Rome Must Fall Chapter 11: Raid the farm

In fact, there was no need for Maximus to remind everyone. Everyone had already seen the conical mountain rising from the plain to the south. The upper part of the mountain was dark and obscure, while the lower part was lush and green. There is a faint smoke lingering on the top of the mountain...

Everyone stared blankly at this strange mountain famous in Italy. Even the brave Cross couldn't help but swallowed his saliva and said slightly nervously: "Is this Mount Vesuvius?"

"Yes." Spartacus responded in a very soft voice, as if he was afraid of disturbing anything: "Our destination is there - the furnace of Hevastos."

Although Mount Vesuvius could be seen, it was still quite a long way away, and it was already dusk. The gladiators did not want to rush at night, so when they saw a farm not far away, they rushed over. .

This farm has a courtyard that is not too large, and is surrounded by a criss-crossing fence of densely packed wooden slats and bushes. This is only used to mark the boundaries and prevent strangers from intruding. But they couldn't stop the ferocious gladiators at all. They rushed through the fence and knocked open the wooden door. The seven or eight people hiding in the courtyard were trembling with fear, but they did not flee. Instead, they saved a young man who was guarding them. In the middle.

One of the old men had the courage and asked: "You...who are you?! How dare you...trespass into Master Dionysius's territory!" As soon as he finished speaking, the local dog next to him barked wildly. The sound got louder.

Without saying a word, Cross stepped up and kicked him. The dog whined, flew out, and hit the wall. When it landed on the ground, its legs twitched, and the faces of the people in the courtyard turned pale with fear.

Spartacus looked at them and asked thoughtfully: "Who is Dionysius? The name sounds like a Greek?"

The young man seemed to have been humiliated and said with a trembling voice: "I...my father is a Roman citizen and an important member of Napoli. He has enough money to pay the ransom for me, but if ...If you dare to cause harm to me, he will definitely ask Naples to send troops——"

"Can Napoli's army be stronger than Capua's?" Cross said contemptuously, causing the gladiators to burst into laughter.

Spartacus said seriously: "We are not bandits, we are a group of fighters who declared war on Rome and fought for freedom!"

Although the young man tried his best to hide it, he looked at Spartacus as if he was watching a joke.

Spartacus didn't care and looked at the others: "Are you all slaves?"

The old man actually forgot his fear and said proudly: "I am a Roman citizen!"

"I...I am a free citizen." Two people responded in unison.

The remaining four nodded hesitantly and admitted that they were slaves.

"Will you join us?" Spartacus looked at them and his tone became kind: "This way you will have freedom and no longer have to worry about being bullied."

The four slaves looked at each other, then they all lowered their heads, and no one responded.

"Stop dreaming, they are all from my family...family members, and they will not become robbers with you——" The young man couldn't help but said, but was punched in the face by Cross, and he immediately fell to the ground. , Prolonged nosebleeds.

"Shut up, little bastard, or you will be careful about your life!" Cross threatened viciously, and then looked at the slaves: "If you don't **** speak, you will all be chopped into pieces and fed to the dogs!"

The slaves were trembling with fear, but they still shook their heads in refusal.

Cross was so angry that he drew out his dagger and made two false cuts in front of the slaves: "What's the use of keeping something that doesn't know what's good and bad!"

The slaves were so frightened that they immediately fell to their knees and begged for mercy.

"Cross, forget it." Spartacus's face also looked a little ugly, but he suppressed the anger in his heart and said in a deep voice: "Brothers have worked hard all day and are tired and hungry. Han Mirka, you and Maximus take these people to prepare food. If any of them disobey, you can deal with them as you like."

Spartacus looked at the young man lying on the ground again, and then said: "Altonix, take this guy into the house, we have to question him."

Altonix stepped forward and picked up the frightened young man like a chicken.

"You...what are you going to do-" The old man stepped forward to stop Altonix, but he reached out and pushed him, causing him to fall to the ground immediately.

He rolled over and got up, kowtowing repeatedly: "Please, please spare my little master! Please -"

"Go and work with me. If you do well, we will consider sparing your little master." Hamilka said coldly.

Seeing hope, the old man quickly stood up and said flatteringly: "Please do whatever you ask, we will do our best!"

"How many sheep do you raise?" Hamilcar looked to the side of the farm. Although the gladiators poured into the yard and seemed a bit noisy, they could not cover up the bleating sheep.

"Forty-five heads." The old man replied.

"Which of you is the best at killing sheep?" Hamilcar asked again.

The old man pointed at the two people.

"Immediately kill twenty of them and chop them into pieces for soup."

"Twenty?" The old man was obviously reluctant: "These are Attic sheep that can produce fine wool and are very precious-"

"Do you want me to kill all the sheep?" Hamilka's eyes widened, and the old man was so frightened that he stopped talking.

Hamilcar asked several gladiators to take two slaves to kill the sheep in the sheep pen behind the farm, and then said to Maximus: "Generally speaking, eight people can barely eat one fat sheep. We gladiators have enough food." Big, today's consumption is also big. I'm afraid three or four people can eat one. These 20 sheep are not enough for them, but they haven't eaten meat for a long time. If they eat enough at one time, it will make them uncomfortable, so Just the right amount, stewing broth is best."

Maximus listened attentively.

"Which one of you is the cook?" Hamilcar asked again.

"...The cook is inside." The old man hesitated and pointed to the kitchen.

"Haha, it turns out there is a girl hidden!" Some gladiators were overjoyed and rushed in anxiously.

Spartacus shouted: "Stop! Are you a bunch of donkeys who have never seen a woman! If you ruin the cook, who will cook for you!"

Although Spartacus usually treats other gladiators in a friendly manner~IndoMTL.com~, once he gets angry, he is very intimidating. The gladiators not only stopped, but also did not dare to look at him and refute. .

"Be patient for a while." Spartacus softened his tone again and said with a smile: "When we settle down and open up the situation, what kind of girl can't be found and insists on touching her? A cook who is stronger than a man!"

There was a burst of laughter in the yard.

Hamilka quickly led others in the farm to the kitchen, asking as he walked: "Is there any ready-made flour here?"

"Yes." The old man replied.

"Is there enough for each of us to eat two large round loaves?"

The old man looked around at the gladiators who crowded the courtyard, nodded and said: "...It should be enough, but with so many of you, it will take a lot of time to do it well."

"Don't be in a hurry, do it slowly, we have plenty of time."

Hamilcar's words made the old man feel nervous: It seems that these thieves will not leave here tonight.

There are two cooks hiding in the kitchen. They are not as scary as Spartacus said, but they are indeed not good-looking. They are the wives of two free men. After getting Hamilcar's promise "As long as dinner is prepared, they and their husbands will not be killed." After that, they started to boil water to make porridge, wash vegetables, and cook fish...

Several other people were led by the old man, some were responsible for chopping wood for the fire, and some were responsible for kneading, fermenting, baking...

Hamilcar walked back and forth in the small kitchen with a solemn expression, supervising their work. I think he did the same thing in Flora's apse kitchen this morning.

Maximus stood at the door of the kitchen, silently watching Hamilka arrange everything in an orderly manner.