Chapter 56 - 55 Deception
Thinking of this, Furrius was filled with energy and excitedly ordered once again: Have the soldiers quicken their march!
A Centurion heard this and couldn’t help but remind, "Sir, it’s scorching today, we must prevent the soldiers from succumbing to heatstroke due to over-marching!"
Furrius glared at him and retorted, "Precisely because it’s so hot, we need to speed up and strive to reach Naples as soon as possible. Then, I’ll arrange for the Napoletans to provide wine from Vesuvius to quench the soldiers’ thirst."
Furrius also had his subordinate convey his explanation down the line, and the soldiers ceased their complaints, instead erupting in cheers.
Seeing this, Furrius grinned smugly and looked up at the blazing sun in the sky: Cassinius, the camp officer, was once Valerius’s comrade-in-arms. As a seasoned veteran, he should slow the march under such scorching conditions... This way, by the time I set out from Naples to attack the slave camp tomorrow, Cassinius’s troops will be more than half a day’s march behind, and once I defeat those slaves, they might not even make it in time...
Just as Furrius was lost in his thoughts, a Roman Cavalryman raised a long spear adorned with feathers (indicating he was a temporary messenger to deliver urgent news) and galloped forward, with soldiers making way for him.
"Report, sir, more than five thousand slaves are approaching us!" The scout reported to Furrius with a tense expression.
"Five thousand slaves..." Furrius listened, not feeling tense but rather very excited: "These lowly slaves dare not stay in their camp and even dare to initiate an attack on me! They come at just the right time, saving us considerable effort!"
"Sir, there may be far more than 5000 of them, and they also have cavalry who drove us away, so we could not probe further." The scout reminded.