Chapter 33: Post-War Discussions


    Even though Maximus had only been in this world for a month, he hadnt fully integrated himself into it. He still had an observers mentality in his daily activities. Seeing the kind and amiable old woman turn into a cold corpse in the blink of an eye made him feel extremely ufortable. He also felt a sense of self-me because he didnt gather the scattered members of the logistics team who were fighting the fire at the camp yesterday and led them to the teau as soon as possible. The chaotic retreat resulted in the loss of over 30 members of the logistics team, and now Sarias lifeless bodyy here. Maximus feared that others might also be among the corpses in this pond.


    The thought made Maximus breathing quicken, and he became hesitant to look further, afraid of seeing more familiar corpses.


    Beside Maximus, Crixus suddenly roared, startling him. The Gaul warrior gritted his teeth and said through clenched jaws, The Romans massacred our captured brothers. This blood must be repaid with blood!


    Spartacus and the other leaders did not oppose him. They were equally consumed by anger.


    After breakfast, gather our brothers and offer a blood sacrifice with those Roman captives! Spartacus made a cold decision.


    KILL HIM!!! KILL HIM!!! KILL HIM!!! The rebel soldiers who had witnessed the mass grave of theirrades shouted in anger when they saw ber being brought into the center of the camp.


    Seeing this scene, ber knew he wouldnt be able to escape his fate today. He raised his head proudly, ncing at the crowd with a scornful gaze and a cold smile. Ignorant ves, even though youre acting rampant today, tomorrow the mighty Roman army will break through your camp, hang you on crosses until your filthy blood runs dry


    Before he could finish his cursed words, he felt immense pain in his body as the sharp tip of a sword emerged from his chest


    Crixus repeatedly stabbed his chest from behind several times,pletely shattering his heart, and only when ber stopped struggling did he decapitate him with a single strike, raising his head high.


    The soldiers cheered louder.


    Next were the Roman officers, followed by the ordinary soldiers. They were executed by the rebel execution squad one by one, totaling more than 400 people. This wasnt the total number of captives; the others were either Campanian auxiliary soldiers or ves from the Roman legion, so they were spared.


    Maximus suggested to quickly cremate all the bodies in the camp and the farm to prevent the outbreak of a gue.


    Even though Maximus exined, Spartacus, Crixus, and other leaders still didnt understand why too many corpses would lead to a gue. However, just the word gue was enough to make them nervous. Moreover, the weather was hot, and the piles of bodies would easily emit a foul smell and breed mosquitoes, making everyone uneasy. Therefore, no one opposed Maximus suggestion.


    The entire rebel army sprang into action, collecting firewood and burning the corpses, creating roaring mes and billowing smoke throughout the camp. They were busy the entire day.


    During this process, soldiers who had scattered and fled during yesterdays battle gradually returned to the camp. After escaping the pursuit of the Roman army, they hadnt gone far and had been hiding in the nearby mountains. When they heard the tumultuous sounds of battleing from the vineyard farmst night, they sensed something was happening. Therefore, they sent people to secretly investigate and were pleasantly surprised to find the Roman camp was filled with rebel soldiers.


    By midnight, over 400 formerly missing rebel soldiers had returned, including 15 diators who were believed to have died in battle. The entire rebel army rejoiced in their victory.


    In this atmosphere of triumph, the leaders of the rebellion held Military Commanders Assembly in the guest room of the vineyard farm.


    Now that we have defeated a Roman legion and seized arge number of weapons and equipment, our strength has been greatly enhanced. But the Romans will not give up. They will undoubtedly send a stronger army to wipe us out. Therefore, we must quickly grow our forces before the next Roman legion arrives! Spartacus warned everyone at the beginning of the meeting.


    Spartacus, you dont need to worry. Previously, we were only engaged in minor skirmishes, but in less than a month, we expanded our original force of over 200 people to more than 4,000. Now that we have defeated the Roman army and demonstrated our power, more ves will join us, and we have enough weapons to equip them. When the Roman armyes again, we have the capability to defeat them head-on!


    When Crixus said these words, he felt ashamed inside. Previously, when fighting against the Roman legion, he had also felt fear deep down. Thats why, when facing the Roman battle formations, he couldnt withstand the pressure and charged alongside Oenomaus on the left nk. But thest nights surprise attack had bolstered his confidence.


    I agree with Crixus. Our forces will soon be vast, and new recruits wont be wielding hoes and clubs anymore; they will have real swords and spears. However, we need to strengthen their training. Otherwise, even if they have weapons, they will still be scared and run away when facing the Roman attacks! Oenomaus said loudly, recalling the yesterdays battle. He had fought bravely at the forefront, yet the new recruits behind him were the first to flee. This impression was truly too deep.


    It seems that everyone is aware that no matter how many people we have, if theyck training, they will only run away on the battlefield, Spartacus looked at Hamilcar and said seriously, Regarding the training of soldiers, Hamilcar, you not only need to start implementing it more intensively but also impose stricter discipline on our brothers. We will fully cooperate so that we can be confident of victory when we encounter the Roman legion again in the future.


    I will do my best to help the new recruits improve theirbat abilities! Hamilcar made amitment and continued, I also have a proposal. Currently, we have nearly 500 Campanian prisoners, most of whom are from Naples. Instead of releasing them like we did at the Temple of Florast time, we should escort them to the outskirts of Naples and negotiate with the people inside the city. We can exchange these prisoners for ves and diators.


    And theres another benefit to doing this. I heard that Naples is a city of trade with many merchants. They will spread the news of our victory faster and wider, attracting more ves to join our ranks.


    Thats a great idea! Spartacus eximed, pping his thigh.


    I also think its a good n. We shouldnt just let these Campanian prisoners go for nothing. However, we dont know much about the ves and diators inside Naples. What if the Neapolitans include some people loyal to them in the exchange and then instruct them to cause trouble in our ranks? Artorix expressed his concern.


    I hate traitors the most, and its troublesome to deal with them! Crixus chimed in, ncing intentionally or unintentionally at Maximus.


    Spartacus pondered for a moment and said, We wontck warriors, and those who willingly join us are the most reliable. Theres no need to ask Naples for people. What weck most now is weapons. How about we let the Neapolitans exchange these prisoners for weapons instead?


    No one opposed this idea this time.


    Spartacus looked at everyone and continued, We are not familiar with the diators in Naples, but we are familiar with the diators in Capua. There are many diator schools there, mostly outside the city, and we have fought against them in the arena. After our strength has recovered in a few days, lets send a team tounch a surprise attack on the outskirts of Capua, rescue the diators there, and have them join us to strengthen our forces!


    I agree! Send me there when the timees. The diator school there is full of Germanic warriors, and Ive been wanting to rescue them! Oenomaus said excitedly.


    Others also agreed because training new recruits was a long-term process, while the addition of diators meant immediatebat strength. Moreover, they shared amon background.


    Theres one more thing Id like to discuss with you, Spartacus said cautiously. I want to abandon our current camp and lead the army to establish a new camp at a farm not far to the north.