Rome Must Fall

Chapter 33: Post-War Discussions

Even though Maximus had only been in this world for a month, he hadnt fully integrated himself into it. He still had an observers mentality in his daily activities. Seeing the kind and amiable old woman turn into a cold corpse in the blink of an eye made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He also felt a sense of self-blame because he didnt gather the scattered members of the logistics team who were fighting the fire at the camp yesterday and led them to the plateau as soon as possible. The chaotic retreat resulted in the loss of over 30 members of the logistics team, and now Sarias lifeless body lay here. Maximus feared that others might also be among the corpses in this pond.

The thought made Maximus breathing quicken, and he became hesitant to look further, afraid of seeing more familiar corpses.

Beside Maximus, Crixus suddenly roared, startling him. The Gaul warrior gritted his teeth and said through clenched jaws, The Romans massacred our captured brothers. This blood must be repaid with blood!

Spartacus and the other leaders did not oppose him. They were equally consumed by anger.

After breakfast, gather our brothers and offer a blood sacrifice with those Roman captives! Spartacus made a cold decision.

KILL HIM!!! KILL HIM!!! KILL HIM!!! The rebel soldiers who had witnessed the mass grave of their comrades shouted in anger when they saw Glaber being brought into the center of the camp.

Seeing this scene, Glaber knew he wouldnt be able to escape his fate today. He raised his head proudly, glancing at the crowd with a scornful gaze and a cold smile. Ignorant slaves, even though youre acting rampant today, tomorrow the mighty Roman army will break through your camp, hang you on crosses until your filthy blood runs dry

Before he could finish his cursed words, he felt immense pain in his body as the sharp tip of a sword emerged from his chest

Crixus repeatedly stabbed his chest from behind several times, completely shattering his heart, and only when Glaber stopped struggling did he decapitate him with a single strike, raising his head high.

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The soldiers cheered louder.

Next were the Roman officers, followed by the ordinary soldiers. They were executed by the rebel execution squad one by one, totaling more than 400 people. This wasnt the total number of captives; the others were either Campanian auxiliary soldiers or slaves from the Roman legion, so they were spared.

Maximus suggested to quickly cremate all the bodies in the camp and the farm to prevent the outbreak of a plague.

Even though Maximus explained, Spartacus, Crixus, and other leaders still didnt understand why too many corpses would lead to a plague. However, just the word plague was enough to make them nervous. Moreover, the weather was hot, and the piles of bodies would easily emit a foul smell and breed mosquitoes, making everyone uneasy. Therefore, no one opposed Maximus suggestion.

The entire rebel army sprang into action, collecting firewood and burning the corpses, creating roaring flames and billowing smoke throughout the camp. They were busy the entire day.

During this process, soldiers who had scattered and fled during yesterdays battle gradually returned to the camp. After escaping the pursuit of the Roman army, they hadnt gone far and had been hiding in the nearby mountains. When they heard the tumultuous sounds of battle coming from the vineyard farm last night, they sensed something was happening. Therefore, they sent people to secretly investigate and were pleasantly surprised to find the Roman camp was filled with rebel soldiers.

By midnight, over 400 formerly missing rebel soldiers had returned, including 15 gladiators who were believed to have died in battle. The entire rebel army rejoiced in their victory.

In this atmosphere of triumph, the leaders of the rebellion held Military Commanders Assembly in the guest room of the vineyard farm.

Now that we have defeated a Roman legion and seized a large number of weapons and equipment, our strength has been greatly enhanced. But the Romans will not give up. They will undoubtedly send a stronger army to wipe us out. Therefore, we must quickly grow our forces before the next Roman legion arrives! Spartacus warned everyone at the beginning of the meeting.

Spartacus, you dont need to worry. Previously, we were only engaged in minor skirmishes, but in less than a month, we expanded our original force of over 200 people to more than 4,000. Now that we have defeated the Roman army and demonstrated our power, more slaves will join us, and we have enough weapons to equip them. When the Roman army comes again, we have the capability to defeat them head-on!

When Crixus said these words, he felt ashamed inside. Previously, when fighting against the Roman legion, he had also felt fear deep down. Thats why, when facing the Roman battle formations, he couldnt withstand the pressure and charged alongside Oenomaus on the left flank. But the last nights surprise attack had bolstered his confidence.

I agree with Crixus. Our forces will soon become vast, and new recruits wont be wielding hoes and clubs anymore; they will have real swords and spears. However, we need to strengthen their training. Otherwise, even if they have weapons, they will still be scared and run away when facing the Roman attacks! Oenomaus said loudly, recalling the yesterdays battle. He had fought bravely at the forefront, yet the new recruits behind him were the first to flee. This impression was truly too deep.

It seems that everyone is aware that no matter how many people we have, if they lack training, they will only run away on the battlefield, Spartacus looked at Hamilcar and said seriously, Regarding the training of soldiers, Hamilcar, you not only need to start implementing it more intensively but also impose stricter discipline on our brothers. We will fully cooperate so that we can be confident of victory when we encounter the Roman legion again in the future.

I will do my best to help the new recruits improve their combat abilities! Hamilcar made a commitment and continued, I also have a proposal. Currently, we have nearly 500 Campanian prisoners, most of whom are from Naples. Instead of releasing them like we did at the Temple of Flora last time, we should escort them to the outskirts of Naples and negotiate with the people inside the city. We can exchange these prisoners for slaves and gladiators.

And theres another benefit to doing this. I heard that Naples is a city of trade with many merchants. They will spread the news of our victory faster and wider, attracting more slaves to join our ranks.

Thats a great idea! Spartacus exclaimed, slapping his thigh.

I also think its a good plan. We shouldnt just let these Campanian prisoners go for nothing. However, we dont know much about the slaves and gladiators inside Naples. What if the Neapolitans include some people loyal to them in the exchange and then instruct them to cause trouble in our ranks? Artorix expressed his concern.

I hate traitors the most, and its troublesome to deal with them! Crixus chimed in, glancing intentionally or unintentionally at Maximus.

Spartacus pondered for a moment and said, We wont lack warriors, and those who willingly join us are the most reliable. Theres no need to ask Naples for people. What we lack most now is weapons. How about we let the Neapolitans exchange these prisoners for weapons instead?

No one opposed this idea this time.

Spartacus looked at everyone and continued, We are not familiar with the gladiators in Naples, but we are familiar with the gladiators in Capua. There are many gladiator schools there, mostly outside the city, and we have fought against them in the arena. After our strength has recovered in a few days, lets send a team to launch a surprise attack on the outskirts of Capua, rescue the gladiators there, and have them join us to strengthen our forces!

I agree! Send me there when the time comes. The gladiator school there is full of Germanic warriors, and Ive been wanting to rescue them! Oenomaus said excitedly.

Others also agreed because training new recruits was a long-term process, while the addition of gladiators meant immediate combat strength. Moreover, they shared a common background.

Theres one more thing Id like to discuss with you, Spartacus said cautiously. I want to abandon our current camp and lead the army to establish a new camp at a farm not far to the north.