Chapter 158 Ending

Three days later, Aetius' army arrived, but their goal was not Rome, but to bypass Rome and continue south.

As if Aetius had made an agreement with Boniface, he followed the path that Boniface had taken and headed for Cannae, where they would finally get the answer.

Aresio stood on the city wall, not far below was a large mass of troops, including Huns, Romans, and barbarian mercenaries. They could easily tell which team they belonged to from the flags in the flag-bearing hands.

"The civil war that determines the fate of Rome, the protagonists of the war are no longer the Romans, I don't know what this will mean!" Alessio looked at the endless team that stretched to the end of the north, but he didn't know how to make a choice. Maybe he didn't want to choose anyone and just wanted to live a plain life like he did a month ago, but now he has no choice!

"It seems that the news from the Senate is true about the size of Aetius' army. Perhaps this is the last civil war in the Roman Empire. But this time it is no longer dawn, but dusk!"

Aresio's summary glossed over the details of the war. He was merely an indirect participant and did not go to the battlefield with Boniface to face the massive Hun army brought by Aetius.

"This is the last time I see Boniface. I have to admit that he is a real Roman!" Aresio lay in the car, his eyes looking up at the sky for a long time, unable to look away.

"He won the war in the end, it was just that he was unlucky!" I didn't know what to say. I should comfort him now. After all, he is an unfortunate man.

“So, the death of Boniface also means that this seemingly victorious battle became a failure that led to the end of everything.”

"Boniface was so devoted to the war that he forgot about his own safety. This was his shortcoming. He always believed that only by appearing at the forefront of the battlefield could he make his field legions crazy, but he did it." Alessio said, sneering. "The Hun cavalry was not a huge threat at all, because their horses didn't dare to move forward when they saw the ugly camels. This was also one of the reasons for Aetius' failure."

"But Aetius knew how to get out of this battle, but Boniface didn't!" Aresio stroked the brass mask on his face. He hadn't touched his face for a long time. Could it be that he couldn't stand the touch of the ugly scar? He continued, "After Boniface's death, the dozen or so field legions under his command in Africa returned to their hometowns, and the central field army of the Italian province also lost its loyal leader and disbanded on the spot and returned to their own towns. And he himself was quickly identified as a traitor and an enemy of Rome by the Senate. Then, as we all know, the consequences of Boniface's expedition immediately came true."

"The expedition left the province of Africa without sufficient military strength, which attracted the Iberian Vandals, who quickly defeated the legions that had just arrived but had not yet gained a foothold. Thus, the entire province of Africa fell. The Senate put all the consequences on Boniface."

"It was around this time that Aetius no longer had any enemies to stand in his way, right?"

"Yes." Alessio nodded, then sat up and looked at me. "I don't know what your relationship with Aetius is now, but we are in the same situation now, so I told you all this. Aetius is indeed hateful, but he is the only one who can support Caesar and Rome."

"If Aetius and Boniface can get along harmoniously..."

"Then Aetius will never reach such a point. He will never even have the title of a noble!" Alessio interrupted me. He seemed to see things very clearly. After all, he was a person who had experienced it personally. "From the moment the regent queen Placidia handed over the command of the Italian Central Field Army to Boniface, the entire Roman Empire had to make a choice between Gaul and Africa, two lands that could not be lost. But things are irreversible. This cannot be blamed on that poor woman. She is just used to cooperating with the strong. But who is the strong one is up to them to fight for themselves."

"And what about Thermitius?" I asked. "Where is he now?"

"He is from the Senate." Alessio clenched his fists when he said this. "He deceived Boniface and me. Under his deception, an irreconcilable conflict arose between Aetius and I. He is very cunning and always has his own way to deal with the aftermath."

"for example?"

"For example, when the Vandals occupied Africa, the Senate bypassed Caesar and directly established a suzerain relationship with the Vandals. They used a large amount of gold to make the Vandals submit, and tried to achieve a certain degree of control, reducing the impact of Boniface's death to the minimum they thought."

"What about Aetius? He should know about the connection between Thermitius and Boniface. He should settle the old account."

"So this is the outstanding feature of Thermitius," Alessio continued, "It is well known that I openly gave Boniface enough orens as military pay. Compared with him, who is more hateful than this guy who is just an assistant and no one knows what contribution he made to Boniface?"

"So, you didn't even have a chance to explain to Aetius?"

"If it were you, Orius Luca, would you give me a chance?" Aresio asked me. He lowered his head and looked into my eyes, trying to get an answer from me.

"No, I will kill you." I was sure he wouldn't be angry about this, after all, he had experienced some unbearable storms.

"You are the same as Aetius, but you are not as cruel as him!" Alessio smiled, "Aetius knew what his opponent cherished most, so he would not kill his opponent easily, but tortured him, deprived him of everything, and made him feel hopeless." As he spoke, Alessio began to stroke his brass mask again, as if he was regretting that he had lost something that would never come back. He began to mutter absentmindedly: "This is a mask worn by a humble lobbyist, Aetius, but you gave it to me!"

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"Do you hate him?" I asked.

"Hate?" Alessio turned his head away, his tone was a little helpless. "If I can hate him to death, why don't I do it? But he is too strong, at the peak of his powers, while I am just barely surviving. So, what other good purpose does this kind of hatred have, other than torturing myself?"

His words left me speechless. I lowered my head and hurried on. Anyway, it didn't seem to make much sense for me to know these things. Because I could feel that every step I took was a step closer to Tenaia. I didn't want to risk my life like this anymore, at least in this life. As for the generous conditions, that's enough. That's the biggest lie. Living an ordinary life is what I really want now. I hope God can make it happen.

(End of this chapter)