Rome must fall.

Chapter 277: Cythonus's Persuasion (Continued)
"The food that was handed over was not for me to enjoy privately. It was to be handed over to the chief, who then handed it over to the great chief to supply the army and go out to fight the enemy..." Alpas realized something and quickly explained, "Our Segestica tribe is in a dangerous situation. Since we started to resist the Skodischi, we have been fighting almost every year. Without enough food to summon our people to fight, how can we ensure the safety of the tribe!——"

"But we have suffered a series of devastating defeats. Not only is our tribe unsafe, it is even more dangerous!" Someone suddenly retorted, choking Alpas so much that he was speechless.

Cythonus took the opportunity to take over the conversation and continued to scold Alpas loudly: "From what you said, it is natural for us ordinary people to live a hard life, but what about you! You tribal leaders, elders, and clan leaders have much more land and slaves than us ordinary people, and you have brave warriors guarding your houses and property. You have to take a part of the grain we hand over for your own use, and you can also increase your own land by confiscating the land of the tribesmen-"

"Nonsense! You are talking nonsense!" Alpas shouted angrily, "You traitor, you are slandering the leaders and elders of noble blood! Slandering the sacred traditions of our Pannoni! -"

"I slandered you?!" Cythonus sneered, turned to the crowd and said loudly: "There are his people among you, tell me, does he work as hard as we do to farm and herd sheep?!"

"No... no, never..." a prisoner said courageously.

"Have you ever seen him charging into battle like us, with many scars on his body?" Setonus asked again. In fact, most of the tribal leaders and nobles of Segestica were good at fighting, but there were a few who were not very active in the battlefield like Alpas. Setonus knew this from his size, so he asked this question.

"No!" This time the prisoner answered a little louder.

"When the harvest was poor and we didn't have enough food, did he give us enough food to help us get through the difficulties?" Setonus asked again.

"No!!" This time the prisoners answered even louder.

"Brothers, you see, these are the leaders and chiefs of our tribe! They have long forgotten the tradition of our tribe - that we should treat our fellow tribesmen with the same care and attention as our family members. Instead, they only care about enriching themselves and letting us suffer!"

Cytonus was not just assigned to work in the Nix tribe. Maximus also arranged for eloquent veterans to chat with these prospective tribesmen in their spare time and listen to their complaints. Most of the words Cytonus said today came from the guidance of the veterans.

At this moment, Setonus became more and more excited as he spoke. The words that the veterans usually said flowed out of his own mouth, and his mind became clearer and clearer, as if he had suddenly realized something: "In battle, we charge at the front, and in harvest, we hand in the most grain, but we get the least. Even if we make a small mistake, we will be severely punished...

How can we be considered members of the tribe? We are actually the slaves of the chiefs and clan leaders! We are just a little higher in status than the slaves of Skordischi! -"

"You nonsense..." Alpas was about to curse angrily when a cold and sharp object immediately pressed against his soft neck. It was the dagger of a Nyx soldier. He shut his mouth wisely.

"I didn't know what fairness meant until I joined the Nix Tribe!" Saitonus said loudly and excitedly, "Your efforts should be rewarded accordingly! I have been farming for the Nix Tribe for half a year. The day before yesterday, I participated in a very large and fierce battle with the army and won. Then I rushed here desperately and captured you...

Because of my efforts, I became a formal member of the Nix tribe and obtained at least 60 acres of land! In the future, if I continue to make contributions in battle, I will be rewarded by the tribe, get more land, and even become a noble of the Nix tribe! Instead of being an ordinary member who is always bullied like in the Segestica tribe!"

After Cytonus finished speaking, the surrounding captives immediately burst into an uproar. Even the steady Onosius couldn't help but ask: "Cytonus, can you really get more than 60 acres of land in Nix?! And get a noble status like Alpas?!"

"Of course it's true!" Saitonus said confidently, "The Nix tribe has a special decree for this, and all the tribesmen know it! And before, some Nix tribesmen have obtained up to a hundred acres of land through their outstanding performance!"

"100 acres?!" There was an even louder commotion in the crowd, and some people even exclaimed.

The captives around were itching to join the Nix tribe and asked loudly, "If I join the Nix tribe, will you give me 60 acres of land?!"

"You just joined the Knicks tribe and haven't done anything for the Knicks. The Knicks don't know if you really want to join. How can they give you land right away? -"

As soon as Setonus said a few words, he saw some captives showing disappointment. He immediately emphasized his tone and said, "Think about it, in our Segestica tribe, there are tribesmen from other tribes who want to join, but they have to work for the leader and the chief for a long time before they can be accepted by the tribe. As for obtaining land, there are only a few opportunities to obtain it...

But in the Nix tribe, as long as you work hard for the tribe for three years, you can become a formal member and get 50 acres of land. If you participate in battles and make contributions during these three years, you can shorten the time it takes to become a formal member and may even increase the land you deserve, just like me, do you understand? ! "

"I understand, I understand. Three years is not a long time. We just need to work hard. This is what I am best at." A prisoner nodded immediately.

"I'm not good at working, but I like fighting. Can I join your Nix tribe and become a warrior, fight for the Nix, and get land as soon as possible by making meritorious deeds?" A strong captive asked loudly. "This... should also be possible." Cythonus hesitated and replied, "But you have to pass the test of the Nix army first."

"I'm so strong, how could the Knyx army not take notice of me?" The prisoner raised his strong arms and said confidently.

"Odetus is a famous warrior of our tribe!" another captive next to him boasted proudly.

"You guys, do you still have any conscience?" An old captive cursed angrily: "The Nixes are our enemies! They have killed so many of our people, and you actually want to join our enemies? You will definitely be punished by the gods and die a miserable death!"

"No! If you join the Knyx, not only will you not be punished by the gods, but you will be blessed!" Setonus said loudly and confidently, "Because the leader of the Knyx, Maximus, is a descendant of the goddess Danu and is blessed by the goddess. That's why he brought his people here and defeated us who are much stronger than the Knyx many times with fewer troops. That's why the Kupa River, which used to surge in the rainy season in previous years, has returned to calm this year... So the Knyx tribe started to build the Temple of the Goddess Danu as soon as they settled down, and the fact that the leader of the Knyx is a descendant of the goddess Danu was also confirmed by the sage Aymeric.

"Is this true?! Leader Nyx is actually a descendant of the Goddess Danu?!"

"It should be true. Didn't you hear him say that there is a temple of the goddess Danu in the Nix tribe? And this matter has been confirmed by the sage Emmerich! The sage Emmerich is the only Skodis Druid in our Segestica tribe. He is blessed by the gods. Any patient who is examined by him will be cured. He can't be lying!"

"No wonder our heroic chiefs Andres and Cabdes died inexplicably! They rashly attacked the Nix tribe, which was blessed by the goddess Danu. They must have angered the goddess Danu and punished her! The goddess Danu is the mother of all things and the goddess of the earth!"

"Oh! What should we do?! We fought the Nyx and angered the goddess, no wonder we were captured!"

"Hey, can I join the Knicks now?!"

"Me too! I want to join in too!"

……

For a moment, many prisoners around rushed to express to Setonus their strong desire to "join the Knicks."

Similar scenes occurred repeatedly in every small prisoner camp.

..............................................................................

Late at night, Maximus was awakened from his deep sleep: "Captain, just as you expected, the Segestica people in the stockade really wanted to escape at night!"

Maximus rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked casually, "What's the situation now?"

"The three battalions of the First Legion and the two battalions of the Fourth Legion all followed the prior deployment and went up to intercept them in time. I believe that none of them can escape!" the attendant replied excitedly.

"Okay, okay..." Maximus yawned and said weakly, "I'll sleep for a while. When everything is over, call the two legion commanders, Phesalus and Aulus, over."

"Yes, leader!"

About two hours later, Phesalus and Aulus stood in the military tent.

"Chief, we have captured all the Segestica people in the village. We have also occupied the entire village and obtained all the food and supplies stored in the village by the Pannonian army!..." Feisalus happily introduced the situation and added: "Chief, you are really amazing. You guessed that they would escape early!"

(End of this chapter)