John. Antiochus, in accordance with Luga's instructions, set about assembling a sizable team of more than 100 people. Led by Antiochus, they boarded a heavy ship specially prepared for them and set off from the port of New Carthage towards Carthage.

In the battle that took place outside New Carthage and negotiated with the Alans, Luga's so-called victory because he had besieged the Alans' heavy cavalry and inflicted some casualties on their infantry, and had a certain advantage in casualties, did not make Luga feel a hint of clarity.

Instead, the Alans' retaliation ensued, leaving Luga overwhelmed for a while.

"Luga! Luga! ”

Early that morning, before Luga woke up, Andrew was already knocking on the door in a hurry.

"Oh my God, did it mean that the Alans came in?" Luga complained loudly that this was not the first time this had happened. Caravans were looted, watchtowers were attacked, and even when the fastest Roman cavalry reached as fast as they could, there was no trace of the attacker except for the corpses in the area.

"What's wrong, Andrew." Luga hastily put on his clothes and opened the door, and saw Andrew standing in the doorway panting, followed by two attendants, holding armor, ready to be dressed for Luga.

"This time it's very serious!" Andrew breathlessly said, "The Alans have attacked three villages outside of our city. ”

"How many of them came?" Luga asked.

"Hundreds, thousands!" Andrew danced at Luga, not knowing how to describe so many enemies. "They split into several parts to attack their targets, and the soldiers stationed in these villages were no match at all, and the civilians were powerless to resist. They took food crops and hung many civilians from trees on both sides of the road. ”

"Are there any survivors?" Luga asked.

"Yes, a large number of refugees, they poured into the city, and I sent soldiers to stabilize them in advance and arrange for them to wait in the church and around."

"You're doing a great job, Andrew." Luga's face was solemn, but even so, he nodded at Andrew: "As long as the refugees don't wander around the city, we can appease them, at least not enough for them to clash with the citizens." ”

Without further ado, Luga hurriedly put on his armor with the help of the attendants, and went out without getting into the carriage, and Luga ran all the way to the church in the distance under the leadership of Andrew.

This church is not big, it is reasonable to say that it is just a large chapel, and the believers of New Carthage often come and go here to confess, of course, there are not so many devout Christians in New Carthage, there are still many people who believe in older gods, and they prefer to tell stories of fantasy.

A large number of refugees were around the church, surrounded by soldiers, and their cries and pleadings rang out in unison, all telling of their misfortune and the cruelty of the Alans.

Luga had already reached the front of the church fence, and the first thing that greeted him was an indescribable cloudy smell, mixed with the smell of sweat and many unspeakable smells. It's all emanating from these refugees, and God knows how long they've been on the move.

"They say they encounter demons with horns, and they walk in the wind, whatever, it's all strange things." Andrew briefly talked about the attackers in the mouth of the refugees, and then said: "But all of us understand that there are no demons, just the Alans, they are the devils!" ”

"The farmers hadn't traveled far since they were kids, so they couldn't be expected to describe the attackers. But there is no doubt that it was the Alans, after all, the Romans were not good at riding horses. Luga said, straightening his clothes. The soldiers guarding the door opened the door, and when the soldiers inside saw that it was Luga, they quickly moved to divide the refugees into two groups and make way in the middle.

"Your Excellency." The centurion who was in charge of maintaining order here stepped forward and saluted Luga, who nodded in response, and then walked among them,

"My lord, please have mercy on us, my homeland demon has been destroyed!"

"My lord, I pray for your mercy for God's sake, we haven't eaten for two whole days!"

The surrounding refugees were unkempt and must have suffered a lot of grievances, and they came all the way to New Carthage, that is, to seek refuge.

"When did the attack take place, did they tell you?" Luga asked the centurion.

"Two days ago." The centurion replied, "There is no doubt that the Alans are from the horseshoe footprints and what they have done. ”

"What are their intentions?" Luga then asked.

"I don't know, my lord." The centurion shook his head, and continued: "It is certain that when they attacked the village, they went for the peasants' savings, and did not say that they wanted to exterminate them, and that some of the peasants said that they were driving them in the direction of New Carthage. ”

"This is to test whether I can live on the ground with refugees." Luga said, shaking his head and looking down, muttering, "It seems that such an attack is not an end but a beginning, and if more and more villages are attacked, then there will be more and more refugees." ”

The refugees' cries were incessant, and even though their lips were chapped, they still refused to give up hope and beg for Luga's mercy.

"Tell the nobles in the city to think of some way, such as getting something to eat, and take pity on these guys. And also! Luga leaned over to the centurion's ear and whispered, "I will send you another centurion, so that it is always good to keep an eye on it at night and prevent it from happening." ”

As he walked out of the church, Luga saw more citizens of New Carthage, looking around, their eyes full of doubt, they didn't know if it was really okay for so many refugees to be here. So they asked the soldiers on guard, but the soldiers couldn't give them a perfect explanation, only that they could be just in the law.

"We've got to respond, Andrew." Luga said as he walked back.

"So what should we do, Luga."

"We do what they do." After Luga finished speaking, he came to the stable, and looked at the horses and soldiers who were training all the time.

"That's it, let's leave in the afternoon." Luga went on to say to Andrew: "Bring your gear, let the soldiers be dressed and put on masks, we can't show our faces. ”

"So, how many people do you want to bring?" Andrew asked.

"Fifty." Luga replied, "If there are too many people, they will be exposed, fifty is enough, and I am especially advised to bring more food, after all, it is a long operation." ”

"You're going too?" Andrew asked.

"Yes!" Luga replied categorically.