Rome Must Perish
Chapter 85 - 77 The Leaders Gather in Pompey

Chapter 85: Chapter 77 The Leaders Gather in Pompey

The three of them walked out of the City Hall. After a while of silence, Oluus couldn’t help but say, "I think joining the Supply Camp is great. After all, I not only feel less pressured, but I’m also eager to make a big move again."

"I also think that choosing to join the Supply Camp is our best option," Spukala followed up.

Both of them turned their gaze towards Quintus.

Quintus sighed, "Given our current situation, if we don’t join them, do we really have any other path to survival? The Supply Camp helped us take revenge, and it’s only right that we fulfill our promise!"

He then looked at the two of them, speaking meaningfully, "Although Maximus is young, he is capable of managing the Supply Camp in an orderly way. Compared with the other leaders of this team, he has the foresight and courage, which is the most important reason you two are willing to speak for him. Since that’s the case, let’s help him properly. Perhaps, in the future, it really could bring stable lives for our families!"

Oluus and Spukala nodded excitedly upon hearing this.

.....................

Cross, Enomai, Antonix, and Attutmus, the four Great Captains of the rebel army, rushed to headquarters after receiving the message.

Spartacus left Hamilcar to guard the camp and led the others along with the cavalry, riding towards Pompeii.

By dusk, the group reached outside the Helanicum Gate of Pompeii. From afar, they could see a squad of soldiers standing at the city gate, with the leader waving and shouting, "Leader Spartacus, you finally arrived!"

"It’s Torrelugo," Antonix whispered.

Spartacus nodded. After all, most of the top leaders of the rebel army were in this team, and even if it was an invitation from Maximus, caution was necessary. Now that the gatekeeper was an old acquaintance, he could fully relax and sternly said, "Let’s enter the city."

The group arrived at the foot of the city wall, where Torrelugo approached them proactively, "Several leaders, I saw you stopping in front, were you worried that the Supply Camp hadn’t actually taken the city and feared the danger?"

Cross and the others’ expressions subtly changed: they had long heard of this guy’s foul mouth, and indeed, it was true.

Spartacus, however, candidly said, "The defenses of Pompeii are strong, so we didn’t dare agree to the Lukaiya people’s request to assault the city before, and it’s unavoidable to doubt whether your Supply Camp truly occupied it. Now it seems you’ve indeed succeeded, very impressive!"

Torrelugo laughed heartily.

Not wanting to see him gloating, Cross immediately asked, "Did Maximus send you to the city gate to greet us?"

"Leader Maximus is currently so busy that he wouldn’t have thought of this. I was assigned by him to lead the troops to defend the city walls. Don’t underestimate Pompeii’s size, but these walls are not short, and there are five gates just on the land side. So, I simply led the soldiers to block three of the gates with mud and stones, kept busy until now, and estimated that you’d arrive, likely through this gate (because the Helanicum Gate is closest to the rebel army headquarters), so I waited here deliberately—"

"Alright, alright, you continue your work. We need to go in to see Maximus now," Cross, not wanting to hear Torrelugo’s chatter, said, having been irritated by this guy ever since he spoke up for some women at the last military meeting, causing the Second Brigade soldiers to be publicly whipped.

Torrelugo, seemingly unaware of Cross’s displeasure towards him, immediately said, "I’ll lead you there, otherwise you wouldn’t know where Leader Maximus is."

"That works too," Spartacus nodded.

Torrelugo instructed a few words to his subordinate team officers and then led Spartacus and the others into the city.

As they stepped through the city gate, looking at the high arch and the hard stone bricks, with the passage inside being five or six meters long, it gave Spartacus and the others a different perspective of the solidity of the Pompeii City Wall.

"Last night, you must have entered the city through this gateway, right?" Spartacus asked curiously.

"That’s right! But first, Leader Maximus had Camillus attack the port by ship secretly, and then the city gate was stealthily breached by them, allowing us to enter," Torrelugo said, his voice becoming suddenly animated, "Then I served as the vanguard, leading the brothers forward ferociously, right ahead we encountered the rushing Pompeii City Guard Army..."

The leaders followed the direction of Torrelugo’s finger. The wide road ahead was deserted, and although there were rows of houses on the left side of the road, it was very quiet. But glimpses of shadows inside, through the gaps in the curtain fabric of the windows, indicated there were people inside...

So, Antonix asked, "Torrelugo, after occupying Pompeii, you didn’t drive the people out?"

Torrelugo snorted, "The brothers fought all night, and even now some people, including myself, haven’t properly rested. We only have eight hundred men in total and have managed to capture this city with difficulty. These Pompeians are behaving for now, so why provoke them into rebellion by driving them out! Leader Maximus said, unless we plan to occupy this city for a long time, we don’t plan to drive out the people here."

Antonix, aware of Torrelugo’s temper, did not take offense to the sarcasm in his words and continued, "If we don’t intend to stay permanently in this city, is the Supply Camp planning a quick retreat?"

"Of course," Torrelugo replied, "But the resources we’ve gained inside Pompeii are so many, it might take two or three days to transport them all."