Son of Julius Caesar: Rebuilding Rome [Business/Republic building] Chapter 113 : Outcome

"Forward! Pergite!"

The shield wall advanced.

Shouts echoed throughout the Subura, prompting residents to lean out of their windows.

"What on earth is going on?"

"Has a war broken out?"

People in the streets hurriedly pressed themselves against the walls to make way.

A few n were stopped and searched, but they were released once they were found to be unard.

"Forgive the disturbance! We are here to apprehend criminals!"

Brutus shouted at the top of his lungs, standing just behind the n with the shields.

"This is truly remarkable," he muttered, watching the n move in perfect unison at each command.

Though the distinctive clatter of hobnailed legionary boots was absent, Caesar’s n marched in perfect lockstep.

It was remarkable discipline and proficiency for n who had never rehearsed this together.

There was only one reason this was possible.

"It’s because they’re forr legionaries."

Caesar had called for volunteers from those in his employ right after his signaler was murdered.

The goal was simple: find and capture the culprits who had killed his signaler.

Many of Caesar’s n had volunteered to avenge their fallen comrade, and most of them had once served in the legions.

The reason they could coordinate so flawlessly was simple.

The mories were etched into their bones.

"Shorten your stride. Quick march."

At Brutus’s command, a horn-blower sounded the cornu horn in a series of short, sharp blasts.

In an instant, the shield-bearing n adjusted their pace as one.

Stride, formation, and marching discipline were among the most rigorously drilled fundantals in the Roman legions.

Every soldiers had to practice their marching steps and formations for days, sotis weeks, before they were even allowed to hold a weapon.

And in this very mont, their bodies were moving on instinct to the blare of the horn and the shrill blast of the whistle.

Forr centurions handled the commands on the ground, while Brutus relayed the orders and recorded the course of the entire operation.

"We should spot them soon." Brutus murmured, peering down the street ahead.

He committed every sensation of this mont to mory—sight, sound, and sll alike.

The sight of the tense shield line, the sound of their ragged breathing, and the mingled scents of freshly baked bread and raw sewage that marked the Subura.

He had to rember all of this as vividly as possible to write it down later.

What could be more noble, more glorious, than preserving this mont for the future?

In this mont, he was part of history.

"Keep advancing! Pergite!"

***

"So, where are those bastards now?"

"They ran into us here and fled the other way. That ans they’re likely hiding sowhere in this cluster of buildings." Antony said, tapping a spot on the map with his finger.

I walked down the street under the escort of my shield-bearing n.

I never thought the city map I had drawn up for insurance would be used like this.

Still, it made the work much easier.

"Then they’re still inside the periter."

"We’ve blocked every alleyway and main road leading out of the Subura, so they’ll have a hard ti escaping." Antony nodded.

Every ti he took a step, the wooden club strapped to his waist swayed from side to side.

"We’ve already caught most of them. At most, two or three are left. We’ll catch them soon enough."

"Their leader, a man nad Joseph, hasn’t been caught yet. We need to catch him before the sun goes down, no matter what," I said.

Although lamps had already been installed along the main roads, they were nowhere near enough to illuminate the entire Subura.

Besides, if this manhunt dragged on deep into the night, the citizens would start panicking.

Blocking the streets temporarily was one thing, but dragging it out was a recipe for disaster.

"By the way, isn’t this going to co back to bite us later?" Antony asked, keeping pace with .

"Even if we aren’t drawing swords, blocking the streets like this is..."

"I’ve already secured the cooperation of the aediles. The tellus brothers are helping us out too."

Convincing the aediles was child’s play.

They owed a great favor from the recent Floralia.

Though it was quite surprising that the tellus brothers, who had run against for office, stepped up to help.

"If the tellus brothers are backing us, then it’ll be hard for anyone to make a scandal of it."

"That’s only true if we wrap this up quickly. We can’t keep the streets blocked for days."

I looked around the Subura.

Connected to the Forum by the Argiletum, the Subura was a crowded neighborhood lying right beside the city’s political heart.

"We have every alley and street leading out of the Subura blocked... but figuring out exactly where they’ve holed up is going to take ti," I muttered, staring at the map.

I had instructed my n to raise a signal kite the mont they spotted the targets, but kites were notoriously difficult to fly without a good breeze.

It would be different if they were riding horses, as they had when we fought the bandits, but flying a kite in a dense urban environnt was too restricted.

"Shouldn’t we consider extending the search into the night? I’ll gather more n for now." Antony suggested. "If we hold the exits and rotate the n..."

Just then, a cacophony of shouts erupted from the street ahead.

The noise began as a faint murmur, then swelled into the roar of dozens of voices.

"Over here!"

"The bastards are right here!"

We turned toward the commotion and saw people leaning out of their windows.

People were leaning out from the second, third, and fourth floors of the insulae.

The citizens craned their necks and bellowed.

"They’re running that way!"

Antony and I exchanged a blank glance.

"What on earth is..."

"I think I know." I said with a smirk.

I hadn’t expected to receive the citizens’ help again from the people of the Subura.

"All we have to do is follow the noise."

***

"By the Lord!"

Joseph spat out a curse as he sprinted wildly down the street.

He was gasping for breath, his lungs burning so badly he could barely keep running.

Almost all of his comrades had been captured; only he and one other man remained.

"What do we do now?" his comrade asked, his voice trembling.

"They’ve already blocked all the streets. And they’ve got shields, nets, and even throwing ropes..."

"They’re hunting us like wild beasts," Joseph growled.

Like terrified animals, He and his comrades had scattered in every direction like frightened beasts.

But not all hope was lost.

If they could just avoid capture until sundown, they could use the darkness as a cloak to slip away.

Unfortunately, that shred of hope did not last long.

"They’re right here!"

A rotten apple smashed against his face.

A barrage of spoiled fruit and raw sewage imdiately rained down from above.

The residents of the insulae were hurling garbage out their windows straight at them.

"You bastards...!"

Before they could even recover from the shock, Joseph and his comrade were forced to keep running.

Yet, the shouts from above marked their every move.

"They’re running over there!"

So people even leaned halfway out their windows to point directly at them.

It was not hard to see why the residents had joined in.

Ever since flyers claiming that the Jews were plotting to assassinate Pompey and his daughter had been plastered around the Forum, the entire city had caught wind of it.

Many had even volunteered to help Caesar.

So when Caesar’s n marched into the Subura to hunt down the criminals, the residents, startled at first, quickly grasped the situation.

"Bolt the doors, everyone! Don’t let anyone just walk in!"

"Don’t go wandering the streets. You stay inside today!"

"But Mother..."

"Just do as I say!"

"Co to think of it, I heard the Jews killed the signaler too."

"Isn’t that still uncertain? Caesar is protecting the Jews right now. He must be doing that because soone else is really behind it."

"Anyway, let’s just stay indoors for today. If you spot anyone suspicious snooping around, yell right away."

In an atmosphere like this, Joseph and his companion were the only ones desperately scrambling through the streets.

Wherever they went, they were battered by a relentless storm of filth and insults hurled from the windows above.

"Shouldn’t we just try to hide?!"

"Hide where? Caesar’s n already have the Jewish neighborhood under guard, so where could we possibly..."

Joseph tried to kick open the door of a nearby warehouse, but it was already bolted shut from the inside.

A trembling voice shouted from within.

"Go sowhere else!"

Just then, Joseph’s companion spotted soone and lunged toward her.

A young girl hiding at a street corner scread and tried to run, but she was quickly caught.

"We can use this Roman brat as a hostage to get out of here!"

The little girl was so terrified she could not even cry; she rely gasped for air.

"Don’t be an idiot. There’s no need to drag an innocent child into this. Besides, do you really think these Romans would care about a hostage?" Joseph said, his face twisting into a scowl.

Their original plan had only been to assassinate Pompey and his family for defiling the Temple.

But now, everything was spiraling out of control.

The shield-bearing n appeared before them once again.

"Stay back! Co any closer and the girl dies!"

"Don’t do anything stupid..."

As Joseph reached out to stop his comrade, he felt a rope cinch tight around his wrist.

That wasn’t all.

Another rope tightened around his companion’s sword hand.

In the next instant, the ropes were yanked back, ripping the weapons from their hands.

By the ti Joseph realized what had happened, he and his companion were already tangled in a heavy net, thrashing on the cobblestones.

"Well, all that practice was worth it after all."

A Roman dressed in a simple tunic strolled up to them, rolling his neck from side to side.

"I was ready for a bit more action. Out of strength already?"

Antony grinned down at the two n snared in his net.

***

"Lucius Caesar has finally crossed the line. To march a mob into the heart of Ro and occupy the Subura!"

Quintus tellus declared.

Clutching the folds of his toga with one hand, he continued his denunciation.

"It is true that we received Caesar’s aid during the recent banking crisis, but that does not an we must tolerate every single one of his transgressions. This ti he acts under the pretext of apprehending criminals, but who can say who his next target will be?"

"You are absolutely right. Ro must be freed from this rampant violence."

"Especially when that violence cos from a man as popular as Caesar. Lucceius, who was elected alongside him, has no presence at all, does he? The consulship has effectively beco Caesar’s alone."

The senators gathered in the Senaculum were engaged in a heated exchange.

As usual, they were gathered in conversation before the official session began.

Naturally, the primary topic of discussion was the recent uproar.

The rumors were circulating through the streets, and the fact that Caesar and Pompey had both mobilized their n.

"Perhaps this entire conspiracy is nothing more than a fabrication spun by those two."

"Are you suggesting Caesar murdered his own signaler?"

"I am not saying that, but..."

Just then, Quintus tellus spotted Cicero approaching and broke into a pleased smile.

"Cicero! I was just waiting for you to arrive. What are your thoughts on this entire debacle?"

"My thoughts on what?" Cicero replied, looking rather bewildered.

"It is certainly inappropriate by the traditions of the Republic, but if the conspiracy proves true, I suppose it could be tolerated."

"Tolerated? You believe we should tolerate them unleashing private ard bands into the streets? I never expected to hear such words from you, Cicero."

"Surely you cannot be serious, tellus." Cicero tilted his head.

Rather than being flustered, he looked as though he genuinely could not understand tellus’s response.

"Serious about what?"

"Well..." Cicero hesitated for a mont before answering. "Are your son and nephew not assisting Lucius Caesar even as we speak?"

"My son is doing what?!"

"They opened the gladiator armories and and are aiding his n in the streets. Did you honestly not hear about this?"

As every senator suddenly turned to stare at him, Quintus tellus’s face drained of all color.

"I... I must go to the Curia at once."

As the flustered senators hurried after him, the full account of what was unfolding in the Subura finally reached the Senate.