From them, the defenders learned that Antium had been captured by the Dionian army, and that Satnikum was the only Roman town still resisting, which caused a stir in the hearts of the soldiers.

It was under such circumstances that Quintus took matters into his own hands, concealing Camillus, and despite the opposition of the other generals, secretly led 4,000 soldiers out of the city in the dark of night, in a vain attempt to attack the Dionian camp, hoping to win a victory to boost morale.

As a result, not long after leaving the city, he was discovered by the secret outpost arranged by the mountain reconnaissance team on the periphery of the camp.

Davers quickly mobilized his army to encircle and suppress it.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Quintus hurriedly ordered a retreat, and personally led his team to block the pursuers, and finally died on the battlefield, nearly half of his army was killed or wounded or captured, and the failure of this sneak attack dealt a great blow to the morale of the Roman soldiers, and they began to say "...... As long as we hold on, our turnaround will come......" These words that they had previously believed were shaken.

While the rest of the city-states rejoiced in the harvest of September, the city of Satnikum was lifeless, with the sentinels at the head of the city rarely patrolling back and forth, leaning against the walls and leaning against them, thinking about their worries and rarely even talking to their teammates.

Filthy vomit and soldiers lying on the side of the road could be seen everywhere in the streets of the city, and the wounded barracks in the square were crowded with people, who insisted on seeking a doctor despite the pungent stench and the mosquitoes and flies flying in the sky, and their heart-rending coughing echoed almost the entire square......

In the bedroom of the City Lord's Mansion, Camillus suddenly opened his eyes in a nightmare.

The henchman slave who was standing restlessly in front of the bed immediately shouted with joy: "My lord, you are awake!" ”

Camillus struggled to flow his neck, looked around, and whispered in a hoarse voice, "...... Water...... Water ......"

The slave hurriedly picked up the jug that had been prepared, then lifted his head with one hand and fed him water.

After drinking some water, Camillus felt better and asked in a low voice, "...... How long did I sleep this time? ”

"Two ...... Two days. The slave said with a slightly dejected expression.

Camillus's face darkened when he heard this: he had been sleeping for longer and longer, and he seemed to feel that all the organs in his body were beginning to decay, which gave him a sense of urgency.

"Outside...... How's it going out there?! As soon as he said this, he realized that he was confused, how could the slave know this, so he changed his words and said, "Where is Lucius?" ”

"Lord Lucius is sick." The slave's body trembled.

Camillus was stunned for a moment, and his heart was more concerned about Satnikum City than about his son, so he then asked, "Go and ...... Titus called. ”

Titus temporarily took command of the army in his place, and as a result, he kept him informed of the state of the war.

"Mistress Titus is sick too, and he hasn't been here to see you in two days." The slave said eagerly, his face already a little pale.

"Titus is sick too?!" Camillus was stunned again, and his decades of war career made him feel a little alarmed, and he immediately asked, "What else...... Who's sick?! ”

"Lord Licinios! Lord Servius! I've heard that there are quite a few soldiers! My lord, will this ...... Wouldn't that be ......" The slave had a frightened look on his face, and his eyes were filled with fear, but he never dared to spit out the word.

Camillus's face was terribly pale, and he said in a deep voice, "Go and get the general who is not sick at once...... Ahem...... Call them all! ”

…………………………………

"You suspect it's the plague?!" Hearing the word come out of Megus's mouth, Camilus's cloudy eyes widened suddenly, and his parched throat sounded louder than it had ever been in consciousness, and despite the slightest suspicion before, he still didn't want to believe it was true.

"Your Excellency the Dictator......" Meyus, who was already battle-hardened, looked very hasty at the moment, and he said in a trembling voice: "...... In my decades in the military...... I've seen the plague once or twice...... And this time...... This time it's very similar to the previous ones...... The same is the fever...... Headache...... Vomit...... Have diarrhea...... Generalized weakness...... And there are soldiers who continue to have such symptoms......"

Camillus closed his eyes in pain, and the generals such as Megus and Aulus did not speak again, and all focused helplessly on the old man, who had completely lost his mobility.

After a long time, Camillus slowly opened his eyes, stared at the roof, his face full of sadness, and murmured, "O great Jupiter! …… Are you going to give up...... Abandoned Rome?! ”

As soon as his words fell, all the generals in the room burst into tears.

Camillus turned his head with difficulty, looked at the generals gathered around his bed, and his expression was calm and terrifying: Surrender to Obia Obia......

The generals led by Aulus and Megus were shocked when they heard this, and subconsciously voiced their objections: "Your Excellency the dictator, we must not surrender!" We can continue to fight......"

Camillus let out a long sigh and said in a low voice, "Before the plague spreads throughout the city...... Surrender to Dionia...... At least some people's lives can be saved...... This is me...... Camillus as Roman dictator...... The last order ......" With that, he closed his eyes, and two lines of cloudy tears slowly flowed down the criss-crossed ravines on his face.

There was silence in the room.

After a while, the generals walked out of the bedroom, each thinking about their own thoughts, and walked out of the city lord's mansion in silence.

"Are we really going to obey the dictator's orders and surrender to Dionia?!" A general finally couldn't help but ask loudly.

"What else can you do if you don't surrender?! Trapped in the city with nowhere to escape, we will only end up infected with the plague, and our souls will not be at peace after death! Another general couldn't bear the pressure in his heart, and his emotions were out of control, so he raised his head, looked up at the sky, and loudly questioned the gods who usually worshipped sincerely: "O Jupiter, aren't you the patron saint of Rome!" Now Rome is all about to fall, and where are you?! ”

When the others heard this, no one stopped their colleagues from blasphemous, but their faces were even more sad.

At this time, Aulus suddenly said: "The plague can infect us Roman soldiers, and of course it can infect the Dionians!" We can take advantage of the surrender and let the Diorians suffer from the plague as well, perhaps this is a turning point for Rome! ”

Megus and the others were stunned, and their eyes immediately lit up: the main force of the Dionian army is under the city, if they are also infected with the plague and most of the soldiers die, will they still have the ability to control the Latin region they have just conquered?!

…………………………………

In the tent of the Dionian camp, Davers was looking at a report of the battle that had just arrived from Campania, and soon a smile appeared on his face.

"Your Majesty, is Alexis sending good news?" Henipolis asked softly, curiously.

"The Grand Leader of Putney has sent an emissary to Alexis, asking for a truce! There were also Kautini who sent emissaries to Zantiparis to express the same meaning. Davos patted his arm with the letter, his tone brisk.

"No Karacheni?" Henipolis asked.

"Among the four tribes of Samonai, Caracheni is the most conservative and stubborn, but also the weakest, and this time their losses are not small, they think they are hiding in the mountains, and we can't do anything about them. Hmph, but don't forget, without the help of other tribes, other neighboring hill tribes, such as the Mathi and Helnikians...... Will be willing to settle old scores with them. Davers smiled contemptuously, "At that time, the Caracheni will come to us on their own initiative." ”

As he spoke, he handed the battle report in his hand to Henipolis, and then asked Croto Katátas next to him: "Kruto, what do you think should be done with the two Samonai tribes, Kautini and Putney?" ”

Since Davers had already told about his preliminary defeat and planning for the four major tribes of Samonai last time, and Crotto Kataks had also thought carefully these days, he said with some confidence in the face of Davers's teachings: Father...... The Samonai were once our allies, but they tore up their covenants, provoked wars, and plundered the people of their kingdoms and allies...... Therefore, this time we must increase the punishment and control of the Samonai race to prevent them from rebelling again in the future!

My suggestion is that the great chieftains of Putney and Kautini must go to Turriy to be severely punished, and the other tribal leaders must be punished accordingly, and the tribes must be held hostage.

As you said before, father, the tribes of Putney and Cautini must become completely vassals of the kingdom, and the land of Cautini that we now occupy will be all owned by the kingdom, and Cautini will only keep the land north of the Voltuno River, as a buffer between the kingdom and the hill tribes such as Citsini and Olongchi, and the new chief of Cautini must be elected from the original Naconian tribe.

We now have not much land to conquer in Pentney, but Pentney must cede the mountains adjacent to the Dawny region so that we can build a city there......

Furthermore, these two tribes shall not restrict the priests of the kingdom from establishing temples in the mountains, nor shall they restrict trade between the people of the kingdom and the people of Samonai......"

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Cloto has spoken very comprehensively and thoughtfully!" Tolmid exclaimed.

Davers nodded with a smile: "It seems that after the last school examination, although you have been busy with me in Radin these days, you have been thinking about how to deal with the problem of the Samonai tribe, in this suggestion, you have completely considered the problem from the perspective of the interests of the kingdom, and the plan given is more detailed, specific, and operable, very good!" ”