,” Tiribazus replied without showing joy despite Tolerugo’s encouragement.

“By the way, among the people who joined us today, do you have any comrades from the Pontic army?” Tolerugo looked at him expectantly.

“Yes, there are several dozen. We were transported to Italy together and sold to that farm. Over the years… more than ten of them have died…” Tiribazus’ expression turned melancholy.

Tolerugo fell silent for a moment and cursed, “D*mn Romans!”

As Tiribazus was about to leave, Horatius called him and pointed at the tattered clothes on the ground, reminding him, “Put on your outer garment.”

Tiribazus bent down to pick up the clothes and suddenly remembered something, unable to help but ask, “Among the people who came with us, there are women. Do they also have to undress for inspection?”

“Of course, they also have to undress for inspection, but don’t worry, it will be done by specialized female nurses,” explained Horatius.

Tolerugo then said sternly, “It seems you’re not very honest either. Let me remind you, you can’t harass women here, or else you’ll suffer the consequences!”

Although he didn’t fully understand, Tiribazus nodded obediently. As soon as he walked out, he saw another man in armor passing by him and entering the tent. Then, a commotion came from inside, “Phaselus, it’s not time yet. Why did you come in?”

“Tolerugo, you’ve gone too far! You only picked the stronger ones for your team, while me and Carminus got the weaker ones!”

“How I choose is my freedom. It’s because I won the draw! Wait a little longer, and you can do the same.”

…

Seeing the slave in front was getting quite far away and about to pass through a wooden gate, Tiribazus did not linger and hurried to catch up.

After crossing the wooden gate, he entered the backyard. There were no more tents here, but many houses instead. The line they were queuing in led towards the largest building, which looked like a warehouse.

Tiribazus caught up to the person in front and asked, “Hey Oxhead, where were you assigned?”

The young man called “Oxhead” was actually named Samoras. He was a cowherd on the farm, responsible for plowing the fields. He was an acquaintance of Tiribazus. At this moment, he scratched his head embarrassedly and said, “I…I forgot…Oh, they gave me this.” He handed over the wooden tag he was holding.

“I can’t make sense of what’s written on this thing. You’ll have to show it to the people here later.”

“Oh.” Samoras scratched his head again, then excitedly said, “Tiribazus, that guy earlier said I…said I would make a good soldier. As long as I listen well to his words, I could become a de…ten-man captain in the future, commanding many men!”

“That’s called a decanus,” Tiribazus said, glancing at Samoras’ burly body and dopey smile. Not wanting to disillusion him, he encouraged, “Yeah, not bad. When you become a decanus someday, be sure to look out for me.”

“Don’t worry Tiribazus, I won’t let anyone bully you in the future,” Samoras thumped his chest.

“Well, thanks for that,” Tiribazus smiled wryly.

“Hey, you big guy over there, come here!” a shout came from the front.

“They’re calling you!” Tiribazus pushed Samoras.

Samoras hurried to the front.

In front of the warehouse’s entrance, there was a wooden table, and an old man sat at the head, eyes closed as if napping. Two youths sat beside him, while seven or eight young boys and girls stood around the table…

Tiribazus was dumbstruck seeing this: Have I ended up in a nursery?

But he was soon amazed to see these children writing, carrying things, guiding people around—their work was very well organized. They quickly finished assigning Samoras.

“Next!” The first youth sitting behind the table called out loudly.

Tiribazus put aside his disdain and properly answered, “Here!” Then based on what he had observed earlier, he immediately handed over his wooden tag.

The youth took the tag and quietly read, “First squad, fifth platoon…”

The youth beside him immediately flipped open a page in the roster before him.

“What’s your name?” the youth asked.

“Tiribazus.”

“How do you spell it?”

“I… I can’t read,” Tiribazus admitted. He was accustomed to his illiteracy but suddenly felt ashamed facing these young boys and girls.

The youth before him did not seem surprised by this. He thought for a moment, then made a few notes in the roster.

The youth said seriously, “According to Commander Maximus’ orders, every soldier joining our logistics camp’s guard team will receive two clay pots——”

Before he could finish speaking, the other youth beside him had already placed two clay pots on the wooden table.

“These two clay pots will be used for eating porridge and drinking soup in the future. You must protect them well! If they get damaged, there are no spare pots in the warehouse to replace them, and you’ll be in trouble then,” the youth sternly warned.

Tiribazus nodded to show that he understood.

“One linen outer garment…one linen sleep sheet…one pair of straw sandals…one linen bag…” With each item the youth listed, the one beside him fetched it from the warehouse behind and placed it on the table.

In the past two months, many enslaved women had joined the logistics camp. Maximus gathered the skilled ones and formed a weaving team specifically tasked with cutting and sewing the plundered linen into outer garments, bags, bedsheets, and weaving dried grass into sandals. Due to the short time, the quantity was not large, so Maximus only distributed them to the logistics camp personnel, drawing criticism from the other teams.

“And one training shield and short sword,” the youth continued, as a crude wooden board and wooden stick were quickly placed on the table.

This is supposed to be a sword and shield?!” Tiribazus’ eyes went wide.

“Once you become a qualified member of the guard team, you’ll naturally be issued a real shield and sword,” the youth said indignantly. “Besides, even these two items were painstakingly made by the uncles in the armory. You must take good care of them, as we’ll need to collect them back later.”

Tiribazus did not complain further. In truth, he never imagined he would get so many things just for joining the rebel army. Even when he was conscripted into the Pontic army years ago, the officials did not consider things so thoroughly at first.

“Check that you have all your items, then sign your name or leave your thumbprint on this,” the youth said, pushing the roster forward.

Tiribazus looked at the rows of characters on the roster but couldn’t recognize a single one. He could only follow the youth’s instructions and dip his right thumb into black ink before pressing it on the blank space.

“Nesuya,” the youth called out. “Take this soldier to the first squad of the fifth platoon.”

“Okay, Big Brother Akgo,” replied a beautiful, slim girl, who came to the table. She packed the items into the bag one by one, slinging it over her shoulder and leaving just the wooden shield and stick. Smiling at Tiribazus, she said, “Please follow me.”

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