Rome Must Perish

Emmerich cautiously reminded, "High Priest, isn't it a bit too hasty?"

"To complete the Divine Canon is not something that can be achieved in a short time. Writing it well is even more difficult. But now the tribesmen's understanding of the Divine is chaotic and urgently needs to be unified. It would be better to write while teaching the tribesmen, discovering problems during the teaching, and then refining the Divine Canon accordingly, rather than writing it behind closed doors and finding many issues only after it's completed, leading to constant revisions... thus keeping the Canon unusable for a long time. Which method do you think is better?"

Emmerich was in thought, while Hemijias was quick to answer, "High Priest, your method is better, we will do as you say."

Maximus nodded approvingly, "Very good!"

"High Priest, about the Divinity School... when can we proceed?" Emmerich asked further.

"After this time when the Reserve Tribe Members finish their worship oath, you can start the preparations. The Divinity School will be built on the vacant land below. As for students... they can be recruited from various villages, but it must be with the villagers' consent...

But you must note! The number of students in the Divinity School is limited and must not be exceeded! The knowledge imparted to the students must be vetted and must not be taught arbitrarily!...

Valles, since you are the Chief Officer of the Religious Department, the preparations for the Divinity School should be under your responsibility. Discuss with Emmerich and Hemijias, and draft a plan for me to review and approve."

"Yes, Leader (High Priest)." The three bowed in response.

"Let's go." Maximus waved his hand, and dozens of robed men standing on the temple's periphery immediately crowded around. They were members of the Guard. Maximus presiding over the worship oath ceremony at the temple was a risk, and the Guard had to strengthen its protection. However, because they couldn't enter the temple fully armed, they were dressed this way.

Watching Valles accompany Maximus leave the temple, Emmerich turned back to scrutinize Hemijias, teasingly saying, "I didn't see it before, when I asked you to join Nix, you were so reluctant. Yet, facing Leader Maximus just now, you were more ingratiating than I was."

"Since I joined Nix, I must do my part. Should I pretend to be arrogant in front of a tribal leader, especially when it's also High Priest Maximus!" Hemijias said seriously, "Do you know how I lived when I served as a priest under Andres?"

"I don't know." Emmerich shook his head.

"It was like facing a fierce beast, trembling with fear every day, he had no respect for us Druids..." Hemijias looked pained, recalling the unbearable past.

Emmerich was a little surprised; he knew that the leaders and nobles of the Segestica people had no fondness for the Skodisqi Druids and almost wiped them out after independence, but he didn't expect the Segestica Druids also had it so hard.

"So I've grown accustomed to ingratiating myself, isn't that what one should do?" Hemijias said candidly, "However, my feeling towards High Priest Maximus is not just ingratiation, his knowledge and demeanor are far superior to those previous Great Chiefs of Segestica! Moreover—"

Hemijias turned to face the statue, filled with admiration, "You said this statue was carved by the High Priest himself. If he wasn't the offspring of the Divine, how could he carve the Goddess Danu so vividly! Facing the offspring of the Goddess Danu, how could I not be excited!"

Emmerich looked up at the statue illuminated by the setting sun, its eyes deep and warm, as if drawing his entire soul into them, he murmured, "You're right..."

When Emmerich and Hemijias privately discussed Maximus, Maximus himself, escorted by soldiers leaving the temple, was deep in thought...

Originally, he built the temple and allowed the tribesmen to worship as a measure forced by the intense conflict between the Skodisqi people and Pannonians within the tribe. He had to wield religion as a weapon to resolve the conflict between the two tribes...

Coincidentally, the tribe conquered the Segestica Territory and tried to explore religious approaches, seeing if they could add a layer of security for the new submissive tribesmen. As a result, today he saw that nearly all the Reserve Tribe Members attending the ceremony at the temple profoundly revered the Goddess Danu, which in turn made them respectful towards him, the adversary who destroyed Segestica. This realization was sudden, realizing that the Danu Temple he had spearheaded might be the key weapon to resolve the friend-enemy contradictions caused by Nix's annexation of other tribes and promoting racial integration, so he pushed Valles to expedite temple construction and urged Emmerich to start disseminating the Divine Canon hastily. Even the previously hesitant decision to build the Divinity School was now fast-tracked.

Though he was tired from the day's exertions, Maximus felt content.

In the evening, Maximus rode back to the main house in Ophelia, and just as he finished dinner, Quintus rushed in upon hearing.

Maximus's heart skipped a beat, he quickly asked, "Did anything happen today?"

"Everything is very calm, nothing unusual." Quintus's words made him sigh in relief.

"But I have a few suggestions for you to consider, Leader."

"Go ahead.

"Tomorrow, soldiers of the First Legion will escort the new Foreign Auxiliary back and then arrange for them to enter new villages... I suggest increasing a Centurion for each village."

"Two Centurions stationed at one village... why?"

"Leader, the Segestica villages west and southwest of the Ophelia Western Fortress have almost all completed stationing. Next, the First Legion's Centurions are to head south. It's relatively far from here but close to Gonami Lake."

Quintus cautiously reminded, "According to the information from Casinos, there are nearly ten Segestica Tribes in the Gonami Lake Region. Although they don't have many people, this time when Cabdes assembled an army to attack us, these tribes at Gonami Lake did not enlist warriors or join the Segestica Army, which means they might have some strength left.

Though so far, these tribes at Gonami Lake have been relatively calm, when the First Legion's Centurions are stationed in nearby villages, there's a risk they might be disturbed.

Additionally, according to intelligence from Hagux's cavalry, after we entered here, many Segestica people fled south, some to Brochi's territory, and others remained in the Gonami Lake Region. Even though most of them were either old or young and lacked combat strength, driven by hunger, they might attack the villages we've settled in..."

"These concerns of yours... I too have considered, but at the time I aimed to swiftly complete the stationing of various Segestica tribes west of the Sava River, then withdraw half of the First Legion's forces across the river while the Segestica tribes were still somewhat disordered, and Brochi, Mazi, and other Pannonian Tribes had just suffered heavy blows...

As long as the vast areas on both sides of the Sava River are under our control, we can firmly establish our foothold here..."

Deliberating, Maximus said, "However, now the situation has indeed shifted. We didn't anticipate that the strength of the Segestica tribes on the east bank of the Sava River was weaker than those on the west bank. Camillus led the Third Legion to clear the leaders and nobles of various tribes without encountering significant resistance, the situation on the east bank has remained stable, and Camillus has even allocated some forces to start occupying villages near the East Village...

I asked Casinos, he said the potential reason could be that this time the Pannonian Tribe Alliance formed a large army to attack us Nix, and his father (referring to Cabdes) took advantage of the expectation that we Nix would surely lose to urge the east bank tribal leaders and nobles supporting his appointment as Great Chief to join the force, promising rewards post-victory.

Knowing that during Andres's tenure, there was a deliberate or unintended suppression of his kin tribes, leaders and nobles of these east bank tribes recruited all able-bodied members into Cabdes's forces. Eventually…"

Maximus shrugged his shoulders, a slight smile emerging at his lips, then continued, "Since the situation on the east bank is quite good, we don't need to be overly bold and can be more prudent. Let's station two Centurions at one village starting tomorrow, as you suggested..."

Touching his chin, Maximus continued, "Quintus, since we've chosen a more secure approach to claim this land, do you think it's necessary to build a military camp in the south?"

"Leader, that's exactly the suggestion I was about to propose next." Quintus looked at Maximus's attendant and asked, "Could you bring me the map of the Segestica Territory?"

Maximus gave a nod, and several attendants hurried to carry over a rather large wooden board map.

This map was drawn by Maximus over the past few days based on information provided by Casinos and other Segestica members and the gathered intelligence from various groups. Though the map wasn't entirely accurate, it was by no means rudimentary. It marked the locations of various Segestica tribes and the population numbers, drawn in special limestone, allowing for water-erasable modifications.

Quintus examined the map placed on the wooden table, saying, "Leader, not only do we need to guard against potential disturbances from Segestica tribes and fleeing Segestica people at Gonami Lake to our occupied villages, but we must also guard against the Brochi and Mazi armies moving north. Thus, building a military camp in the south seems very necessary."

As Quintus spoke, he pointed to a spot on the map, "A military camp can be built here!"