Chapter 610: Shatter the Emperor's Soul with One Punch, From Now on You Are Mine

"Fanes, you want to treat us? Did I hear you right?"

Upon hearing this, the young man named "Alexander" laughed and scolded his friend,

"Will it be the same as before? You'll pretend to be drunk at the end of the drinking and let me pay the bill?"

"This time is different, I really want you to!"

Caesar made this promise solemnly, with sincerity written all over his face.

But Alexander still didn't believe it, and looked at his bad friend dimly:

"You said the same thing last time in Greece. Then after dinner you lay down, vomiting blood, and accused someone of poisoning the food and murdering you, a noble of the Roman Empire. The boss was so scared that he not only waived our bills, but also paid a sum of money to settle the matter privately."

When talking about this dark history, Caesar couldn't help but cough repeatedly.

A poor man has little ambition, and a thin horse has long hair.

When he was studying and taking refuge in Greece, he didn't have much money on him. In order to treat this good friend who took care of him so much, he had to do something immoral.

——He used a magic potion he had concocted and his identity as a Roman god to cheat a restaurant in the city that had a bad reputation.

Afterwards, the compensation was divided between him and Alexander.

If I remember correctly, this bad friend in front of me got more than him.

Caesar glared at Alexander and said angrily:

"You really think I can't afford it!"

As he spoke, he took out two shiny silver Heras from his inner pocket and waved them in front of Alexander's eyes ostentatiously to demonstrate his financial resources and his sincerity in treating him.

Sensing the familiar scent lingering on the two silver coins, Loen, who was standing behind, couldn't help but twitch his lips.

This money seems to be his...

Earlier, when Caesar was at Claudius's private residence, he swore that he was poor and that he did not have a penny to pay for the cup of scented tea, which was obviously a lie.

If there had been no recruitment, this guy would have made it clear that he was not going to take responsibility in the future.

Old fox!

You treat me and I pay, right?

Loen laughed and cursed inwardly, but did not expose Caesar's trick.

Realizing that the Greek guest behind him was not angry, Caesar became bolder and generously threw out the last of his wealth:

"Take it, and ask your people to buy some wine and food!"

Alexander took the silver coin and threw it to a handsome, strong, flaxen-haired young warrior behind him, and said:

"Here, Hephaestion, go to the market and buy some wine and some dishes."

The young man frowned and hesitated.

He was Alexander's closest friend and most loyal subordinate, responsible for advising his majesty and protecting his safety.

Because of some things, they are having a hard time right now and have just fled here from Macedonia.

Although this divine-blood noble of the Julius family had provided them with a place to stay in Rome, there was no guarantee that he would not have other ideas over time.

After all, they have a lot of enemies now, and many people want to take their heads to the War God Mountain to claim the reward.

"Don't keep us waiting, go now!"

Hearing his monarch's urging again, Hephaestion had to suppress his worries and go out to buy wine.

After watching the personal guard leave, Alexander turned to look at Caesar and said teasingly:

"You are such a stingy guy, but you are willing to pay for our meal. Have you become rich?"

"Not yet. But soon."

Caesar said with a smile:

Having heard so much of his friend's fantasies, Alexander habitually passed them over and looked at Lorne standing behind Caesar with interest, and asked:

"You even brought friends with you?"

"You are half of my teacher. I mentioned you during the break and I was very interested in your experience, so I came here to take a look."

Caesar answered with a mixture of truth and lies.

Loen smiled and showed his goodwill, while secretly sizing up the legendary Alexander the Great, who would sweep across Europe and establish a vast military empire.

If I remember correctly, his mother's name was Olympias. She was gifted with supernatural powers and liked to sleep with giant pythons. According to the Greek prophecy, she was the twelfth mortal lover of Zeus on earth.

On the night of her wedding to her husband, the King of Macedonia, Olympias dreamed that a lightning bolt struck her and set her on fire. The fire spread over her body and then gradually died out.

Alexander was thus conceived and born shortly afterwards.

It is obvious whose species it is.

Therefore, according to blood relationship and order, Alexander the Great should probably call him "Fifth Brother".

However, as the posthumous son of Zeus and the heir of Macedonia, why did he come to Rome instead of staying in Greece, and look so poor?

Under Lorn's indirect questioning, Alexander replied with a wry smile:

"Don't mention it. Just like Caesar, it's all because of lack of money."

As he spoke, the Macedonian prince spoke openly about the bad luck he had experienced.

Because of his illegitimate status, he was not favored by his father Philip II, and was even expelled from Macedonia along with his mother.

However, his father's luck was not very good either. Not long after, he was assassinated by the accompanying guards at a wedding, and Macedonia fell into civil strife.

Alexander seized the opportunity, returned to his homeland with his confidants, and successfully inherited his father's career and became the king of Macedonia.

But after he came to power, Alexander discovered that his dead father had left him a big pit.

Macedonia was in a very embarrassing situation at this time. Due to years of war, there were only 60 talents of wealth and 500 talents of foreign debt left in the treasury account.

According to the weight conversion, 1 talent is about 25 kilograms of silver. In other words, the cash assets of the entire Macedonia are 1,500 kilograms of silver, the liabilities are 12,500 kilograms of silver, and the debts are 11,000 kilograms of silver.

The amount was so large that he couldn't afford the compensation even if he sold himself.

To make matters worse, the goddess of luck did not treat him well.

Because his old father Philip II had died and he was relatively young and had no prestige, the city-states originally under Macedonia's rule did not recognize him as king and declared independence one after another.

Faced with internal and external troubles, Alexander bet everything on launching foreign wars to reverse Macedonia's financial crisis and fill the big hole left for him by his dead father.

But fighting a war requires money.

In order to turn the tables, Alexander hardened his heart and mortgaged the last remaining credibility and assets of the Macedonian royal family. He also borrowed 800 talents from outside as military expenses and officially went all in.

The first city he and his generals chose to conquer was called Thebes.

Looking at Alexander's resentful eyes and the depression of regret.

Luo En knew the result without even thinking about it.

Even if Alexander was a military genius seen once in a thousand years, who could use the corps’ combat to its fullest extent on the ground battlefield, it would be useless to defeat the defenders of Thebes.

Because in this era, gods exist.

Moreover, Thebes was a holy place of Dionysus in a sense, and the water was so deep that even an army of gods would capsize.

There's no need for the group of main god-level monsters on the Ares Mountain to appear. Just a random batch of subordinate gods such as the Nine Muses and the Three Graces, or the Saints of the Eighty-eight Constellations in the Sanctuary, would be enough to give Alexander, a young man like him, a hard time.

For mortals, gods are like a dimensionality reduction attack, and they cannot be countered by strategy or numbers.

Therefore, after the priests of Thebes jointly launched a great sacrifice and summoned a group of Argonauts from the Pure Land to help, Alexander's dream of becoming the Great was shattered by those gods-era bandits. The army was defeated all the way back to Macedonia, and the domestic economy completely collapsed because of this failure.

In order to avoid debt and hatred, he had to flee to Rome with a few close confidants and hide there.

He hopes to wait until the storm has passed, then look at the situation in Greece and decide whether to return home.

After listening to this, Luo En didn't know whether to laugh or cry:

"You are really amazing. You dare to collect protection money from the city walls of Thebes."

"I can't help it. Looking at the surrounding city-states, it is the richest. If it makes a little money, it can fill the hole left by me and my father."

Alexander scratched his head and smiled bitterly.

"There's no other way out, so we have to give it a try. After all, there have been so many wars among the Greek states, and not every war will bring about the gods' intervention."

"And then what?"

"It seems that my life is rather hard..."

Alexander became even more depressed, and couldn't help sighing as he looked at the courtyard with the open door behind him.

The yard was a bit dilapidated. Dozens of soldiers dressed in Macedonian-style attire were leaning against the corridor, looking listless and with empty eyes. Some of them even emitted a faint smell of blood.

These are his confidants and also his last assets.

But despite this trust, he failed to win the victory, and even made these loyal subordinates unable to afford food. He was simply unworthy of being a monarch.

For both them and Macedonia, the future seems dark.

Seeing his gloomy friend, Caesar took the opportunity to step forward, patted him on the shoulder with a smile, and said:

"Isn't it just that you are short of money? It's nothing! I just found a good opportunity to make a fortune. It's definitely a sure win. Do you want to join me?"

"You are so kind? You don't want to sell me for money? My current reward is not low."

Alexander cursed with a smile, seeming to be very suspicious of the intentions and character of this bad friend.

Upon hearing this, Caesar said angrily:

"What are you talking about! I'm just short of money, not a bad person! If I hadn't taken advantage of you in Greece and thought of taking advantage of you, I would have kept the benefits for myself. Why would I have come all this way and spent money on a meal for nothing?"

As he spoke, Caesar made way for Loen, who had stood up, and solemnly introduced him:

"Meet our employer, who is currently in charge of teaching the crown prince of the Claudius family, the three young divine messengers of the Triumvirate of Fate, and the head priestess of the Dionysus Cult. He also has a say in the Pantheon."

A big shot indeed!

Alexander's eyes sparkled, and he felt a strong interest in his heart.

At present, not only are these cronies in the courtyard waiting for him to make money to feed them, but his homeland Macedonia is also waiting for him to fill the deficit and eliminate civil unrest.

In the future, perhaps he would have to pay out another sum of money to bribe the elders of the Ares Mountain and ask them to mediate peace between Macedonia and Thebes.

Being so poor, Alexander certainly wanted to seize this rare opportunity to turn things around:

"First, tell me what kind of business it is. It would be best if we could get our money back quickly and make a higher profit."

"Don't worry, there is probably no business in the world that has higher profits and makes money faster than this one."

"What is it?"

Alexander was even more curious and reminded cautiously,

"First of all, I'll make it clear that this is a very novel business, so I may not be able to help you."

“It’s your area of expertise.”

Caesar announced the answer with a smile.

"Join Rome, obey this master's orders, expand the empire's territory, build nations and destroy countries!"

Alexander shook his head reflexively upon hearing this:

"Let me fight for Rome? Forget it. I haven't paid off the debt from the last war. If I lose another battle, I won't make any money. I'm afraid I'll lose the last bit of wealth I and Macedonia have left."

"I can help you solve the debt problem."

Lorne stepped forward and made his assurance with a smile.

Alexander was a little suspicious and kindly reminded:

"That's a liability of 11,000 kilograms of silver."

"Gold is easy to get, but a general is hard to find. In my opinion, you are worth the price."

Hearing this high evaluation, Alexander, who had just experienced a defeat and was at the lowest point in his life, was deeply moved. He couldn't help but feel an urge to serve the other side to the death and to do his best.

Not for anything else, just for this appreciation.

Caesar, who was listening on the side, felt sour in his heart.

Buy me two Silver Heras? Buy him 11,000 kilograms of silver?

Isn’t the difference between the value and treatment too big?

There is definitely a shady deal!

Could it be that they are brothers who have been separated for many years?

Caesar accidentally guessed the truth.

At this moment, Alexander calmed down, suppressed the impulse in his heart with reason, and reminded again:

"I am really touched that you can offer such generous conditions to a defeated general like me. But it is not easy to use me and let me fight for the Roman Empire. After all, you just heard that I had planned to attack Thebes before, which may have angered the Lord Dionysus. If the other party is determined to pursue the matter, even if you are a big shot in the Roman Empire, you may not be able to protect me, and you will bring yourself a lot of trouble."

"Don't worry, he won't be that stingy."

"Why are you so sure?"

"because--"

Under Alexander's puzzled gaze, Lorne showed a playful smile.

"I am Dionysus, the patron god of Thebes, the victim you robbed before."

Suddenly, this so-called little brother seemed to have heard a horror story, his brain froze and his face was filled with horror.

You came to me so soon?

Or is it the god of wine himself who comes to arrest me?

At the same time, Hephaestion, who was out buying wine, happened to arrive at the scene. When he heard this, he was so shocked that his hands trembled and he dropped the large jar of wine on the ground.

Then, he took a deep breath, instinctively drew the sword at his waist, and shouted tragically:

"Bacchus is calling! Protect His Majesty!"

All of a sudden, the Macedonian warriors lying dead in the yard jumped up from the ground as if they had been electrocuted, each picked up a sword, shield and spear, swarmed out, and protected Alexander behind them tightly.

Seeing this, Caesar, who was standing by, broke out in cold sweat on his forehead.

This situation is not good.

(End of this chapter)