Sparta: Many childrens, Many Blessings, Starting from the Gladiator Chapter 68 66

Under the moonlight, in the shadows of the training ground's outer wall, a figure was moving.

It was very short and very thin, moving furtively, sticking close to the base of the wall, stopping from ti to ti to listen.

Not one of their own.

Marcus quietly pushed open the back window, flipped out, and landed without making a sound.

Sticking to the wall, he circled to the side and approached from behind the person in the shadows.

Ten steps, five steps, three steps…

The person suddenly turned his head!

But it was too late.

Marcus covered the person's mouth with one hand and grabbed his neck with the other, directly dragging him into the pile of miscellaneous items nearby.

The whole process took less than three seconds, without even a muffled groan.

"Don't move."

Marcus whispered in his ear, the short sword in his hand pressed against the person's waist. "Move and you die."

The person froze.

Marcus searched him thoroughly — no weapons, only a money bag and a wooden plaque.

Under the moonlight, he looked at the wooden plaque. On it was carved a simple pattern: a single eye.

"Valerius's man?"

Marcus asked.

The person shook his head, but his eyes were panicked.

"Speak."

The short sword pushed forward a little, piercing the clothes.

"I… I was just passing by…"

The voice was sharp and thin, like a youth.

"Passing by?"

Marcus sneered. "Climbing over the wall in the middle of the night to pass by the training ground? Do you think I'm stupid?"

He pulled open the person's collar. There was a brand on his chest — not a slave mark, but so gang's symbol: crossed hamrs.

A mber of the Hamr Gang.

One of Scarface's subordinates?

Or… had Scarface already turned against them?

"Who sent you?"

Marcus asked. "Tell the truth and I won't kill you. Lie and I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs."

The youth trembled. "It… it was Boss Brutus who sent … just to see if anyone was patrolling the training ground at night and what ti they change shifts…"

"Why?"

"I… I don't know… Boss didn't say…"

Marcus stared at him for a few seconds, then released his hand.

The youth collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Go back and tell Brutus,"

Marcus said, "if he wants to watch the training ground, co openly during the day. If I catch anyone sneaking around again, I'll personally go to the south of the city to 'chat' with him. Get lost."

The youth scrambled away on all fours.

Marcus stood in place, watching the thin, small figure disappear into the night.

Scarface was testing.

Or rather, Valerius was testing through Scarface.

They were about to make a move.

…

Early the next morning, training at the training ground proceeded as usual.

But Marcus called Gisco, Amir, and Drusus to the office, along with Saxa and Octavius. All the core mbers were present.

"Last night we caught a spy."

Marcus got straight to the point. "A mber of the Hamr Gang, sent by Scarface."

Gisco cursed. "That bastard turned against us?"

"Not necessarily."

Marcus said. "It might just be a test, or Valerius ordered him to do it. Either way, strengthen security at the training ground. Drusus, go buy ten dogs today — fierce ones — and release them at night. Amir, split two people from the Intelligence Team to specifically watch the Hamr Gang in the south of the city and see what they're up to."

The two nodded.

"Gisco, starting today the Combat Team will add night combat and anti-infiltration training. Take two hours every night to simulate how to respond if soone sneaks in."

"Understood."

"Saxa, continue watching the pottery workshop, but assign one person to watch Scarface. I want to know who he ets every day, where he goes, and what he does."

"Good."

"Octavius,"

Marcus looked at the giant. "Take two people and stake out near the 'Red Fish' brothel. If you see Lucius or Valerius's n, don't act. Just watch. Wait for my order."

Octavius nodded.

After assigning the tasks, Marcus let the others go about their business and kept Amir alone.

"On the Senate side,"

Marcus asked, "any new news?"

Amir pulled out a small notebook from his bosom — this was sothing Marcus had taught him: a good mory is not as good as a bad pen.

"The debate on the tariff proposal is set for next Wednesday."

Amir read from his notes. "Seven senators support Gracchus, five oppose, and three are undecided. Lord Sextus has not yet stated his position, but yesterday in the Senate he scolded Valerius, saying he was 'obstructing the public good for private gain.'"

"Well scolded."

Marcus nodded. "Continue watching, especially those undecided senators. See who between Gracchus and Valerius is offering more benefits."

"There's one more thing…"

Amir hesitated. "Sister Mira said that after Gracchus returned last night, he had a huge tantrum and smashed several vases.

It seems… sothing went wrong on the northern legions' side, and the second batch of goods will be delayed."

Second batch?

Marcus's heart tightened.

There was a second batch of military equipnt?

"How long is the delay?"

"Not said, but Gracchus was very angry and called that centurion a 'useless fool.'"

"Understood."

Marcus said. "Tell Mira to continue paying attention, but don't take risks to inquire. Safety first."

After Amir left, Marcus sat in the office, going over the information in his mind.

The second batch of military equipnt… Gracchus's private army was larger than imagined.

Fifty swords and one hundred shields were only the first batch. There was more behind.

How many n did he want?

One hundred? Two hundred?

To support so many private soldiers, where was the money coming from?

If the tariff proposal passed, Capua's trade revenue would surge greatly, but that was public money and couldn't all go into his pocket.

Unless…

Marcus recalled those secrets in his mind — Gracchus's records of embezzling public funds.

Right.

Raising tariffs would make rchants complain and increase smuggling. As the port manager, Gracchus could "crack down on smuggling" and confiscate goods and fines…

And with a private army, he could "more effectively" crack down on smuggling — or rather, more effectively control smuggling, letting obedient smugglers through and killing the disobedient ones.

Killing two birds with one stone.

"Old fox."

Marcus said in a low voice.

While he was thinking, there was a commotion outside.

Marcus frowned and walked to the window to look.

Several people had arrived at the training ground entrance, wearing Senate uniforms. The leader was a familiar face — Marcus, the centurion who had brought guards to the dock last ti.

But today Marcus's face looked very ugly, his hand constantly on the hilt of his sword.

Behind him followed eight fully ard soldiers.

Sothing had happened.

Marcus straightened his clothes and pushed the door open to go out.

"Centurion Marcus."

He walked to the entrance. "What wind brings you here?"

Marcus stared at him with a complex look. "Marcus, by order of Senator Sextus, please co with ."

"Now?"

"Now."

"What is it about?"

"You'll know when you get there."

Marcus said, "Don't make it difficult for ."

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