Rome must fall.

Chapter 370: On the way
The fleet sailed downstream and arrived at a dock on the south bank of the Kupa River in most of the day.

The sailors docked the ship and assisted the tribesmen stationed at the dock to carry the iron ore in baskets from the ship to the carts outside the dock. By the time they finished these tasks, it was already dusk, and everyone ate and rested at the dock.

The next day, the sailors drove the fleet back to the dock of the mine, while Karsipenpas led the caravan south along the dirt road specially built for transporting iron ore. It took two full days to reach the north bank of the Mrežnica River.

There is also a riverside dock here that was specially built for transporting iron ore. Everyone worked hard to carry baskets of iron ore to the cargo ship moored at the dock.

After a good night's rest, everyone set off on the boat in the morning with full energy.

The fleet sailed downstream and soon passed by the village where the Budokaribas tribe once lived.

Ever since he led his people to move to the Sava River, this piece of land has once again belonged to the southern tribe of Ardei. Not only have the wooden walls and floating bridges been demolished, but the large piece of flat land between the two swamps has also been turned into wheat fields. There is no trace of the temporary camp built by the Nix people in the past. From time to time, tribesmen can be seen guarding their wheat fields on the shore, with joy on their faces, looking forward to the arrival of the autumn harvest. It is hard to imagine that five years ago this land was ravaged by war, and the tribesmen here began to feel despair about the future... The arrival of the Nix people changed all this!
While Chalsipompas was sighing, Dioscles next to him pointed to the front and exclaimed: "When did they build a wooden bridge here?!"

Not far from the wadeable section of the Korana River, there stands a wooden bridge. It is not a floating bridge, and the three-meter-high bridge arch is more than enough for their fleet to pass through.

"You haven't been back to the tribe for several years, right? You can't be a pirate now, you should go to the territories of our Ardi tribes and take a good look." Calsipenpas responded: "This wooden bridge was built two years ago by the Nix people, mainly to facilitate us Ardi people to go to the Nix tribe."

"I remember that we can easily walk across the water here. There is really no need to go through so much trouble to build a wooden bridge." Dioscles was a little disapproving.

"People can easily cross the river by stepping on water, but it's not that easy to carry a cart. Did you see that?" Chalcypionpas pointed to the western end of the bridge, where a donkey-drawn cart was about to cross the wooden bridge, and behind it were pedestrians carrying packages and other things in their hands...

"With this wooden bridge, it is more convenient for our tribesmen to cross the river. Who would be willing to walk on water to cross the river?" Karsipenpas said with emotion.

Dioscles looked up at the wooden bridge passing overhead. The sunlight reflected from the river surface formed countless flashing light patterns on the bottom of the bridge, which was very beautiful.

He turned his head and looked towards the east bank. Although it was still early in the morning, there were already many pedestrians on the road along the river.

"They should be going to the Nix market to buy and sell things, right?" Dioscles asked curiously, "It looks like there are quite a lot of people."

"It's only morning now. When the sun rises high in the sky, more tribesmen will head to Snowtia. After all, the items sold in the Nix market are so attractive to them!" Karsi Penpas continued with emotion. He has spent most of his time at the iron mine in the past few years and had more opportunities to deal with Nix, so he was quite touched.

"From what you said before, the Knyx people only settled here a few years ago. What good things can they make?" asked Agatacus, who had been observing silently. Since he had decided to join the Knyx, he naturally hoped to learn more about this newly emerging tribe.

"Don't underestimate the Nix people. Although they have only established their tribe for a few years, many of their people are skilled craftsmen from coastal towns. I also heard that the leader of the Nix, Maximus, can often receive inspiration from the gods and can create some novel and useful things from time to time..."

Karsipompas introduced earnestly: "In the beginning, the pottery they made was very popular among the leaders and nobles of our Ardi tribes. The daily iron tools they made were more durable and cheaper, so our ordinary people were more willing to buy them. Later, the furniture, farm tools, and even wooden sculptures they made became items that our people were happy to buy.

Oh, and the cloth they weave is in large quantities, good quality, and cheap. Now some of our people are willing to buy their cloth and no longer weave it themselves..."

"Is the leader of the Knyx tribe really favored by the gods? I wonder which god it is?" a pirate leader interrupted with a questioning look on his face.

"Since you are preparing to join the Nix tribe, I have to remind you!" Karsipompas said seriously, "Captain Maximus has indeed done many things that others cannot do. As a result, the Nix tribe has grown rapidly in just a few years. All the people of the Nix tribe firmly believe that he is favored by the gods, and some even believe that he is the reincarnation of the gods' offspring! So when you arrive in the Nix territory, don't say these things, otherwise it will anger the Nix tribe members, which will be a troublesome matter for you!"

Several pirate leaders looked at each other, and Agatacus asked with a little dissatisfaction: "Will the Nyx people force us to believe in their gods?" "Except when you join the Nyx tribe, you will be required to swear an oath in their Temple of Danu. Normally, they will not force you to worship their gods. After all, many of their people are from other races-"

As Chalcephemus spoke, the statue of the goddess Danu appeared in his mind. He had been to the Temple of Danu many times and had deeply felt the goddess's love and compassion in the solemn and sacred temple of nature.

He hesitated for a moment, then emphasized, "The main believer of the Nix people is the goddess Danu. This goddess has indeed blessed the Nix tribe. You should be able to feel it after you stay there for a long time."

"Goddess Danu?" Several pirate leaders were either Illyrians or Epirus. They were completely unfamiliar with the Celtic god of creation. Due to the warning from Chalcephempers, they did not dare to say much. Fortunately, Nyx did not force them to believe in it, which made them feel a lot more at ease.

Agatacus was thinking about what Chalcypumpas had said before. Wanting to know more about the Nixes, he continued to ask, "Brother Chalcypumpas, you just said that the Nixes made so many goods that you Ardeans wanted. What did you Ardeans use to exchange them? Gold and silver coins?"

"Except when we trade with the Romans and Greeks on the coast, where we have to use gold and silver coins, most of the transactions between us mountain people are done by barter."

Calsipoppas said helplessly, "In the beginning, the tribesmen could exchange food, livestock, and poultry for what they needed, but later the Nixes no longer lacked these things, so our tribesmen followed the Nixes' requirements and planted flax and cut wood. They even hired the Nixes to help them farm during the slack season...in exchange for what they needed."

Several pirate leaders looked at each other again, with surprise in their eyes. In their opinion, although Knicks and Aldei were allies, Knicks was supported by Aldei, so Aldei should be the leader. But now all signs show that Knicks is the leader? !

While they were chatting, the fleet entered the Kupa River and passed through the Varidosi Swamp. The riverbank immediately became completely different from before. It was a thick dam made of stone bricks and cement, more than two meters high, in an inverted trapezoid shape, extending eastward, firmly confining the river water within the riverbed...

The pirates in the fleet were also well-informed. They had seen many river embankments in Italy, Greece... However, this was the first time they saw a tribe in a backward mountainous area that could build river embankments to reduce floods. They were all surprised.

What surprised them even more was that they saw a large waterwheel standing high up on the river and turning slowly.

Just as everyone began to sigh, a ship came from the front.

This ship was different from any river boats they had seen before. There were wooden boards standing on both sides of the middle of the ship, with several small windows in the middle and a long wooden board covering the top... It looked like a wooden cabin was sandwiched between two boards.

"This ship is built so strangely, I wonder what it is used for?" a pirate leader asked curiously.

"It can be used for fighting on the river," replied Chalcipompus.

"A ship like this can be used for fighting?!" Agatacus seemed to have heard a joke. "It looks rather bulky and probably not flexible enough. It won't be very fast either, and it will be easily hit and overturned by enemy ships. Moreover, there is a small house in the middle of the ship, so there won't be room for many sailors. Once the two sides get close to each other and fight, it will definitely be at a disadvantage..."

Although Agatacus was always on the sea, the battles at sea and on the river were similar, and there were only two main types: ramming and boarding.

Chalsipompus shook his head and said, "The Nyx tribe has a new weapon called a crossbow. I heard that it was made by the craftsmen inspired by the goddess Danu, Chief Maximus. The crossbow is like a bow and arrow, but it can shoot farther, more accurately, more powerfully, and is easier to master.

The sailors of the Nix could hold crossbows, hide in the cabins, and shoot crossbow arrows out through the wooden windows to shoot down any enemy approaching the ship, without having to worry about the enemy throwing javelins; even if the enemy ship really approached, it would not be easy to fight or jump on board. "

(End of this chapter)