"Batinhos, we haven't seen each other for so long. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info”

After spending the whole autumn in the barracks, Appis finally had the opportunity to return to Rome in the winter with Caesar's army to participate in the so-called democratic elections. But unlike the other legionnaires, the first thing Apis did when he arrived in Rome was not to reunite with his family, nor to go to a high-end prostitute? Instead, he went straight to the house of the aristocrat Bartinius, the former owner.

"How did you get back?!"

Battinius looked extremely surprised when he saw Appis. There was even a hint of uneasiness and restlessness in his eyes. With the more than ten years of the Batinius family's guards, they have even drawn their short swords to get rid of this restless seedling for their master. However, Batinius quickly put a stop to the guards' actions. Although the Roman youth in front of him did not carry any weapons, Batinius knew that this former king of the arena was not so easy to deal with, and even if all the guards present were together, they might not be able to subdue him. Coupled with the fact that Apis was still with two legions behind him, Bartinius had to hold back all his uneasiness.

"Thanks to you, master, after I left Rome, I was stopped at the border and joined the legion as a slave, and after a series of life-and-death adventures, I obtained the military position I have today. It seems that the master you are still as good as in the past, full of energy, and the demeanor is still the same. ”

Appis deliberately raised his voice when he said the word "master", and the irony was self-evident. However, Batinius was not a foolish man either, and he knew that after more than a year, this slave gladiator, who had been played with by himself in the applause, suddenly came back at the risk of being recognized, and there must be something to find him.

A nobleman and a legion scout captain were not meant to be evenly matched, but Batinius feared that his actions had already been captured by Appis in front of him.

"Say, Arduneus, what do you want from me? Or is it coming back for revenge? We are all pure Romans, and there is no need to talk around the bush like foreigners. ”

Batinius forced a smile and led Apis into the house.

"I'm no longer Aduneus now, my name is Appis now? Gnaeus. At the same time, I have not come to trouble you, noble Batinhos. ”

Apis took off his thick cloak and walked into the Roman mansion where he had been imprisoned, followed by two legionnaires like bodyguards.

"Okay, Appis, what do you want from me? Money? Woman? Status? ”

Batinius asked straight to the point. A former slave of his own hands now stood in front of him, speaking to him almost on an equal footing, which Bartinius greatly disliked.

"I want you to feast on the Atiya family tomorrow night, you know who I want to see. Atia would never have come here at this time, but out of etiquette, her daughter Octavia would. As for Octavian, I suspect that in order to avoid gossip, the boy who has already been in the public eye will not come. ”

Appis said as he plucked the fruit that Bartinius' servant had brought to his mouth, one by one. This gesture made Batinius, who had always regarded himself an aristocratic person, feel a wave of resentment.

"If you want to see that girl, you can go to her yourself, there is no need to exercise such a sneaky act through me."

Bartinius replied with some sarcasm.

"We all know what a wise woman Attia is, and you know my purpose and thoughts, come on, great nobleman Batinus, we are allies now, how you have used me in the past years, and even made me bear the charge of assassinating Lucius, to achieve your own filthy purposes, I don't care about these now, and I don't want to pursue and take revenge, I just need you to help me contact Octavia. If you promise to help me do this, I will not mention all the grudges and hatreds between you and me in the past. ”

"You're threatening me? What if I don't say yes? Don't forget, there are still many people in Rome who know you, and in the eyes of Roman commoners and nobles, you are still the same Aduneus who absconded in fear of crime. ”

For Appis's counterattack and speaking to himself in this tone, Batinius's dissatisfaction almost reached the extreme of enduring.

"I guess you're going to reject me, Batinus. So I went to Bolivia before I came here, and this noble woman is still haunted by your framing of Graus, and it is you who have turned her from a noble noblewoman into a widow of disrepute. I think if there is no one in this world who hates you more than her. And she still had that contract for the sale of slaves. A year ago, I spoke for you, because by that time, you had already let public opinion follow your voice, and Graeus was sent to the gallows with little time to resist. But when all is over and everything is calm, do people prefer the clever tongue of a nobleman, or do they prefer to believe in a true contract and the dictation of the parties? ”

When Appis said these words, Batinius almost blushed, he was angry, he sighed, and glared angrily at the gladiator slave in front of him, who had suddenly ascended to the throne and had been like a mustard, but now he was also quite deep in the city, and his methods were viciously threatening him. Rome is like a large Colosseum, and those who are caught up in gladiatorial fighting will never be able to leave this huge Colosseum cleanly, and they will want to wipe the blood off their bodies unless you kill all the gladiators and become the final victor.

"You are a poisonous snake, a cunning snake disguised in disgusting sludge! I shouldn't have rescued you from that execution ground in the first place. ”

Batinius angrily accused, but Apis only replied coldly-

"But you were the one who sent me to that bloody execution ground in the first place. And it wasn't you who rescued me, it was Octavia, the kind girl who took the risk to get me out of Rome. And you, by the way, just sold her a favor. ”

"How do you know this?"

Batinius almost jumped out of his chair. He didn't expect that a slave, a slave who seemed so insignificant at the beginning, would always know the inside story, and only by virtue of his own speculation, he knew the cause of all the disputes in the first place. And, at the moment, this gladiator, the scout captain, also uses these insider stories to threaten himself. Apis's city apparently took Batinius by surprise.

"I don't have a lower IQ than you, Venerable Batinus, but you have a distinguished background, enough wealth to allow you to play with those whom you think are imbeciles, and I was once one of them, but I was fortunate enough to have achieved military exploits in the legions, in Gaul. So I came up, and the reason was so simple. ”

Appis said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. At the same time, Appis also knew that tomorrow night, at the dinner at Batinus's house, the nobleman in front of him, who was so angry and red-faced, had to be held.