Rome Must Perish

Gowes was new here and had originally intended to get to know more of his compatriots, so he smiled and said, "I am Gowes, from Segestica. And you?"

The name "Gowes" was mentioned, but none of the people in the room seemed surprised. Evidently, they were unfamiliar with the name, which left Gowes feeling slightly disappointed.

"My name is Teressa, from Brochi. Besides you, the rest of the people in this room are all from Brochi—" The man named Teressa puffed out his sturdy chest with his thumb and emphasized, "And—I am the dorm leader of Room 10!"

Gowes immediately asked curiously, "What is a dorm leader?"

"This is an appointment given by the tribe, tasked with managing the brothers in the entire room, ensuring everyone abides by the tribe’s decrees, works diligently, and helps everyone become official tribe members as soon as possible to acquire the land we want!" Teressa leaned forward, stared straight at him, and said in a stern tone, "Do you understand?!"

Gowes met Teressa’s sharp gaze, neither submissively nor arrogantly, and replied, "I think I understand a bit."

"Good that you understand." Teressa continued to stare unflinchingly at him. "I want to warn you first: there are some Pannonian reserve tribe members here. No matter how deep your past hatred for them runs, within this tribe, do not clash with any Pannonians! And absolutely do not injure or kill them! Otherwise, if you act on impulse, all of us in this room will suffer alongside you! If we ever see you showing such tendencies, we will intervene to stop you first. Don’t blame us when the time comes, do you understand?!"

Upon hearing this, Gowes felt instantly enraged and questioned, "Are you truly my fellow Skodisqi tribesmen?! Have you completely forgotten our hatred for the Pannonians? Our tribe was destroyed by them! How many of our comrades were brutally killed by their spears? For more than a decade, they have never stopped oppressing us! Have you forgotten all of this? Or have you already succumbed to the Nix Tribe and decided to make friends with the Pannonians?!—"

"Shut up, you Segestica outsider! You don’t understand anything, so don’t spew nonsense, or you’ll regret it!" Teressa glared fiercely, raising his fist and shaking it in front of Gowes.

Gowes showed no fear and stiffened his neck, leaning forward as he defiantly retorted, "What’s this? Afraid to fight the Pannonians, so you bully your tribesmen instead? Come on, let’s see who’s scared!"

"Who’s afraid of fighting the Pannonians? You little brat know nothing! Back in Brochi, we formed a team with the help of the Nix people to defeat the Brochi people’s troops multiple times. We destroyed their villages, killed their men, ravaged their women, and scared the remaining Brochi people into trembling in their forts..." Someone next to Teressa proudly rebuked.

Gowes felt stirred and pressed on with the same tone, "If you’re heroes resisting the Pannonians, then why are you now working the fields together with your enemy, the Pannonians?!"