Winter.

It's a particularly long winter, and even the monsoon from the Aesonian Sea doesn't bring warmth.

The seasons are a cycle, and if one of them changes unpredictably, it will be a disaster for everything that survives in this cycle.

Rome, protected by the gods, was also spared, with countless rats emerging from the ground and greedily eating the food and ordnance in the warehouse.

The sky was also unusually snowy, and the roads were swept again and again under the leadership of the Guardian. The next day, however, the icy snow still blocked the doors of every house.

Citizens are losing their lives every day under the ravages of hunger and cold.

Ten days later, the most unfortunate thing finally happened: the slums in the southwest corner of Rome fell silent.

It's winter, but the plague has broken out!

The bishop of the Neotheistic Church braved the blizzard with an oracle and openly rebuked the Roman emperor - Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus on the Senate Square.

He was rebuked for offending the gods, and those who believed in the new gods were freed from suffering.

Despite the paper-thin clothes on their bodies, and despite the hunger and weakness of their bellies, thousands of Roman citizens gathered in the square, roaring and reciting the teachings of the new gods, as if the bitter winter wind could not hide their anger.

The priests, who claimed to be orthodox Roman gods, were now cowering in the temple, holding purses full of ores (Roman currency), and ordering the guards to watch over the dried fish, bread, and wine in the iron-cast warehouses throughout the day.

When their faith was questioned and shaken, they did not, or rather did not dare to go out of the temple, to assert the legitimacy of the old god system they represented.

Famine and plague raged throughout the empire, and the city of Rome was not the only place to be punished by the new gods......

Meanwhile......

At the end of the Royal Boulevard in the Imperial Roman City, near the west gate of Rome and adjacent to the manure canal, in the garden of the senators, who had long since been reduced to the home of the homeless, an old scholar in thin clothes and with pale skin trembled his right hand and recounted on parchment.

"In the year 327 of the Imperial calendar, on the third day of the month of Exeta, the Emperor tyrant Caligula brutally murdered his son, the third prince of the empire, the great sage of Tuya, Breno. ”

"And that day was the first day of winter. ”

"In the beginning, no one predicted what this damn winter would bring to the Empire......"

"Because of this damn winter, the orcs, who had lost their food source, greedily turned their eyes to the western frontier of the empire, and in just one month, the provinces of Elsa, Kevis, and Bal fell one after another. ”

"The Empire had to transfer the three legendary legions of 'Guardian of the Gods', 'Shield of Rome', 'Emperor's Glory' and twelve standing legions to the west to resist the invasion of the orcs. ”

"Because the three legendary legions were transferred to the western border of the empire, Rome, which was only guarded by five legendary legions, could not continue to deter the barbarians in the far north, and that group of damned barbarians saw this opportunity, and actually dared to cross the province of Ivey and directly attack the Sunset Fortress in Andersen Province, I really don't know what the Holy Archon Richard who guarded the province of Ivy was doing!"

"So far, the defense of Sunset Fortress has been going on for forty-two days, and just yesterday, the legendary Imperial Legion 'Garcia', the 'Barbarian Slayer', set out with seven Imperial standing legions, and their target is the province of Taran, in the north of the empire - for now, it seems that the fall of Sunset Fortress is a foregone conclusion, and I hope those heroes can hold out for half a year......"

"And because of the transfer of the five legendary legions, the nineteen standing legions, in the south of the empire, Carthage, across the sea from the empire, is also ready to move, according to the news that should come out of the empire, the two Sufites of Carthage (the title of the ruler of Carthage) and the nobles of the Carthaginian Senate have reached a secret agreement. ”

"Now the Carthaginian top is more united than ever, and there are thousands of warships in the harbor ready to move, and their goal is very clear - the Stanway Islands of the Empire...... I hope Grand Duke Glia can stop them......"

"It's been an eventful winter, and in a few days, summer will be in a few days. However, bad news continued to come from the border, and the mages who stayed at the Erwin Observatory on the outskirts of Rome also said that the weather showed no signs of improving, and that the harsh winter would continue. ”

"This is a sign that the punishment of the gods for Rome is not over yet......"

When he had finished writing, the old scholar swallowed his spit, and while the homeless people around him had not noticed him, he crept into the center of the garden and stood alone next to the statue of Pompey in the corner of the park.

The statue, which symbolizes the great leader who led Rome and the Senate to countless achievements, has become so dilapidated that it has lost its left hand, which should have reached the sky.

Before it was destroyed, the statue symbolized Pompey's prayer for Rome to never fall......

The old scholar looked up at Pompey's statue, folded the parchment gently, and carefully tucked it into the gap between the soles of Pompey's feet.

Then he stood in front of the statue until he ......

A group of soldiers in light armor, wearing masks, and armed with steel daggers came out of nowhere and surrounded him.

The old scholar sighed, he knew that the most loyal eagle dogs of the emperor would not let him go.

"I, Kailevi de Pompey, will not ...... to the Emperor"

Moments later, the old scholar slept in a pool of blood, his body melting over time, until there was only a puddle of blood left in front of Pompey's statue, and the parchment disappeared before the old scholars could find what the old scholars called the "eagle dog".

The garden of the senators was quiet again, and a man covered in black robes passed by and took a look, and he muttered, "What an old antique ......"

......

Half an hour later, in the circular chamber outside the Roman Palace, two people sat face each other at an empty wooden table, Caligula and the black-robed man.

Caligula, known as a tyrant, was not as brutal and vicious as people say. On the contrary, he was now pale and decadent, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.

If you look at it normally, he is just a middle-aged fat man who has not had time to get rich.

After a moment of silence, Caligula was the first to speak: "Richard, what are you doing here?"

"Let me see how your complexion is now, Your Majesty...... According to the tradition of the Holy Family, you should be mine...... Father-in-law. Richard pulled his black hood back, and his excessively delicate appearance compared to the Romans appeared.

"Father-in-law? Caligula shook his head, he was silent for a moment, and asked with some hesitation, "Fiona...... How's it going?"

"She's fine, Your Majesty. She and my two children, too, were fine. Richard replied as he took out the parchment he had taken from the Senator's garden and threw it at Caligula.

"What is this?" Caligula hesitantly took the parchment, and after seeing what Kailavi de Pompey had left on it before he died, he was silent for a moment, and said with a helpless wry smile: "This old scholar, I have seen, has a very stubborn temper. I wanted to be the director of the Library of Rome, but after I refused, I have been hostile to me......"

Yes, but he still sticks to his principles, and in this case, he would rather lose his life than record history...... Although this history is wrong. Richard said quietly, not looking at Caligula's tired eyes, for ...... The current situation in the Roman Empire was planned by him......

Caligula looked at Richard with deep meaning and asked with a smile: "You say this history is wrong? Why, do you want to believe me, a tyrant who killed his own children because of his faith, who was the murderer of the Senate?"

"Would you like to believe it?"

"You are a killer of the Senate, this is right, after all, the death of your sister has a lot to do with them......"

"But in the end, I found out that it was the hand of your holy clan!"

Caligula slapped the table and stood up angrily, his hands on the table, leaning forward, the anger in his eyes undisguised.

Richard could only apologize for this......

"That's not what I did...... It was the Senate that bought that debilitating poison directly from the Council of Elders, so ......"

"So the death of my poor sister, Yulia Drucilla, has nothing to do with you? well, let it be as if he had nothing to do with it...... You know, if it weren't for Fiona, you wouldn't be here today!"

"Oh? I don't think so, Your Majesty. If your Praetorian Guard is still at your disposal, and if your so-called shadow hunters are still at your service, Rome will not be in chaos...... And it's not going to meet me in this place, is it?"

Richard very patiently ripped off the fig leaf from Caligula's body, piece by piece. I just didn't see the angry eyes of my nominal father-in-law.

"Say it...... What are you looking for me for? Why are you looking for me, a wasted man who can only wait to die in Rome?"

"I want to make a deal with you......"

"Just like you and the Kingdom Alliance, the damned Holy See, and my most faithful friend, Gloria, right?"

After saying that, Caligula looked at Richard mockingly, he was not stupid, after learning the truth about his sister's death, he knew that it was not that simple...... He also had a rough idea of all this before his own people were completely controlled......

The decline of Rome had long been warned of by the Guardians of Rome. Unfortunately, although he tried his best to maintain the strength of Rome after he came to power, he failed because of the decaying Senate......

But this will not bring Rome to ruin...... It's still just going to make it go down......

But some forces don't want to wait...... And so, all of this happened.

Caligula's heart was cold, like this damn winter......

He knew that his sister's death might not have anything to do with Richard.

But Richard was definitely involved in the conspiracy!