Rome Must Perish
Chapter 94 - 81 Blacksmith Shop_2

Chapter 94: Chapter 81 Blacksmith Shop_2

Commerce Officer of the Maximus Army—what a pleasant name!... Pigeris displayed a happy smile, brushed the dust off his robe, and turned to leave the dock.

Crying sounds echoed throughout the port area as families in Pompeii, supporting the elderly and carrying the young, with bundles on their backs and pushing carts loaded with belongings, walked tremblingly on the road leading out of the city under the watchful eyes of armed rebel soldiers...

This scene reminded Pigeris of the tragic fate his family suffered in Little Asia. He felt not an ounce of sympathy; rather, he felt a bit of resentment: compared to the cruel and greedy Romans, Leader Maximus was still too merciful. He should seize the Pompeians’ properties, demote them all to slaves, make them transport goods at the dock day after day, or toil under the scorching sun to repair the city walls...

Every time he touched his completely powerless left leg, the hatred for the Romans burned in his chest. He walked with some difficulty across the sea gate into the city but did not immediately go to the town hall to see Maximus; instead, he walked straight east along the road by the city wall.

The roadsides were similarly lined with armed rebel soldiers, and in the center of the road were still the weeping Pompeii citizens. But compared to the port area, there were more people here, so the rebel soldiers responsible for monitoring and maintaining order were highly tense. If it weren’t for a team of soldiers following behind Pigeris, he might also have been mistaken for a Pompeian and forced into exile. After all, these rebel soldiers came from various units, not just the Maximus Army, so they might not recognize him.

After walking for a while, Pigeris turned north and then east again.

This street was even wider; it was Pompeii’s commercial street, north of it lay the wealthy district, and to the south were the arena and theater. Hundreds and thousands of people gathered here daily to purchase goods from various places, bustling and lively, yet now it was deserted.

Pigeris walked slowly down the street, observing each shop along the way: fruit shop, butcher shop, vegetable shop, fish shop, bakery, olive oil shop, wine shop, pottery shop, bottle painting shop, gold and silverware shop, sports equipment store...

Seeing these shop doors tightly closed, Pigeris felt full of regret: if the Pompeians weren’t allowed to leave, these shops could be under his management, and he would do his utmost to restore the prosperity of this street! But now, the entire rebel army was stationed in Pompeii, and the soldiers used to looting and being supplied by the Supply Camp wouldn’t come here to spend money to buy goods...

What a pity!... Pigeris sighed lightly and secretly made up his mind: since he was now a Commerce Officer, the next time such an opportunity arose, he would surely suggest it to Maximus! He believed Maximus would heed his advice because, compared to other leaders, this young man was more daring and foresightful. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made the decision to trade with Italian merchants at this time.

As Pigeris reached halfway down the street, he heard a "clang clang" sound from the front. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a building with three chimneys standing alone at the end of the road, beside the city wall, separated from other shops by a small distance. Its chimneys billowed black smoke, and two fully armed soldiers stood in front of the door, with several soldiers walking towards it...

Pigeris knew that was the blacksmith’s shop, the only shop still operating in Pompeii, but unfortunately, it had already been taken over by the Maximus Army and was not open to the public, only serving the army’s needs.

Seeing this, he felt a bit disinterested, stopped wandering around, and turned to head toward the city hall to report his achievements to Maximus.

Meanwhile, those soldiers had already walked up to the door of the blacksmith shop. A soldier guarding the door immediately and loudly asked, "Hey, this is a military zone, unauthorized entry is prohibited, which part are you from?!"

Another soldier quickly intervened, "Arisius, no need to shout so loudly, I know these guys, they’re all from our Second Squad." After speaking, he smiled and looked at the people approaching the door: "Tini Bazus, I heard you actually refused to become a centurion and got scolded by our Great Captain?"

"Becoming a centurion involves worrying about so many things, it’s so tiring. It’s more comfortable being on my own but there’s no choice, the Great Captain knows I’m capable, insists on making me one so I had no choice but to accept." Tini Bazus shrugged, showing a helpless expression.

The soldier laughed and said, "Tini Bazus, you’re still as much of a talker as ever. You’re made a centurion not because you’re capable, but because this time in Pompeii we’ve taken in too many new recruits, over 400 in the city and over 1,000 at the port, so anyone with some combat experience is being promoted to team officer. All of us brothers who came from the Pontus army, we’re all centurions now."

"Mairtilas, so does that mean you’re a centurion now too, why are you standing here guarding?" Tini Bazus joked.

"Guarding the blacksmith shop is a duty that every squad in our Second Squad will take turns doing, you’ll be up soon too, didn’t you know?" Mairtilas laughed as he asked.

Tini Bazus was momentarily speechless. He had been so bothered about becoming a centurion these past few days, he hadn’t paid attention to the centurion’s orders.

"Alright, let me introduce you, this here is Arisius from our squad, who just joined yesterday. He originally worked as a laborer at Pompeii Port."

"You... hello, Captain Tini Bazus." Arisius nodded awkwardly in greeting.

Tini Bazus, taking on an elder’s demeanor, tapped his fist on the other’s chest and nodded, saying, "Hmm, not bad, very strong, you’re sure to become a good soldier in the future! Let me introduce you too, this is Samoras, one of the soldiers in my squad. He’s no new recruit; during the night raid on Pompeii, when we battled the Pompeii City Guards, he took down three enemy soldiers all by himself!"

"That’s truly impressive!" Arisius looked at Samoras, standing before him like a steel tower, and sincerely praised him.

Mairtilas suddenly remembered something and asked in surprise, "How could you have veterans in your squad?"

"Didn’t I just say? The Great Captain values me highly, so he specially gave me this privilege." Tini Bazus boasted confidently.

Mairtilas was momentarily taken aback by his bluff.

But the reality was that Tini Bazus, under the centurion’s urging, agreed to serve as a centurion for the New Soldier Team, but Samoras insisted on following him and becoming his subordinate. The reason was that during the battle with the City Guards, Samoras advanced too far forward, nearly getting surrounded by enemies, and it was Tini Bazus’s clever rescue that saved him. Samoras, though straightforward, understood gratitude and insisted on joining Tini Bazus’s new soldier squad. The centurion eventually agreed.

At this point, Samoras couldn’t hold back any longer and said, "Tini Bazus, when are we going back? I’m hungry and want to eat something."

Tini Bazus stopped bragging, turned back, and placated, "We’ll be done soon, and then we’re going back."

"Hurry up." Samoras rubbed his stomach and urged pitifully.

"Mairtilas, I don’t have time to chat with you here, our short swords are damaged, and we need to get them fixed as soon as possible." Tini Bazus said, drawing out the short sword he carried, its blades on both sides looking like they had been chewed by a dog, filled with various nicks.