Chapter 730 Reunion

What Luca is left with now is not only shock, but also a limited amount of time.

What exactly happened that allowed the Vandals to pass through the Roman waters unhindered and then head straight for the symbolic place of Rome?

What else can this prove? Presumably everything is self-evident. Someone must have wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of Luca, especially with the help of the Vandals. After all, if he died at the hands of the Vandals, this would be something that the high-ranking officials of Western Rome and Gaiseric would be happy to accept.

The Vandal fleet was getting closer and closer. Why did they come and what were they going to do? Looking at the city, the army guarding Rome was not in a state of emergency at all. Also, although the coastal defense force that received the news first did not make any movement, it seemed as if they did not take the matter seriously at all.

The scouts sent out to investigate came back again and again to report the gradual approach of the Vandals. This was no longer just groundless news but a real fact before their eyes.

There are treacherous ministers. There must be treacherous ministers in the Western Roman court!

Although Luca was very clear about this, he could not directly point out the culprit behind this incident. After all, he did not have the necessary evidence, and the reality did not allow him to do so.

As he was thinking hard, a sharp pain in his head forced Luga to return to his bed with his head in his arms and fight the headache again, although he was already accustomed to it.

At noon, hurried footsteps were heard in the corridor of the palace. The voice sounded particularly familiar to Luga, like an old friend whom he had not seen for many years.

Yes, after spending a long time with others, you can even tell who they are from the sound of their footsteps, and Luca is no exception.

Luga opened his eyes. The headache had been with him for a long time and he had become accustomed to it under pressure.

He turned around and listened carefully. This slightly heavy sound of footsteps was quite familiar to him. At the same time, it was so vague. After all, he hadn't heard it for many years. After thinking about it carefully, he couldn't guess what it was.

"Caesar, here comes the quaestor Aresio."

The guard's words finally made Lu Jia realize what was going on. He dragged his sick body to his feet and shouted at the door with all his strength, "Let him in!"

“Squeak!”

The door to the room was slowly opened, and Alessio was seen first stepping his left foot into the door frame, followed by a white robe with a red toga.

He first stuck his head in and looked around, and when he found that there was no one else around, he plucked up the courage to take the second step.

"Caesar."

Alessio saw Luca at first sight, and he hurried forward to salute Luca.

"Don't be so polite, Alessio."

Luca waved slightly to Alessio, then waved at Alessio and said with a smile: "Come here, come closer, I haven't seen you for many years, let me see what you look like now."

"Oh my God, Caesar, you have become so unpredictable now!" Aresio smiled and sat on the stool next to Luca's couch.

Having finally endured a headache, Luca gritted his teeth and endured it, but his body looked even weaker. His face was pale, and he could only lie on the bed to talk to Aresio.

"Caesar..." Aresio looked at Luca lying on the bed with difficulty. Obviously, he saw that Luca was no longer the same as he used to be. He used to be a powerful general, but now he was just a poor man tortured by disease.

"As you can see, my friend," Luca smiled bitterly at Alessio, pointed at himself and explained to Alessio, "I must be very ridiculous now. I must have brought God's punishment on myself for the wanton killings in order to recover Rome."

"You are a human god, how can you say that, Caesar!" Aresio firmly rejected Luca's sigh, "It's just some minor problems that make Caesar worried. Caesar is a man blessed by God, how can he be easily defeated by these minor problems? Why don't you go to the church and pray to Papa? Maybe you can sense the existence of God through him, and then God will surely show mercy."

"kindness?"

When this word was mentioned, Luca couldn't help but smile and shook his head. "God does show mercy to the world, but such mercy is too expensive. If God's mercy is as worthless as the sea water, then everyone in the world can live forever. Although I don't know whether this thing that humans desire is a kind of happiness or a nightmare."

"Caesar, I don't understand." Alessio shook his head. "Although I know your intention of coming here, I have to admit that the current situation is very unfavorable to you."

"It seems that you are not living comfortably here after I left."

"Since you became Augustus of Eastern Rome, your supporters in the West have not been treated well. After all, you know the truth. Valentinian doesn't like those who support you, so most of them are forced to choose to support some guys who can provide them with shelter."

"They must hate me very much now!" Luca smiled bitterly, "Because they support me because they hope I can become Augustus of Western Rome or reunify Rome in the era of Theodosius. But we must admit that we don't have such strength now. Similarly, look at me, I am so weak and tired, like an old and sick lion. I am afraid I can't fulfill too many of my wishes."

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Luka rubbed his temples, as if this action could make him feel better. "Now every time I dream, I can dream of the wailing of the dead. They are crying and shouting to me, saying that they want to take my life and that I must pay the price."

"Now no matter what, Caesar! You have to leave!" Alessio's face was full of worry. Alessio reached out and held Luca's hand tightly. "The Vandals are so close, but the Central Field Army is not moving. There must be something wrong, Caesar!"

"I know, I know!" Luca smiled and patted Alessio's shoulder. He said to Alessio as if to comfort him: "The current situation has been clear since I learned about the appearance of the Vandals, but I promised Licinia that I must bring Eudoria back. This is a promise. I must bring Eudoria back convinced. This is also my responsibility as a father."

"But you must not forget, Caesar, that there is a Vandal."

"Yes, Huneric, the eldest son of Gaiseric." Luca nodded slightly, "Fortunately, I have a legion in my hands, so I can have a good talk with Gaiseric, just like in Great Sicily."

Luga's expression was cold, and he pursed his lips tightly, as if he was trying hard to make himself look not weak but as strong as before.

But Luca knew very well that he was Augustus, the face of an empire, and he could not let any enemy, whether in plain sight or hiding in the dark, see that he was no longer able to fight.

Just as Vespasian the Former Augustus said: A true Augustus should die standing!

Although Luca is far from that.

(End of this chapter)