Chapter 459 Deployment In

New Carthage, at this moment in the Senate's meeting room, everyone looked at Fitanius sitting in the middle in silence. Fitanius was the highest official here, and only he had the power to make decisions on the next action.

"That smoke came from the fortress stationed on the western route. It is certain that it is the location of the soldier commander."

"According to the news from the scouts, the Vandals have joined forces with the Alans and surrounded the western fortress. It seems that the captain is asking for our help!"

"But we can't find a capable general to lead the soldiers, and the soldiers guarding the city will tremble when they see the Vandal flags!"

There was a heated discussion in the meeting room. Only Fitanius looked solemn. His face was covered with beads of sweat, like the cold rocks hit by the waves at the sea, and even slightly white. His hands hidden under his toga kept grinding a piece of parchment, which was softened by the sweat on his hands. He looked around, but fortunately no one noticed him. They were all discussing how to save the soldier captain Luca.

Mateolius was among the crowd, but he did not join in the argument because in his eyes such a waste of words would not help the current situation at all.

"Flavius ​​Luca, you never thought that this day would come to you!" He sneered, his eyes fixed on Fitanius. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and he keenly noticed Fitanius' discomfort and his hands hidden under his toga.

"He must be hiding something, these damn bureaucrats!" Mateolius thought secretly in his heart. He couldn't change anything, but he knew that the current situation was becoming more and more complicated and had far exceeded their expectations.

The debate soon ended in a bad mood, but what puzzled everyone was that Fitanius, the final decision maker in their debate, did not say anything, but was the first to stand up, leaving his entourage behind, and hurriedly left the venue as if he was escaping.

"He must be hiding something!" Mateolius whispered to himself, secretly following behind Fitanius.

Fitanius walked hurriedly and looked back from time to time to see if anyone was following him. Fortunately, Mateolius was not clumsy and was able to dodge every time Fitanius looked back.

When he was sure that no one was following him, Fitanius finally felt relieved and bold. Instead of returning to his house, he trotted all the way to Sebastianus' room.

"What is he doing here?" Matteolius was puzzled and followed closely. The moment the door closed, Matteolius took a step forward and held the half-open door, then put his ear to the door and listened carefully.

"Sebastian, we are really in trouble this time!" The first complaint heard was from Fitanius.

"What's the matter, Fitanius?" Sebastianus asked in a puzzled tone, "What kind of big thing could make you so uneasy?"

"As you can see, Gaiseric has besieged Luga, and now another letter has arrived."

"What does it say?"

"If we want to save the lives of Luca and his trapped soldiers, we must negotiate with Augustus and ask him to release Gaiseric's eldest son, who was captured six years ago after the negotiation with Carthage." Fitanius paced back and forth in the room, looking very anxious. "Let's not talk about whether we have so much time, but if Huneric goes back, what bargaining chips do we have to bargain with Gaiseric?"

"What?" Sebastianus asked in surprise, "Are you going to keep it secret? Don't forget that Luca is the captain of the Roman soldiers. He is not just an ordinary general."

"I mean, we can send reinforcements to meet them. Generally speaking, we cannot lose Huneric as a bargaining chip. This is the only way to restrain Gaiseric!"

"But we have Huneric, but as you can see, Gaiseric is still rampant on Roman soil! So much time has passed, our captain of soldiers has suffered in the siege, and you are here thinking about how to bargain?"

"Remember, Sebastian, I am not Augustus, and nothing I say counts."

"Luga has been trapped for nearly five days now. We must think of a way out and cannot remain indifferent. Moreover, the biggest problem is that we have a fortress stationed on Augusta Avenue leading to Cordoba, but we have not received any news that they have encountered the enemy. So where did Gaiseric come from?"

"I don't know, Sebastian, I know nothing about that. Maybe Gaiseric took a long detour. You know, he is not afraid of hurrying to achieve his goal!"

"Our scouts clearly saw them passing by the Roman fortress, and the Romans guarding it did not resist at all!"

While Fitanius and Sebastianus were arguing fiercely, this sentence suddenly came from the door and interrupted their conversation. Both of them turned their heads at the same time to look at Matteolius standing at the door.

"What did you say?" Sebastianus stood up and asked Mateolius.

"Matt?" Fitanius stared at the uninvited guest standing at the door with his eyes wide open. He didn't know what to say. He was just surprised. "Why are you here? Did you hear our conversation clearly?"

"You are lying, Lord Fitanius." Mateolius sneered at Fitanius, "The defenders in the Roman fortress did not resist. The Vandals clearly passed right in front of them. It is obvious that they were bribed!"

"What nonsense are you talking about, Matt!" Fitanius stood up suddenly and glared at Matteolius.

"Oh, oh, oh! Calm down, calm down, Mr. Fitanius." Mateolius stretched out his hand and waved at Fitanius and said, "Why do you have such a big reaction when I mentioned the Roman officers stationed in the fortress? I dare not talk nonsense, Mr. Fitanius."

"I hope you know what you want to say before you speak, Matt!" Fitanius sat down slowly, but his eyes were still fixed on him, monitoring Matteolius' every move.

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"I mean no offense." Mateolius bowed slightly, then said to Sebastianus: "We are running out of time, Sir Sebastian. After all, the Vandals will unite with the Alans, and their army is difficult for us to contend with."

"So do you have any good ideas?" Sebastian asked.

"Be prepared for both situations, Sebastian." Mateolius shrugged. "Money and iron sword, get ready, and solve the problem as soon as possible while Luca can still hold on. If necessary, I believe Luca is willing to cooperate with us!"

Half a month passed, and the food stored in the fortress had run out. However, with no reinforcements arriving, the morale of the Roman soldiers inside the fortress had fallen to the lowest point.

They seemed exhausted, and faced with the repeated provocations of the Vandals outside the wall, the soldiers began to turn from indignation to numbness, as if everything in the present moment had nothing to do with them. One by one, they were like zombies, so tired that they couldn't open their eyes all day long, and they would fall asleep on the ground with a thud while walking.

The Vandals were full of life and they enjoyed playing tricks on the Romans. Their goal was to see them jump up and down like clowns.

The fortress that protected them became a shackle that bound them. They wanted to rush out, but until now they could do nothing except look at the Vandal camp in front of them.

But early in the morning of that day, a loud bang was heard, and the awakened Roman soldiers suddenly opened their eyes. Although they were listless all day, they still maintained their usual tense state in the face of emergencies.

The sound came from the room where Luka was. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Luka walking out in a military uniform. The open door behind him was creaking. It seemed that Luka had used a lot of strength to open his legs.

"I've really had enough!" Luca roared to the sky, but at this moment, the sound of Roman trumpets came from outside the fortress.

(End of this chapter)