Chapter 521 Hero

"Flavius ​​Luca desperately commanded the hungry soldiers to attack the enemy in order to save Aetius. At this time, the gods were secretly supporting Flavius ​​Luca and his soldiers in the sky. He sent down blessings from the sky, making the Roman warriors feel as if they were assisted by God. The darkness could not hinder their eyes, but made them see more clearly. It filled their empty stomachs with food again, so that they could gain strength to kill, until everything was quiet, until the sun rose."

In the Roman Senate, Odysseus stood on a podium decorated with laurel branches and spoke to the senators below.

He was wearing a white toga and a laurel wreath made of ancient and meaningful laurel branches on his head. He returned to the Senate like a victor.

He was so excited that his face turned red and his hands trembled as he spoke, fully fulfilling the duties of a storyteller.

Because of the shrinking of assets, his status in the Senate declined to that of a guy who had no prestige and should not have been on the stage. But now he was talking about the extraordinary achievements of Flavius ​​Luca on the podium. This was able to illustrate a significant problem: the beneficiaries of the "privileged class" who were originally incompatible with the Senate have been affecting the Senate and the entire Rome all the time.

Naturally, other people's glory was not pleasing to the eyes of the elders in the Senate who were used to comparing with each other. Even if they looked down on Odysseus who talked about the war in a big way, they could not ignore the huge backer behind Odysseus.

"But!"

At this time, just as Odysseus paused for a moment, an elder sitting in the meeting room on the right side facing Odysseus stood up. He interrupted Odysseus without courtesy and tried to attract everyone's attention.

They all turned their heads to look at the elder in front of them who was relatively young but had to admit that he was indeed of a certain age.

After attracting everyone's attention, he leaned over and whispered something to Thermitius who was sitting in front of him, apparently asking for Thermitius's opinion.

When Thermitius nodded slightly, he stood up and said in a voice as heavy as an opera, "As everyone knows, the Rhine Line has always been under the jurisdiction of Flavius ​​Luca, and of course there is also a large area of ​​Belgian Gaul in the south. There are sufficient troops and weapons and equipment there. It can be said that Flavius ​​Luca now has unrivaled military strength."

He did not lie, so his words caused everyone present to nod in agreement, which also made him smile, which was exactly the effect he wanted.

The approval of other senators strengthened his confidence. He straightened his chest and said in a deep voice, "However, this great soldier-captain monopolized the taxes of half of the country's territory when he became the soldier-captain and has not returned them until now. He claims that all of this is to support his soldiers. Does that mean that the lives of these soldiers are more precious than Augustus's? Or is he letting Augustus, the great Valentinian III, starve in order to feed his own soldiers?"

This brought the issue to Augustus' head, and the focus was immediately raised to politics. He did not mention Luca's hard work and contributions at all, but just talked about the facts and said that Luca embezzled taxes to support the army.

"Disaster!" The elder shouted, his words and expressions were always so accurate, like a prophet coming to warn the ignorant people of the coming of the end of the world. "Neither Augustus nor the people present here can escape this huge conspiracy. Look, the rebel has appeared. He is like a bloodthirsty wolf hiding in the shadows, instigating the kind and honest ignorant people with his flowery words."

"Rebel! Rebel!" Thermitius' other staff shouted together, cheering and encouraging this senator who had the "courage" to speak up and boosting his momentum.

There were more than 3,000 senators present. Except for a few sensible ones, many confused people were more likely to follow the crowd and believe the words of Thermitius and others.

Describing Odysseus as an ignorant person was a naked insult, but he had to bear it. After all, Thermitius and his staff now controlled the direction of the entire meeting.

The word "rebel" appeared in the mouths of the elders, which meant that more uncertain factors would occur, at least if the situation was not stabilized quickly. The elders would soon be led away by Thermitius and other elders who supported Aetius.

No matter how much Odysseus said on the podium, he could not match the shouts of a large group of people. He had to admit that he was so outnumbered. Seeing the situation becoming more and more serious, he couldn't help but think of what Luca told him before he left: Don't try to convince politicians with words. Of course, this was not our original intention.

"Words are not your original intention!" Odysseus looked at the Senate faction in front of him who were constantly inciting hatred against Luca and encouraging the bewildered senators around them. Odysseus, who was alone and powerless, could not do anything inside. Even if he shouted, this tiny voice would be drowned out by the huge "rebel" slogan like a bell.

John Antiochus, who was sitting in the middle of the seats, realized that the situation was not optimistic. He stood up, walked around the venue and came to Odysseus on the podium. He leaned close to Odysseus' ear and whispered, "Sir, words will not convince them, especially the politicians who support Aetius."

Looking at the young stranger in front of him, Odysseus couldn't help but frown and asked, "Do we know each other?"

"No need to know him." John Antiochus said bluntly, "I am serving His Excellency Flavius ​​Luca. The reason I am here is to help you solve the problem when the situation is out of control."

Seeing the young man in front of him speaking with confidence, as if he had it all planned out, Odysseus nodded doubtfully. He couldn't believe that this young man who was several dozen years younger than him could be so confident and capable of dealing with this group of elderly "outstanding people"? John Antiochus saw Odysseus nod, he smiled and nodded in response and then left the venue.

However, within a short distance of thirty seconds, a loud "clang" was heard. The doors of several meeting rooms were violently opened, and a large number of fully armed soldiers holding shining iron swords rushed in.

As if it was planned in advance, the soldiers rushed in and walked slowly to the aisle in the middle of the seats in the meeting hall, surrounding the group of elder nobles who were still cursing Luca. The sharp blades were placed on the necks of the two old guys, and any movement would result in injury or death.

Except for some Vandals who were former officers, all the spoiled nobles were terrified and sat in their seats with their heads lowered, staring at the swords and not daring to say a word.

Even Odysseus couldn't help but gasp at the sight of this. He suddenly understood what Luca had said at that time. It turned out that this was what Luca wanted to express.

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When John Antiochus came back to Odysseus, Odysseus was still in shock. He trembled and stammered, "So, so, is this what Lord Luca meant?"

"Yes, Lord Odysseus." John Antiochus looked relaxed, like a general who had easily won a victory, clapping his hands and looking at his "captive" triumphantly. "Lord Luca is not good at speaking, but he is good at shutting up those who are good at speaking!"

"Flavius ​​Luca is a Roman hero!"

"Flavius ​​Luca is the savior of Rome!"

"hero!"

"Savior!"

This method really worked. In the Senate's meeting hall, words of praise for Luca were heard. However, Luca had waited too long for such praise...

(End of this chapter)