Chapter 418 Tarraco Nobles

In Tarraco, the capital city on the coast of the entrance to Iberia, preparations are being made for the triennial gladiatorial contest, where nobles from Gaul and southern Iberia gather.

They were rich, lived a luxurious life, but were empty inside, and always felt that life lacked some fun. So they thought of gladiatorial combat, a culture that had been passed down for thousands of years and had never disappeared. Although Christianity was in power, such bloody and undoctrinal things were naturally resisted. Otherwise, how could the horse racers have the upper hand? It was supposed to be a big city with 70,000 to 80,000 people, but the arena was much shabby. This large circular venue with a diameter of less than 100 meters, apart from the seats for the audience and the area where the sponsors were, there was very little space left for the gladiators. There was no buffer area at all, and it was just a life-and-death fight.

Now the competition is about to begin, and the audience is slowly entering the venue. They are not here to watch the show for free, but they have a lot of money in their hands. Fighting is gambling, and they want to bet on who will win. Countless people hope to make a lot of money from this, which is much better than farming.

There were two seats in the VIP seats. A middle-aged man with gray hair, wearing a white toga with a red shirt underneath, sat lazily on one of the stone seats. To reflect his status, he wore a golden laurel crown on his head.

The nobles around sat upright, and those who could sit here were all well-known wealthy families in the local area, with at least endless land outside the city and countless slaves. In the streets of Tarraco, he was a big shot who walked sideways. No, it cannot be said that he walked sideways, because people of this status would not touch the ground.

Even so, they were still wary of the guy sitting above them, who was the chief senator of the local Senate and the garrison duke of Tarraco, Penifayaus Andres.

Andres held a silver cup filled with wine in his hand. He slowly put the cup to his lips, raised his head and drank the wine in the cup. The waiter beside him quickly refilled it. He was so skilled that not a drop of wine would fall out when the cup was refilled. Even so, his eyes did not shift for a moment, staring at the empty space below, waiting motionlessly.

After a while, the audience sat down one after another, and an old man came to his side. He was dressed in red and white, and people could tell at a glance that he was from the Roman Senate. The man came straight over, sat on the stone seat next to Andres, looked at Andres, and said nothing.

"You are too late, my friend." Andres shook the wine in the glass, and then there was some movement. He straightened up and turned to look at the elder in front of him.

"Oh, my God." The senator complained, "You don't understand how chaotic Rome is right now. I have to deal with too many things, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get out of Rome so easily."

Andres raised his lips slightly and continued, "Tell me what kind of news you brought me this time."

"It's not good, Andres, it's not good." The elder said, taking a glass of wine and just taking a sip, and then said to Andres: "The Purple Chamber recently re-appointed the captain of the army."

"Sergeant?" Andres sat up straight, looked at the elder in front of him with a puzzled look, and asked, "This position has not been mentioned for a long time. How is it possible?"

"This is just the beginning. You know, Andres? There are still many things that you may not understand that I haven't told you yet." The elder continued, "Augusta Galla Placidia passed away, but before she died, she actually appointed two captains of soldiers!"

"What?" Andres sat up straight, staring at the elder with wide eyes, and said in shock, "The original battle was already a bloody battle just for the position of commander of the Central Field Army, and now there are two more sergeants. Doesn't Placidia think that the original battle wasn't brutal enough?"

"Nonsense! This is simply nonsense!" Andres cursed inwardly, but curiosity calmed him down. He asked the elder, "Then I'm curious, who are the two people who are qualified to become sergeants?"

Just as the elder was about to speak, Andres immediately raised his hand to signal him to stop. He continued, "Let me guess, Aetius! No one is more powerful than him. Look at who is next. Could it be Bonis? This guy is famous for his playboyiness. I heard that he also had an ambiguous relationship with Lady Augusta Galla Placidia. Then it must be him!"

"No, it's not him. He has been secretly killed by Aetius!" The senator shook his head, which made Andreas even more at a loss.

"Then who else?" Andres couldn't think of anything, because all the Roman generals who could compete with Aetius had been defeated by Aetius, and no one could compete with Aetius.

The elder shook his head and said, "I'm afraid your Excellency has forgotten the boy who defeated the Vandal King Gaiseric with his own ability in Great Sicily."

ANDRES: "You mean the adopted son of Theodosius II?"

The elder nodded, looking mysterious, which made Andres somewhat unwilling to believe it.

"Why? What does he have?" Andres was still puzzled. He continued, "Isn't he the guy who led the army to attack Carthage and failed? Without the support of his adoptive father, he is nothing!"

"Perhaps you are wrong, Mr. Andres." The elder said, and then took a sip of the wine in the glass, so he continued: "He served as the governor of the province in the Great Sequanorum and recovered Belgian Gaul. You know, it was the large and lawless Bagauda rebels."

"It's incredible!" Andres exclaimed.

"Not only that." The elder took a sip of wine and continued, "It took him only half a year to completely defeat this group of lawless bastards, and he went north to recapture Britannia, which he had lost more than 30 years ago. It took a long time this time, but in our eyes, he was too fast."

"Incredible!" Andres said again, shaking his head, thinking that he seemed to have met a guy who should not be underestimated.

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"It seems that I am too out of touch with the news." Andres changed his sitting position and continued, "An Yi has been in this city for a while and has not reacted to so many things happening outside. It seems that I really need to take action."

Ding Ding Ding

A rapid ringing of the bell ended all conversations present, and everyone's eyes were focused on the empty conference room below the stage.

"Who is it today?" the elder asked, changing the subject.

"My trump card, Padin!" Andres continued, "This time we are fighting against a bastard from Gaul. I heard that his employer has placed a high stake on him. We can't be careless this time. As long as we win!" At this point, a greedy look flashed across Andres' face, and he slowly said, "That's the Souledes clanking."

(End of this chapter)