"I recognize you, Spartan Warrior of Thrace, a legend of the arena! And you, the lion from Gaul! Could you spare my life, seeing as I'm a fan of yours, always cheering for you in the arena? My family depends on me for survival!..." the driver pleaded again.
Cross seemed somewhat moved by his words, but Spartacus calmly said, "Tie him up and take him with us."
Cross was a bit surprised: "Spartacus, why make things so complicated? Didn't we always just take the stuff and let the people go before?"
There was a spark in Spartacus's eyes as he whispered, "If the Capua People don't know we've hijacked a wagon carrying gladiator weapons, and think most of us are unarmed, when their garrison troops come to pursue us unsuspectingly..."
Cross's eyes lit up, his crimson tongue licking his lips: "Seems like we don't need to rush to escape, let's hit them hard first!—"
At that moment, Maximus poked his head out of the cart: "Spartacus, there are a total of 60 short swords, 15 longswords, 15 long spears, 40 square shields, 40 round shields, 90 helmets, 90 pairs of shin guards, and 5 fishing nets in the cart."
"That's a lot of stuff!" Cross listened excitedly, even forgetting to scowl at Maximus.
Spartacus was somewhat surprised: he knew Maximus could read and write, but he didn't know this young man had such good arithmetic skills, being able to tally the cart's supplies so quickly. It should be known that almost all of their number, whether from Thrace or Gaul, were illiterate gladiators who needed to count on their fingers for arithmetic under ten, Hamilcar being the only reliable one, but even he couldn't match Maximus's speed.
Spartacus gave Maximus a deep look and asked, "How far is the temple you mentioned earlier?"
Maximus immediately stood up in the cart, surveyed his surroundings, compared them with the original owner's memory, and said uncertainly, "It shouldn't be far, not more than five miles."
"Take us there; we'll rest there tonight."
.............................................
Maximus now deeply regretted bringing the gladiators to Flora Temple; some of them actually violated several priestesses in the temple, one of whom was an elder, using this to vent their desires and hatred toward the Romans. Among the crowd, the priestesses' shrill screams lashed at Maximus's guilty conscience like a whip. He wanted to escape from the temple's main hall that tormented him greatly, but was blocked by a gladiator.
"Maximus, Cross said you can't leave as you please; go back and get some sleep," the man said coldly, arms crossed.
From the original owner's memory, Maximus found the man's name, Torquato, a Gaul, a veteran among the gladiators, and a supporter of Cross.
With you doing these things, you still expect me to sleep!… Maximus suppressed the urge to curse, and his tone became firm: "I need to see Spartacus, I have something important to tell him, something that concerns our brothers' lives! If you don't let me see him, fine, it'll be your responsibility when something goes wrong tomorrow!"
Torquato was taken aback, "You want to see Spartacus?"
"Yes!"
"What's the matter?"
Maximus ignored him and turned to walk back.
"Wait!" Torquato stepped aside from the door, warning, "You can only go see Spartacus, don't wander off!"
Maximus ignored him and walked straight out of the hall door.
Torquato followed closely, accompanying him to the rear hall like a prisoner escort.
The ajar door of the hall let out light; Maximus pushed the door open and the eyes of Spartacus and others, discussing matters inside, immediately focused on him.
Maximus swallowed a gulp and pretended to be shocked, "Spartacus, please stop those brothers who are violating the priestesses; they are desecrating the gods and will incur curses and punishment!"
"Those are Roman gods, they can't punish us Gauls. Our brothers have suffered enough from the Romans, it's just right to vent their anger on Roman women." Cross, unconcerned, mocked Maximus: "You stand up for those Roman women, no wonder you're a traitor raised by Romans!"
Maximus ignored Cross. Looking at Spartacus, he said solemnly, "They are not ordinary Roman women; they are respected priestesses. Our actions will only provoke Roman anger, not only from the Roman Nobles but the Roman citizens will also show hostility toward us! By then, everywhere in Italy, Romans will oppose us, and we'll be blocked at every turn!"
"We're meant to oppose the Romans. Anyone who dares to intervene, we will kill them; it's either us or them, nothing too significant." Enomai said gruffly, with a disregard for life and death, only seeking a good fight.
Enomai was a Germanic, with blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and an exceptionally tall and burly figure, like a tower of iron. He was the strongest among the gladiators, though his sword fighting skills were weaker than Spartacus and Cross, but was already infamous in the arena of Capua.
"Roman citizens are different from Roman Nobles, especially those Roman poor who live hand to mouth on free bread, having lost their land, burdened by a mountain of debt. Their living situation is not much different from ours, and they despise Roman Nobles more than we do. They might join us and fight against the Roman Army, because only through this can they regain what they want..." Maximus explained seriously.
In his past life, he wasn't a history scholar, but a freelancer who liked to work from home, doing writing and graphic design, being a homebody. Playing games was his greatest hobby, followed by watching movies and TV shows online. He lived leisurely but was diligent when it came to work, especially when watching history documentaries or playing war strategy games. He always liked to understand the historical background, weapons, and equipment first, which gave him a better sense of immersion. There were quite a few films related to Spartacus. Though the real historical records were scarce, Maximus had once done detailed research on the historical background of that time.
"Nonsense!" Cross rebuked loudly, thinking Maximus was fabricating reasons to help the priestesses.
But Spartacus was greatly moved, took a few large steps toward Maximus, and urgently asked, "Is what you're saying true? Roman citizens will help us fight the Romans?!"
Spartacus's extremely excited expression left Maximus momentarily stunned: You wouldn't know this? Historically, that's exactly what you did, which is why your rebel army grew like a snowball, eventually becoming a major threat to Rome!
But Maximus soon realized that this ancient hero standing before him, who grew up in an isolated Thracian tribe and later joined the Roman Army to fight in Little Asia, was caught as a deserter, and eventually transported to Italy to become a gladiator, confined in the Gladiator School, couldn't possibly have a deep understanding of Roman society, nor could he have the foresight. Everything he did was merely in line with the tide of history...
Thinking of this, Maximus immediately realized another issue: compared to these gladiators, he wasn't exceptionally brave, didn't know how to lead troops in battle, didn't know how to farm or herd, nor did he know how to trade goods. The only thing he surpassed everyone in was his extensive knowledge, enabling him to understand the present and foresee the future. This knowledge should allow him to secure a foothold in this group, with enough authority to speak!