Chapter 805: The Roman Senators on Mons Capitolinus

Valerius naturally couldn't comprehend the significance of the vice praetor position, but merely hearing the phrase 'greater power than a magistrate of Rome' had already left him incredulous. Just two days prior, he had been a lowly slave, but now he had swiftly ascended to the status of an intermediate-ranking official, causing envy among the plebeians of Rome. This unexpected windfall bewildered and frightened him, "Your...Majesty, I...I...have never held an official position before, so I am worried...worried that I won't do a good job..."

Davos comforted him by saying, "There is no need for you to worry, as no one is born with the ability to accomplish things immediately. Therefore, I will assign someone to assist you, but you naturally must work hard."

Valerius repeatedly nods.

"Can you read and write?" Asked Davos.

Valerius shook his head, feeling embarrassed.

"It doesn't matter." Davos continued encouraging him by saying, "Many slaves in Theonia didn't have the opportunity to become literate before getting liberated. But later, they seized the time and opportunity to study harder, allowing them to become proficient in writing and pass the assessment of the kingdom and become officials. So I believe you can also do it! Once you have enough knowledge and understand the laws of Theonia and earn more contributions, you might even get elected into the Theonian Senate!"

'Become a senator?!' Valerius suddenly experienced shortness of breath, as it was something he had never dreamed of before. When he departed, he felt like he was on cloud nine, with his entire body floating absentmindedly.

Seeing Valerius' state, Henipolis started worrying and said, "Your Majesty, can he even do the job properly?"

"I do not expect him to do well in his position as the vice praetor of Rome. However, his mere presence serves as an example to all Roman plebeians, demonstrating that they can obtain all the rights they were denied by the Roman Senate, even at the cost of their lives, in Theonia!"

Davos smiled faintly, then said, "Moreover, you shouldn't underestimate people from humble backgrounds! Once you open the gates to them and give them opportunities, their determination to change their fate will burst out with unimaginable force!"

Henipolis said thoughtfully, "Then I would pay attention to his performance and hope he won't disappoint Your Majesty's expectation of him!"

At this moment, Davos rubbed his stomach and said, "It's time for dinner, and I am already a bit hungry."

Henipolis hurriedly asked the servants to prepare dinner.

After sitting by the table, Davos noticed one person was missing, "Where's Croto?"

"Oh, Your Majesty," Martius replied beside him, "His Highness the Prince went down to the Roman Forum and dined with the soldiers of the Second Legions. I have already ordered the guards who fought alongside him to accompany him."

Hearing that surprised Davos. Then he smiled happily and said, "It seems this child has begun to adapt to the battlefield."

After Davos took a bite of bread and drank a liquor mixed with water, a guard hurriedly came inside and said, "Your Majesty, the scouts have reported that less than ten thousand Roman soldiers are rushing towards Rome from the southeast."

Upon hearing that, Davos remained calm and said, after thinking momentarily, "The southeast...we had just repulsed the Latin city-states' reinforcements in the afternoon, so the army that appears now can only be the vanguard of the army the Roman dictator Camillus led. For them to arrive here from Hernici, they shouldn't have an easy time coming as they had to traverse a distance of around a hundred kilometres, just over a day. Inform the legates to stay on the walls and wait for the enemy's morale to run out before swallowing them!"

Davos then took a big bite of his bread after giving the order.

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

Mons Capitolinus, one of the seven hills of Rome, held great significance to the Romans as their sacred land. At its summit stood the revered Temple of Jupiter, the patron deity of Rome, alongside the Temple of Juno, the queen of the gods, and the Temple of Janus, a god of war in Roman mythology. The Temple of Janus, also known as the two-faced god, had two gates - one in the front and one at the rear - traditionally kept open during times of war and closed during times of peace. However, it remained open after the reign of the second king of Rome, Numa.

Mons Capitolinus, the highest among the seven hills of Rome, was only over fifty metres high but had cliffs on three sides, while the remaining side boasted a gentle slope and roads for ascending the hill. Due to its limited summit area, no one chose to reside there during the early days of Rome's establishment. However, a few individuals, including the Manlia family, later decided to make it their home. It was not until the execution of Marcus Manlius Capitolinus for his attempted dictatorship that the Roman Senate issued a decree forbidding any further habitation on Mons Capitolinus, resulting in the relocation of the Manlia house.

When the Celts invaded more than a decade ago, the Roman senators retreated to Mons Capitolinus with some of the citizens and stayed there for more than half a year. Since the city of Rome hadn't yet fallen completely, it had inspired the defeated Romans to rise and fight. Eventually, Camillus managed to lead the army to chase out the Celts, which made Mons Capitolinus more sacred in the hearts of the Romans.

Currently, the Romans had greater confidence to hold out until the return of Camillus and his army while facing the Theonians' attack than before. But the senators felt the situation had turned unfavourable with the continuous arrival of battle reports and the Theonians' fierce and unusual way of besieging a city that overwhelmed the defenders. So with their experience of living for almost a hundred years, these Roman nobles secretly began preparing their clans, relatives and friends for the Senate's decision to retreat to Mons Capitolinus, allowing them to be the first to flee towards the hill with their families and supplies.

As a result, Mons Capitolinus, bustling only during festivals and ceremonies, suddenly became crowded and noisy. Only after the high priest Iulus prayed earnestly to Jupiter and Juno for forgiveness were the people allowed them to enter the temple for refuge. Thus, the temple's courtyard became overcrowded with frightened people, and even the usually off-limit great hall became a temporary residence and meeting place for the senators.

When Ambustus and the older Scipio walked into the hall, the senators, who were in a tense discussion, immediately focused on them.

Potitus immediately asked, "Have you counted the number of people who managed to climb the hill?"

"A total of five thousand four hundred and sixty-two," replied Ambustus.

"This is several times more than back then!" exclaimed Senator Lucretius.

Everyone knew what he meant by back then, so many of them suddenly became melancholic.

Someone hurriedly asked, "Do we have enough food?"

"It would be enough to last for a month." Ambustus paused and then continued, "I have also sent men to collect all the food and assign special personnel to guard it."

The so-called collection was to compel the people on the hill to surrender their food supplies, which they would redistribute equally on a daily basis. Surprisingly, the senators did not voice any objections upon hearing this proposal since it had been only a decade since the invasion by the Celts, and many of the senators had personally fought to defend Capitolinus, making them well familiar with such measures.

"How many soldiers could still fight?" Maluginensis asked.

"There are only six hundred and fifty men. I have already rearranged them to form six centuriae," the older Scipio replied depressedly.

"Only six hundred and fifty!" Someone exclaimed, but he immediately shut his mouth after realising his voice was too loud, fearing he would disturb the gods in the temple.

"We would have more than eight hundred if we included the patrol team, which was double the number of soldiers than back then. So there is no need to worry since we can hold on until Camillus leads back his army and chase out the enemy!" Potitus comforted everyone.

Maluginensis then said, "Scipio, we had just discussed and decided to leave the defence of Mons Capitolinus to you."

"Me?" Scipio was a little surprised. After all, some senators had accused him when he fled to the hill, saying his fear of life had led to the city of Rome getting breached so quickly.

"You have already experienced this as you fought tenaciously against the Celts on this hill a decade ago with the other warriors for over half a year. And since you had fought against the Theonians, you should have already gained some understanding of them. So who else can take on this important responsibility besides you?!"

After saying that, Maluginensis glanced at the crowd. He then increased his tone before saying, "The responsibility for the fall of Rome has nothing to do with you. Not to mention that you had already handed over the command to us after the battle began... Alas! We never expect the Theonians' ability in sieging a city to be so powerful!"

"That is mainly because our young and middle-aged citizens aren't here!" Apuleius said aloud, trying to place the responsibility for the fall of Rome on Camillus.

And this time, no one spoke out to defend Camillus as even Potitus chose to remain silent since the fall of Rome made the senators to be more or less dissatisfied with Camillus because if the Roman dictator hadn't proposed to 'focus on conquering Hernici first', how could Rome suffer such a disaster?!

Obviously, the senators had forgotten that they had strongly supported Camillus' proposal, thinking they would get many benefits from this military action.

Now that the city-state was at stake, the older Scipio no longer declined and accepted the appointment. But after fighting head-on with the Theonian army, he began expressing his concern about the subsequent battle, "Fellow senators, I had kept observing the Theonian army's movements in the city since reaching here and saw that they didn't arbitrarily kill the people left on the foot of the hill, or raped...the women, nor have they seized our properties, nor burned buildings, or even clashed and fought with each other over spoils and women.

Then what are they doing?! They drove the people in the Roman Forum back to their homes and began clearing the streets, setting up tents and patrolling the walls... The Theonian army behaves completely differently than the Celts did a decade ago! Although you have great hopes for Camillus, who is leading back the army, I hope you also prepare for the worst... that is, Camillus may not be able to recapture Rome quickly!"