Chapter 680 Northern Offensive (Part 2)

In the city of Saraco in the Dalmatian province, after the heavy rain, the air was filled with the smell of earth.

After the noise of the heavy rain, there should be a quiet scene, with people opening windows and breathing in the fresh air, but this scene was soon broken.

A scout cavalryman delivering a message rode his horse across the muddy road, galloping all the way towards the Governor's Palace in the city.

Along the way, men shopping and women carrying wooden baskets to buy things all avoided this reckless guy. The cavalry delivering the letter rushed all the way to the gate of the Governor's Palace until he was stopped by soldiers outside the Governor's Palace.

"Emergency, emergency!" the messenger shouted breathlessly to the guard at the door.

Hearing this news, the guard dared not neglect it. He snatched the parchment from the messenger and ran towards the Governor's Mansion. This urgent message was passed from soldier to soldier in the corridors of the Governor's Mansion until it reached Mojorian's room on the top floor.

Mojorian had just come out of the bath and was slowly putting on gorgeous and expensive clothes under the care of his maids.

He was an extremely clean fellow, at least this time he took a shower because the rain that had just rained that afternoon had splashed mud onto his calfskin shoes.

Although this reason is ridiculous, for someone who loves taking baths so much, any reason is not excessive as long as it is about taking baths.

Of course, he was not the only one. For the Roman nobles, body odor was truly intolerable. They could not tolerate onions and scallions, which could make the mouth smell very unpleasant, and they could not tolerate a pungent smell coming from their armpits.

The only way to get rid of this smell is to take a bath frequently. Yes, since high-ranking nobles have their own private bathrooms, taking a bath is as indispensable as eating daily.

The top floor is his dressing room, where he chooses what he wants to wear.

He enjoyed treatment almost like that of Augustus. Yes, the so-called feudal lords could do whatever they wanted in their own land. Neither Ravenna nor Aetius could do anything to him. After all, the Romans in the west, especially Augustus of Rome, had to rely on the nearly thirty field regiments under his command.

"My lord, my lord, urgent news from Pannonia!"

While Mojorian was busy changing his clothes, the shouts of soldiers were heard outside. The sound broke the silence and caused the maids beside Mojorian to turn around and look at the closed wooden door with a look of disgust.

"Let him in!" Mo Qiaolian said to the waiter standing at the door without turning his head.

The waiter understood and opened the door. The guard standing at the door was stunned for a moment when he saw the densely packed clothes inside, until the maid standing next to Mojorian deliberately coughed and he came back to his senses.

"Tell me, what's the hurry?" Mojorian slowly looked down at his purple and white toga, then turned back to look at the soldier who delivered the letter.

"Sir, urgent news from Pannonia." The soldier hurriedly bent down and respectfully handed over the parchment letter.

Mojorian walked up, opened the parchment letter and took a quick look.

"Hehe, it seems that Attila has not given up!" Mojorian's face raised slightly.

“Is this news from a few days ago?”

"The scout said so two weeks ago!"

"Have the civil servants copy this letter twice and send it to Ravenna and Constantinople respectively." Megarian said, and then handed the parchment letter back to the soldier.

Two months later, Ravenna and Constantinople simultaneously received this warning from Pannonia.

This is nothing short of a matter of renewed fear for the civilized world: Attila is about to make a comeback!

“Tap, tap, tap…”

In the corridor of the palace in Ravenna, a group of senior Roman military officers headed by Litorius gathered together. They walked hurriedly towards the council chamber of Augustus. The maids and courtiers along the way hid aside. Everyone knew that so many senior military officers gathered together in the council chamber of Augustus, which meant that something big was going to happen.

“Bang!”

The door of the conference room was pushed open, and only three people were seen sitting inside.

In the middle is naturally Augustus Valentinian, and sitting to his right is Aetius, who is considered the most powerful man in the entire Western Roman world. This is no longer a secret.

The person sitting on Valentinian's left was something no one had expected, at least not all the senior officers present. The person sitting on Valentinian's left was actually a younger Senator Maximus.

The fact that he actually had the right to represent the Senate really surprised everyone present.

"It seems that everyone is here." Valentinian sat lazily on the throne. He looked a little dull and even decadent. After all, he had no idea how much power he had to control these senior officers.

When he said yes, the officers present remained indifferent until Aetius nodded slightly to Lito, then they split into two groups and stood opposite each other.

Seeing such a scene was nothing short of a great irony for Valentinian, but he had long been used to being hurt, and he was not afraid of being insulted once or twice. After all, he had tried, but how could a weak chick fly in a storm? He simply gave up resistance and continued his miserable life of looking rich but not having a queen that Augustus should have.

"Now comes the problem, Caesar." Aetius turned around and looked at Valentinian. "This is a warning letter from Megarian, the Duke of the Dalmatia garrison." Aetius opened the parchment in his hand and gestured to the officers present, and then said, "The Hun garrison in northern Pannonia has taken action. They are heading northwest and out of the Pannonia province. This is not a good sign."

"How many people went there?"

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"Thousands and tens of thousands." Aetius answered an officer's question directly: "Mobilizing such a large number of soldiers in such a short period of time is a warning issue no matter what, am I right, Caesar?"

"Sir Aetius!" Maximus said when Aetius questioned Valentinian, "This is a serious issue. Caesar must be aware of the interests involved."

"I'm not talking to you, Outstanding One!"

Aetius interrupted Maximus directly. His attitude was so rude that he didn't give Maximus any face at all.

"I'm afraid you have to leave your bedroom that hasn't been cleaned for many years, Caesar." Aetius said to Valentinian unhappily, "Last time, we relied on Luca to stop Attila's attack, but now he is in Constantinople, and only you can come forward, Caesar."

Valentinian lowered his head. There was nothing wrong, but he looked like a child who had made a mistake. He was like a piece of wood, looking down at his two feet moving up and down under his robe, as if everything in front of him had nothing to do with him.

"Caesar?"

Aetius called out, but Valentinian made no move.

"Caesar!"

Aetius lost his patience and his tone became a little impatient, but Valentinian remained the same.

"Caesar!!!"

Aetius roared and threw the parchment in his hand to the ground.

“That’s enough!”

The silent Valentinian finally exploded. He stood up suddenly and glared at Aetius like an aggressive wild dog ready for a fight.

"Attila has long been frightened to the ground by the majesty of our Augustus. He mobilized the army to suppress the barbarians who were eager to surrender to our Rome. How could he come again?" Maximus took the opportunity to discredit Aetius.

"Yes! Yes!"

After Maximus's momentum, Valentinian also became aggressive. His expression was ferocious, and he stared at Aetius viciously like a hungry wolf. "I don't need your help, and I don't believe Attila will come again. All of this is a lie, a trick played by a child. Enough, enough!"

(End of this chapter)