Rome Must Fall

“I recognize you, the legendary Thraex warrior of the arena! And you, the lion of Gaul! Can’t you spare me? Considering I am your admirer and always cheering for you in the arena? My whole family depends on me for a living!” The driver of the wagon begged again.

Crixus was somewhat swayed by his words, but Spartacus calmly said, “Tie him up and take him with us.”

Crixus was puzzled, “Spartacus, why make things so complicated? Why not just let him go after leaving all his goods behind, just like earlier?

Spartacus’s eyes gleamed as he spoke softly, “If the Capuans don’t know that we’ve seized the wagon carrying gladiatorial weapons and equipment, they will assume that most of us are unarmed. When their defense forces come to pursue us without any precautions…”

Crixus’s eyes lit up, and he licked his lips with a crimson tongue, “It seems we don’t need to rush to escape, let’s give them a good beating first!”

At this moment, Maximus poked his head out from the wagon shed, “Spartacus, there are a total of 60 short swords, 15 long swords, 15 spears, 40 square shields, 40 round shields, 90 helmets, 90 pairs of greaves, and 5 fishing nets…”

“That’s a lot of stuff!” Crixus exclaimed excitedly, forgetting to put on a stern face for Maximus.

Spartacus was somewhat surprised. He knew Maximus could read and write, but he didn’t know that this young man also had good arithmetic skills, being able to quickly tally up all the items in the wagon. It should be noted that most of the gladiators from Thrace or Gaul were illiterate, and the vast majority could only count up to ten using their fingers. Only Hamilcar could be relied upon, but even he couldn’t match Maximus’ speed in calculations.

Spartacus looked deeply at Maximus and asked, “How far is the temple you mentioned earlier?”

Maximus immediately got down from the wagon, surveyed the surroundings, and searched on the previous Maximus’ memories. He then uncertainly replied, “It should be… not far, around more than two kilometers.”

“Lead us there, we’ll rest there tonight.”

………………………………………………………………………………

Maximus now deeply regretted bringing the gladiators to the Temple of Flora. Some of them actually assaulted the female priestesses in the temple, including an elderly one, using them as an outlet for their desires and resentment towards the Romans. The pitiful screams of the priestesses felt like a whip, lashing at Maximus’ guilty conscience. He wanted to escape from the uncomfortable temple main hall but was stopped by a gladiator.

“Maximus, Crixus said you can’t leave at will. Go back and sleep,” the gladiator crossed his arms and said coldly.

From the memories of the previous Maximus, he found the name of this person. Torquevado, a Gaul, a veteran among the gladiators, and one of Crixus’ followers.

“You guys are doing this, and you still want me to sleep?!” Maximus suppressed the urge to curse and spoke firmly, “I need to see Spartacus. There’s something important I need to tell him, something that concerns the life and death of our brothers! If you don’t let me see him, fine, you’ll be responsible if something happens tomorrow!”

Torquevado was taken aback, “You want to see Spartacus?”

“Yes!”

“What’s the matter?”

Maximus ignored him and walked back.

“Wait!” Torquevado stepped aside, warning, “You can only see Spartacus. Don’t wander around!”

Maximus ignored him and walked straight out of the main hall.

Torquevado followed closely, accompanying him to the apse like escorting a prisoner.

The slightly ajar door allowed light to seep through, and as Maximus pushed it open, Spartacus and the others inside immediately focused their attention on him.

Maximus swallowed and pretended to be shocked as he said, “Spartacus, please stop those brothers who are violating the priestesses. They are blaspheming the goddess and will be cursed and punished!”

“That’s the goddess of the Romans. Punishment doesn’t apply to us Gauls. Our brothers have suffered enough from the Romans, so it’s good to take it out on Roman women,” Crixus said indifferently. He then mocked Maximus, “It seems you’re so protective of those Roman women. No wonder you’re a traitor, raised by Romans!”

Ignoring Crixus, Maximus looked at Spartacus and said solemnly, “They are not ordinary Roman women. They are respected priestesses. Our actions will only provoke the anger of the Romans, not just the Roman nobles but also the Roman commoners. Soon, the Romans will be hostile towards us everywhere in Italy, and we will find it difficult to move forward!”

“We are already against the Romans. Whoever dares to stop us, we will kill them. Either we die, or they die, it’s not a big deal,” Oenomaus said in a nonchalant manner, seemingly indifferent to life and death, only seeking to cause a commotion.

Oenomaus was a Germanic man, with blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and an exceptionally tall and robust figure like an iron tower. He was the strongest among the gladiators in terms of physical strength, but his sword-fighting skills were weaker than Spartacus and Crixus. However, he had already gained a notorious reputation in the Capuan arena.

“Roman commoners are different from Roman nobles, especially the impoverished Roman peasants who wander the streets and can barely survive on free bread. They have lost their land, burdened with large debts, and their living conditions are not much different from ours. They harbor even greater hatred towards the Roman nobles than us. They could very well join us in fighting against the Roman army because only by doing so can they reclaim what they desire,” Maximus explained earnestly.

In his previous life, he was not a historian but a freelancer who enjoyed taking on projects at home, such as writing and graphic design, while also being a homebody. Playing games was his greatest hobby, followed by watching movies and TV shows online. He lived a lazy life, but when it came to doing things, he was very serious, especially when watching historical biographies or playing war strategy games. He always liked to first understand the historical background, weapons, and equipment, which allowed him to immerse himself more fully. There were quite a few films and TV shows about Spartacus, and although the actual historical records were scarce, Maximus had thoroughly researched the historical context of that time.

“Nonsense!” Crixus rebuked loudly, feeling that Maximus was just making up reasons to help the priestesses.

But Spartacus was greatly shocked upon hearing this. He took a few big strides towards Maximus and eagerly asked, “Is what you said true? Will the impoverished peasants help us fight against the Romans?!”

Spartacus’s extremely excited expression left Maximus stunned:

Don’t you know about this? In history, this is what you did. That’s why the rebel army you led grew larger and larger like a snowball, eventually becoming a major threat to Rome!

But then Maximus realized that the ancient hero standing in front of him had grown up in the remote Thracian tribe, later joining the Roman army as an auxiliary troop to fight in Asia Minor, being captured as a deserter, and ultimately becoming a gladiator in Italy. Spartacus, being trapped in the gladiator school, could not possibly have a profound understanding of Roman society, let alone have the foresight and wisdom. Everything he did was just following the historical trend.

At this point, Maximus realized another issue: Compared to these gladiators, his own martial prowess was not outstanding, he didn’t know how to lead troops in battle, or how to farm or trade goods. The only thing that set him apart from the others was his far superior knowledge, and the ability to understand the present and foresee the future, which should allow him to establish a firm position in the rebel army and have enough influence!