Rome Must Perish

Who would have known that just as the meeting commenced and before Alistacas had the chance to introduce the main topic, Xisaites preemptively proposed a bizarre demand, causing an uproar among the crowd.

"Elder Xisaites, do you know what you are saying! You want to take your tribal members and leave the land where our ancestors have lived for generations to settle by the Sava River where our enemies, the Segestica people, are?! Are you still dreaming and haven't woken up!"

Annoyed by Xisaites disrupting his plans, Alistacas disregarded Cleobrotas's repeated reminders to "speak cautiously as a Great Chief" and couldn't help but mock, leading to laughter from some southern elders.

"It's not me who's dreaming, but you all who are fixated only on what's right in front of you, unaware that the outside world has changed!" Xisaites scornfully glanced at Alistacas and the laughing elders, loudly stating, "Leader Maximus has already invaded the Segestica Territory, taken their Main Camp, and occupied a vast area of their territory; now the Segestica people have been utterly defeated—"

Xisaites hadn't finished speaking when the entire hall suddenly erupted: "The Nix people captured the Segestica Main Camp?! That's impossible!"

"It might be possible for the Nix people to defeat the Pannonian Tribe Alliance's army, defeat the Segestica people, and occupy their Main Camp. But just a few days ago they had just repelled the Pannonian Alliance's army—how could they have invaded Segestica's territory so quickly?!"

"If the Nix people really have completely crushed Segestica, this is fantastic news! We will never have to worry about the threat of the Segestica people again!"

...

"Quiet! Quiet!..." Alistacas shouted several times, yet the elders continued their fervent discussions.

Feeling angry, Alistacas grabbed the nearby water jug and forcefully hurled it to the ground with a loud "crash", shattering it into fragments.

The elders stared at Alistacas in disbelief.

Alistacas loudly rebuked, "Look at what you are doing! This is the sacred hall of tribal council, not a threshing floor where villagers chat. Was it like this when my father was here and you attended meetings, all noisy and chaotic?!"

Alistacas's words were a bit harsh, immediately prompting some elders to want to retort when Cleobrotas stood up, calling, "Everyone, please remain quiet so the meeting can proceed smoothly! Xisaites, is it true what you said about the Nix people occupying the Segestica Main Camp?!"

Once Cleobrotas spoke, the hall indeed quieted down significantly, plus his question was precisely what everyone was concerned about, so almost all closed their mouths and focused their gaze on Xisaites.

"It is true!" Before Xisaites could respond, Budocaribas sitting next to him answered. Originally, he and Xisaites and others planned to wait for an appropriate moment during the meeting to propose this demand, but they didn't expect Xisaites to take unilateral action shortly after the meeting started, forcing him to quickly align himself with the reckless Xisaites.

"After Leader Maximus led the Nix Army in defeating the Panloni Alliance and removing the threat to us Aldeans, I and Xisaites went to thank Leader Maximus, only to hear that because Segestica and Desitia's armies were attacking Nix land from the north, Leader Maximus led his army to go defend—"

Hearing this, Alistacas involuntarily twitched his face, remembering his anger that day due to not meeting Maximus.

"Fearing that Maximus's army might be defeated and Segestica's forces could once again threaten us Aldeans, I and Xisaites went to Nix land to quickly ascertain the situation...

But by the time we reached the battlefield, we learned that Maximus had achieved a great victory once more and that the day after his victory, he had led his army to attack the Segestica Territory—"

Budocaribas sighed, "It has always been the Segestica people who attacked us; we have never actively attacked the Segestica people! Out of curiosity and excitement, we continued forward along the marching route of the Nix Army..."

By now, the hall was completely silent, and the elders were intently listening to Budocaribas's tale.

"By the time we reached the Segestica Territory, we heard that the Nix Army had already seized the West Village of the Segestica Main Camp. By the next day when we entered Segestica's West Village, the Nix Army had seized the East Village of Segestica across the Sava River—"

At this time, the hall resounded with suppressed exclamations, as the elders couldn't help but marvel at the Nix Army's incredible strength and swift offensive prowess as described in Budocaribas's account.

"We didn't witness the Nix Army defeating the Segestica people or capturing their entire Main Camp, but we entered the Segestica Main Camp and saw Nix Soldiers patrolling every street, saw the Nix Tribe's flag flying on the main building, and saw a large number of Segestica people captured by the Nix Army...

Moreover, as we passed through Segestica Territory on our way to the Main Camp, every Segestica village we encountered had Segestica people fearfully sheltering in their homes... The Nix Army truly has overwhelmed the Segestica people!"

Budocaribas sensed that under his account, the elders' reverence for the Nix Tribe was growing, and not wanting the noise to break this atmosphere, he sped up, "We met Leader Maximus, originally intending to congratulate him, but unexpectedly he proposed 'willing to carve out a large fertile land in the Segestica's Sava River territory for Xisaites's tribe, for my tribe, and for other Aldean tribes who lost their lands in the war with Segestica to settle!'"

With Budocaribas's words, the hall suddenly became exceptionally quiet.

He swept his gaze over everyone, solemnly speaking, "I, Xisaites, and the other Aldean tribal leaders with me, all agreed!"

Xisaites swallowed his saliva; he had to admit Budocaribas was more eloquent than him, turning their act of asking for land into a tireless quest to celebrate the Nix's brilliant victory and receiving Maximus's generous gift.

"I disagree!" Alistacas broke the silence in the hall, angrily stating, "I've said before, you are Aldeans, and now you're leaving your ancestral lands to run over to Segestica. This is betrayal!—"

"Alistacas, don't falsely accuse me of betrayal!" Xisaites immediately retorted, "Even if we move away, we'll still hold to Aldean traditions, will continue to participate in every tribal meeting, will still respond to the tribe's call, send troops to join in battles against the enemy. We will always be Aldeans!"

"Even if that's what you intend, many things are beyond your control." Ambrosius gravely spoke, "Like the Pannonians, they were also Illyrians, but after they left their homeland and moved north, they gradually became like Barbarians and eventually turned to invade what used to be their fellow kin—us!

When you choose to leave your homeland, can you guarantee your descendants will hold fast to Aldean traditions just like you? Can you guarantee your descendants won't one day brandish swords and spear against us like the Pannonians?..."

Ambrosius's questioning left Budocaribas momentarily unable to respond, and he wanted to say, "Even if it happens, that would be many years from now; over time, many things are bound to change..."

But such an answer would be emotionally unacceptable to the elders.

At this point, an elder from the tribes along Murenica River also raised a question, "I don't understand, Nix is Nix, Budocaribas you are Aldeans, how could Leader Maximus distribute the hard-won land to you?! Have you already abandoned your identity as Aldeans and turned to the Nix people?!"

This question was an accusation that Budocaribas and the others had long betrayed the tribe. Budocaribas did not feel anger but instead was relieved, quickly responding, "The reason Leader Maximus did this is because last year the Nix Tribe and we, the Aldean tribes that lost their homeland, signed an agreement wherein Leader Maximus promised, 'The Nix Tribe will endeavor to provide suitable land for us to settle'.

The reason we signed this agreement with the Nix Tribe is that after the Nix people seized parts of the Kupa River's land from the Segestica last year, we approached Great Chief Acoupaigos, hoping he could negotiate with the Nix to allow us some land there since the land along the Kupa River originally belonged to us.

But the Great Chief felt troubled and told us, 'The alliance agreement between the Alde and Nix clearly states that the lands acquired by the Nix from Pannoni would belong to the Nix Tribe', and he couldn't break this alliance.

We were unwilling to relent and repeatedly approached the Great Chief, and eventually at a loss he suggested that we could negotiate directly with Leader Maximus of the Nix Tribe. We reluctantly presented our request for land to Leader Maximus of the Nix Tribe, and unexpectedly he didn't refuse but instead made us this promise!

The agreement we signed with the Nix was known and approved by the Great Chief, and both Cleobrotas and Ambrosius were present.

Seeing that the others' gazes shifted to him, Cleobrotas had to nod and say, "The Great Chief was indeed aware of the agreement that Budocaribas and the Nix signed."