Chapter 585: Arena (Part 1)

The atmosphere at this moment was extremely awkward. Fortunately, the guards around Luca were tall and strong, forming an indestructible human wall to separate the outside from the inside.

Not many people understood the situation, not to mention that the awkward atmosphere that had lasted for such a long time was just needed to show the onlookers that nothing had happened that shouldn't have happened.

Luca then signaled Andrew to let down his guard, then hugged Valentinian and used his usual friendly gesture of kissing his face. Poor Valentinian was helpless in the face of Luca's tremendous power and could only be like a puppet at the mercy of others.

The action at this time was appropriate, but it allowed the citizens to see how "intimate" the two Augustus were, and they couldn't help cheering. Admittedly, they still hoped to see even so, after all, if the two Augustus could show the proper intimacy, it would reduce the occurrence of civil war.

Then, Luca took Valentinian's hand and walked towards the door of the palace, because according to convention, they needed to pay a visit to the Pope.

Leo was standing in front of the beautifully carved gate at the top of the steps of the palace. He was dressed in a white robe, plainer than the soldiers standing guard beside him. This was in line with Christian morality. He had a golden cross on his chest and a gorgeous scepter in his hand. His expression was subtly changing as he stood there, and his half-smile was hard to understand.

Luca took Valentinian and knelt on one knee in front of Leo, signaling to the Pope.

"Rome welcomes you, Augustus of Constantinople." Leo said in a deep voice, stretching out his right hand and making the sign of the cross in front of him.

"That's of course great, papa." Luca bowed slightly. To Leo, Luca's status was different from before, so there was no need to be so respectful to him, but proper courtesy was still necessary.

"If you have any questions, you can come to the church to find me." Leo nodded at Luca. He didn't seem to like such a lively scene. It might be that the Christian leader was so pretentious and incompatible with the customs of the world.

The simple visit soon ended because a grand gladiatorial show was about to take place in the Colosseum. Both the audience and the gladiators were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the two.

“It’s a special day, so enjoy it to the fullest!”

The audience cheered continuously, and when they saw the two Augustus appear in the arena, they broke into thunderous applause. They had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Various fruits and wines had already been prepared on Augustus' seat, which was covered with thick fur blankets. Valentinian and Luca stood side by side, waving to the citizens who came to watch the fight under the noisy music.

Valentinian said nothing during the whole process. He was frightened by Luca's threats at that time. Fortunately, he had clearly realized his

"So, what's going to be performed today?" Luca sat firmly in his seat. This was his first time watching a competition in the Colosseum in Rome, and also his first time sitting in such a prominent position.

"This is the battle that will make you famous, Caesar." The financial officer Alessio, who was sitting next to him, said to Luca slowly.

"My famous battle?" Luca laughed dryly. He didn't even know what his famous battle was. "Was it Greater Sicily? I gave Gaiseric a good kick there."

At this point, Luca couldn't help but turn his head and look at Eudolia who was sitting not far behind him. Eudolia seemed to be very interested in such a show. She closed her legs tightly, put her hands on her thighs, clenched her fists, and the expression on her face was both nervous and expectant.

She must be curious about the life of this always fearful guy. Looking at her nervousness, Luga couldn't help but reveal a smug smile. Then, he became even more looking forward to the content of the performance.

However, Luca's smile soon disappeared, replaced by a gloomy face mixed with dissatisfaction and a hint of anger.

It must be her sixth sense that made Eudoria realize something. She quickly withdrew her gaze from the distance and looked towards Luca. Seeing that the situation was not good, Luca quickly turned around to look at Alessio and randomly found a topic to chat with Alessio. It was as if nothing had happened.

Eudolia looked at Luca's back, her eyes full of confusion. She lowered her head and thought, feeling that she seemed to have seen something wrong.

"What's wrong?"

Huneric came over and asked Eudoria, who shook her head, smiled at Huneric and said, "Nothing, nothing."

At this moment, a loud horn sounded, attracting the attention of everyone present.

"Look, look, it's started, it's started!" Aresio looked very excited. He pointed at the speaker on the podium and said to Luca with a smile.

"Look, the ignorant Sassanid king Yazdegerd led his army to invade our Roman territory, and the brave Augustus Theodosius led the powerful and invincible Roman army to meet the enemy. The two sides fought on the dry land..."

As soon as the speaker finished speaking, a horn sounded, and eight lobbyists stood on both sides of the podium. They wore exaggerated brass masks and were covered in white robes. Their movements were as exaggerated as their attire, and they deliberately spoke loudly in a very low voice: "The Yazdegerd army is approaching, slaughtering our Roman people crazily. Theodosius led the army to fight against the despicable Sassanids and vowed to drive them out completely. Look! Our brave Roman soldiers!"

Another horn sounded, and the iron gate of the arena on the right side of Luca slowly opened, and a group of gladiators rushed out. There were about fifty of them, each holding a broad shield and a spear, and the leader was holding a small round shield and a harpoon. Each of them wore an ancient helmet and a simple muscle breastplate, showing their strong muscles in front of everyone.

This is very different from the attire of real Roman soldiers in combat. It's just for show. Who would use such conservative and ugly attire?

A tsunami of cheers erupted from the audience, with even more screams coming from the women. Many of them had never witnessed a war in person, so they could only feast their eyes on it.

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“Behold, our Augustus Theodosius!”

"Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!"

The audience cheered loudly as they saw a gorgeously decorated chariot slowly emerge from the largest archway, with a fully armed charioteer and a man in golden armor on it. That guy must be the actor who played Theodosius.

He appeared on the field like a real Augustus when the audience was cheering "Caesar", holding high the equally gorgeous iron sword in his hand, which caused thunderous applause.

"This is a nobleman from Dalmatia." Alessio came up to Luca and said to him, "He spent a lot of money to play this role."

"Isn't this character in danger?" Luka was a little confused. "This is an arena. The real fight should be the same as on the battlefield."

"Ha, who knows?"

"Then who will play me?" Luca became even more curious.

"A warrior, at least that's what they call him. His name is Bisius the Death Scythe, a Thracian, the most powerful gladiator alive. He would be a great help to you, at least that's what the courtiers who are hosting the event think."

"Then I'm really looking forward to it!" Luga's eyes sparkled and his emotions became a little excited. It was not difficult to see that he was so excited and couldn't wait to see the next changes.

(End of this chapter)