While Septimus's body enjoyed the Celtic princess's enthusiasm,
a group of clones infiltrated the city of Chalcedon with the objective of gathering information about the city's garrison.
The city of Chalcedon had two Roman legions stationed there, but the exact number of troops was unknown.
The two legions could be considered tragic because they were originally the two legions assigned to confront Sulla.
Later, they were persuaded by Sulla to surrender and were ordered to be stationed in the province of Asia.
Afterward, the two legions were forgotten by Sulla and the Senate.
Later, Governor Murena led them in an attack against Pontus, but they achieved nothing of value and suffered heavy losses. It was difficult to know how many troops they had now.
Time passed, and the rays of the sun slowly emerged, awakening Septimus and the naked Celtic princess.
An hour later, Monile draped a bright crimson cloak over Septimus.
A group of personal guards stood watch at the entrance to Septimus's room, maintaining perfect formation.
The entourage led by Septimus advanced slowly through the corridors of the mansion with an imposing air.
Septimus did not need to speak with his clone guards, and their tacit understanding made deployments effortless.
The entourage moved forward at a slow pace in silence.
As they rounded a corner, Septimus heard Julius Caesar's familiar voice from the distance.
"Beautiful lady, I wonder if I might have the honor of meeting you."
Septimus stopped and saw Julius Caesar blocking a maid's path, a smile on his face.
"Who are you?" the maid said with a hint of panic.
"Gaius Julius Caesar, aide to General Septimus. My uncle is Cotta, this year's Roman consul," Julius Caesar said, shamelessly flaunting his status as the son of a second-generation noble family.
"I never imagined you were General Septimus's aide. You're truly incredible."
The maid seemed surprised. "My name is..."
Septimus was left speechless by Julius Caesar's performance.
It's true what they say: old habits are hard to break.
"Caesar, let's go. We have things to do," Septimus said as he continued forward with his entourage, not wasting time watching how the scene unfolded.
"Ah, I'm terribly sorry. General, how may I assist you?" Caesar replied quickly.
"We're inspecting the military camp here," Septimus said calmly as he walked out through the mansion's gate.
Caesar hurried after him.
As the group left the city, the pedestrians made way for Septimus and his companions, showing respect, but also a great deal of resentment. Those looks made Septimus uncomfortable.
Just then, a group of people arrived from another intersection.
One of the young men had his hands tied with a rope, which was being held by a burly man behind him. Upon seeing Septimus and the others, the burly man quickly stepped aside to let them pass.
When the young man saw Septimus and his imposing entourage, he burst into curses. "Damn Romans, you're nothing but greedy vultures! I hope Mithridates defeats you soon!"
The young man's words caused Julius Caesar and the surrounding crowd to silently watch Septimus's and his guards' reaction.
A clone guard stepped forward and delivered a powerful kick to the young man before knocking him to the ground with a beating.
Septimus watched indifferently, and after ten minutes, he raised his hand and ordered the clone guard to stop.
"I'm terribly sorry, officers. He was sold as a slave today, so he's very upset," the middle-aged man following the young man said apologetically as he sweated nervously.
Septimus had planned to crucify the young man who had insulted him, but the middle-aged man's explanation caught his attention.
"Why would he sell himself as a slave?" Septimus asked.
"Because he has usury debts and can't pay the interest," the middle-aged man said.
"I borrowed 30 drachmas to pay my taxes, but I've already repaid 100, and I still haven't finished paying off the debt. It's all your fault, you Romans. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't owe so much money," the young man shouted furiously. Although his face was covered in blood, he continued cursing viciously.
"Enough, shut up."
The middle-aged man gave him a hard kick and then flashed Septimus and the others a fawning smile.
"Is that so? You may leave now," Septimus said, losing interest in torturing and killing the miserable young man.
The young man's life would be miserable even without Septimus's intervention.
"Thank you, General! Thank you, General!"
Just by looking at the guards in exquisite black armor following Septimus, anyone could tell who he was. The man had not expected it to be so easy to speak with him.
"I'm very sorry that this happened," Terentius said from the side.
Terentius had caught up with Septimus's entourage and had witnessed the incident with the slave.
"It's nothing. I was just curious whether all the city's inhabitants hated the Romans that much," Septimus said calmly.
Terentius felt somewhat embarrassed. How was he supposed to answer that?
After thinking for quite a while, Terentius finally said, "When Sulla attacked this place, he carried out a large-scale massacre and sold many people into slavery. Not only did he have his soldiers live in the homes of wealthy merchants, but he also forced those merchants to pay them a daily stipend every month, driving many of them into bankruptcy."
"Afterward, a tax of 60 million drachmas was paid to the tax collectors. Over the years, the people of the province have repaid at least 240 million drachmas, yet the tax still has not been settled, and many families have been forced to sell themselves into slavery."
Terentius confirmed a large part of Septimus's and Julius Caesar's assumptions.
No matter the era, when people become involved with usurers, it often leads to the destruction of their families and even death.
"Do the legionaries of the two legions think the same way?" Septimus asked.
"Well... probably most of them hold resentment toward Rome," Terentius said awkwardly.
Septimus found the situation somewhat complicated. He could not leave two legions that resented Rome behind his lines and head to the battlefield with peace of mind.
Creating problems for himself before going to war was not Septimus's style.
"This has to change. I can't allow potentially hostile forces to remain in my rear," Septimus said, frowning.
"Then what do you plan to do, General?" Terentius asked cautiously.
"I'll deploy the two legions from Chalcedon and use them on the most dangerous missions. I'll also keep one legion protecting the city and the logistical lines," Septimus said calmly, without showing any expression.
Although Septimus had the power to abolish the abusive taxes imposed throughout the province, he had little to gain by doing so.
Septimus had no intention of being a saint.
The tax revenues were divided among many interest groups and ultimately ended up in the pockets of Septimus and the region of Campania through the sale of white sugar and other luxury goods.