Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 936: Sextus and Stolo

When Daionia defeated Rome and forced the Southern Etrurian City-States to submit, the Northern Etrurian City-States watched from the sidelines. They feared this southern kingdom, which was far stronger than Rome, might become a massive threat akin to the Celts. Once news of Rome's total destruction arrived, the leadership of the Northern Etrurian City-States could no longer sit still. They hurriedly dispatched envoys to Rome to ascertain the intentions of the Theonians. Securing an alliance with Daionia was exactly what they now desperately sought.

Davos set down his wine cup and looked around at the excited envoys. Suddenly remembering something, he took the opportunity to say, "Archon Katamentalus, the territories of Antium, Velitrae, and Satricum that the Romans forcibly took from you last year have already been reclaimed by Daionia. Please notify the exiled Volscian citizens of these three cities upon your return so they can head back as soon as possible and retake control of their homes!"

"Uh..." One of Katamentalus's main reasons for coming to Rome had been to negotiate the ownership of these three towns. He never expected Davos to simply return them to the Volsci without making a single demand. For a moment, he was utterly lost for words. After a brief pause, he said, his voice trembling with emotion, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your selfless assistance to the Volsci! Thank you to the Theonians for the tremendous help you have given us! As far as I know, many of Daionia's brave warriors were wounded or even killed while helping us retake these three towns... Because of this, the Volscian alliance is willing to offer Your Majesty a substantial amount of wealth to compensate for Daionia's losses. I know these gifts cannot fully convey the Volscians' gratitude..."

Davos answered sincerely, "The Volsci and Daionia are allies. By helping you reclaim your lost lands, Daionia is merely fulfilling its obligations. I am grateful for the Volscian alliance's gift, and I deeply appreciate the profound bond the Volsci share with Daionia. However, I believe this wealth should be kept for the Volscian people, who have suffered the bitter hardships of war and urgently need to rebuild their homes!"

Katamentalus was even more moved and was about to speak again when Nemeri abruptly stood up beside him. "Respected King, we Hernicians are also immensely grateful—"

Davos waved a hand, his expression turning serious as he interrupted. "Nemeri, if you are also planning to offer Daionia supplies, there is no need. I know that in this war with the Romans, you Hernicians suffered the heaviest casualties. Let alone rebuilding your homes, even your food is severely lacking. I fear just making it through this winter will be a massive struggle for you. Therefore, I have decided to gift you a shipment of grain to help you weather this immediate crisis. If you face any other difficulties while rebuilding your homes later on, you can come to Rome to request our aid. The administrative officer of Rome will do his best to assist you."

Nemeri froze. He wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat. His lips trembled, and he began to choke back sobs.

Katamentalus took the opportunity to loudly declare his heartfelt gratitude. "Merciful King of Daionia! The entire Volsci people thank you! To be an ally of Daionia is our greatest honor and pride!"

Witnessing this exchange, the other envoys empathized deeply and breathed a collective sigh of relief. Not only did it drastically reduce their wariness toward the mighty Daionia, but they all shared the same thought: if Daionia treats the Volsci and Hernici so well, their own people would surely receive the same exceptional treatment once they became allies!

...

Over the following days, Tapirus kept busy negotiating with the various envoys and drafting alliance treaties. During this time, a notable incident occurred.

After Katamentalus returned and relayed Davos's message to the Volscian alliance, they began mobilizing the exiled citizens to return to their homeland.

However, the citizens of Satricum refused to go back. Their reasoning was simple: the town had been cursed by a demon and ravaged by a plague, making it no longer fit to inhabit.

This was despite Asistes, the administrative officer of Rome, personally assuring the Volscian envoys that after a long period of observation by Daionia's doctors, the territory of Satricum was completely safe and no further outbreaks of plague would occur.

Yet the majority of Satricum's citizens still refused to go.

After several rounds of discussion, the Volscian alliance leadership took into account that the war had caused a sharp decline in their population. With the Volscian territory now sparsely populated, they finally reached a decision: they would gift the territories of Velitrae and Satricum to Daionia as a small token of gratitude for their ally's selfless aid! (They included Velitrae because they worried that giving away only Satricum would seem like they were merely dumping a cursed land to evade responsibility, making them appear insincere. They excluded Antium because they anticipated close future ties with Daionia's Roman territory. As the Volscian town closest to Rome, Antium was bound to see immense development by land and sea, and the Volscian alliance couldn't bear to part with it.)

...

While Davos was hosting the envoys from the factions surrounding Rome, Sextus—having just returned to the city and reunited with his family—took a stroll to the foot of Capitoline Hill.

Because Capitoline Hill housed the temples of Jupiter, the supreme god worshiped by the Romans, and Juno, the queen of the gods, it served as the acropolis of Rome. However, the vast majority of Roman plebeians rarely had the opportunity to climb the hill to offer worship. This was true even for Sextus, who had once served as a Roman centurion.

But today, Sextus noticed that while the checkpoint leading to the summit still had soldiers standing guard, it no longer barred commoners from ascending. People were constantly making their way up and down the path, making the area quite lively.

On his way up the hill, Sextus bumped into several acquaintances. They greeted him warmly, their words laced with obvious envy and flattery. "Oh, Sextus, you're back! I heard you're going to be a Legion Commander—congratulations! Your dad is an official for Daionia now too. Your family has truly made it big! You've got to look out for us!"

"Sextus, congratulations on another victorious battle! You must be getting a large chunk of land this time!"

"Sextus! My boy, Gidus—you know him. Even though he isn't eighteen yet, he's already grown stronger than most men. Could you perhaps arrange for him to start his military service early?"

...

Exhausted from fielding all their questions and praises, Sextus eventually walked with his head lowered to avoid being recognized.

Reaching the summit, he quickly made his way to where the Temple of Jupiter once stood. The magnificent temple from his memories was completely gone. Stretching out before his eyes was a massive, clean, flat expanse paved with marble slabs. It was as if those grand temples and statues were merely a fantasy that had never existed. Only the blackened, cracked marble scattered about offered any hint of the devastating mountaintop fire his father had described.

Sextus had originally intended to pay his respects, but there wasn't even a trace of the ruins left to mourn. No wonder the commoners who climbed the hill rarely visited this spot, opting instead to walk to the cliff edge to overlook the entire City of Rome.

He looked around, somewhat dazed. Suddenly, he noticed a crowd bustling about on the other side of the summit, right where the temple of the Roman war god Janus had stood. Unable to help himself, he walked over.

As he drew closer, he saw that many of these busy workers were Romans, clearing and sweeping away the rubble. There was also a small contingent of Theonians, using tools to measure the ruins and etching records and sketches onto wooden tablets...

Among these people, Sextus spotted a familiar figure.

"Stolo!" he called out.

Stolo turned around. Seeing it was him, he offered a nod of greeting.

Sextus closed the distance in a few quick strides. Looking at the man who had once been hailed as the most promising youth among the Roman plebeians, now reduced to a haggard shadow of his former self, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you doing alright lately?"

Stolo fell silent for a moment before speaking softly. "I've joined Daionia. There's nothing to worry about..."

"I heard from my father..." Sextus said, his tone incredibly sincere. "About your father... and your father-in-law... I'm so sorry. I hope the grief isn't weighing too heavily on you."

Stolo gave a bitter smile and sighed. "My father caught the plague. It was a punishment sent down by Jupiter; no one else can be blamed for it. But I heard that in the military camp at Satricum, he received excellent treatment and care from the doctors of Daionia..."

"That's absolutely true!" Sextus interjected. "It wasn't just your father. Every Roman officer and soldier who contracted the plague received excellent care from the Theonians. That's exactly why so many infected Roman soldiers managed to survive!"

"Yes. Even as his own son, facing a father afflicted with the plague, all I could do was keep my distance. So for that, I am profoundly grateful to the Theonians!" Stolo said candidly.

"And I heard that my arrogant relative who also caught the plague has completely recovered after receiving treatment?"

"You mean Servius? That's right. He really has beaten the plague and is basically fully cured."

"That is good news. At least my wife's sister won't have to stay at my house anymore, and I can finally get some peace and quiet." A trace of a bitter smile touched Stolo's lips. "As for my father-in-law... I urged him to surrender countless times, but he rejected me at every turn. In the end, he set himself on fire... I was actually prepared for it..."

At this, he couldn't help but recall how much this great Roman noble had valued and cared for him in the past. His expression darkened with sorrow, and he continued in a heavy tone. "It's just a pity... His body was burned to a crisp, entirely indistinguishable from the other corpses. They had no choice but to bury all of them together in the mass grave beside Campus Martius... These days, my wife goes there to mourn him every single day..."