"Quick, close the gates!"

Eventually, a bloodied Agrippa rushed into Lepotis with his defeated army. The city is guarded by his soldiers. Taking advantage of the storm and the earth and rocks, Agrippa led his army into the city, and the local militia who fled with them were taken as enemy troops and shot by the Roman defenders on the city walls...... For these routs were followed by the legionnaires and cavalry of Appis. In order to prevent the enemy from entering the city, Agrippa could only brutally order the soldiers to close the city gate in advance.

By the time the battle subsided, the number of soldiers following Agrippa had been halved. Most of them had lost their lives in the battle. Or surrendered to Appis. The remaining soldiers numbered less than two thousand, and almost all of them were wounded.

To make matters worse, as soon as Agrippa entered the city, he was greeted by a myriad of pairs of resentful eyes. The inhabitants of Grand Lepotis apparently knew something. The Roman general, who came with a sword and lied that he could give them freedom and wealth, was defeated. He deceived the inhabitants of the city. Shut out those who still wanted to enter the city, and, now, Lepotis the Great became the enemy of the Roman general outside the city. They became unforgivable sinners, and in the Roman laws of war, those who helped the defeated would be punished and punished in the same way as the vanquished. In other words, they will be slaughtered or enslaved......

"He deceived us, he was no match for Apis, who had an army of more than twenty thousand men, while Agrippa had only seven or eight thousand troops when he marched into the city, and most of them were Numidians, who had fled here after losing the previous battle to Apis, who was a liar, who deceived us and made our countrymen take up arms against the powerful general outside the city. The battle was impossible to win from the start, and Agrippa shattered our last hope of survival. Moreover, I have heard that Apis had previously sent emissaries into the city to negotiate with our magistrates in the hope of a peaceful settlement of the dispute. It was the magistrate who refused the messenger's request, and Agrippa brought power and sword into the city, all of which he had caused! ”

On the day Agrippa returned to the city, the people of the city of Leportis were full of resentment. When the women learned of the defeat of Agrippa and the imminent siege of the Roman legions outside the city, they hid in their homes and wept with their heads in their arms, and the children wept and trembled in the corners in horror. They don't know what's going on, they just feel that the world is a different place from today onwards. The people around him either knelt down under the shrine and prayed, or packed their belongings in horror and put them down uneasily. They probably all know that they can't escape.

Coupled with the fact that Agrippa had taken many of the husbands and children of the inhabitants with him, most of the women and old people in the city felt a deep disgust and hatred for the foreign general.

"Yes! He deprived us of everything! ”

A depressed street vendor shouted in response. All his money had been lost in the war, the GIs had plundered his property, and his two sons had disappeared in the battle.

……

"There's only one way out now."

After testing the opinion of most of the people in the city about Agrippa, the Roman knight named Obisus returned home and gathered all his relatives. Decided to make a bold and crazy decision.

"What's the way out?"

"Agrippa has been defeated, and now he is hiding in the city, but sooner or later he will be found by Apis, and it is only a matter of time before he dies or is captured. We can kill Agrippa before Appis can attack. Take his head and make atonement for his sins to Appis. Maybe Apis will let us go. I've heard that he was very kind and merciful to those who surrendered voluntarily along the way. ”

Obisus said in a low voice. This is a conspiracy, and if it is heard by the GIs outside, they will be in danger of having their homes raided. Of course, such a radical approach was also opposed by some cowards. They don't want to be killed, and they don't want to kill. He even imagined that the general outside the city would pity them when he led his troops into the city, and they would pity these civilians who did not participate in the war.

"But we can't kill Agrippa, he has guards around him, and he himself can't get close to him. Besides, even if we kill Agrippa, how will we get out of the city? You know, the city is still full of his soldiers. ”

Obisus' cousin said in a trembling and startled voice.

"Of course, we can't assassinate Agrippa alone, so I'm going to raise your money and hire some gangs to assassinate Agrippa. By the time of the turmoil, many refugees had gathered in Daurik, the city's largest gang. Most of them are homeless civilians who have no food rations and have to rely on these gangs to survive and do things for them. Of course, the gangs have nothing else to do, the thing is to plunder those who still have rations...... We can hire some of these men to kill Agrippa for us, and then sacrifice the head to Apis when the army of Apis enters the city. ”

"The idea is perfect, but have you ever thought that these gangs will also live, and after they take our money and kill Agrippa, will they take Agrippa's head and sacrifice it to Appis? You know, Agrippa's current value is incomparable. What we think of, others will think of. Besides, if the assassination fails, the guards in the city will find us! Even if the assassination is successful, Agrippa's men will not let us go, as long as the city is not breached for a day. ”

The opposition still exists, and no one can convince everyone to participate in the plan frantically.

"But after killing Agrippa, his soldiers may also be scattered, and without their master, who will make senseless sacrifices? As for whether the people of those gangs will take their heads and apologize to Appis, I have also thought about it, so I plan to hire thugs from various gangs, rather than staking all the money on one gang. When there are too many people, there will be chaos, and everyone has their own interests, and it is difficult for them to unite and plan something. And on the day of the assassination, we must also be present to prevent these hooligans from defrauding us of our money and not doing anything. ”

Obisus said confidently. It was as if he had already anticipated the scene of that day. Countless daggers pierced Agrippa's mighty body, sending blood out like a fountain. Yes, he was not only thinking about himself, more than that, he wanted revenge, Agrippa's legions took his son, and he hated this Roman general no less than that Phoenician merchant in the square in the morning.

"It is very dangerous to put your hope in the hands of these hooligans. We don't know if these people will tell Agrippa if they take the money, maybe Agrippa has arranged for people to be in these gangs in advance in order to stabilize the situation! ”

"It's almost impossible for Agrippa to protect himself, he doesn't have time to take care of the security of the city, and even if he wants to, he can't, the city is in complete chaos. Besides, do we have a better choice? It is better to hide here and cower and wait for death, so as to make a desperate bet to kill our enemies, and kill the plague god of war and trouble! ”

Obisus said, feeling more and more agitated, he wanted revenge, but not everyone in the family was willing to do so. After all, in the event of a failed operation, the guilt will implicate the entire family, all those who conspire.

While everyone was hesitating to discuss the matter, a woman ran to the door of the villa in horror with a bag of grain, but was pierced by a sword of a ruffian who was chasing her, and thick blood slowly seeped out of her clothes. The crowd went out just in time to see this scene. At this time, these timid and hesitant relatives decided to make a desperate attempt to assassinate Agrippa......