Rome Must Fall

In fact, there was no need for Maximus to remind everyone. Everyone had already seen the conical mountain rising from the plain to the south. The upper part of the mountain was dark and obscure, while the lower part was lush and lush. The top of the mountain was faintly visible. Smoke lingers...

Everyone stared blankly at this strange mountain famous in Italy. Even the brave Cross couldn't help but swallowed his saliva and said slightly nervously: "Is this Mount Vesuvius?"

"Yes." Spartacus responded in a very soft voice, as if he was afraid of disturbing anything: "Our destination is there - the furnace of Hevastos."

Although Mount Vesuvius could be seen, it was still quite a distance away, and it was already dusk. The gladiators did not want to rush at night, so when they saw a farm not far away, they rushed over.

This farm has a courtyard that is not too big, and is surrounded by a criss-crossing fence of densely packed wooden slats and bushes. This is only used to mark the property boundary and prevent strangers from intruding, but it does not block it at all. The ferocious gladiators couldn't stop themselves. They rushed through the fence and broke open the wooden door. The seven or eight people hiding in the courtyard were trembling with fear, but they did not flee. Instead, they protected a young man among them. .

One of the old men took the courage and asked: "You...who are you?! How dare you...trespass into the territory of Master Dionysius!" As soon as he finished speaking, the barking of the local dog next to him became louder. .

Without saying a word, Cross stepped forward and kicked him. The dog whined, flew out, and hit the wall. When it landed on the ground, its legs twitched, and the faces of the people in the courtyard turned pale with fear.

Spartacus looked at them and asked thoughtfully: "Who is Dionysius? From the name, it sounds like a Greek?"

The young man seemed to be humiliated and said with a trembling voice: "I...my father is a Roman citizen and an important councilor of Napoli. He has enough money to pay the ransom for me, but if...if If you dare to cause harm to me, he will definitely ask Naples to send troops——"

"Can Napoli's army be stronger than Capua's?" Cross said contemptuously, causing the gladiators to burst into laughter.

Spartacus said seriously: "We are not bandits, we are a group of fighters who declare war on Rome and fight for freedom!"

Although the young man tried his best to hide it, he looked at Spartacus as if he was watching a joke.

Spartacus didn't care and looked at the others: "Are you all slaves?"

The old man actually forgot his fear and said proudly: "I am a Roman citizen!"

"I...I am a free citizen." Two people responded in unison.

The remaining four nodded hesitantly and admitted that they were slaves.

"Are you willing to join us?" Spartacus looked at them and his tone became kind: "This way you will have freedom and no longer have to worry about being bullied."

The four slaves looked at each other, then they all lowered their heads, and no one responded.

"Stop dreaming, they are all members of my family...family members, and they will not become robbers with you -" the young man couldn't help but said, but was punched in the face by Cross, and he immediately fell to the ground with a nosebleed. flow.

"Shut up, little bastard, or you'll be careful about your life!" Cross threatened viciously, and then looked at the slaves: "If you don't fucking speak, you'll all be chopped into pieces and fed to the dogs!"

The slaves were trembling with fear, but they still shook their heads in rejection.

Cross was so angry that he drew out his dagger and slashed twice in front of the slaves: "What's the use of keeping something that doesn't know what's good and bad?"

The slaves were so frightened that they immediately fell to their knees and begged for mercy.

"Cross, forget it." Spartacus's face also looked a little ugly, but he suppressed the anger in his heart and said in a deep voice: "Brothers have worked hard all day and are tired and hungry. Hamilka, You and Maximus take these people to prepare food, and if any of them disobey, you can deal with them as you wish."

Spartacus looked at the young man lying on the ground again, and then said: "Altonix, take this guy into the house, we have to question him."

Altonix stepped forward and picked up the frightened young man like a chicken.

"You...what are you going to do-" The old man stepped forward to stop Altonix, but he reached out and pushed him, causing him to fall to the ground immediately.

He turned over and got up, kowtowing repeatedly: "Please, please spare my little master! Please -"

"Go and work with me. If you do well, we will consider sparing your little master." Hamilka said coldly.

Seeing hope, the old man stood up quickly and said flatteringly: "Please do whatever you ask, we will do our best!"

"How many sheep do you have?" Hamilka looked to the side of the farm. Although the gladiators poured into the yard and seemed a little noisy, they could not cover up the bleating sheep.

"Forty-five heads," the old man replied.

"Which of you is the best at killing sheep?" Hamilcar asked again.

The old man pointed at the two people.

"Go and kill twenty of them immediately and chop them into pieces for stew."

"Twenty?" The old man was obviously reluctant: "These are Attic sheep that can produce fine wool and are very precious-"

"Do you want me to kill all the sheep?" Hamilka's eyes widened, and the old man was so frightened that he stopped talking.

Hamilcar asked several gladiators to take two slaves to kill the sheep in the sheep pen behind the farm, and then said to Maximus: "Generally speaking, eight people can eat one fat sheep, which is barely enough. We gladiators eat a lot. Today It consumes a lot of money. I am afraid that three or four people can eat one. These 20 sheep are not enough for them, but they have not eaten meat for a long time. If they eat enough at one time, it will make them uncomfortable, so they have to eat it in moderation. Stew is best.”

Maximus listened attentively.

"Which of you is the cook?" Hamilcar asked again.

"...The cook is inside." The old man hesitated and pointed to the kitchen.

"Haha, it turns out there is a girl hidden!" Some gladiators were overjoyed and rushed in anxiously.

Spartacus shouted: "Stop! Are you a bunch of donkeys who have never seen a woman? If you ruin the cook, who will cook for you!"

Although Spartacus usually treated the other gladiators with a pleasant attitude, once he got angry, he was very intimidating. Not only did the gladiators stop, but they did not dare to look at him and refute.

"Please bear with it for a while." Spartacus softened his tone again and said with a smile: "When we settle down and open up the situation, what kind of girl can't be found and insists on touching someone who is taller than a man? Stout cook!"

There was a burst of laughter in the courtyard.

Hamilcar hurriedly led the others in the farm to the kitchen, asking as he walked: "Is there any ready-made flour here?"

"Yes." The old man replied.

"Is there enough for each of us to eat two round loaves?"

The old man looked around at the gladiators who crowded the courtyard, nodded and said: "...It should be enough, but with so many of you, it will take a lot of time to do it well."

"Don't be in a hurry, do it slowly, we have plenty of time."

Hamilcar's words made the old man feel nervous: It seems that these thieves will not leave here tonight.

There are two cooks hiding in the kitchen. They are not as scary as Spartacus said, but they are indeed not good-looking. They are the wives of two free people. After getting Hamilcar's promise "Just do it." "If you have a good dinner, they and their husbands will not die." After that, he started to boil water to make porridge, wash vegetables, and cook fish...

Several other people were led by the old man, some were responsible for chopping wood for fire, some were responsible for kneading dough, fermenting, baking...

Hamilka walked back and forth in the small kitchen with a solemn expression, supervising their work. I think he did the same thing in Flora's apse kitchen this morning.

Maximus stood at the door of the kitchen, silently watching Hamilka arrange everything in an orderly manner.