Son of Julius Caesar: Rebuilding Rome [Business/Republic building] Chapter 112 : Hunting

Rumors of a Jewish plot to assassinate Pompey and Pompeia spread through the streets of Ro like wildfire.

So learned of it from the flyers plastered around the Forum, while others caught wind of it through word of mouth.

Soon after, countless people converged on the Subura.

They had only one goal in mind: to teach those arrogant Jews, who had clearly forgotten their place, a harsh lesson.

"Those bastards don’t even serve in the legions, and they refuse to join our festivals or sacrifices."

"It’s hardly a surprise they’d hatch a plot like this."

n ard with clubs and makeshift weapons flooded the streets of Subura.

So ca out of loyalty to Caesar, others to curry his favor, and so simply wanted an excuse to join the chaos.

However, they were forced to stop dead just outside the Jewish neighborhood.

"You’re protecting the Jews? Just who do you think you are?"

"Can’t you see this insignia?"

The n blocking their path were Caesar’s people.

So wore signaler uniforms, while others were dressed in simple tunics.

But every single one of them answered to Caesar.

"We ca to protect Caesar and Pompeia!"

"Then turn back. An investigation is already underway. Caesar never requested your assistance."

The mob fell into confused silence.

They had gathered solely to protect Caesar, after all.

And yet it was Caesar’s own n barring their way.

"Caesar does not want the chaos to spread. Caesar appreciates your loyalty, but please, return ho."

"Well, if Caesar says so, we should turn back."

"Aye. What if we cause him trouble instead?"

Most of the crowd heeded Caesar’s n and dispersed, but so chose to ignore them.

"Caesar is making a grave mistake! How can he dismiss us when we ca to help? Are you truly following Caesar’s orders?!"

"He’s right! We know what Caesar truly wants better than anyone!"

A stubborn few remained, continuing their standoff with Caesar’s n.

So had even hired gladiators to accompany them.

"If you have a complaint, write your nas here."

"Sign?"

Caesar’s n handed them wax tablets and styluses.

"Write down your nas and your tribes. Didn’t you say you wanted to help Caesar? Then it is only right to leave your nas so that Caesar may repay the favor later, isn’t it?"

Even the agitated mob faltered.

A mob’s greatest strength lay in its anonymity.

Anonymity gave them the freedom to do whatever they pleased without being held accountable later.

But if they signed their nas, it could serve as proof that they had helped instigate a riot.

It was presented as a ’favor,’ but they weren’t so foolish as to miss that the wax tablet was, in truth, a set of shackles.

"We only ca to help Caesar. But if he says it isn’t necessary, we’ll be on our way."

As the last remaining holdouts dispersed, the uproar seed to die down.

However, another group of n soon appeared.

They were burly n who, at a glance, had clearly seen real combat.

They were Pompey’s n.

***

"Aren’t those Pompey’s n?"

"Looks like they’re heading this way."

Marcus swallowed hard.

He had been one of Ro’s first signalers.

He had served since the signal towers were still in their trial phase.

He had volunteered for this task to aid Caesar and track down the culprits who had murdered his comrade.

He believed, without a shadow of a doubt, that Caesar would bring them to justice.

All they had to do was trust in Caesar.

"Are they here to fight? Caesar hasn’t given us any new orders yet."

"Our mission is to hold this ground. If they threaten us, we’ll hold the line."

The n all tightened their grips on their clubs.

None of them particularly cared about the Jews, but they followed Caesar’s orders.

As the n drew closer, their faces ca into view.

"Stop right there!"

Marcus shouted, waving his hand.

"Co no closer! What is your business here?"

At his shout, one of the n simply shrugged.

Their faces showed no hostility.

"We heard you were short of n and ca to help. Or do you not need the help?"

"Help?"

Marcus muttered.

"You’re saying you ca to help us?"

***

"Pompeia must have persuaded her father," I said without slowing down.

Felix had to half-jog just to keep pace with .

"Otherwise, Pompey’s n would never have co to our aid."

"Not long ago, they looked ready to slaughter everyone. I didn’t expect them to co here to help you, Young Master."

"Sa here."

I should properly thank her the next ti we et.

We were stretched thin trying to protect the Jewish community in the Subura, but thanks to Pompey’s help, we could finally catch our breath.

"Father and Crassus are keeping the Senate calm. There won’t be any bloodshed for the ti being."

Both of them were busy making their moves.

If a riot broke out and the Senate issued the senatus consultum ultimum—the so-called ultimate decree—to suppress it, the situation would undoubtedly spiral out of control.

Felix sighed.

"But the conspirators haven’t been caught yet."

"This won’t be over until those bastards are caught."

Arriving in the Subura, I returned my n’s greetings and headed toward a certain building.

Pompey’s veterans also gave respectful nods as I passed.

I offered them a light nod in return before continuing on my way.

My destination was a dilapidated insula.

"Caesar, please co in. I don’t even know how to begin to thank you..."

"Have you found the culprits?"

Eleazar shook his head with a grim expression.

"Not yet. I fear they may have used the uproar to hide sowhere else..."

"We’ve already scoured the rest of Ro. It’s unlikely they slipped out of the city. They’re almost certainly hiding sowhere here in the Subura, likely with help from their collaborators."

I scanned the people in the room.

Every last one of them was staring at in terror.

If I hadn’t sent my n in ti, they would all have been swept into a massacre.

I didn’t want Ro to be consud by blood and fire under the pretext of ’helping’ .

"Eleazar, when you needed aid, you ca to first instead of anyone else. And I have honored that trust."

Right now, standing outside were not only my employees and supporters but also Pompey’s veterans.

Pompey had not been bluffing when he said he would rather see innocent Jews die than risk his daughter’s life—or his own.

"Now it is your turn to honor my trust."

Eleazar and the other elders exchanged nervous glances.

Soon, Eleazar bowed his head and spoke.

"We will do our utmost. If you can keep the Subura safe, Caesar, we can rally our people and search for them."

"You don’t need to worry about that," I said, rising to my feet. "I’ve already taken all the necessary asures."

Truth be told, preparations had been in place ever since I summoned the tribes.

Thanks to the tellus brothers, I had managed to arrange everything.

"asures? What exactly..."

"Isn’t it obvious?"

I shrugged.

"Preparations for a hunt."

***

The tellus brothers let out heavy sighs in unison.

"If this causes trouble later..."

"Lucius Caesar already promised he’d take full responsibility, didn’t he? Besides, you two were the ones who offered to help in the first place."

Mark Antony said, leading the way.

They were navigating the dimly lit corridors of the building.

From up ahead, the sounds of n swinging swords and practicing strikes echoed through the halls.

"But we didn’t think it would be sothing like this. If things go badly, the Senate might hold us accountable..."

"Quiet. That might not be so bad."

"What do you an, ’wouldn’t be so bad’?"

The tellus brothers whispered back and forth.

"If the Senate tries to place the bla on us, Lucius Caesar will do everything in his power to protect us, won’t he?"

"Yeah, Caesar has never betrayed anyone who helped him. I suppose that makes sense."

"Exactly. By drawing the Senate’s anger, we could turn it into a stepping stone for greater advancent."

Overhearing their whispers, Antony burst into laughter.

"Neither of you needs to worry so much. Anyone listening would think we were the ones plotting a riot."

"But gathering weapons does rather suggest that, doesn’t it?"

"Weapons..."

Antony muttered, striding down the corridor.

He was leading a contingent of Caesar’s n.

So cavalryn from allied towns, still in Ro after the festival, had also joined their ranks.

"What we need now isn’t just weapons."

They soon halted before a pair of massive double doors.

At the elder tellus’s gesture, waiting slaves unlocked the heavy chains.

"So this is one of the few places in Ro where weapons can be legally stored."

Antony stepped into the room.

It housed far more than simple blades.

There were shields of various kinds, daggers, curved blades, maces, and even tridents.

Almost every weapon used in the arena seed to be stockpiled here.

"I can see why you keep this place locked down. You wouldn’t want gladiators getting their hands on all this."

"Security beca much tighter after the Spartacus rebellion. The armory was overrun far too quickly back then. These days, there are always at least four guards posted here."

tellus said, picking up a gladius.

This was one of the armories belonging to a gladiator training school.

Traditionally, bringing ard forces within the porium—Ro’s sacred boundary—was forbidden.

But there were exceptions, such as gladiatorial arenas and training schools like this one.

Gladiators needed weapons for training and combat.

That was precisely why Mark Antony had co here.

"Everyone, grab a dagger. Keep it well-hidden inside your tunics."

"Are we not taking gladii?"

The younger tellus asked.

"I thought that’s what you ca for."

"Caesar wants to keep weapon usage to a minimum. If things turn ugly, we’ll have no choice, but until then, we need to try and handle this non-lethally."

"Non-lethal? And how exactly do you plan to manage that?"

"Isn’t it obvious? It’s the first thing drilled into every Roman legionary during training."

Antony pointed at the shields and asked.

"How many forr legionaries do we have here?"

At his question, every single man raised his hand.

"And how many of you know how to lock shields and form up in ranks?"

Not a single hand was lowered.

Antony clapped each of the tellus brothers on the back.

"Let’s see how well these assassins fare against forr Roman legionaries. Everyone, grab a shield! And take a club!"

As he was giving the orders, Antony suddenly paused, his eyes catching on sothing.

A smirk ford on his lips as he reached out for an item hanging on the wall.

"Now this could co in handy."

***

"What do we do now? Pompey and that bitch of a daughter of his are holed up in their domus and haven’t shown so much as a hair."

"The streets are crawling with Caesar’s n and Pompey’s n. They’re already sweeping the other districts too."

"At this rate, it’s only a matter of ti before we’re caught."

The n spoke in low voices, their expressions grim.

They were Joseph and his comrades—the very conspirators behind the plot to assassinate Pompey.

Back when that mysterious man provided them with weapons, their plan had seed destined for success.

But once word of their assassination plot leaked onto the streets, everything went up in smoke.

"The plan is ruined anyway. We need to scatter now and wait for our next opportunity."

"There is no ’next opportunity.’ Our nas and faces are already known, aren’t they?"

Joseph snarled.

"Even if we run now, it won’t take long for them to hunt us down. We have to finish what we started."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Then we storm Pompey’s domus, even if it kills us. We’ll make him pay the price for defiling the Temple in Jerusalem. And that daughter of his will pay with him."

"But won’t the guards be watching every entrance?"

"It’s not entirely impossible. Among Pompey’s household slaves..."

Their hushed plotting continued.

Even in these dire straits, they had to accomplish their mission no matter the cost.

Was this not what the Lord desired?

By killing Pompey, they would punish Ro’s accomplice and strike a blow against the filthy High Priest who had colluded with him.

Pompey’s blood would beco a testant to the strength of their faith.

Just as they were whispering through the details...

Loud footsteps closed in around them.

"Damn it, they’re coming!"

"Have they already found us? I knew there was a traitor among us."

Joseph clicked his tongue in disgust. Joseph leapt to his feet, and he and his comrades hurriedly gathered their weapons and gear.

"Scatter for now. Once the sun sets, et at the agreed place."

Joseph slipped out of the insula into the back alley.

And he wasn’t the only one.

His comrades also dispersed, taking different exit routes out of the building.

Even if so were caught, the rest could still fulfill their sacred mission.

With his sword concealed beneath his tunic, Joseph set off at a brisk pace.

But he didn’t get far.

"The streets... are too empty."

As if the area had been deliberately cleared out, the usually bustling streets were eerily desolate.

Then, the sound of footsteps reached him.

Heavy, synchronized footsteps struck the ground, moving as one.

It was a sound Joseph knew all too well.

"Why do I hear a Roman legion marching here...?"

It was the unmistakable cadence of Roman legionaries marching in formation.

Though the distinct clatter of hobnailed boots was missing, the rhythmic thudding drew steadily closer.

"Damn it!"

Joseph spun on his heels and bolted in the opposite direction.

But the marching echoed from every direction.

It ca from the main roads, the narrow alleyways, and even the adjacent buildings.

"How on earth did a legion manage to march into Ro?!"

As he and a few of his comrades rounded a street corner, they froze.

The first thing they saw was a sea of shields.

A massive wall of shields completely blocked their path.

The wall was made up of everything from large Roman scuta to round Greek aspis shields.

A tight formation of n with shields advanced nacingly toward them.

"Stop! We have word that the conspirators behind the assassination plot are here!"

As if on cue, Joseph and his comrades whirled around and sprinted the other way.

At that exact mont, the shrill blast of a whistle ripped through the air behind them.

It was the very sa whistle Roman commanders used to signal orders on the battlefield.

"Here they are!"

Panting heavily, Joseph glanced over his shoulder.

rcifully, the n weren’t giving chase.

"Damn it, in God’s na..."

But there was no ti to think.

He had to keep moving if he wanted to survive.

Turning another corner into a narrow alley, he and his comrades were forced to stop yet again.

Once more, n with shields blocked the entire alleyway.

"Over here!"

"Advance!"

Another whistle blasted, and the shield wall began to march forward.

It looked less like n than a solid wall slowly closing in on them.

"They’re behind us too!"

Joseph quickly realized that every escape route had been sealed off.

"Cast the ropes!"

Ropes with looped ends flew out from behind the shield wall.

They were the sa lassos that had been used during the recent Floralia festival.

As his comrades thrashed about, their limbs hopelessly tangled in the ropes, Joseph desperately slashed at the cords with his sword.

"Don’t panic! If we climb through the windows and circle around..."

At that very mont, a massive shadow blotted out the light above them.

Joseph jerked his head up, but it was already too late to react.

"A net...?"

He murmured, staring blankly at the descending net

"Why would they have sothing like this in Ro?"

Belatedly, realization dawned on him.

It was a retiarius net—the kind certain gladiators used in the arena.

Joseph swung his sword and twisted away in the nick of ti. However, the man standing next to him wasn’t as fortunate.

The coarse netting swallowed the man whole, dragging him down to the cobblestones as he shrieked in terror.

"Take them alive!"

Antony’s booming voice echoed from sowhere in the fray.

Joseph gritted his teeth and threw himself into a nearby alley.

Only then did he understand.

This was a hunt.

All of Ro was hunting them down like animals.