Chapter 30 Departure

◎Hmm~ Very creative! The kitten's tail is standing up to the sky~◎

The midday sun shone on the slaves' blackened backs as they diligently brought well-fed horses to their masters and equipped several noble cavalrymen with armor and bows and arrows.

Caesar took away the three most elite legions. They said they were a team led by those favored by God, but in fact they were just an advance team going to look for Caesar, with a total of one thousand people.

They are good at clearing out bandits, and if they encounter elite infantry from other countries, each of them is a mobile experience pack.

Melia sat on horseback, looking at the map in her hand seriously:

Rome was a hollowed-out Rome, and so were Persia, Greece, Athens, Macedonia, and even Egypt. Their original geographical locations were disrupted, even the directions of the mountains and rivers were different.

This time, Caesar attacked a small town on the border of the Persian Empire. The reason was simple: this city was closest to Rome and was located next to a gold mine.

She closed the map and looked towards the Temple of the Gods. "Oh, why hasn't the High Priest arrived yet? Is there anything more important than going on a campaign?"

A priest in white stepped forward quickly. "The high priest is evaluating a new prophecy. So, everyone please leave today. He will pray for you all."

Phew, Melia almost choked.

Meow, hahahaha, what's the new prophecy? My hometown has been taken over, so I guess I can't hold it anymore~ Hmmmm, how does it feel to have all your wealth disappear? How does it feel?

She bit her lower lip hard and wiped the tears from her eyes. "The High Priest has worked so hard! Her Highness Elena and I will definitely find Caesar and live up to the title of God's Favored One."

"Yes, I wish you all success."

The proclamation had been made, and the army was about to depart. The white-robed priest, feeling his rank was insufficient, retreated timidly back into the crowd and disappeared. The church had only a few members, and they were only responsible for offering the final blessing at the city gate; they wouldn't accompany the army on this risky journey.

Melia ignored the priests and glanced at the soldiers provided by the royal family: most of them were dispatched from the city guards, mixed with a few unlucky noble officers and some war slaves.

These war slaves, like ordinary slaves, were residents brought out of conquered cities by the Roman legions. They were generally of clean origin and could return to being free citizens if they made enough military achievements.

The sun was about to set in the center. Normally, one would say something to boost morale before setting off, but when she saw this group of confused soldiers, she didn't want to say anything.

It's so difficult - I have to bring them all back.

"What are you daydreaming about? Are you waiting for your slave?" Elena rode past her on horseback, waving her whip in the air.

The blonde princess raised her hand and pointed to the sky. "Line up! Form a square!"

The crowd was like a pack of wolves finding their leader. The noble cavalry led their own infantry and war slaves and formed a square formation at a relatively fast speed.

There were almost no full-time soldiers in this era. War slaves and civilians had to work in peacetime, and noble cavalry were also responsible for guarding the royal city. Therefore, the legion rarely had the opportunity to train.

Even the warlike Rome only trained regularly during the slack season, which directly led to the army's low combat effectiveness. It was only thanks to the excellent matchmaking mechanism of the nearby weaker chickens that they avoided defeat.

Melia watched from the side for a while and shook her head secretly: the formation changes became so slow in an environment where there were no enemies. If there were enemies, they would have been stabbed to death long ago.

They should be thankful that there is magic in this world. At least after Elena transformed into a dragon, she was able to lead a group of mediocre people to victory - this is clearly written in "The Rose Princess".

But since she has Shadow Rome, why not keep some full-time cavalry in Shadow Rome?

The invisible cat ears lifted up: "If I have a team of people who only obey my orders, I won't have to worry about being sold to a strange place! If Sura dares to complain again, there's no need to fight with him, I can just bury him directly~"

Hey hey, hey hey~ slurp~

"Hey, are you still in a daze?"

A hand slapped the back of her head, and Melia raised her head with a cry: "Really?! Are you letting me dream?"

Elena glanced at her suspiciously: Even though she had just been beaten, this guy was still grinning, with the corners of his mouth almost raised to his ears, and his eyes flashing with a cunning gleam, just like a cat stealing a bunch of small fish.

This state has continued since she woke up until now. If you don't know, you might think she has gotten some benefits from the temple and Sura's family.

"What are you dreaming about? Your slaves are here to find you."

"How is it possible...ah, it's really coming?!"

Melia looked up and saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance, accompanied by a clattering sound.

Cavalry was a premium in those days, and the Roman legions were primarily infantry, often equipped with armor. But a line of cavalry did appear before them: Muala had many horses and mules at herd, and slaves were riding them in droves, a rough count of at least a hundred.

The leader was Taffy, followed closely by Ronnie, who was supposed to return to the arena.

Taffy almost fell off her horse. She nimbly supported herself on the ground with both hands and pounced on the ground beneath Melia's horse. "Miss! Sura really has a conspiracy, a huge one!"

"Yes, yes, I know~" Melia dismounted slowly, and wanted to hook Elena's wrist with one hand, but she got scared after being glared at by her, and could only climb down by stepping on Taffy's palm.

Elena tilted her head to the side, but her extraordinary hearing still allowed her to hear Taffy's whisper.

"Miss, this is terrible. Sulla actually dared to collude with the regent to forge a real estate transaction contract...!"

Oh? So bold? Elena's spirits brightened. A regent might not be as prestigious as a senator in name, but he was the most powerful person under Caesar. His help could have extended to forging a trade contract.

Sulla actually dared to follow the regent's path and forcibly change the ownership of Muala's real estate... If it is verified, both he and the regent will be beheaded.

No, they should have prepared a scapegoat and would not have personally taken the field. Even so, it would have trampled on Caesar's rights and carried considerable risks.

"Ah~ Really? Looks like I pushed Sura pretty hard." Melia said briskly, as if the invasion of her property didn't hurt at all. "Have you figured out what transactions he forged?"

Taffy gritted his teeth and shook his head: "No..."

After Lord Muala's death, everyone's ability to speculate on clues was already the limit. They didn't even have a single piece of evidence, and could only passively wait for Sura to make a move.

Melia wasn't surprised. Her tone was even nonchalant: "It's okay. By the way, with so many of you following me, there won't be enough supplies."

Taffy quickly raised his arm to show her the team behind him: "We brought enough supplies, prepared by Ani."

Melia raised her head and saw a group of long carts not far away. The carts were covered with cloth and fur, which could provide some protection against arrows.

Just as she was about to spur her horse, an idea suddenly struck her: Wait, if we leave Roman territory, Shadow Rome won't be of much use, right? We must get what we need in advance.

Elena turned her horse around and was about to urge her to lead the team, but she saw Melia riding on the pony and rushing towards the supply cart.

What the hell is this guy doing? Is he going to the bathroom in the back?

…

"Taffy, guard the outside and don't let anyone in."

"yes."

Taffy watched the carriage from the corner of her eye. The young lady had crawled under the furs and... started to sleep? Although she had many questions in her mind, she still kept her mouth shut and focused on being on guard against the people outside.

With her status as a follower at stake, she must not let others see her slacking off at the critical moment!

Brush——

The little white cat appeared in Shadow Roma. She quietly approached Miranda and jumped onto her back with a wow sound: "Get up, get up~ Help me~"

"Meimei?" Miranda held the kitten in her arms and rubbed her eyes. She had been busy with moving things these past two days, eating and sleeping, and her arms had become noticeably thicker.

Not far away, Misha was still sorting the gold and gemstones: those with obvious coats of arms, marks, and church characteristics were placed in one pile, those that looked very expensive were placed in another pile, and the bulk goods without any characteristics were placed in another pile.

She worked very hard, swallowing her saliva as she went along. The Pantheon was so rich that even if one cleaned out the innermost warehouse, there was no telling how many people it could feed!

"Where are the boxes we moved from Sura's house this morning~" The kitten suddenly jumped to the center of the gem and gracefully circled the beads.

Misha quickly stood up and pushed out several leather bags from the rubble behind her. "It's all here. The potions from the temple suitcase have also been poured in. This old guy is really good at hiding them. These are all we can find in the warehouse."

"Well, it's Sura after all."

Melia nodded with satisfaction. She was not short of gold, silver or jewelry anyway. She only needed the magic potion that Sura got from the church.

There are too many patrolling guards in Sura's house. Even if he has the ability to transfer through space, he can only search in the closed warehouse because the transfer takes 20 seconds.

In the end, they failed to find the vault where the cash was hidden, but only found the storeroom where the potions were stored. In order not to alert the enemy, they took the potions and left without touching the other small items.

They worked around the inside and outside for a while, and soon moved all the leather bags into the carriage. They also moved enough dry food for two people to eat for a long time to Shadow Roma.

The little white cat scratched his beard with his paws and waved to the two of them: "See you later. I'll find a way to make a portal when I get back~"

It's too inconvenient to have her come over to lead people every time they move. I'll see if I can use the power of the Rose Queen to copy a gold coin and embed it in the corresponding building.

Before the cat's paw stepped out of the car, Misha suddenly patted the cat's butt: "Meimei, I have an idea - how about we pick some marked jewelry and hide it in Sura's house?"

Hmm~very creative!

The kitten's tail is standing up to the sky~

…

"Hehe, hehehe."

Hearing the laughter, Elena turned around with a start, and sure enough, she saw Melia walking towards her with an exaggerated smile on her face, holding up her skirt.

If the smile in the morning still had a hint of reserve and subtlety, the smile now was like raiding Sura's house and dancing desperately in front of the tombstone.

"What... did you do just now?" She finally couldn't help but look up and down at the overly happy Melia.

"Ahem~" Melia raised her finger and wiped the corner of her lips: "I just gave Master Sura a super~wonderful return gift."

Elena was stunned. The image of Melia sneaking into the carriage flashed through her mind. What was going on that needed to be hidden from everyone? Not even her confidants were allowed in. And what could she possibly do in such a short time?

Giving a return gift doesn’t mean delivering it, but the process of preparing it. It’s already prepared... She wouldn’t... Oh!

"Stay away from me! Has that thing been given to the slaves?!" Elena tightened the reins and nervously waved to the large group, "Everyone—let's go!"

"What? Don't run so fast~ I haven't mounted the horse yet, wait for me, hey! hey!"

In the sunshine, Ronnie caught up with Melia on horseback, lifted her onto the horse's back, and ended the chaotic chase.

The author has something to say:

This is the update for August 21st. I had a clip on that day so I released it early today. See you at 6 o'clock every day from now on~