Amidst the villagers' profuse thanks, the small team left the village and headed towards other villages.

Soon, they encountered another Parthian border army that was raiding.

After a fierce battle, the team finally figured out the reason.

It turns out that these Parthian border troops were acting on the orders of the Parthian king to temporarily requisition some grain from the people to supplement their supplies.

However, after these soldiers took the money and grain from the first family, the situation spiraled out of control. Many Parthian border troops who had tasted the benefits formed small teams of three to five hundred or even more than a thousand men and began to burn, kill, and plunder everywhere.

Although Kemorin knew that his soldiers' behavior was inappropriate, he dared not restrain them too much.

Now, he can only maintain his status and position by relying on the support of these soldiers.

In addition, the previous defeats had led to low morale, so letting the soldiers vent their frustrations could also boost their morale.

Soon, the news reached the rear.

Besides the previous Roman squad, many other squads also encountered Parthian squads that were plundering villagers.

"Haha~, interesting. Are these Parthian soldiers all idiots? At this point, instead of trying to rally the people to resist our army, they're digging their own graves. They deserve to be wiped out!"

Upon learning that the Parthians had begun plundering their own people with exceptional cruelty, Marcus Aurelius couldn't help but laugh.

"Your Majesty, this is a good opportunity. I suggest that we order the soldiers of each squad to intercept and kill those Parthian border troops."

This would not only deplete the Parthian army's strength to the greatest extent, but might also win over the Parthian people.

"When our army attacks the city, we will face less resistance!" Li Boming suggested.

"Sir, you're right, let's do it that way!"

Marcus Aurelius immediately nodded in agreement to Li Boming's suggestion.

His gladiator legion excels at small-scale battles.

Just then, a guard entered the tent and said, "Your Majesty, Celestial Master Zhang requests an audience!"

Marcus Aurelius: "Oh? Please come in!"

"Greetings, Your Majesty. I have come to request permission to engage in battle!"

As soon as he entered the main tent, Zhang Bao stated his purpose directly.

"Request to fight?"

Upon hearing Zhang Bao's words, Marcus Aurelius was taken aback. "Master, what are you doing?"

"Your Majesty, I have heard that the Parthian border troops dared to slaughter innocent civilians without authorization. This behavior has crossed the bottom line of my Taiping Sect."

Therefore, this humble Taoist wishes to dispatch a legion of guardians of the Way to eliminate these heretics who have offended the divine majesty. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission!

"this……"

Upon hearing Zhang Bao's request, Marcus Aurelius hesitated and said, "Master, I have already decided to send people to surround and kill those Parthians. So, the Taiping Sect doesn't need to take action, right?"

We are honored guests of your esteemed religion on this trip; if anything is harmed, I will have a difficult time explaining it!

"Your Majesty, eliminating heretics is simply the duty of our Taiping Sect. We hope Your Majesty will grant our request!"

This was a golden opportunity to promote the Taiping Religion, so how could Zhang Bao possibly let it pass?

Seeing Zhang Bao's resolute attitude, Marcus Aurelius pondered for a moment and then nodded: "In that case, let's follow the Celestial Master's advice. Those Parthian border troops who have been plundered can be dealt with by the Taiping Sect."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Please rest assured, I will ensure that all the supplies looted by the Parthian army are brought back by them!"

Seeing that Marcus Aurelius had given him face, Zhang Bao responded accordingly.

"Haha~, good, that's good!"

Upon hearing Zhang Bao's words, Marcus Aurelius also smiled happily.

He was naturally eager to receive money and provisions without having to work hard for his own men.

Afterwards, Zhang Bao bid farewell to Marcus Aurelius, gathered his followers, and shared his thoughts with them.

Hearing that they could finally go out to fight, those moral guardians were also very excited.

For these fanatical defenders of the faith, their purpose in existence is to eliminate heresy and to uphold the glory of the One with their own lives, so that they may continue to follow their Lord after death.

Soon, Zhang Bao, in the name of Taiyi, issued a decree, which was transmitted to the two legions of the defenders of the faith and the two tribunals.

Upon receiving the imperial decree, the soldiers of the four legions quickly sprang into action, forming forty squads of a thousand men each, and headed towards the villages and towns surrounding Khanta.

These defenders of the faith were all personally trained by Zhang Bao. Their combat power was even slightly higher than that of the gladiators, and they had also received special training in hunting down and strangling heretics.

Therefore, the defenders of the Taiping Church were exceptionally swift in their actions, and none of the Parthian border troops they discovered were able to escape.

Compared to the defenders of the faith, the Parthian wounded soldiers who had just joined the Taiping Church were far less efficient.

However, fueled by hatred and faith, these tribunal soldiers, who had been on the battlefield, were also formidable fighters.

In just five days, the defenders of the faith and the soldiers of the tribunal had searched all the villages and towns within a hundred miles of Hanta City, and nearly 30,000 Parthian border soldiers died at the hands of the defenders of the faith and the tribunal.

Of course, the biggest gain for the Taiping Church from this trip was the addition of hundreds of thousands of believers to the Taiyi God.

The Parthian troops stationed in Khanta were terrified upon receiving the news and all cowered inside the city, no longer daring to cause trouble.

Marcus Aurelius seized the opportunity to assemble a large army and launch an attack on Hanta.

This city of Hanta was just a small city within Parthia territory. Its city walls were less than half the height of those at Xilin Pass, and the city was extremely poor in terms of supplies.

The Roman army launched only two probing attacks, yet the Parthian army suffered heavy casualties.

Left with no other choice, Kemorin led his remaining 100,000 or so soldiers to abandon the city and flee once again.

However, this time, Kemorin chose to flee south.

In his view, the Romans' goal was the capital, and as long as he didn't obstruct them, the Romans shouldn't do anything to him.

As for whether the capital would fall because of him, Camerin not only didn't care, but actually hoped that the Romans could conquer the capital and kill the Parthian king and his ministers.

In this way, with 100,000 troops at his disposal, he became the most powerful person in Parthia, and might even have the opportunity to covet the supreme throne.

Clearly, this time, Kemorin made the right bet!

Marcus Aurelius paid little attention to the fleeing Parthian army, but instead urged his troops to speed up their march toward the Parthian capital.