The soldiers were almost exhausted of their last physical strength after a long day's march, and although the Roman legionnaires had undergone brutal physical training when they went to the front, since Marius's reforms, the Roman legionnaires have been nicknamed "Marius's mule", meaning a warrior who can run better than a mule. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 But the Germanic invasion was a very important event, and if it was not dealt with, all the results of Caesar's two years of conquest of Gaul could be lost.

But from the morning to the evening trot, such an inhuman march has reached the limit of the soldiers' physical strength, many soldiers under the rapid march of several days, a layer of blood blisters under the feet of the ground, in this case, Quintus had to let the soldiers rest in place, slightly alleviate the impact of the continuous rapid march on the body, but not to light fire, the food transport team has now entered the Belgian territory. These barbarians were not as friendly to the Romans as the Sekani and the Edui before them, they were beasts and had a strong hostility towards the Romans, but Caesar had two legions here, so he could barely suppress the resistance of the local tribes.

"You've been praying to that little wooden carving for days, can you tell me, is that your faith?"

Titus sat under a large tree and approached Appis, asking curiously.

"No, it's my lover."

Titus's question reminded Apis of Octavia, thousands of miles away, the girl he still thought about in the days of his escape, and the first woman he had thought about since he crossed into this world, until now, Apis still thinks that it was like a dream, so beautiful, but so illusory.

"She must be very beautiful to make you think about it every day, and I see that you take this finely carved wood carving every day after you rest."

"Hehe, yes. More beautiful than Venus. ”

Appis said, his eyes drifting into confusion as he sank into memories of the past again. In that small mountain villa, Octavia stood beside him in a crisp white dress, and the night breeze blew his hair, which was long black hair, with the same charm and beauty as the Oriental. (The ancient Romans were black-haired and black-eyed, and relatively small, and the blonde hair and blue eyes of today's Europeans were not actually characteristic of the ancient Romans.) ）

"When the war is over, you can be together."

Looking at Appis's nostalgic expression, Titus couldn't help but feel a little lonely. The slaves of this legion have the same beautiful but sad memories as Appis. Just as Titus confided in his first conversation with Appis, he longed to go back in time, to the time when his wife was not yet depraved, when they had a house of their own in Arettien, and in that small apartment, he lived a plain but happy life with his wife and daughter.

Appis noticed the sudden sadness on his friend's face and quickly guessed what was going on. In fact, many of these Romans who were captured as slaves had their own sad past, and on the surface everyone was reluctant not to confide their emotions, but when night fell, under the calm moonlight, in the gentle tune, how many people would recall and mourn their good old days?

"No, it's harder for me and her to be together after the war."

Appis turned his head to Titus and said. This sentence made it even more difficult for the Roman man in front of him to understand.

"Why?"

"For, my lover was the daughter of a noble, a powerful family in the city of Rome, and I was a slave before I left there. It is impossible for a slave and a nobleman to be together, unless there is a war, so that I can achieve merit and glory on the battlefield, get rid of the status of a slave, and have civil rights, so that there is a glimmer of possibility to be with my lover. ”

Appis said, his face showing helplessness and sadness.

A few days later, in the camp of the Roman Seventh Legion, there was a quarrel between the two commanders. Whether the information from the Gallic captives was true or not was felt to be discerned, the commander decided to send a spy to Cambrie, the largest town of the Belgians, to inquire about the truth. This man had to infiltrate the local Gauls, gain their trust, and then pass the latest information back to the Roman legion's base camp to prepare for the impending danger.

However, over the selection of spies, the two commanders had a fierce quarrel in the large camp. Cota thinks that it is not easy to let the spies sent to blend in with the Belgians, first of all, the Belgians do not need the Edui and the Sekanians, they have not yet surrendered to Rome, and they are hostile to the Romans, and if the Germanic troops in Gaul this time are true, then the Gallic tribes will rebel against Rome more blatantly, and barbarians like Belgium will definitely regard the Romans as a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh. If the spies sent at this time were Roman soldiers in disguise, they would not be able to gain their trust at all.

But the Gauls in the army had not yet arrived to surrender at the moment, so it was obvious that using the surrendered Gauls as spies would not work.

Cota thought that the slave named Apis was just the right person to be a spy for the occasion. Because Apis was a slave himself, it makes easy sense that a slave of a legion escaped from the legion in order to be free. Coupled with the clear slave imprint on Appis's chest, it was easy to be recognized and trusted by the Belgians when shown to them.

Secondly, Appis possessed superb fighting skills and good psychological qualities, and can save himself in case of danger, and there is no one in the gladiator's fighting skills who can match him.

Finally, there is the experience of Appis, according to the centurion Quintus, along the way, although the slave was not so honest many times, but he helped the squad carrying the grain to defeat the invading Celts many times, which shows that this gladiator slave wanted to make a career in the legion, so that a man who longed for glory would do such a task, he would do his best.

But another Legion commander, Sabinus, disagrees with Cota's statement, which is simple, that the Legion cannot put intelligence gathering on a slave, and on a slave with no experience in espionage. Sabinus felt it was too risky to do so. In the event that the slave rebels and false information arrives, the Legion will be in a very dangerous situation.

Eventually, Apis was called directly into the commander's tent......

"Gladiator, this is an extremely dangerous situation, we have thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to let you complete this task, go deep into the hinterland of those barbarians, and transmit the latest and most truthful information back to the barracks, and your success will be the glory of Rome. If this mission is successful, you will have the possibility of being free and enjoying Roman citizenship. Because you are glorious on the battlefield. ”

The first to receive Appis was the commander of the Seventh Legion, Kota. The Roman commander in his thirties had a vigorous appearance and an optimistic and positive personality, but he also tended to be aggressive and adventurous. It is clear from the selection of the personnel for this reconnaissance mission that no Roman commander would have asked a slave to do spy work, and Cotta did so under special circumstances. However, what will be the end, everyone is undoubtedly playing a big question mark in their hearts at this moment?