Rome Must Perish

Depeitimas, a Roman veteran residing near Brindisi, has a story somewhat similar to Quintus. He brought a group of people who had previously served in the Roman Army to join the rebel army, significantly boosting their strength;

Cleonis, a horse herder from the southern Calabria, is the rebel leader who led his team into conflict with the First Legion of Fesaros.

However, when Spartacus introduced Cleonis to Maximus, the former horse herder didn’t display any radical behavior. He acted quite composed. Maximus was originally prepared to handle the criticism from some individuals, but so far everything remained calm. It seems Spartacus has made considerable efforts to reconcile the differences among the leaders.

While Maximus was quietly observing everyone, Cross suddenly struck the table forcefully and said, "I say, Spartacus, since we managed to gather today, shouldn’t we have something good to eat and celebrate? You wouldn’t say there’s not even a bit of meat here, would you?"

Spartacus put down the bread in his hand, wiped the crumbs from his mouth with his finger, and quietly remarked, "I do have some meat here, but there are tens of thousands of brothers outside. If I stew meat here, should I share it with them? If given, it won’t be nearly enough; if not given, we’re all suffering brothers, and no one is nobler than the other. If just because we are leaders, we can eat more meat while they only drink porridge, would they be willing to follow us to the battlefield against the Romans?"

Seeing everyone’s eyes on him, Cross laughed a few times: "I’m just making a suggestion, you’re still the same, giving a lecture. Alright, alright, no meat, then no meat, but we can at least have some wine, right? This time you don’t need to provide it, I brought a cartful, all fine wines from Turi, tasting no worse than those from Campania."

When Cross finished speaking, a few leaders instinctively swallowed.

"Tomorrow is Enomai’s burial, drinking at this time might not be appropriate." Hamilcar gently reminded.

Spartacus saw Cross’s face change slightly, and he quickly added, "Since Cross went through the trouble of bringing the wine, of course we should drink it. However, this moment isn’t quite suitable. After we’re done with our current affairs, we’ll gather to enjoy the wine from Turi properly. Cross, what do you think?"