In the capital city of Taraco, on the coast of the Iberian entrance, preparations are being made for the triennial gladiatorial tournament, where the nobility from Gaul and southern Iberia is gathered.

They have a lot of money, a flashy life but an empty heart, and they always feel that life is less fun in it. So they thought of gladiatorial fighting, a culture that has been passed down for thousands of years and has not disappeared, although now that Christ is in power, such a bloody and undoctrinal thing is naturally resisted, otherwise, how could it be possible for that gang of horse racers to prevail?

It is also a big city with 70,000 or 80,000 people, but the gladiatorial arena is a lot shabby, this is a large round venue with a diameter of less than one meter, except for the position of the audience, and the area where the gold lord is located, the space left for the gladiators is very small, there is no buffer area at all, only you live and die when you come on the field.

Now that the game is about to start, the audience is slowly entering, they are not watching the play for nothing, but holding a lot of money. Gladiatorial fights are gambling, and they have to bet on who will win. Countless people want to make a lot of money with this, which is much better than farming.

There were two seats in the VIP seats, a middle-aged man with gray hair and a red shirt lined with white toga, who sat lazily on one of the stone seats, and wore a golden laurel wreath to reflect his status.

The surrounding aristocrats were sitting in precarious places, and those who could sit here were all well-known local families, and there was land outside the city that could not be seen at a glance, and there were countless slaves. In the streets of Tarraco is also a big man walking sideways, no, it can't be said to walk sideways, because when you get to this point, your feet are no longer touching the ground.

Even so, they were jealous of the guy sitting above them, the chief senator of the local senate and the garrison duke of the city of Talaco, Penifaius. Andres.

Andrés held a silver cup full of wine in his hand, he slowly put the glass to his lips, tilted his head and drank the wine from the glass, and the waiter next to him quickly filled it. He was so skilled that not a drop would come out when the glass was refilled. Even so, his gaze did not flicker for a moment, his eyes fixed on the empty field below, waiting motionlessly.

After a while, the audience was seated, and an old man came to his side, dressed in red and white, so that people could tell at a glance that he was from the Roman Senate. The man came straight and sat on the stone seat next to Andrés, looking at Andrés without saying a word.

"You're too late, my friend." Andrés shook the wine in his glass, and then there was some movement, only to see him straighten up and look back at the patriarch in front of him.

"Oh my God." The patriarch complained, "You don't understand how chaotic Rome is now, and I've dealt with too many things, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get out of Rome so easily." ”

Andres's lips lifted slightly upward, and he continued, "Say, let's see what kind of news you have brought me this time." ”

"It's bad, Andrés, it's bad." The patriarch said, took a glass of wine and just took a sip, and then said to Andres, "Recently, the Purple Room has re-canonized the Soldier Commander. ”

"Captain Soldier?" Andrés sat up straight, looked at the patriarch in front of him with a puzzled expression, and asked, "It's been a long time since this position has been mentioned again, how is it possible?" ”

"This is just the beginning, you know, Andrés, there are many things that I haven't said yet." The patriarch continued: "Augusta Gala. Plasettia died, but two captains were set up before she died! ”

"What?" Andrés sat up straight, looked at the patriarch with wide eyes, and said in surprise: "Originally, just the commander of the Central Field Army was already fighting for people's heads, and now there are two soldier commanders, doesn't Platitia think that the original battle was not tragic enough?" ”

"Nonsense! This is nonsense! Andrés kept scolding, and curiosity calmed him down again, only to see him ask the patriarch, "Then I'm curious about which two people are qualified to be captains." ”

As soon as the patriarch was about to speak, Andrés immediately stretched out his hand to signal him to stop, and he continued: "Let me guess, Aetius! No one has such strength better than him, look at him in the next one, is it Bunis? This guy is notoriously romantic, and I heard that he also has a relationship with Augusta Gala. Mrs. Platsian was ambiguous. Then it must be him! ”

"No, it's not him, he's been secretly killed by Aetius!" The patriarch shook his head, and said it even more overwhelmed Andrés.

"And who else?" Andrés couldn't think of it, because the Roman generals who could compete with Aetius had already been defeated by Aetius, and no one could compete with Aetius.

The patriarch shook his head and said, "I'm afraid your Excellency has forgotten that the kid who defeated King Gaisaric of Vandal in Great Sicily on his own in his own right. ”

Andres: "You mean the adopted son of Theodosius II?" ”

The patriarch nodded, his expression mysterious, which did make Andrés a little incredulous.

"Why? What does he have? Andrés still wondered, and he continued: "Isn't he the guy who led the army to attack Carthage and then failed!" Without the support of his adoptive father, he is nothing! ”

"Maybe you're wrong, Lord Andrés." The patriarch said, then took a sip of the wine in his glass, so he continued: "He was governor of the province of Grand Sequanolen, and he recovered Belgian Gaul, you know, the outnumbered, lawless rebels of Bagauda. ”

"It's incredible!" Andres exclaimed.

"And that's not all." The patriarch then took a sip of wine and said, "It only took him half a year to completely defeat these lawless bastards, and he went north to recover Britannia that had been lost more than thirty years ago. This time it took a lot of time, but in our eyes, he was too fast. ”

"Incredible!" Andrés said it again, shaking his head, thinking that he had met a guy who should not be underestimated.

"It seems that my news is too closed." Andres changed his sitting position and continued: "During this time in this city, I have not reacted to so many things that have happened outside, it seems that I really have to do something." ”

"Ding Ding Ding..."

A rapid rattle ended the conversation of everyone present, and everyone's eyes converged on the empty venue below.

"Who is it today?" The patriarch asked, changing the subject.

"My trump card, Pattin!" Andrés continued: "This time against a bastard from Gaul, I heard that his employer has made a high bet on him, this time you can't be careless. As long as we win! Speaking of this, a greedy look flashed across Andrés' face, and he said slowly, "That's Souledus tinkling." ”