Many of the civilian soldiers who had been loyal to Rome were bitterly disappointed. The hostility and suspicion between the Roman nobles and the civilians in the camp deepened. Even Maichelius and his men, who were initially firm in their stand, began to waver. However, the continuous battles left them with no time to calm down and think about the future.
This morning, the generals of Rome, who were unwilling to give up, sent a few platoons to search Ostia, hoping to find something.
Maichelius's platoon was assigned to the port.
Maicarius had been to the Port of Ostia many times in the past. The port's waters were crowded with ships, and the docks were no longer bustling with people. The row upon row of residences and warehouses had now been reduced to piles of burning ruins. Black smoke was rising everywhere, lamenting the tragic fate that the port had suffered last night …
Looking at all this, Maichelius's heart was filled with desolation. He could not help but think of Rome, Wei Ai, and himself.
"Captain, the dictator told us that as long as we can recapture Ostia, we can force the Diónia to negotiate peace with us and get back the city of Rome. Now that we have recaptured Ostia, can we really negotiate peace with the Diónia?" a Wei Ai soldier next to him asked doubtfully.
Maichelius could not answer his doubt. The soldiers were not fools. Both sides had been fighting fiercely for the past few days, and there had been many casualties. According to the habits of Rome in previous wars, once they had the upper hand, they would completely conquer their opponent so that they would no longer have the ability to fight against Rome. Would the equally powerful Kingdom of Diónia let Rome go so easily?
"What does it have to do with us whether the Diónia can stop the war or not? I have had enough of this endless war. Now that Jupiter is still protecting me, I want to leave this place and return to Wei Ai! "another soldier said loudly.
Maicarius glanced at him and said, "As long as the Diónia still occupy Rome, Wei Ai, which is not far from Rome, is in danger. We are fighting here for ourselves. Look at this —" Maicarius pointed at the ruins of the port of Ostia and said worriedly, "We must not let Wei Ai become like this!"
The moment Michaelius said that, everyone suddenly fell silent. They looked up to the northeast with worried expressions.
After a while, the soldier who spoke earlier said softly, "Why don't we … join Diónia? Not only can we protect Wei Ai, but we can also increase our wealth …"
The other soldiers still didn't say a word. Even Michaelius didn't berate him. Everyone looked at each other with odd expressions.
At this moment, someone shouted in front, "Look! A boat is coming! "
After entering Ostia in the morning, the soldiers saw nothing but ruins, so many of them rushed to the jetty of the port out of curiosity.
They saw a sailboat sailing from the northern coastal waters and turning into the mouth of the Tiber River. It first approached the northern shore, but when it saw the many Roman soldiers in the port, it turned around and headed straight for the port.
"It's an Etruscan boat, right?" Many of the soldiers guessed. The mouth of the Tiber River was more than 200 meters wide. In addition, there was a thin mist on the surface of the river in the early morning, so they couldn't see clearly. They could only make a judgment based on the direction the boat was coming from. Of course, they hoped that was the case.
When they saw the picture of "black hair entwining a double thigh" painted on the canvas, the soldiers immediately became restless and picked up their weapons.
The sailboat stopped about 30 meters away from the jetty and turned sideways. A few people on the boat shouted loudly in Latin.
The team led by Michaelius didn't manage to squeeze onto the jetty, so they couldn't hear what the people on the boat were shouting. However, they soon saw a commotion among the soldiers in front of them. Following that, a clamor pierced their eardrums. "That's impossible! They're lying. It's impossible that Kezrella City has been occupied by the Diónia! "
"You're right. Kezrella City is built on a mountain ridge. It's very difficult to capture it! Besides, the main forces of Diónia are concentrated here to fight us. How could they have enough troops to attack Kezrella City? This must be a lie! "
"The huge city of Rome was captured by the Diónia in a day! This already shows how terrifying the Diónia's siege ability is. Is Kezrella City harder to capture than Rome?! Besides, as you can see, this boat came from the north! "
"So what?! The cunning Diónia might have deliberately made this boat take a detour to deceive us! "
"Hey, you're only talking about Kezrella City. Didn't you hear the people on the boat say that they've also captured Venus?! It took us ten years to capture Venus. How could the Diónia capture it in such a short time? That's why I say that the Diónia are lying to us! "
"If Kezrella and Venus are lost, our Sutrium will be in danger! No matter what, I have to go back immediately! "
"I'll go back with you!"
…
The Roman army suffered many casualties during the siege over the past few days. Camillus took the opportunity to reorganize the army and mixed the citizens from the colonies with the citizens of Rome. This was to make commanding the troops smoother. Therefore, a Rome squadron often had citizens from many places in Rome.
Michaelius's team were all citizens from Venus. When they heard this, their expressions changed.
"Captain, what should we do?!" The soldiers looked at Michaelius in panic.
Michaelius was equally confused. Although he also felt that the Diónia might be lying to them, he couldn't say the words "ignore them and stay behind to continue fighting". He hesitated for a while as the scene of his wife and children sending him off repeatedly appeared in his mind. Finally, he made up his mind and said, "We'll go too! We'll return to the camp immediately, pick up our bags, leave the army, and rush back to Venus from the Tiber River! "
"What if … What if Venus is really captured by the Diónia?!" the soldiers asked with trembling voices.
"Then … Just surrender to the Diónia …" Michaelius squeezed the words out of his mouth in pain.
None of the soldiers objected. On the contrary, their expressions relaxed.
It wasn't just Michaelius's team. Several other squads of soldiers were clamoring to return to the camp immediately. No matter how the platoon commander from Rome tried to dissuade or threaten them, he couldn't stop them.
The sailboat from before had sailed to the north bank, but it didn't dock on the opposite bank because there were too many mudflats at the mouth of the river. Instead, it moved forward and glided for a while before docking. Dozens of trackers disembarked from the ship and attached towlines to the sailboat. The sailors rowed, and the trackers pulled the boat up the Tiber River.
Not long after, one ship after another sailed from the north and turned into the mouth of the Tiber River. They followed the north bank and sailed towards the city of Rome in the east.
When the Rome soldiers who were still at the port saw this scene, they no longer doubted what the Diónia had said. They ran out of Ostia and ran back to the camp. This time, the camp was already in an uproar …
… …
After learning from the doctor that his father had woken up, Lucius immediately lifted the curtain and walked into the tent.
Camillus was lying on the bed with his eyes open, staring straight at the top of the tent. No one knew what he was thinking.
Lucius walked quietly to the bed and asked with concern, "Father, are you feeling better?!"
"Cough … I'm fine." Camillus's voice was hoarse as he replied weakly. He then asked, "Now … how's the situation at the camp?"
"Well … It's … It's nothing serious. The order in the camp is still relatively stable," Lucius said perfunctorily.
Camillus turned his head. Although his face was pale, his eyes were still full of spirit. "You are my son. Can you hide anything from me? I'm lying here … I can hear the noise coming from outside. It's obvious … something big has happened … Tell me everything, I can handle it."
"Father, the doctor said that you should pay more attention to your body to recover! Titus, Quintus, and Aulus are temporarily in charge of the army. Don't worry too much! " Lucius comforted him softly.
"I am the dictator of Rome! As long as I am alive … I must be responsible for all the citizens of Rome! When I die … there will be plenty of time to rest … cough … "Camillus slapped the bed with his hand and said loudly anxiously.
Lucius saw him coughing and hurriedly said, "Don't worry! Don't worry! Take a breath first and listen to me slowly … This morning, we sent a few Rome squadrons to search for the burned Ostia. As a result, the soldiers believed the rumors spread by Diónia's ships, saying that Kezrella and Vila Vi have been occupied by Diónia — "
"Kezrella and Vila Vi have been captured?!" Camillus's eyes widened in shock.
"I said it's just a rumor! The walls of Kezrella and Vila Vi are strong, the terrain is dangerous, and the main force of Diónia is fighting with us. How could they capture these two cities in such a short time! " Lucius said anxiously at this moment, "But those stupid soldiers believed it, and the rumor spread throughout the barracks. As a result, not only Vila Vi, but also the colonial soldiers from the northern bank of the Tiber River, such as Surwerth and Xhosa, have fled the barracks. Even the army of the Etrurian Alliance has asked to leave! Titus, Aulus, and the others have urgently led the army to stop them … "
Camillus never thought that the situation would become so bad when he woke up. In his anxiety, not only could he not think of any good ideas, but he also had a splitting headache. He used his hands to support himself on the bed, trying to get up, but he could not exert any strength.
"Quick! Call the soldiers to carry me out … out … I'll go persuade them! "He was so anxious that he wanted to speak loudly, but the voice that came out was very weak.
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